A Franciscan Woodstock: "We are billion year old carbon, we are caught in the devil's bargain, and we got to get ourselves back to the garden"

POPE FRANCIS' ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

"Unlikely New Foe for Republican Candidates: the Pope"

Vanity Fair, June 17, 2015.

Cardinal Sarah's article for L'Osservatore Romano on the Traditional Missal and the Paul VI Missal

Exclusive Rorate translation HERE.

" Cardinal: 'What Sister Lucia told me: Final Confrontation between the Lord and Satan will be over Family and Marriage.'"

Cardinal Carlo Caffara (Archbishop of Bologna), "A Cardinal tells: Sister Lucia wrote me ..." (Rorate Caeli, June 17, 2015).

Draft of Papal encyclical, "Laudato Si," online

Here (Italian pdf file), via Rorate.

The intellectual & moral sloth of those caving in to sodomite "marriage"

Robert R. Reilly, "Failing to make the moral case for marriage" (Catholic World Report, June 12, 2015).

An excellent, full-throttled expose and analysis. The opening quotation from Judge Richard Posner of the 7th Circuit Court ruling (Sept. 4, 2014) against the Indiana & Wisconsin laws restricting marriage to a man and woman gives the reason why:

"The state [Wisconsin] does not mention Justice Alito’s invocation [in the Windsor case] of a moral case against same-sex marriage, when he states in his dissent that ‘others explain the basis for the institution in more philosophical terms. They argue that marriage is essentially the solemnizing of a comprehensive, exclusive, permanent union that is intrinsically ordered to producing new life, even if it does not always do so.’ [US v. Windsor, 133 S.Ct. 2675, 2718 (2013).] That is a moral argument for limiting marriage to heterosexuals. The state does not mention the argument because as we said, it mounts no moral arguments against same-sex marriage.” [Baskin v. Bogan, 766 F.3d 648, 669 (7th Cir. 2014) (emphasis added).]

Why are no moral arguments offered by the defenders of bona fide marriage? Because of moral cowardice and sloth. It takes some intellectual effort to argue for something that was always taken to be obvious. Presuppositions need to be unearthed and examined. And when the tide has turned against the obviousness of what was once taken for obvious, it takes moral fortitude to stand against the mocking crowds.

There is no dearth of sound arguments, and time is ultimately on the side of tradition, even though the interim will likely be a bloodbath:

The homosexual movement will not succeed in the long run. Dream worlds do not last. They invariably turn into nightmares from which people eventually wake themselves. How long that takes and how much damage it incurs in the meantime will depend partly on us.

Reflecting on his experiences in Nazi Germany where he had been imprisoned, Heinrich Rommen wrote: “When one of the relativist theories is made the basis of a totalitarian state, man is stirred to free himself from the pessimistic resignation that characterizes these relativist theories and to return to his principles.” We have the means at hand to return to this country’s first principles: they are called “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” We need them now as much as did our Founders. Let us return to them forthwith -- before it is too late.

[Hat tip to JM]

Tridentine Community News - EF Masses to be celebrated by Fr. Tim Ferguson, Bishop Boyea; EF Mass at Newman Ctr, Lincoln, NE; Confessions at Solanus Casey Center; Mass times

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (June 14, 2015):

Fr. Tim Ferguson to Celebrate Mass at St. Josaphat

Many of our readers know Fr. Tim Ferguson from his days as a parishioner at St. Josaphat and in his former role as a Canon Lawyer for the Archdiocese of Detroit. He was recently ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan. His first Holy Mass after ordination was in the Extraordinary Form, with at least two metro Detroiters in attendance. Fr. Tim will return to St. Josaphat next Sunday, June 21, to celebrate the 9:30 AM Tridentine Mass. He has been assigned to St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, which perhaps not so coincidentally was the site of Extraordinary Form Masses formerly celebrated by current Oakland County Latin Mass Association Chaplain and fellow Canon Lawyer Msgr. Ronald Browne.

First EF Mass at Newman Center, Lincoln, Nebraska

An astute reader reported some good news concerning the new Newman Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, a new church constructed in the traditional style which was featured in our May 31 column. The very day before, on May 30, 2015, the Newman Center hosted its first Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form, an ordination Mass for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Bishop James Conley ordained six priests there, a most fitting choice considering that the previous site for FSSP ordinations, the Cathedral of the Diocese of Lincoln, has often been noted for being too modern architecturally for such ceremonies.

