Pope Francis~One Year Later

My Favorite Cardinal

Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola...

"Lowly but Chosen"...Sadly

The motto for Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio's Archdiocese from Buenos Aires is "Miserando Atque Eligendo", or "Lowly but Chosen."

That is the feeling I have in relation to the indisputable fact that the Cardinal Electors made the grave error, no doubt via the malicious prodding of the malevolent Cardinal Bertone and concomitant Curia cabal, to enthrone the See of Peter to Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

As a proud Roman Catholic and Papist, today has been a day of days...one fraught with deep emotions which shake at the very core of my faith.

Any true defender of the office of the Bishop of Rome can see that this individual is fraught with a plethora of inherent inadequacies, in relation to the position he has now entered.

Newmax.com is adroitly correct when it predicts that Bergoglio "will not be a transformational pope, but one who continues in Benedict's dogmatic footsteps while not radically changing the Curia, the Holy See's administration."

Moreover, I wholeheartedly concur with the views of Catholic scholar, Micheal Dougherty, which can be found here and here.

A contentious reading of this election: Josef Ratzinger’s enemies have triumphed completely.
— Michael B Dougherty (@michaelbd) March 13, 2013

All I can say, right now, is that I would have preferred an old, aging Benedict XVI, or even better, a fervent and dynamic Cardinal Scola, Dolan, Bagnasco, Ravasi, Ouellet, Rodriguez, etc. to what we have now.

In the Obama-esque frenzy and swirl about this being the first Latin American Bishop of Rome, what has been lost is whether this individual, with the prodigious problems facing the church, is the proper individual to carry forward the immense undertaking to reform it, or whether he has the intestinal fortitude to do so.

Though I have, always, rejected the heretical 1958 Sede Vacante factions of the Cardinal Siri variety, I can now, to a certain extent, commiserate with their over all feelings, however, misguided.

There is be NO legitimate comparison between the accomplished & talented Pope John XXIII (Papa Roncalli) and what transpired on March 13, 2013.

I readily recall the broad 1972 admonition of my birth Pope, Paul VI, that "from some fissure the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God." Though put in context to his times, it is requisite to never lose sight of the warnings handed down to us by Papa Montini.

What is unquestionably clear, is that with this new Papacy, the enemies of Rome truly have the upper hand now.

UPDATE: 12:28PM, March 14, 2013

Just as I surmised above, this palace coup was led by Bertone and other elements of the curia.

Via Vatican Insider:

Scola's path to the Holy Throne was blocked by the confluence of two alliances and of two distinctly different evaluation systems: the non-European one (South America in particular), on the one hand, planned on bringing the papacy out of the old continent for the first time. On the other hand, there was the Curia group led by the nemesis-allegiance of Bertone and Sodano, who are inexorably hostile to Scola. (emphasis added)

The reason, according to certain voices in the Holy See, are a series of "ancient envies and rivalries”. Bertone has never forgotten the advice that Scola gave to the Pope during a meeting in Castel Gandolfo during the upheaval over the pardon granted to Holocaust-denier Bishop Williamson: his replacement at the helm of the Secretariat of State.

Sodano, on the other hand, found himself on opposing sides from Scola in various power struggles for the control of Catholic institutions. Ruini himself, while esteeming Scola, gave no indications to vote in his favour to the conclavists, like the Australian Pell, who asked to visit him before the Conclave.

In short, the 28 Italian voters did not all row in the same direction and so they dashed their chances of installing one of their compatriots to Peter's Throne 35 years after Luciani.

Pope Francis I

"As you know the duty of the conclave is to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world." Pope Francis I

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Buenos Aires elected Pope 

In a rather unexpected move, Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from Argentina, has been elected the 266th Successor of the Apostle, St. Peter.

Links:

Argentine Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope Wednesday

76-year-old, now known as Pope Francis I, was the archbishop of Buenos Aires

Suprise pick

Who is Pope Francis?

Cardinal Bergolio Elected Pope - Francis I

The highest-ranking Catholic in Congress praises the choice

First Jesuit elected to the See of Peter 

First words 

Humble man

President Obama congratulates 

Black Smoke Tonight

Black smoke from the Sistine Chapel indicates, as expected, that voting will continue tomorrow for the 266th Successor of the Apostle, St. Peter.

I will be updating this blog, as soon, as we have future developments, but if you wish, please follow me on Twitter, for up to the date news.

