This is so Angels and Demons.
I'm not sure the Vatileaks deal and subsequent investigations explain Pope Benedict's early retirement - because I really do take him at his word - but it surely must be a source of deep spiritual pain for the Holy Father. I believe it was St John of the Cross who said the holier the confessor the less he would be shocked by grave sins, likewise, I very much doubt the Holy Father was so 'freaked out' by the betrayal of his butler, or corruption in the Vatican that he decided to renounce the papacy.
Nevertheless, reports suggesting a homosexual network within the Vatican does come close to some of the intrigue associated with a Dan Brown conspiracy-theory-novel. Yet 'we' kinda, sorta knew this right? At least we suspected something like this. It wasn't that many years ago a gay priest scandal broke out involving Roman priests, and one or two of them worked and lived in Vatican City. If 'we' knew or suspected this stuff, so did Pope Ratzinger - or at least he heard the same rumours we did. So all I'm saying is, he couldn't have been all that shocked... and he certainly isn't 'fleeing the wolves'.
From Robert Moynihan 2/21/13
Today a veil of secrecy was shredded in this eternal city.The news story as it broke yesterday:
Today therefore marked the beginning of a difficult, important struggle for the purification of the government of the Church desired for so many years by Joseph Ratzinger.We were given a glimpse today into some of the reasons, previously unknown, that prompted Pope Benedict XVI to announce his resignation on February 11, to take effect February 28, in seven days, reasons that apparently "overwhelmed his spirit within him" and "made his heart desolate."It is a story that in many ways seems the plot of a novel.It is a story of blackmail and betrayal at the highest levels of the Church, and, allegedly, of a homosexual lobby organized within the Vatican to influence and obtain important decisions. - Moynihan Report
A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report said – were being blackmailed by outsiders.I've been talking about these things on this blog. Over and over. Noting especially the cliques? People have friends in high places... friends turn out to be support groups... Kind of like a network - not monolithic maybe, but it's there.
The pope's spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.
According to La Repubblica, the dossier comprising "two volumes of almost 300 pages – bound in red" had been consigned to a safe in the papal apartments and would be delivered to the pope's successor upon his election.
The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were "united by sexual orientation".
In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of a "worldly nature". The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail.
It quoted a source "very close to those who wrote [the cardinal's report]" as saying: "Everything revolves around the non-observance of the sixth and seventh commandments."
La Repubblica's report was the latest in a string of claims that a gay network exists in the Vatican. In 2007 a senior official was suspended from the congregation, or department, for the priesthood, after he was filmed in a "sting" organised by an Italian television programme while apparently making sexual overtures to a younger man.
In 2010 a chorister was dismissed for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. A few months later a weekly news magazine used hidden cameras to record priests visiting gay clubs and bars and having sex.
The Vatican does not condemn homosexuals. But it teaches that gay sex is "intrinsically disordered". Pope Benedict has barred sexually active gay men from studying for the priesthood. - Source
Art: Angels and Demons helicopter scene.
Disclaimer: Just remember details of the report have not been released and specualtions by the press have not been confirmed. Keep in mind both the right and the left use rumour and innuendo to their advantage.
integrity
ReplyDeleteAnd yet...Mt. 16:18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
ReplyDeleteTerry,
ReplyDeleteI think it is possible to both take the Holy Father at his word and understand how these problems led him to conclude that it would be best not to allow himself to slip into blindness while all this is going on. He has been a transitional pope who has made some great appointments and game changing decisions.
And you believe this report because.. they have been repeating this bs so many times you believe it? As with all conspiracy theories like this, any response (or lack of one) is seen as proof. The only thing which isn't given is real, credible evidence.
ReplyDeleteAre you serious, Anonymous? After all the sex abuse scandals, the cover up by 2/3 of the bishops in the U.S. the dozen or so homosexual bishops who've resigned, the continued scandals since the story first broke a decade ago.... There has been plenty of "credible evidence" and I think we will see more of it as time goes on. It certainly explains the mess in the Church. Thank God we can depend on the continued presence of the Holy Spirit with the poor, battered bride of Christ.
ReplyDeleteLook, I'm absolutely the last person to go around wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt or to vengefully knit the downfall of ecclesiastical aristocrats like some sort of Catholic Madame Defarge, but I really do wonder if it isn't time for the Papal Court and the Vatican institution to be dismantled, altogether, and replaced with something greatly downsized and de-centralized, much more transparent, and ultimately more edifying than the establishment that exists today.
ReplyDeleteI may not be the only orthodox Catholic who thinks the idea of Jesus Christ's Church being centrally misruled by a secretive and sordid bureaucracy of posh prelates awash in intrigue and scandal amidst Renaissance magnificence is unseemly, and perhaps not the only one to recognize that this state of affairs is becoming ever-increasingly laughable to the world around us.
The Vatican institution no longer seems to bear all that much resemblance to the Gospel, to be honest. In fact, it only seems to serve, anymore, to undermine the Catholic Church's claim on authentic Christianity in the eyes of so many who see a huge disconnect between the clandestine and corrupt Vatican behemoth and the freshness and open honesty of the Gospel message.
Perhaps step one of the New Evangelization is to recognize this unhappy state of affairs and begin to make drastic changes to an institution which seems to have outlived its usefulness and which may be doing more harm than good these days.
There used to be talk of openness and collegiality and a new Springtime. Not sure what happened, there, but maybe those ideas need to be explored once again.
