Sunday 18 December 2016

Prinknash Abbey in 1964


The still below is taken from the Bristol Film and Video Society's filming of Prinknash Abbey in 1964, before the changes:-



 The full film can be seen by clicking the following link here:- https://player.vimeo.com/video/128271319.

Friday 16 December 2016

Thursday 15 December 2016

The Founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate - All Charges Dropped!



Fr. Manelli celebrating Mass


Some excellent news from Italy:-

Rorate Coeli reports:-

"The charges against Father Stefano Manelli, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. After about a year of investigations, the Deputy State Prosecutor at the Court of Avellino, Doctor A. Del Bene, has asked for the closing of the proceedings against the religious, whose Order is still under commissioning without a valid reason having ever been given by the Congregation for Religious. 


Father Stefano Manelli had recently been the subject of a particularly virulent press campaign – which seems in reality to have been promoted and inspired by someone within his own religious order..."



The charges against Father Stefano Manelli, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. After about a year of investigations, the Deputy State Prosecutor at the Court of Avellino, Doctor A. Del Bene, has asked for the closing of the proceedings against the religious, whose Order is still under commissioning without a valid reason having ever been given by the Congregation for Religious. 

Father Stefano Manelli had recently been the subject of a particularly virulent press campaign – which seems in reality to have been promoted and inspired by someone within his own religious order
- See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2016/12/charges-dropped-against-founder-of.html#more
founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/#sthash.sybHpUEX.dpuf
founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/#sthash.sybHpUEX.dpuffounde
founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/#sthash.sybHpUEX.dpuf
founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/#sthash.sybHpUEX.dpuf
founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/#sthash.sybHpUEX.dpuf
founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/#sthash.sybHpUEX.dpuf

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Breaking News:Cardinal Kasper: Pope’s ‘next declaration’ should allow ‘shared Eucharistic communion’ with Protestants



Cardinal Kasper (left) with Cardinal Danneels

Cardinal Kasper makes yet another demand, after his communion for the divorced and re-married proposal.

What will be next?

Lifesite news states:-

"December 14, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — “I hope that the next declaration opens the way for shared Eucharistic communion in special cases.” With these words, Cardinal Walter Kasper expressed his wish for ecumenical “progress” in the form of “intercommunion” in an interview with Italian newspaper Avvenire on December 10.

“Personally, I hope that we can use an unofficial text, prepared by a commission in the bishops’ conference of the United States, regarding this subject,” he explained.
On October 31, Pope Francis visited Lund, Sweden, a city in a country with a large Lutheran population, to commemorate the anniversary of Martin Luther’s Reformation. This anniversary – far from being a joyful observance considering the separation Luther created caused long-lasting wounds in the Church – was preceded by countless preparations, including a visit of a Luther statue in the Vatican and a climate of anticipation for intercommunion by the Pope himself.

Just about a month later, in the Avvenire interview, Cardinal Kasper has gone a step further, stating that, for him, intercommunion is just a matter of time. “On the one hand, Lund has confirmed the ecumenical process and the results of the proceeding dialogue; on the other hand, it has given it a new thrust.”

Kasper seeks to apply the principle for “remarried” divorcees to receive Communion under special circumstances to mixed marriages. That would be a rule of “exception,” or what can be called the Kasper proposal. Cardinal Kasper hopes for the admission of Lutherans to Catholic Communion, particularly in family settings. “The next declaration will open the Eucharistic sharing in particular situations, especially in mixed marriages and families and in countries like Germany and the United States where this pastoral problem is extremely pressing.”

Tuesday 13 December 2016

Opus Dei Leader Dies Aged 84



Javier Echevarría Rodríguez RIP.

From the Catholic Herald:-


"Bishop Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, the Prelate of Opus Dei, has died at the age of 84 after a lung infection. He had been suffering from pneumonia.

In a statement, Opus Dei said that Bishop Echevarría’s “clinical situation was complicated in the final hours provoking respiratory insufficiency, which resulted in his death.” He received the last sacraments from Mgr Fernando Ocáriz Braña, vicar general of Opus Dei.