Confirmations in the EF at the OCLMA

A reminder for those who have not yet heard: The Oakland County Latin Mass Association has been granted permission to have the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form administered to those who express a desire and are prepared. Confirmations will take place at the 9:45 AM Mass on Sunday, November 8, 2015 at the Chapel of the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills. His Excellency Donald F. Hanchon, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, will administer the Sacrament. Those with an interest are urged to speak with Chaplain Msgr. Ronald Browne promptly, or to contact us via e-mail at: info@oclma.org. Since there are few occasions to receive this Sacrament in the Extraordinary Form, candidates from the entire Detroit metropolitan area are invited to apply.

Bishop Boyea to Celebrate EF Mass on June 26


Bishop Earl Boyea of the Diocese of Lansing has a long track record of celebrating Holy Masses in the Extraordinary Form, dating back to 2005 at St. Josaphat. His Excellency will offer the monthly Last Friday Mass for Juventútem on June 26 at 7:00 PM at St. Patrick Church in Brighton. A social and dance for young adults age 18-35 will follow the Mass; those of all ages are, as always, invited to the Mass. [Photo of Bishop Boyea at Old St. Patrick, Ann Arbor from the Unam Sanctam Cathólicam blog]

Confessions at Solanus Casey Center

A reader suggested that we make known the fact that the Sacrament of Confession is available six days per week, for many hours of the day, at Detroit’s [Fr.] Solanus Casey Center. Also known as the Capuchin Monastery of St. Bonaventure, the Solanus Center is regarded as the “Starbucks of Confessions” for its convenience. It’s not a secret; there is almost always a (short) line of penitents waiting, no matter the day or time. Visitors also have the opportunity to pray at the tomb of Fr. Solanus.

Confessions are heard Monday through Saturday on the hour at 10:00 AM, 11:00, 12:00 Noon, 2:00 PM, 3:00, and 4:00. The priest remains until all Confessions have been heard. There are two confessionals; a second priest helps out when the line gets long.

It is worth mentioning that the Confessions are heard without hurry, and absolution is given in proper (Ordinary) form. The Solanus Center is located at 1780 Mt. Elliott St. at Kercheval, approximately one mile north of Jefferson. Guarded parking is available in the lot on the north side of the property, with the vehicle entrance off Kercheval.

A little-known fact about St. Bonaventure’s is that there is a hidden chapel, located behind the now-unusable High Altar of the modernized main chapel, which, unlike that main chapel, is fairly traditionally arranged, including its own High Altar.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 06/15 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Vitus & Companions, Martyrs)
• Tue. 06/16 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for June 14, 2015. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and east Michigan

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Sunday


• Sun. 06/07/9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/14 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/14 9:45 AM: High Mass at the Chapel of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/14 12:00 Noon: High Mass at St. Albertus, Detroit (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/14 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
  
• Sun. 06/14 4:00 PM High Mass All Saints Catholic Church, Flint (3rd Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)


Monday


• Mon. 06/15 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Vitus & Companions - 3rd class)
• Mon. 06/15 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Vitus & Companions - 3rd class)
• Mon. 06/15 7:00 PM: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class, or St. Vitus & Companions - 3rd class)
  
  Tuesday
  
  
• Tue. 06/16 7:00 AM High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class)
• Tue. 06/16 7:00 PM: High Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada (Feria - 4th class)
• Tue. 06/16 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Feria - 4th class)
  
  Wednesday
  
  
• Wed. 06/17 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Gregory Barbarigo - 3rd class)
• Wed. 06/17 7:00: High Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Gregory Barbarigo - 3rd class)
  
  Thursday
  
  
• Thu. 06/18 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Ephrem of Syria - 3rd class)
• Thu. 06/18 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Ephrem of Syria - 3rd class)
  
  Friday
  
  
• Fri. 06/19 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Juliana of Falconieri - 3rd class)
• Fri. 06/19 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (St. Juliana of Falconieri - 3rd class)
• Fri. 06/12 7:00 PM: Low Mass (usually) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (St. Juliana of Falconieri - 3rd class)
  
  Saturday
  
  
• Sat. 06/20 7:30 AM: High or Low Mass (varies) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (Saturday of Our Lady - 4th class, or St. Silverius - 4th class)
  
  Sunday
  
  
• Sun. 06/21 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat, Detroit (4th Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/21 9:30 AM: High Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit (4th Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/21 9:45 AM: High Mass at the Chapel of the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills (4th Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/21 12:00 Noon: High Mass at St. Albertus, Detroit (4th Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
• Sun. 06/21 2:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church, Windsor, Canada (4th Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)
  
• Sun. 06/21 4:00 PM High Mass All Saints Catholic Church, Flint (4th Sunday after Pentecost - 2nd class)

A review article by Thomas Storck: "Liturgy that Speaks to the Soul"

Review article by Thomas Storck
 
Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis: Sacred Liturgy, the Traditional Latin Mass, and Renewal in the Church.  By Peter Kwasniewski. Angelico Press. 212 pages. $16.95. 

