Don’t mess with Francis!

Dean of Roman Rota: “Four Cardinals who have written to Pope could lose their Cardinalate”

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[UPDATE: “Mgr.” Pinto says he was misquoted, Religion Confidencial issues retraction]

We all know that Francis is the champion of dialogue and encounter, but when “Cardinals” Burke, Brandmuller, Meisner, and Caffarra recently did nothing more than ask five very specific questions on a very important theological matter they wanted clarification on, the ever-so-humble Argentinian bridge builder decided to put up a wall: In a defeaning silence, he simply refused to answer.

After nearly two months of receiving no reply, the Novus Ordo cardinals decided to make their questions public. By doing so, they put the “Pope” into a corner from which he cannot escape because they have now forced the issue into the open for all to see, requiring him before the world to let his speech be either a clear yes or a clear no (cf. Mt 5:37), and if there is one thing Jorge Bergoglio doesn’t like, it’s being forced to answer in a clear black-and-white way that admits of no obfuscation, ambiguity, or vagueness.

Today, Nov. 29, there is a new development: The Spanish-speaking web site Religion Confidencial reports that the Dean of the Roman Rota, “Mgr.” Pio Vito Pinto (pictured above, center), has gone on record stating that Francis might strip the four troublemakers of their status as “cardinals” in punishment for their naughtiness. Here is the original report in Spanish:

We reproduce below a working translation of the Spanish text. Read it and don’t forget to close your mouth when you’re done.

Dean of the Roman Rota: “The four cardinals who have written to the Pope could lose their cardinalate”

Mgr. Pío Vito Pinto, Dean of the highest authority of the Catholic Church in the proceedings of marriage annulments, delivered a lecture at St. Damasus Ecclesiastical University in Madrid. In a strong and vigorous tone he said that the four cardinals who have asked Pope Francis to clarify some doubts about his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia have committed a grave scandal by publishing this letter in the media.

In statements to Religion Confidencial, Pio Vito has shown that these four cardinals, like some others in the Church who doubt the reform of Pope Francis and his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, are questioning “two synods of bishops on marriage and the family — not just one synod but two! One ordinary and the other extraordinary. You cannot doubt the action of the Holy Spirit.”

Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner had submitted [a letter] to the Holy Father asking [him to resolve their] doubts about Amoris Laetitia. Pope Francis did not answer, and so the prelates made the letter public through the media. “What Church do these cardinals defend? The Pope is faithful to the doctrine of Christ. What they have done is a very serious scandal that could even lead the Holy Father to withdraw the cardinal’s hat [from them] as has happened at other times in [the history of] the Church,” Pio Vito said to Confidencial. The dean of the Roman Rota then clarified: “Which is not to say that the Pope will withdraw their status as cardinals, but that he might.”

During the conference, Pius Vito made it clear to the audience that the Pope has not responded directly to the four cardinals, “but has indirectly told them that they are seeing only black and white, when in the Church there are shades of colors.” Mgr. Pío Vito participated in the seminars on discernment and accompaniment for marriage annulment cases organized by the Episcopal Conference and St. Damasus Ecclesiastical University in Madrid.

Few Catholics ask for Annulments

Confidencial also asked Mgr. Pio Vito if it was not better to reach out to the divorced and remarried by granting them a marriage annulment, so they can marry in the Church and receive the Eucharist, before receiving Communion while being married [only] civilly. “By reforming the marriage process, Pope Francis wants to reach more people. The percentage of people seeking marriage annulments is very small. The Pope said that Communion is not only for good Catholics. Francis says: How do we reach those who are most excluded? With the Pope’s reform, many people may request annulments, but many may not,” said the Dean of the Roman Rota.

In this regard, he stressed a key of Francis’ pontificate, laid out in paragraph 4 of the bull he wrote for the Jubilee of Mercy: “There come to mind the meaningful words John XXIII spoke at the opening of the [Second Vatican] Council to indicate the way forward: ‘in our time, the spouse of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity. The Catholic Church desires to show herself to be a loving mother of all, benign, patient, full of mercy and goodness toward the children separated from her.”

The Difference with Protestants

Concerning the opinion voiced by some that the Church might be embracing the Protestant Reformation, the Dean of the Rota explained that “Luther destroyed the Catholic faith of the Apostles. The Catholic Church believes that in the Eucharist Jesus Christ is present, and Protestantism does not believe in the real presence of Christ in Communion. This is the big difference.”

In this respect and during the conference, he recalled that during the synod of bishops, some Synod fathers had asked the Pope for a new theological treatise on marriage but Francis rejected this since, he said, other Popes had already made the theology of marriage very clear.

He recalled that the focal point of Pope Francis’ message is reaching out to all those who have felt, or feel, discarded or injured by the Church. He also noted that currently, many people receive Communion indiscriminately. “A nun told me there are people who are divorced [and remarried] or living together [in fornication] who receive Communion. And what is the Church supposed to do, say ‘yes’ to this one and ‘no’ to that one? Pope Francis wants a church that is very close to the people.”