The bishop was the third prelate of Opus Dei, following St Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of the organisation, and Blessed Álvaro del Portillo. Like Blessed Álvaro, he was personally chosen by St Josemaría as a successor.

Opus Dei has around 90,000 members, of which the overwhelming majority are laymen and women. Its aim is to help people know God in their ordinary lives."

For the full article please see:- http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/12/13/opus-dei-leader-dies-aged-84
.

UFO Sighting Above the Vatican - “Out of this world.”

ufo

In a statement issued by the Vatican head of Cosmology, Ukrainian born Fr Ima Sceptic described the recent UFO sighting above the Vatican as “Out of this world.”

Fr. Sceptic has spent the last 30 years heading a team of nerdy clergy known affectionately within Vatican circles  as ‘The Geek Squad’. They can be easily recognised by the sticky plaster that holds the bridge of their reading glasses together, and their rigidity in terms of liturgy.

“When this was first reported we thought it was just another hoax” explained Fr. Sceptic. “It was a very windy day. We rushed to the window and at that very moment witnessed a small black spacecraft floating on the breeze. It went right passed our window! We saw it with our own eyes!”
Fr Sceptic’s account can be verified by his assistant, American born Fr. Al Ien.

“He’s right” said Fr. Al Ien “It was about  40-50cm wide at the brim and looked like it was made out of something like Beaver fur.”

In other news…

There has been an unprecedented rise in sales of the famous Saturno hat worn by clergy in Rome this week.

Sales staff have advised priests not to wear the wide brimmed hat on very windy days due to an increase in fake UFO sightings this month.

H/t to http://listeninginthedesert.com/.

Label: Humour, Something a bit lighter.

Sunday 11 December 2016

Norcia 2017 Calendar Available for Free Download


"Of the many excellent options out there for traditional Catholic calendars (either EF exclusive or EF & OF combined), the Norcia wall calendar has become my favorite. This is not simply due to my being an oblate of the monastery, although I can't deny that that's a part of its appeal, but has to do with the meditative quality of the photos and the easy-to-follow layout, which works well for me as a choir and schola director who leads music for both forms of the Roman Rite. There are very few bi-formal wall calendars out there (Cantius is the only other one I know of, but readers could correct me in the combox if there are others.)

The monks of Norcia have made a beautiful calendar for 2017, but due to the upheavals, they will not be publishing it in paper form. It is available for free download here."

(It can be printed in a number of ways, but if you have access to 11"x17" paper, it prints nicely on that size.).

Thursday 8 December 2016

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception


Beware of the “Spirit” of Amoris Laetitia



A fascinating article by

"The presence of the Spirit should assure the faithful of God’s active guiding presence in his Church. Yet the way that some speak of the Spirit’s action, one would think it is less a personal Spirit that leads all into truth than a nebulous spirit that vaguely whispers to some, leaving others confused. Consider the usage of the baneful phrase “the spirit of Vatican II,” a curious expression that has served for decades as a catch-all for a collection of preferences and opinions that some would like to attribute to the work of the Second Vatican Council, but most if not all of which are strangely absent from the texts of the council. We have been told by certain prelates, theologians, and activists that everything from versus populum liturgy to soft-pedaling the dogmas on justification to radical changes in the understanding of Holy Orders and who may or may not be ordained would all follow from heeding the call of the “spirit of the council”—yet when the constitutions and decrees of the council are consulted, none of these ideas can be found, while their opposites certainly can be. The Spirit of the faith cannot be so far divorced from its formulations.

More recently, we have seen this expression used in reference to the controversies surrounding the interpretation of certain elements of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. There can be no doubt that the document’s position on the reception of communion by the divorced and remarried is unclear, for different bishops and bishops’ conferences have released statements saying how perfectly and obviously clear it is, while coming to diametrically opposed conclusions. Thus, many parties have asked the Holy Father to clarify his teaching on the subject or declared their resolve to remain true to the traditional faith, from a filial appeal of bishops and theologians to the dubia submitted by several cardinals that have caused such a stir in ecclesial circles.

