Vatican: It’s not the “smoke of Satan” that’s the problem
THE VATICAN
Vatican Insider interviews Domenico Mogavero, Bishop of Mazara del Vallo (Sicily) and member of the Italian Episcopal Conference’s Immigration Commission
GIACOMO GALEAZZI
VATICAN CITY
“Paul VI spoke of “the smoke of Satan” when he entered the Vatican. Taking a look at recent news, what we area dealing with is not Satan’s smoke but the need for structural reform,” says Mogavero, who for many years was right hand man of the Secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), Camillo Ruini.
Is there a mud-slinging machine currently at work in the Vatican?
“Slander and informing are two fatal weapons that are used in a cold and calculating way when there are no valid reasons for attacking one’s adversaries. And the Church is no exception to this unwritten law. Nothing new under the sun. For example, the accusation of “modernism” is periodically launched against members of the Bishops’ Conference who are open and welcome dialogue and is particularly nasty because the accused have no real way of defending themselves. It’s their word against that of their accusers. This makes for a very weak defence.”
The Vatileak scandal still rages on today, partly as a result of the legacy of unresolved issues left behind by John Paul II. Is he really a “popestar” as some have defined him?
“Karol Wojtyla was a great pastor, but there are some structural problems that still need to be resolved. For example, I would like it if there were opportunities for more direct and frank discussions with the Pope, given that, as bishops, we are all successors of the Apostles and so we care for all Churches alongside him. The Pope is an Italian bishop to all effects and purposes, although the way he exercises his ministry is atypical compared to that of other bishops. He is Pope because he is the Bishop of Rome, not the other way round. The appointment of the Pope as president is a choice which is based on a contingent fact and can be modified at any time. I personally believe that making the common laws which apply to other conferences, apply also to the Italian Episcopal Conference would not threaten the Pope’s role as Primate of the Catholic Church, but would rightly give Italian bishops a key role in the management of the body that represents their communion and care for all Churches. When this will happen I am not sure, but I hope it will not take too long before it does.”
What triggered the current crisis in the Holy See?
“The connecting fabric of ecclesiastical communities has weakened in a number of ecclesiastical bodies. Even the principle of authority which once constituted a qualifying element is constantly questioned today. I believe tough challenges and difficulties still lie ahead for us but I also see these as an equivalent to the period of burial of the Lord Jesus and that they are a prelude to a resurrection which will breath fresh air and new energy into the Church, once it is purified from the evil and scandals which taint its image and cloud its mission. The secret to efficient ecclesiastical action is all in the harmony between what the Church teaching offers and the expectations people have, bearing in mind the sacredness of the Bible and its irreducibility to purely human ways of thinking.”
Does the role of movements within the Church need to be rethought?
“I think that the chapter of Church history written by various movements in the second half of the twentieth century had up sides and down sides. This is purely a personal opinion, but a focus on certain elements has probably hindered a balanced vision and assessment of the phenomenon. Today, it is possible that a clearer ecclesial and ecclesiological framework is being drawn, which this experience can be channelled into, in a less emotive and instrumental manner. I am not concerned about the Church making mistakes; I would be far more concerned about the opposite occurring, because in this case the Church would not he truly human Of course I am not referring to mistakes linked to the truth of faith, if nothing else because these are not a human doing.”
Did the great Wojtyla style gatherings fail as a model?
“Mass demonstrations had a valid reason for taking place in the historical contexts in which they were encouraged and supported. Given that their impact on people’s life was not as conclusive as expected, the least we can do is not to attribute too much importance to them. At the same time, the right amount of emphasis needs to be given to the less manifest but more efficient action of Christian education, which guides people in communicating the strength of their convictions and transmitting values which help individuals grow, illustrating the value of social life and opening it up to a commitment towards the common good. One key aspect is relations between Holy See bodies and local Churches. Local Churches enjoy a subjectivity and autonomy that are only subordinate to Holy See regulations on certain occasions. It is important to bear in mind that infallibility is a prerogative that only the Pope and the ecumenical Council have and only as far as faith and morality are concerned.”
Source: Vatican Insider: vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/mogavero-16636/
Even though he’s speaking mostly about the Itailian Episcopal conference, I think +Mogavero comes close to one aspect of the problems (smoke or not) when he stated: “Even the principle of authority which once constituted a qualifying element is constantly questioned today. ”
Could this be caused by the ‘new’ understanding of collegiality?