Peter Kwasniewski, a professor of philosophy and theology at Wyoming Catholic College, has written a wide-ranging book consisting of articles, most of which originally appeared in The Latin Mass magazine, that pin the many problems in the Catholic Church today — indeed, over the past fifty years — on the state of the liturgy. In question here is the Mass of the Latin Church, or Roman rite, whose ancient liturgy was replaced in 1970 with a “new order of Mass,” or Novus Ordo Missae, which has weakened or even destroyed the sacred atmosphere or ethos that was long associated with Catholic worship.

At the beginning of his book, Kwasniewski accurately sums up the current situation in the Church. “Since the Second Vatican Council,” he writes, “the Roman Catholic Church has experienced an unprecedented crisis in her very identity, extending even to her hitherto impregnable sacred doctrine and spirituality, her apostolic and missionary activity.” Everyone reading this is, no doubt, aware that not only are the majority of Catholics today poorly catechized, but a large number who are better instructed — clergy, for example, or academics — think nothing of rejecting important aspects of the sacred inheritance of doctrine received from our Lord Himself and His Apostles, while the bishops, appointed guardians of their flocks, do little or nothing about it. Many have blamed this sorry state of affairs chiefly on the new Mass introduced by Bl. Pope Paul VI, especially as it is typically celebrated at ordinary parishes. In order to explain the deleterious effects the change in the Mass has produced, or at least contributed to, commentators have tended to use two types of arguments, and Kwasniewski does likewise.

In the first place, Kwasniewski concentrates on the actual text of the Novus Ordo, pointing out that its wording is poorer theologically than that codified by Pope St. Pius V in the sixteenth century. When one compares, for example, the Offertory prayers of the Mass of Paul VI (the ordinary form), with those of the Mass of Pius V (the extraordinary form), one is struck by the theological depth of the latter. Since it is rare for a priest who celebrates the Novus Ordo to use the traditional Roman Canon (Canon I), even the Eucharistic Prayer has suffered a definite diminution in its presentation of the mysteries of the faith. Although this loss is certainly real, arguments of this type can be overdrawn, for the theological richness of the extraordinary form is contained in prayers said or sung in Latin, a language no longer understood by most of the congregation. Moreover, the congregation does not even hear some of the prayers in the Latin Mass (notably the Offertory and Canon) since the celebrant prays them in a low voice. Although most of those who attend the extraordinary form of the Roman rite probably use a missal, and thus can profit from this theological richness, was this true before the Council when this Mass was normative throughout the Latin Church? I do not know, but we cannot simply assume that what obtains at the present among the admittedly small number of traditional Latin Mass devotees was the norm for the entire Church in an earlier era.

Kwasniewski employs a second common line of criticism of the Novus Ordo that is by far stronger. James Hitchcock, in his 1974 book The Recovery of the Sacred, summed up this argument: “In the actual life of the Church, most sacred symbols are not understood by most believers in an explicit, intellectual way, but are nonetheless apprehended as having meaning…. The total effect of these symbols is to sustain a strong belief in God, even though specific symbols may not always convey specific religious meanings.”

The atmosphere of the Latin Mass, especially a sung Mass, is entirely different from that of the typical Novus Ordo Mass. The former bespeaks a sacred action, something focused on another world, and seems to bring something from that other world into ours now, as indeed actually occurs in the eucharistic sacrifice. But the new Mass at best struggles to retain some of that sacred atmosphere, and at worst has descended into a sort of religious banality. Kwasniewski is well aware of this. “If the liturgy cannot immediately show something meaningful to a wide-eyed child, then it has failed,” he writes. “The bowing priest reciting the Confiteor, the acolyte swinging a censer, the subdeacon, deacon and priest aligned hierarchically during solemn Mass, the awesome stillness of the Roman Canon — all these things speak directly to the heart, to the heart even of a little child…. The Novus Ordo liturgy has little to say to such souls because it only says, it does not do.”

More than once Kwasniewski hits on what he calls the “never-ending verbiage” of the Novus Ordo.

Hillary Clinton: "religious beliefs have to be changed"

Catch a glimpse of that wannabe-Schutzstaffel-fascist-dictator glint in Hillary's eye as she pontificates that we need to change our "deep-seated" religious views in this country, in order to celebrate rather than repress the right of women and girls to "participation in every aspect of their society" (What's so controversial about that? Oh, how could I have missed it: she means the exhilarating privilege of participating in the freedoms of baby-killing):



Even more ominous, listen the lemmings applaud her statement. Ugh. The road to tyranny is paved with idiocy.