Other parties have argued that the document is quite clear..... Cardinal Kevin Farrell, head of the new Dicastery on Laity, Family, and Life, has said that Amoris Laetitia is “the Holy Spirit speaking.” The head of the Roman Rota, Msgr. Pio Vito Pinto, said that in the work of the two Synods on the Family, “The action of the Holy Spirit cannot be doubted.” The diocesan chancellor for San Diego has said of Bishop Robert McElroy’s planned implementation, “I think the bishop has made an opportunity for the Spirit to move in that way, and it’s a great thing.”

An article by Fr. James Martin, S.J., at the America magazine website argues that the essence of Amoris Laetitia’s teaching is the Jesuit tradition of the “discernment of spirits” .... which .... could legitimately lead one to conclude that God is calling them to receive Holy Communion even though they are knowingly committing mortally sinful acts, even if the Church teaches such an action would be gravely spiritually harmful. It’s a whispering of the Spirit, you see."

Senz, equates such attitudes with the error of montanism, he states:-

"Such a situation puts me in mind of ....Montanism, or Phrygianism, (which)was founded by the eponymous Montanus along with two prophetesses, Maximilla and Priscilla, in the second century in Asia Minor. Montanus believed himself to be a prophet of God through whom the Holy Spirit spoke directly, delivering new revelation to the Church. Maximilla and Priscilla eventually joined him, and the three entered ecstatic states in which they proclaimed their new truths. Chief among these innovations was a severe moral rigor and the belief that Christ’s work of redemption was incomplete. These excesses led to their condemnation by papal decree. Still, the extravagance of the seers and the allure of the possibility of being possessed by God drew many followers.

Whether it is the second or the twenty-first century, the idea of having one’s preferred ideas supported or even inspired by the action of the Holy Spirit is a seductive one. Thus we see a long history of various groups, sects, and schools of thought putting forth their ideas and defending them by declaring them “a movement of the Spirit.” And now, we see a movement to apply this defense at the individual level. Every Christian would in essence become a moral Montanist, needing only to say, “I feel led by the Spirit to do this” to justify their actions. But could this be? Could the Spirit lead us into sin in such a way....
One Timothy 2:4 tells us that “God desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” .... If God were to give this knowledge only to some, or to tell different things to different people, his desire could hardly be said to be universal. And if the movements of his Spirit lead to the ambiguities and enigmas some claim they do, he could hardly be said to be leading us to the truth. Thank God that is not the case."

For the  whole article see:- http://www.crisismagazine.com/2016/beware-moral-montanism.

Saturday 3 December 2016

Cheltenham Young Catholic Adults Christmas Party will take place on Saturday 10th December at 6:30pm

Source: Chelt Young Catholic Adults


Cheltenham Young Catholic Adults Christmas Party will take place on Saturday 10th December at 6:30pm in the “Bottle of Sauce” pub.

Address: Ambrose St.,Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Phone: 01242 256156

The venue has been described thus:- “A very cool place, not too be missed. Wicked decor, awesome music, incredibly good food at very reasonable prices. Ping pong table, private dining room and lush terrace top it all off nicely.”

Please text 07908105787 to confirm your place.

Friday 2 December 2016

Petition in support of the Four Cardinals and Five Dubia




sharpening a quill pen. Engraving by C. Guttenb


There is a petition in support of the Four Cardinals and their Five Dubia.


Fr. Z at http://wdtprs.com/blog/ states that we should sign this, he writes:-

"Please consider signing.  I, for one, want clarity about the questions submitted by the Four Cardinals.  The questions were necessary to maintain the integrity the papal Magisterium.  Certain elements of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia seem to contradict directly the Magisterium of St. John Paul II in, especially, Familiaris consortio and Veritatis splendor."

Singing Nuns! Caroling at Ephesus

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. They are fully traditional Catholic nuns and have just  released their Christmas CD.