James
to James, respectfully,... Bunk. The Church could be smaller, simpler, more austere; It could be down to twelve men in sandals and one of them would still betray Christ.
ReplyDeletePat:
ReplyDeleteGood point, however I'm not talking about the sins and betrayals of individual Judases. We'll always have that problem, and that doesn't bother me.
I'm talking about an entire institution at the very top that has become bloated and worldly and which seems to be, at this point, conceptually disconnected from the Apostolic model.
Is Jesus' Church meant to be a flock of his disciples led by shepherds or is it meant to be an ecclesiastical institution ruled by worldy clerical bureaucrats absorbed with partisan palace intrigues?
I'm not out there shouting "Down with the Pope" or anything. I simply imagine that it may be time to revisit how the Pope's ministry is organized, presented, and carried out, for the good of the whole Church. I don't think recognizing a need for serious reforms at this point amounts to bunk, myself. I think the need is pretty apparent.
James
It is a different thing to say, "He resigned due to blackmail," and another to say "There are problems which have to be dealt with." The Pope DID NOT resign due to external force or pressure. The whole meme is nonsense -- the whole idea is he is trying to hide and have immunity from prosecution. Again, anyone who has a brain knows: resigning does nothing. This is just more of the anti-Catholic meme being reused to say it made him resign.
ReplyDeleteThat a homosexual network exists at the highest levels of the Church was revealed to me by Fr. John O'Conner, O.P., may he rest in peace, at a CUF conference in the late 80s or early 90s. Fr. gave a disturbing message outlining the rise of homosexuals to power in Religious orders, and elsewhere in the Church, starting in the late 40s. During Q&A he was asked where one should make contributions in the Church to ensure they would be put to proper use; "Should we send them directly to the Pope?" Fr.'s answer, "No, Rome is part of the problem!" Of course Fr. John was abandoned by the hierarchy and ignored by most, but not all, Catholics. Will the next Pope be able to clean out the Aegean Stables of the institutional Church?
ReplyDelete~Anon.
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/061214
I wonder, of what would the blackmail consist?
ReplyDelete"If you don't do x, I will publicize that you are having wild sex orgies."
But what is x?
Sorry if the post offends readers, but it really isn't just a conspiracy theory - I'm sure it will be up to the next pope to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteNot long ago I did a post on a Polish priest who has discussed the problem as it exists in the Church. He wrote:
"Homoheresia is a rejection of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church on homosexuality. Supporters of homoheresia do not accept that any homosexual orientation is a personality disorder. They discredit the fact that homosexual acts are against the natural law. Defenders of homoheresia are in favor of the priesthood for gays. Homoheresia is a version of ecclesiastical homosexuality."
The post here:
http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2013/01/homoheresia.html
Sorry - you will have to copy and paste.
Men in the Church know this.
It has been ignored and denied for decades. Keep in mind Fr. Rueda's research published in The Homosexual Network: Private Lives and Public Policy. Published 1982
I don't make this stuff up.
(For some reason my 'reply' button doesnt work on individual comments.)
ReplyDeleteThomas, you ask:
I wonder, of what would the blackmail consist?
"If you don't do x, I will publicize that you are having wild sex orgies."
But what is x?
I think that's my next post! Thanks.
I'm coming out of lurkerdom just to say that the whole issue of cliques, etc., in church beauracracy circles is most certainly real. It's not offensive or disloyal to see what happens around you. It's painful to watch, but fortunately, the Church will be okay. If you've worked in or around a bishop's conference, or Catholic academia, you see things that are supposed to be covered up. When I was in college ten years ago the seminary attached to the school dismissed almost an entire class of seminarians for engaging in the lifestyle. It wasn't pretty. They weren't tragic figures trying to find a place in the Church. To be honest, they were generally mean and sordid and tried very hard to hurt anyone who disagreed with them. A lot of good men left that seminary as a result of the bullying. But, these guys came across as very conservative. Several held silent adoration with evening prayers in Latin once a week for the undergrad population. There are lots of theologically conservative and traditional looking priests as well as the lefty loony types who deal with SSA, some chastely, some not so chastely. Ambitious men, brought together by certain commonalities can rise to all sorts of levels of influence, and, until recently, no one up top paid any attention. I don't find the assertions hard to believe. Holy priests (like, say, the pope) have a hell of a time navigating these waters. Given his age and general declining health, it's no wonder the Pope wants to hand things over to someone a little more energetic and physically able to deal with the strain of cleaning things up.
ReplyDeleteLydia:
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I've been invited behind the lavender door, I've taken the grand tour of the pink palace, and I can attest to the reality of Terry's assertions.
And your observation that the phenomenon in question does not take sides with respect to the Church's right wing or its left wing is also spot on. The rainbow is all-embracing.
That's only one element of the corruption that plagues the modern ecclesiastical establishment, of course, but it is nevertheless a very real element (and I have to say it: a fairly obvious one).
I give Pope Benedict alot of credit for recognizing the need of a more vigorous man to take custody of the Holy See as soon as possible. I think his departure will ultimately be recorded as a service as noble and necessary to the Church as John Paul's painful suffering to the bitter end.
James
well let's take 'em all out back and beat the shit out of 'em.
ReplyDeleteright?! SSA and striving to leave chastely, or militantly gay. right?
because that's what you all mean, isn't it. "they" are all the same.
DB - you meant 'live' chastely, I know - others may not.
ReplyDeleteWhat you say is true. I've been trying to write a post about that, but I'm having trouble piecing it together.
Hang in there.