So close, yet so far.
www.dotmvt.org/paulvi-smoke.jpg
[In a more serious vein]
Dispersing the Smoke of Satan: What is wrong with the people in the Catholic Church?
by Doug Lawrence
Just Another Faithful Catholic
6/21/11
douglawrence.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/dispersing-the-smoke-of-satan-what-is-wrong-with-the-people-in-the-catholic-church/
The one, true Church of Jesus Christ has recently fallen on hard times.
Since 1965, the Catholic Church has experienced the liberal/modernist onslaught, the post-Vatican II revolution and deconstruction, the takeover of the seminaries by self-loathing homosexuals and progressive anarchists, the decimation of the ranks of the ministerial priesthood, the dilution, distortion, denial and obfuscation of traditional Catholic doctrines and practices, a huge loss of faith by the laity, the overthrow of the power of the church hierarchy by government secularists, and in the wake of the so-called pedophile priest scandal … the confiscation and dissipation of church assets, by force of law.
Pope Paul VI called it “The Smoke of Satan”. Pope John Paul I died before he could come to terms with it. John Paul II had the chutzpah to call it “The New Springtime” and Benedict XVI took a seemingly more practical stance, looking for “A Smaller, Purer Church” (something he just might get.)
The Church’s official “party line” has been to accept all this as “the will of God” and simply carry on as before … in the “Spirit of Vatican II” … whatever that’s supposed to mean.
About the only “bright spots” we can find in the church during this entire period of time are the courageous but still largely unrealized gains made in Eastern Europe by Pope John Paul II, and the intriguing potential of Pope Benedict’s recent Anglican Initiative, where he took it upon himself to side-step the church’s ineffective ecumenical office (which had accomplished absolutely nothing, for over 40 years) and unilaterally act to set up a simple process by which disaffected Anglicans could move over to the Catholic Church en-mass, with a minimum of pain and inconvenience.
We need many more bold initiatives like these, and we also need a return to a strong, decisive, infallible papacy (as opposed to a limp-wristed, ineffective, collegial and highly political bishopric.)
We need a return to the traditional faith and traditionally sound liturgies, and we need to better support, appreciate, love, honor and defend our priests.
We need complete, correct, convenient, authentically Catholic, traditional catechesis for every age group, along with a streamlined RCIA program that takes only weeks … instead of months … to complete.
We need to revitalize and reform the Catholic school system … from preschool, all the way up through the universities and seminaries.
We need to prune the “dead wood” from the Vatican and all the various dicasteries, chanceries and parish offices.
We need to make sure that organizations calling themselves Catholic really are.
We need to once again begin to dedicate Sunday
(all of it) to nothing other than the worship, study, contemplation and appreciation of Almighty God.
Finally, we need to wake the bulk of the world’s
1.2 billion Catholics from their self-imposed slumber and powerfully remind them of who they are,
and what they are called by God, to be.
If we begin to do all this in faith, then God will certainly lead us forward. If not, this mess in which we we presently find ourselves will likely continue to worsen … and we will all deservedly suffer the consequences!
This is a time for heroes, for straight talk, for prayer, and for inspired, creative thinking. This is a time for good people of action (and substantial intestinal fortitude) to step up, realize their true vocation, and become saints.
I’m intrigued by the final sentence (highlighted in red). I guess the eminent Cardinal has never heard of the papal primacy and the power of immediate jurisdiction of the papacy?
Good Lord, these men think we’re idiots.
I guess the eminent Cardinal has never heard of the papal primacy and the power of immediate jurisdiction of the papacy?
I’m not sure he was arguing against the immediate jurisdiction of the pontiff, but inferring limits. Don’t some traditionalists infer limits?
No, when he says, “Local Churches enjoy a subjectivity and autonomy that are only subordinate to Holy See regulations on certain occasions,” he’s implying the post-conciliar notion of collegiality — and that has practically eradicated the use of primacy and immediate jurisdiction.
You want examples of “subjectivity and autonomy” of local churches? Try Albany and Rochester New York. Liturgical “inculturation” eliminating any visible connection with “sacrifice” during Mass in countless dioceses.
No thank you.
So he wants to solve the present paralysis by the application of yet more collegiality. That at least is symetrical. Perhaps you know that the Council was unable to pass collegiality–not the least through the resistance of the Archbishop. But ever since then they have acted as if it passed. This is a common modernist tactic, maybe a common human trait. We act in schools and textbooks as if Evolution had long since been established as a working principle, for example, when of course it hasn’t. The Holy Father still has all his faculties and powers, he just doesn’t use them.