To watch a beautiful video on the new CD, See below:-



Thursday 1 December 2016

Relics of Blessed Jacinta and Francisco will be travelling around England and Wales in 2017


 
The Pilgrim Virgin Statue has travelled
around the world since the 1950's
 
News from WAF (World Apostolate of Fatima) of England and Wales:-

"The National Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, and Relics of Blessed Jacinta and Francisco will be travelling around the country, visiting various Cathedrals and churches next year, 2017, which is the Centenary year of the Fatima message, which was given by the Blessed Virgin between May and October 1917.

The Statue and Relics will be visiting Cathedrals in the following Archdioceses/Dioceses on the dates given below, and it is hoped that there will other Cathedrals taking part in due course:



NAME OF DIOCESE/ARCHDIOCESE DATES WEBSITE



Archdiocese of Westminster 18-19 Feb 2017 http://rcdow.org.uk/
Archdiocese of Cardiff 6-7 May 2017 http://rcadc.org/
Belmont Abbey 10 May 2017 http://www.belmontabbey.org.uk/
Archdiocese of Southwark 13 May 2017 www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/
Diocese of Shrewsbury 20-21 May 2017 http://www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/
Diocese of Menevia 27-28 May 2017 http://www.dioceseofmenevia.org/
Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper 27 May 2017 http://www.ourladyofthetaper.org.uk/
Diocese of Nottingham 2-4 June 2017 www.nottingham-diocese.org.uk
Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham 10 June 2017 http://www.ordinariate.org.uk/
Diocese of Plymouth 24-25 June 2017 www.plymouth-diocese.org.uk/
Diocese of Arundel & Brighton 1-2 July 2017 http://www.dabnet.org/
Archdiocese of Birmingham 29-30 July 2017 www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/
Diocese of Hallam 12-13 August 2017 http://hallam-diocese.com/
Diocese of Clifton 19 August 2017 http://www.cliftondiocese.com/
Diocese of Portsmouth 26-27 August 2017 www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/
Diocese of Leeds 2 September 2017 www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/
Diocese of Middlesborough 9-15 Sept 2017 http://middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk/
Diocese of Hexham & Newcastle 16-17 Sept 2017 www.rcdhn.org.uk/index.php
Diocese of East Anglia 23-24 Sept 2017 http://rcdea.org.uk/
Diocese of Northampton 30 Sept-1 Oct 2017 www.northamptondiocese.org/
Diocese of Salford Oct 21-22 2017 http://www.salforddiocese.net/
For more info see:- http://www.worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/visitation.html

Sunday 27 November 2016

The ‘Sindr’ app May Sound Silly, but it’s a Godsend for Young Catholic Adults




 Credit: http://www.catholiccitadel.org/

The Catholic Herald writes on its Comment & Blogs section about the new app "Sindr":-

"Yesterday, newspaper headline-writers received an early Christmas present from the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. The ‘Catholic App’, unveiled by Abp Cushley at the Vatican on Tuesday, is a map-based smartphone tool, that will help people find the nearest – and/or soonest – Mass or Confessions in the archdiocese.

A very good service, to be sure, for the faithful of south-east Scotland. Though perhaps not something to catch the imagination of the world’s media… Until, that is, someone, somewhere had the bright idea to attach the nickname ‘Sindr’ to the new app. This is a play, of course, on the popular ‘dating’ – who I am to judge? – apps Tinder and Grindr. (Themselves, it might be noted, no strangers to recent Catholic-related news stories.)

Now, not surprisingly, the Catholic App is a genuinely global news item. After all, what click-hungry subeditor could resist putting a piece out with the title ‘Done With Tinder? Try ‘Sindr,’ the Vatican’s New Confession Finder App’? Not the one at Time magazine, of all places, that’s for sure."

For more on this story see:- http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/11/23/the-sindr-app-sounds-silly-but-its-godsend-for-young-catholics/.