Recent Conclave Lengths

Just in case you are interested in knowing how long some of the recent conclaves lasted, via Robert Moyninhan:

1903 -- 4 days, 7 votes (Pope Pius X elected)

1914 -- 3 days, 10 votes (Pope Benedict XV elected)

1922 -- 5 days, 14 votes (Pope Pius XI elected)

1939 -- 2 days, 3 votes (Pope Pius XII elected)

1958 -- 4 days, 11 votes (Pope John XXIII elected)

1963 -- 3 days, 6 votes (Pope Paul VI elected)

1978 -- 2 days, 4 votes (Pope John Paul I elected)

1978 -- 3 days, 8 votes (Pope John Paul II elected)

2005 -- 2 days, 4 votes (Pope Benedict XVI elected)

I Like Ravasi

His Eminence, Cardinal Ravasi 

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (Image: Piotrek)

Anybody, at his age in the Vatican, who can eloquently quote Amy Winehouse is cool with me:

Ravasi, the Vatican's culture minister, is an erudite scholar with a modern touch — just the combination some faithful see as ideal for reviving a church beset by scandal and a shrinking flock. The 70-year-old is also one of the favorites among Catholics who long to see a return to the tradition of Italian popes. The polyglot biblical scholar peppers speeches with references ranging from Aristotle to late British diva Amy Winehouse.

Ravasi's foreign language prowess is reminiscent of that of the late globetrotting John Paul II: He tweets in English, chats in Italian and has impressed his audiences by switching to Hebrew and Arabic in some of his speeches.

Hat Tip: James Middleton  

I papabili via La Stampa:

GIANFRANCO RAVASI: il “ministro” della Cultura di Ratzinger. Teologo, biblista, ebraista è autore di numerosi libri di divulgazione biblica. Firma prestigiosa di diversi periodici di teologia. Nato nel 1942 a Merate (Lecco), è stato ordinato sacerdote della diocesi milanese nel 1966. Nel 2007 è stato consacrato arcivescovo dal Papa Benedetto XVI. Esperto biblista ed ebraista, è stato prefetto della Biblioteca-Pinacoteca Ambrosiana di Milano (fondata dal cardinale Federico Borromeo nel 1607) e docente di Esegesi dell’Antico Testamento alla Facoltà Teologica dell’Italia Settentrionale.

Ora è Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio della Cultura, delle Pontificie Commissioni per i Beni Culturali della Chiesa e di Archeologia Sacra. La sua vasta opera letteraria ammonta a circa centocinquanta volumi, riguardanti soprattutto argomenti biblici e scientifici, con eccezionali interpretazioni della Parola e della valenza poetica dei Testi. Tra queste vanno ricordate le edizioni curate e commentate dei Salmi, del Libro di Giobbe, del Cantico dei Cantici e di Qohelet.

Molto noti al grande pubblico sono i libri I monti di Dio (San Paolo, 2001), che ripercorre il tema della montagna all’interno del testo biblico, Breve storia dell’anima (Mondadori, 2003), Le sorgenti di Dio (San Paolo, 2005) e Ritorno alle virtù (Mondadori, 2005), e Le porte del peccato (Mondadori, 2007). Nel corso della sua attività, Ravasi ha voluto ripensare ciò che era già stato indagato e meditato durante la lunga avventura del pensiero umano, a partire dalle culture primitive e dalle antiche civiltà, sviluppando però un intenso dialogo anche con la società contemporanea.

NEW Free Papal Conclave App

NEW Free App to keep yourself abreast of Papal events

"Be among the first to see the white smoke rise—watch the live video feed from St. Peter’s Square", by downloading this FREE app here.

Description & image courtesy of Verbum 

Conclave Begins March 12th

The 2013 Papal Conclave begins on Tuesday, March 12th. (Image: IBT)

Links:

EWTN

Vatican Insider 

Catholic Encyclopedia list of Popes 

How A Papal Election Works 

Scola On the Ascendancy

Cardinal Scola, seen her with ex-Pope Benedict XVI in early February, has emerged as the putative front runner (Image: NPR)

Andrea Tornielli writes in La Stampa:

After four days of discussions and six General Congregations, the groups and the strongest "papabili" are emerging more clearly in the meeting room but even more so in the face to face talks taking place away from prying eyes. Among them is the Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola, who is coming to the fore.

He has been considered one of the possible candidates for the Papal Seat right from the beginning; the votes of several American cardinals and of other European cardinal electors, from Germany to Eastern Europe, as well as those of some Italians, could be cast for him. It is important to remember that thanks to the initiatives of the Oasis Foundation, the Milanese cardinal has interwoven relationships with Eastern Churches as well; for example, with the Lebanese Patriarch Bechara Rai.

Cardinal Sandri: Next Pope Must Reform Curia

Argentine Cardinal Leandro Sandri-Papible
(Image: 123 People) 

The Cardinals

Vatican Press Conference-Father Lombardi

Cardinal Ouellet Interview

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, one of my favorites, from Canada.

Courtesy of Adam Brickley

Cardinal Electors' Geographic Breakdown

Video highlights the breakdown of the geographic areas, in terms of the numbers of Cardinal-electors, totaling 115, this time around:

-Europe 60 (28 from Italy)
-Latin America 19
-North America 14
-Africa 11
-Asia & the Pacific 11

Habemus Papam-French Style

Proto-Deacon, Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran  (Image: Vatican Insider)

After the white smoke is witnessed, heralding the election of a new Bishop of Rome, the Cardinal Proto-Deacon will come out and declare: Habemus Papam

The current occupant of the aforementioned office and who will carry out this most important task is Frenchmen, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.