Magister: "Synod. Cardinal Antonelli’s Twofold Cry of Alarm"

Sandro Magister, "Synod. Cardinal Antonelli’s Twofold Cry of Alarm" (www.chiesa, June 12, 2015): "For five years he presided over the pontifical council for the family. Communion for the divorced and remarried, he warns, would mark not only the debasement of the Eucharist, but also the end of the sacrament of marriage ..."

What is the appeal in looking like a branch of the UN?

Guy Noir - Private Eye, our underground correspondent we keep on retainer in an Atlantic seaboard city that knows how to keep its secrets, also seemed quite excercized about this, as he communicated recently:

Much better to sound like a government official than a Pope, even if we insist we are no NGO. When there is a "Speaker's Line Up" and an "official presentation," you realize we have ceased to be dealing with religion and are instead competing with government and celebrity machines. How long before we see The EarthKeeper's Bible or Spiritual Disciplines for the Environmentally-Aware...?

Here were are: Augustinus, "For Pope's Environment Encyclical, an unusual line-up of presenters for official Vatican press conference, including climate change radical" (Rorate Caeli, June 10, 2015):

he Vatican has just revealed in today's Bollettino the line-up of speakers for the official presentation of the "Environment Encyclical", Laudato Si, on June 18 at the New Synod Hall.

The most interesting is probably Prof. John Schellnhuber, Founding Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, proponent of a "zero-carbon world," known for his "aggressive stance on climate policy," and for having famously declared in 2009 that the "carrying capacity" of the Earth is less than one billion people! He is also known, according to Augustinus, for his "intense advocacy of rapid de-industrialization in order to stave off global warming." You've really got to read the quotes to believe this guy's for real. And, last but not least, he is an advocate of a real form of "World Government," something advanced also in the cause of climate control. One has to wonder why the Vatican selected him to be the sole layman and environmental "expert" to present on the occasion of the debut of the Pope's new encyclical. Really.

An excellent post on the Sacra Liturgia Conference

"Binary Barrier: Sacra Liturgia Conference" (The Rad Trad, June 7, 2015):

John R has published his account of the speakers at the Sacra Liturgia conference in New York City. Conferences and other forms of controlled mob interaction allow leaders to influence their potential cliques, for the cliques to share their ideas, for prejudices to be confirmed, or for new ideas about piety and theology to be inculcated. This year's conference is interesting both for what it discussed and what it failed to discuss.

A constantly reiterated goal of this blog is to broaden conversation about the Catholic Church's liturgy beyond the duality of the "OF" and "EF" Roman books—the liturgy of Paul VI and the rite of Econe John XXIII. The 1962 liturgy is not an accurate reflection of the Roman tradition nor is the Roman tradition the only legitimate liturgy in the Latin Church, much less in the Church universal. The speakers at the Sacra Liturgia conference seem blissfully aware of this pair of simple facts. John recounts that all the speakers on the docket engaged in the same predictable and tired lecture formulae that we have heard since mid-2007: commence with turgid quotations from Sacrosanctum Concilium, explain how the glorious document was ignored, commend the reverence of the "EF", speak at length about how the "OF" can learn from the "EF," and gratuitously add that the "OF" does have a number of significant improvements that could benefit the "EF."

Every supposedly traditional liturgist has some item on the list wherein they believe that the "OF" praxis could improve the "EF", yet they never have a consensus as to what. Dom Anderson OSB favors the variety of prefaces in the Pauline rite. Other writers applaud the Pauline lectionary for "opening" Scripture to the people. The local tongue allows for greater participation. It is almost as though to baptize one's views on the "EF" one must agree that the "OF" has something to offer the Church not contained in the other rites practiced now or in history by the faithful.

Only Alcuin Reid broke beyond this binary set of numbers, and he did so because he wanted to prevent a third figure from entering his set of 1s and 0s. At the local level, priests and some laity are increasingly interested in the genuine old rite, particularly in the un-Pianized Holy Week. This past year saw a proliferation in Holy Week celebrations according to older usages, celebrations wisely un-publicized by the faithful. The diocesan bishop is unlikely to care, but the district superior of the FSSP is.