Friday 25 November 2016

Catholics Everywhere Should be Grateful for the Four Cardinals’ Appeal - "Abandoning a Belief in Absolute Moral Norms would be a Catastrophe for the Church"





Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith from the Catholic Herald explains why we need absolute moral norms, as explained in Pope John Paul's encyclical, "Veritatis Splendor," he writes:-

"Everyone is talking about the dubia, and so I will too, not that there is much need, given the already excellent and authoritative commentary that has come from a variety of sources, as, for example the scholar monk Dom Hugh Somerville-Knapman and the much respected Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the prelate who works at the very margins of the Church in Kazakhstan. Indeed, what need is there for commentary at all, when one of the authors of the dubia is Cardinal Caffarra, perhaps the greatest of our theologians, and another is Cardinal Burke, the best of our canonists?"

For more excellent analysis see:- http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/11/24/catholics-everywhere-should-be-grateful-for-the-four-cardinals-appeal/#.WDhuzFn5GqV.twitter.

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Urgent Message to the Catholic World from Bishop Athanasius Schneider. " A Prophetic Voice of Four Cardinals of the Holy Roman Catholic Church"

NB: The following post was submitted to Rorate Caeli today by His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider. We not only allow but encourage all traditional media and blogs to reprint this post and carry his critical message far and wide. Also: We know for a fact there are other prelates possessing both the true Faith and real backbone. You cardinals and bishops may also take advantage of our global readership by submitting your defense of the Four Cardinals here on Rorate. We urge you to do so.
By Bishop Athanasius Schneider
Special to Rorate Caeli
November 23, 2016
“We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Cor. 13: 8)

A Prophetic Voice of Four Cardinals of the Holy Roman Catholic Church

In publishing a plea for clarity in a matter that touches the truth and the sanctity simultaneously of the three sacraments of Marriage, Penance, and the Eucharist, the Four Cardinals only did their basic duty as bishops and cardinals, which consists in actively contributing so that the revelation transmitted through the Apostles might be guarded sacredly and might be faithfully interpreted. It was especially the Second Vatican Council that reminded all the members of the college of bishops as legitimate successors of the Apostles of their obligation, according to which “by Christ's institution and command they have to be solicitous for the whole Church, and that this solicitude, though it is not exercised by an act of jurisdiction, contributes greatly to the advantage of the universal Church. For it is the duty of all bishops to promote and to safeguard the unity of faith and the discipline common to the whole Church” (Lumen gentium, 23; cf. also Christus Dominus, 5-6).
In making a public appeal to the Pope, bishops and cardinals should be moved by genuine collegial affection for the Successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ on earth, following the teaching of Vatican Council II (cf. Lumen gentium, 22); in so doing they render "service to the primatial ministry" of the Pope (cf. Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, 13).