Wow. What a mess. No further comments should be needed at this point.

So this is where the Vatican is at now, and the only people who are in trouble are those four “cardinals” who dared to ask five questions and, upon not receiving an answer, made those questions public because they concern the salvation of souls and the sanctity of the (putative) sacraments.

Clearly, the “Year of Mercy” is over.

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16 Responses to “Dean of Roman Rota: “Four Cardinals who have written to Pope could lose their Cardinalate””

  1. Sonia

    In Bishop Sanborn’s latest newsletter he states, “that the 1975 book entitled The Theological Hypothesis of a Heretical Pope, by Arnaldo Xavier da Silveira, is circulating around the Vatican. It was translated into Italian and recently published.”

    Hopefully, along with His Excellency we can, “pray that these Novus Ordo prelates receive the grace of both enlightenment and courage to carry out the great task of making the accusation of heresy against Bergoglio, and of declaring the Holy See vacant when he refuses to recant.”

    Calling out a blazing anti-christ Catholic hating nope is one thing. Recanting VII is a whole different level of grace.

    • rich

      As the old saying goes, the ball is now in their (burke and co) court. Lets see what they do with it. Im guessing they do very little but Ive become very cynical when it comes to v2 lap dogs. I would love nothing more than for me to be dead wrong and for these men to finally wake up.

      However, as Bp Sanborn states (and as NOW has already stated), them simply leading a schism within the novus ordo church really helps no one. Their rejection of v2 in its entirety is the only good outcome. Simply making a liberal v2 church vs a conservative v2 church still gives you two false churches (I know everyone here knows this….just making my point for those who don’t).

      • rich

        “All this is pure nonsense”…..exactly. Bp Sanborn sees through the v2 fog. Again, I pray to God that I am wrong but I see nothing but more, diluted, confusion ahead assuming these four “cardinals” pursue this. I want them to pursue it of course, but I dont believe they will pursue it as they should. I cannot believe, as it currently stands, that four sons of the vatican 2 protestant church will ever speak for Christ’s Catholic Church.

        I ask again, where is Bp Fellay? What is he doing?

        • Sonia

          Bp Fellay. .. he seems to be on board with Bergoglio’s ‘make a mess’. Meanwhile the totally Protestant Novus Ordo wouldn’t seem to know a real Pope from a clown in a nope-mobile, or a True Mass from a Protestant mess if their immortal souls depended on it. It seems invincible ignorance is most folks only hope.

          • rich

            It would be funny if it werent so sad. These four “cardinals” of the vatican 2 sect finally stand up to Jorge and YET our good Bp Fellay continues to twiddle his thumbs waiting to become “one of the gang”. The phony bishops are looking more Catholic than the real bishop.

          • Sonia

            “The phony bishops are looking more Catholic than the real bishop.” Sounds right up the father of lies alley.

      • Aaron Baugher

        Thank you. I’ve been hearing that the Cardinals are following a “process,” but when I look into it, it looks like they’re making it up as they go along, since this hasn’t happened before.

        It seems to me that, before the Cardinals can ever elect a new pope, they have to come to an official determination that there is not a pope. Normally this is because the previous pope died, of course, and I assume there’s some sort of official proclamation about that, which then authorizes them to hold a conclave. In the case of a pope resigning, something similar must take place: an official recognition that there is no longer a pope, so it’s time to elect one.

        So I can see why they would need to do something like that here: agree formally amongst themselves that there is not a pope, and hold a new conclave. I could see that being a “process” they would need to go through for themselves, just as when a pope dies.

        But here’s the sticking point for so many trads: that doesn’t mean he’s the pope until they make that decision. If they make that “declaratory sentence” (as I’ve seen it called) that he’s a formal heretic and therefore not a pope, they’re only announcing something that was already true so they can then act on it. They’re not deposing a pope; they’re recognizing the chair is vacant. In other words, they would be saying sedevacantists have been right — at least since Amoris Laetitia, if not much longer. Depending on how they word their declaration, they might be admitting that the chair has been empty since Benedict resigned.

  2. ClareB

    The entire screed is Novus Bogus propaganda. “What they have done is a very serious scandal…” What a joke. Right, the weak scandalizers in Scandal Personified’s church are getting the silent treatment. What fascist Marxist garbage. Maybe Jorge hung the hammer and sickle cross of atheism in his apartments, eh, Jorge?
    The Wire’s report about the occupation of Trent, one of the worst frontal attacks by the stealth occupiers of the Vatican City State, lays bare the fact that these aggressive enemies are piling on in their territorial
    war against Holy Mother Church and Her Liturgy. If the occupiers are not removed, the Vatican should be isolated like Cuba, from the whole world. Until then, here Pretender Pariah Jorge is, gallivanting all over the globe, cementing conquests.

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