Reid spoke of the improvements wrought by Pius XII which ought not be undone. The veritas horarum meant that the "Easter Vigil" was "restored" to the right time, and hence it properly should conclude with Lauds as the liturgy welcomes the morning of the Resurrection rather than the nightfall of Vespers (one wonders if he has read any medieval accounts of Holy Week or attended the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great). Communion ought to be given on Good Friday, even if it was not done anywhere else East or West. The celebrant need not read texts already read by other ministers—as though it detracts from the celebration in some way. Reid emphasized that the "Liturgy is not frozen in amber and one cannot glorify a certain year or cut-off point for pristine Liturgy." Reid is right, but does not mean this in the same way that I would mean this. Reid is warning people not to nurture too strong an interest in the liturgy as it existed before Pacelli. He wants to preserve the binary barrier.

This is at the heart of the conference's short-comings and the defect in modern scholarship on the Roman rite. With rare exception, clerical and mainstream commentators are inextricably linked to the rite of Paul VI and of Econe John XXIII. They love one and hate the other. They love one and like the other. They are "pro-Benedict" and "anti-Francis." No one asks what the Roman liturgy actually is or why it matters. They will adumbrate their points with favorable quotations from Byzantine liturgists to reiterate the necessity of tradition without actually understanding what their liturgical heritage is.

The Roman liturgy is the liturgy used at St. Peter's basilica and by the Popes of the mid-first millennium. It consisted of the major hours of the Office to praise God throughout the day, not to "get graces," but because He is God and He deserves it. It also consisted of the Mass, served by the Pope and his ministers and centered on the ancient and venerable anaphora, the Roman Canon. Devotion and maximalism on the part of the Roman laity and monastics throughout Europe augmented the hours, added to the ritual of the Mass, and made of the tone of the Roman rite more reflective and subtle than those of its oriental counterparts. Reverence for the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles and expediency popularized its celebration throughout Europe. Ss. Gregory VII and Pius V tinkered with the ritual and with psalter a bit. It permeated the lives of the monastic and ordained faithful, many of them saints, for fourteen centuries. They did not write about it, nor did they hold conferences to debate how much of it was worth keeping. They prayed it and they lived it. Throughout those centuries, the local furnished the office with hymns, added prayers to the Mass, and created extravagant variations on the ritual. None of them dared to remove the essentials, though.

I often muse that had I entered Canterbury Cathedral during the age of Innocent III and bad king John, I could approach a monk about to celebrate his daily Mass. He would probably concede that many of the ecclesiastical issues of the day were open to debate: whether the pope was right to excommunicate John, whether the local embellishment of readings was legitimate, whether the resident cardinal or the Archbishop of Canterbury had primacy in England. He would scoff, though, at the idea he or anyone could alter the hours or the Canon of the Mass. Similarly, he would scoff at the idea every gesture at the hours or Mass was subject to regulation, either by Rome or by freestanding conferences.

Perhaps a future conference will delve into the depths of the Roman liturgy and explore what fruits it could offer to us today in our daily lives, how it can permeate the parish like it did the lives of the saints. Has anyone mentioned the simplicity of pre-1911 Compline? The same psalms and antiphons more or less every day with minimal variation? This would be an easy accommodation to the local church. Coped cantors in the sanctuary? An easy way to assimilate men into the choir who do not want to join the female clique in the loft. Octaves? A protracted celebration of the great feasts which aids us in understanding the magnificent things Christ has done for us. The old Holy Week times? Very helpful for families.

Above all, the Roman rite is not to be found in a set of particular books, but in a set of features (the kalendar system, the psalter, the Canon, and the rites for the great feasts). A deeper understanding of its origins and the near-constant veneration of it might give future speakers reason to pause before consigning portions of it to the dustbin because it does not belong to their binary number set.

[Hat tip to R.F.]

Synod conspirators muster: new member Archbishop of Berlin

Augustinus, "'Shadow Synod' participant is new Archbishop of Berlin" (Rorate Caeli, June 8, 2015): "Heiner Koch, 61 years old, Bishop of Dresden-Meiβen, as the new Archbishop of Berlin ... is now without question aligned with the 'progressivist' camp." He is also "one of the three German delegates to the 2015 Synod along with Reinhard Cardinal Marx of Munich and Franz-Josef Bode, Bishop of Osnabruck. Despite some conservative-sounding statements made by the Archbishop-elect during the Benedict years (such as a 2012 statement on the futility of discussing matters already closed by the Magisterium) he is now without question aligned with the "progressivist" camp. All three German delegates to the 2015 Synod have publicly come out in favor of the Kasper "hypothesis" and all three attended the now-infamous "Shadow Synod" held on May 25 at the Gregorianum in Rome.

"Papal Commissioner over the Franciscans of the Immaculate Fr. Volpi dies"

Rorate (June 7, 2015):