The entire Church in our days has to reflect upon the fact that the Holy Spirit has not in vain inspired Saint Paul to write in the Letter to the Galatians about the incident of his public correction of Peter. One has to trust that Pope Francis will accept this public appeal of the Four Cardinals in the spirit of the Apostle Peter, when St Paul offered him a fraternal correction for the good of the whole Church. May the words of that great Doctor of the Church, St Thomas Aquinas, illuminate and comfort us all: "When there is a danger for the faith, subjects are required to reprove their prelates, even publicly. Since Paul, who was subject to Peter, out of the danger of scandal, publicly reproved him. And Augustine comments: "Peter himself gave an example to superiors by not disdaining to be corrected by his subjects when it occurred to them that he had departed from the right path" (Summa theol., II-II, 33, 4c).
Pope Francis often calls for an outspoken and fearless dialogue between all members of the Church in matters concerning the spiritual good of souls. In the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia, the Pope speaks of a need for “open discussion of a number of doctrinal, moral, spiritual, and pastoral questions. The thinking of pastors and theologians, if faithful to the Church, honest, realistic and creative, will help us to achieve greater clarity” (n. 2). Furthermore, relationships at all levels within the Church must be free from a climate of fear and intimidation, as Pope Francis has requested in his various pronouncements.
In light of these pronouncements of Pope Francis and the principle of dialogue and acceptance of legitimate plurality of opinions, which was fostered by the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the unusually violent and intolerant reactions on behalf of some bishops and cardinals against the calm and circumspect plea of the Four Cardinals cause great astonishment. Among such intolerant reactions one could read affirmations such as, for instance: the four Cardinals are witless, naive, schismatic, heretical, and even comparable to the Arian heretics. 
Such apodictic merciless judgments reveal not only intolerance, refusal of dialogue, and irrational rage, but demonstrate also a surrender to the impossibility of speaking the truth, a surrender to relativism in doctrine and practice, in faith and life. The above-mentioned clerical reaction against the prophetic voice of the Four Cardinals parades ultimately powerlessness before the eyes of the truth. Such a violent reaction has only one aim: to silence the voice of the truth, which is disturbing and annoying the apparently peaceful nebulous ambiguity of these clerical critics. 
The negative reactions to the public statement of the Four Cardinals resemble the general doctrinal confusion of the Arian crisis in the fourth century. It is helpful to all to quote in the situation of the doctrinal confusion in our days some affirmations of Saint Hilary of Poitiers, the “Athanasius of the West”.“You [the bishops of Gaul] who still remain with me faithful in Christ did not give way when threatened with the onset of heresy, and now by meeting that onset you have broken all its violence. Yes, brethren, you have conquered, to the abundant joy of those who share your faith: and your unimpaired constancy gained the double glory of keeping a pure conscience and giving an authoritative example” (Hil. De Syn., 3).“Your [the bishops of Gaul] invincible faith keeps the honourable distinction of conscious worth and, content with repudiating crafty, vague, or hesitating action, safely abides in Christ, preserving the profession of its liberty. For since we all suffered deep and grievous pain at the actions of the wicked against God, within our boundaries alone is communion in Christ to be found from the time that the Church began to be harried by disturbances such as the expatriation of bishops, the deposition of priests, the intimidation of the people, the threatening of the faith, and the determination of the meaning of Christ’s doctrine by human will and power. Your resolute faith does not pretend to be ignorant of these facts or profess that it can tolerate them, perceiving that by the act of hypocritical assent it would bring itself before the bar of conscience” (Hil. De Syn., 4).“I have spoken what I myself believed, conscious that I owed it as my soldier’s service to the Church to send to you in accordance with the teaching of the Gospel by these letters the voice of the office which I hold in Christ. It is yours to discuss, to provide and to act, that the inviolable fidelity in which you stand you may still keep with conscientious hearts, and that you may continue to hold what you hold now” (Hil. De Syn., 92).
The following words of Saint Basil the Great, addressed to the Latin Bishops, can be in some aspects applied to the situation of those who in our days ask for doctrinal clarity, including our Four Cardinals: “The one charge which is now sure to secure severe punishment is the careful keeping of the traditions of the Fathers. We are not being attacked for the sake of riches, or glory, or any temporal advantages. We stand in the arena to fight for our common heritage, for the treasure of the sound faith, derived from our Fathers. Grieve with us, all you who love the brethren, at the shutting of the mouths of our men of true religion, and at the opening of the bold and blasphemous lips of all that utter unrighteousness against God. The pillars and foundation of the truth are scattered abroad. We, whose insignificance has allowed of our being overlooked, are deprived of our right of free speech” (Ep. 243, 2.4).
