The purging and exile of traditionalists

The language is not mine. First, Fr. George Rutler was moved by Cardinal Dolan from the Church of Our Savior in midtown Manhattan and sent off packing to St. Michael's Hell's Kitchen.

And now two of the best known members of the Fransicans of the Immaculate, Father Serafino Lanzetta Mary and Father Paolo Maria Siano, have been discharged from their previous tasks and transferred -- the former to Austria and the latter to Africa.

What each of these individuals has in common is a deep commitment to the traditional Latin Mass whose free use was promoted by Pope Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum.

Details on the Franciscans are provided in "The Way to Exile -- Purge Against Franciscans of the Immaculate" (The Eponymous Flower, October 16, 2013):

(Florence) The dismantling of the Franciscans of the Immaculate continues. Two of the best known members of the order, Father Serafino Lanzetta Mary and Father Paolo Maria Siano were discharged from their previous tasks. Coordinamento Toscano formed in the wake of Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum is speaking of "purge" and "exile". Father Lanzettta was transferred to Austria, Father Siano to Africa. (Emphasis added)

Father and Father Paolo Serafino are among the most prominent participants in the discussion initiated by Benedict XVI. in the discussion of the Second Vatican Council and its interpretation. Both participated in the apostolate in lengthy and notable lecturing activity. Father Serafino M. Lanzetta participated as speaker at annual conferences for all Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum and he himself organized such meetings in the context of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Father Paolo M. Siano is a renowned Church Historian. Recently on the 10th of September, he presented his latest book in Rome about Freemasonry ( see separate report ). He dealt extensively with the spiritual roots and positions of the Lodges and their incompatibility with the Catholic faith. Similarly, the harmful influence of the Lodges and their fight against the Catholic Church.

Request to be Allowed to Continue to Celebrate the Old Rite as a Dividing Line?

With the approval of Pope Francis, the Congregation of Religious had placed the Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate under provisional administration of the Holy See last July. From the 11th of August all the priests of the Order are prohibited from celebrating the Traditional Rite. Everyone must seek a special permit, which allows a precise filing of each individual. Father Serafino and Father Paolo immediately sought the special permission and therefore were not presented the desired page. The Apostolic Commissioner granted permission, but with conditions.

Father Serafino is a young priest and promising theologian. His most recent book release includes Iuxta Modum, in which he mentions tradition as the only possible interpretation of the Second Vatican Council. Together with the Founder and Superior General, Father Manelli, he oversaw the publication of several conference proceedings of the Order, on topics such as Hell and The Second Vatican Council: a Pastoral Council. Historical-philosophical-theological Analysis. Under Pope Benedict XVI. he was welcome author in L'Osservatore Romano . In 2011 he was among those who warned against the "Spirit of Assisi".

The Famous Moral Theologian and Confessor Father Lanzetta to Austria

Father Lanzetta is mainly known, however, for his pastoral zeal, his devotion to Mary, and his work as a confessor. He has now been removed as pastor of Ognissanti in Florence, a Parish of the Order and one of their most important religious centers and has to also had to give up his teaching as a moral theologian at the Seminary of Mary Mediatrix. Originally it was effective immediately on the 4th of October that he was to leave Florence. Because of a bureaucratic settlement he may stay until the 21st of October. As an exile he was assigned to Kitzbühel in Tyrol, where is the only monastery of the Order in the German speaking area. In the absence of German language skills for a confessor a double turning point.

The Church Historian and Freemason Expert Father Siano Banished to Africa

Father Paolo M. Siano, whose recent publications on Freemasonry, as expected, could not remain without response, was transferred to Africa.

When the news became known on traditional internet sites in Italy, there was a flood of comments in which believers disappointed, appalled and disgusted feel of the procedure against the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Many commentators questioned the frequent calls to "Mercy" by Francis Pope and point towards the fact that the action against the Order has his endorsement and he even refused the Order the opportunity to file a protest. As Chiesa e Postconcilio (Post-Conciliar Church) states:

"Probably Pope Francis sees in the Franciscans of the Immaculate what he has called Pelagian. In the strange diction and liturgical 'sensibility' of the Pope it is probably: the Franciscans of the Immaculate celebrate the Old Mass, so they are nostalgic, because why else would you need the old, where the new is available, that which is exactly suitable, as Franciscans of the Immaculate deal intensively with the causes of the Church crisis, arranged on the coat tails of Benedict XVI and also suitably make heard their criticism of the Second Vatican Council but that is an 'ideological struggle' and that he does not understand. It is strange and painful just how one-sided is the perception of the Pope."

[Hat tip to G.M.]