Today those bishops and cardinals, who ask for clarity and who try to fulfill their duty in guarding sacredly and faithfully interpreting the transmitted Divine Revelation concerning the Sacraments of Marriage and the Eucharist, are no longer exiled as it was with the Nicene bishops during the Arian crisis. Contrary to the time of the Arian crisis, today, as wrote Rudolf Graber, the bishop of Ratisbone, in 1973, exile of the bishops is replaced by hush-up strategies and by slander campaigns (cf. Athanasius und die Kirche unserer Zeit, Abensberg 1973, p. 23).  
Another champion of the Catholic faith during the Arian crisis was Saint Gregory Nazianzen. He wrote the following striking characterization of the behavior of the majority of the shepherds of the Church in those times. This voice of the great Doctor of the Church should be a salutary warning for the bishops of all times: "Surely the pastors have done foolishly; for, excepting a very few, who either on account of their insignificance were passed over, or who by reason of their virtue resisted, and who were to be left as a seed and root for the springing up again and revival of Israel by the influences of the Spirit, all temporized, only differing from each other in this, that some succumbed earlier, and others later; some were foremost champions and leaders in the impiety, and others joined the second rank of the battle, being overcome by fear, or by interest, or by flattery, or, what was the most excusable, by their own ignorance" (Orat. 21, 24).
When Pope Liberius in 357 signed one of the so called formulas of Sirmium, in which he deliberately discarded the dogmatically defined expression “homo-ousios” and excommunicated Saint Athanasius in order to have peace and harmony with the Arian and Semi-Arian bishops of the East, faithful Catholics and some few bishops, especially Saint Hilary of Poitiers, were deeply shocked. Saint Hilary transmitted the letter that Pope Liberius wrote to the Oriental bishops, announcing the acceptance of the formula of Sirmium and the excommunication of Saint Athanasius. In his deep pain and dismay, Saint Hilary added to the letter in a kind of desperation the phrase: “Anathema tibi a me dictum, praevaricator Liberi” (I say to you anathema, prevaricator Liberius), cf. Denzinger-Schönmetzer, n. 141. Pope Liberius wanted to have peace and harmony at any price, even at the expense of the Divine truth. In his letter to the heterodox Latin bishops Ursace, Valence, and Germinius announcing to them the above-mentioned decisions, he wrote that he preferred peace and harmony to martyrdom (cf. cf. Denzinger-Schönmetzer, n. 142).“In what a dramatic contrast stood the behavior of Pope Liberius to the following conviction of Saint Hilary of Poitiers: “We don’t make peace at the expense of the truth by making concessions in order to acquire the reputation of tolerance. We make peace by fighting legitimately according to the rules of the Holy Spirit. There is a danger to ally surreptitiously with unbelief under the beautiful name of peace.” (Hil. Ad Const., 2, 6, 2).
Blessed John Henry Newman commented on these unusual sad facts with the following wise and equilibrated affirmation: “While it is historically true, it is in no sense doctrinally false, that a Pope, as a private doctor, and much more Bishops, when not teaching formally, may err, as we find they did err in the fourth century. Pope Liberius might sign a Eusebian formula at Sirmium, and the mass of Bishops at Ariminum or elsewhere, and yet they might, in spite of this error, be infallible in their ex cathedra decisions” (The Arians of the Fourth Century, London, 1876, p. 465).
The Four Cardinals with their prophetic voice demanding doctrinal and pastoral clarity have a great merit before their own conscience, before history, and before the innumerable simple faithful Catholics of our days, who are driven to the ecclesiastical periphery, because of their fidelity to Christ’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage. But above all, the Four Cardinals have a great merit in the eyes of Christ. Because of their courageous voice, their names will shine brightly at the Last Judgment. For they obeyed the voice of their conscience remembering the words of Saint Paul: “We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Cor 13: 8). Surely, at the Last Judgment the above-mentioned mostly clerical critics of the Four Cardinals will not have an easy answer for their violent attack on such a just, worthy, and meritorious act of these Four Members of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
The following words inspired by the Holy Spirit retain their prophetic value especially in view of the spreading doctrinal and practical confusion regarding the Sacrament of Marriage in our days: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4: 3-5). 
May all, who in our days still take seriously their baptismal vows and their priestly and episcopal promises, receive the strength and the grace of God so that they may reiterate together with Saint Hilary the words: “May I always be in exile, if only the truth begins to be preached again!” (De Syn., 78). This strength and grace we wish wholeheartedly to our Four Cardinals and as well as to those who criticize them.
+ Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana
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