This is, precisely what he will say, in Latin:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum [forename],
Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem [surname],
qui sibi nomen imposuit [papal name].

English translation:

"I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope!
The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord, Lord [forename],
Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [surname],
who takes to himself the name [papal name]."

Hat Tip: Inside The Vatican 

Church Reform Proposals By Dr. Moynihan

Dr. Robert Moynihan (Image: Gospa Missions)

Dr. Robert Moynihan, of The Moynihan Letters is positing the following potential areas of reforms within the Church, to be spearheaded by someone like Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, currently Apostolic Nuncio to the USA:

(1) Man. The great problem of our time is the question of man. The scientific discoveries of recent decades, and the developing movement of transhumanism, require a rethinking of the Church's anthropology. Therefore, place the question of man at the center of Catholic studies and theological research, and invite contributions from all men and women of good will in the effort to construct a viable anthropology for the new millennium.

(2) The Curia. The Curia and the Church's government should be dramatically restructured, but in order to make it work more effectively, not to render it impotent. Therefore, bring in lay professionals at all levels. Ordained and consecrated priests and bishops, and consecrated women religious, could have special oversight roles. Make Vigano Secretary of State.

(3) The Vatican bank and the global financial system. In the face of the global financial crisis and continuing uncertainty, revolutionize the functioning of the Vatican bank to make it a true service to the entire Church. Create a permanent high-level study group which would ensure bank transparency, assess global financial developments, and advise bishops, and eventually parishes, throughout the world on how best to handle their finances in a just and prudent way, as "good stewards."

(4) Global banking support. Consider establishing a type of Church-linked bank or credit union system reaching every diocese in the world, with branches in every parish, to assist Church members to have access to capital for needed initiatives.

(5) Children and family. Radically increase the support given by the Pontifical Council for the Family to family-supporting intitiatives worldwide, including ways to mediate generous financial incentives to support every family which has or would like to have children.

(6) Education. Reform all Catholic educational institutions, removing all trendy, "politically correct" teaching and returning to fundamental studies in every field, especially history, philosophy, music, languages, and physical fitness.

(7) Seminaries. Reform all seminary instruction. (Make seminaries into quasi-boot camps, introducing some of the disciplines of military academies. Renew the Jesuits to their greatness.)

(8) Ecumenism. Make immediate peace with the Orthodox, and the Protestants, saying a "truce" now is needed in the face of the global secularizing agenda which wishes to eliminate, or even criminalize, Christian faith and traditional family values. Engage in common initiatives.

Note: His numbering is off, he didn't post #9 entry.

(10) Inter-religious solidarity. Extend invitations to all Orthodox and Conservative Jews, to Muslims, to Hindus, to Buddhists, and all men and women of good will, to work with the Church, in hopes of supporting a just and free global order where the sacredness of God and his moral law is respected.

(11) Worship. Give greater support for the old liturgy (the extraordinary form of the Mass) globally, allowing, however, that form of the Mass to be translated also into the vernacular. On solemn occasions, especially funerals and high feast days, use Latin and Gregorian chant, worldwide.

(12) Communications. Increase the ability of Catholics to communicate, assist and work with one another by developing new media connections globally.

Kendall Pictures & New Papal List Link

Overcast and chilly morning in Kendall, Florida on Saturday, March 1st

 The suburbs of Miami 

A list of Papibili via Italian newspaper La Stampa can be found here.

Some of the top candidates they list, which I have not highlighted before hand, are:

Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer-Brazil

Cardinal Louis Antonio Tagle-Philippines

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco-Italy

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi-Italy

Cardinal Peter Turkson-Ghana

Cardinal Sean O'Malley-USA

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn-Austria

Related News:

Cardinal Dolan's Roman mass today called for "repentence of the heart"

Mexican nuns will offer special prayer session within Vatican for Conclave

American Cardinal O'Malley talks potential Papal vetting


CNN Mexico's Papal video of candidates, with Latin American focus:

Papal Conclave 2013 Version

Good Friday to all.

This March I will do my level best to update this blog, as frequently, as possible in regards to the upcoming Papal Conclave, 2013 version.

As of this morning, the College of Cardinals, as headed by His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, has announced that they will meet on Monday, March 4th, 9:30 am, Rome time, to begin the process of setting the date for the actual conclave.

The Carmerlengo, Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is now in charge, administratively, of the See of the Apostle St. Peter, which remains in a state of Sede Vacante.

In no particular order, the following 5 cardinals are amongst my personal favorites, which by no means indicates that I think they will be picked, other than, perhaps, Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan:

1. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York-Head of the USCCB
2. Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, Canada-Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops
3. Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez of Honduras-President of Caritas Internationalis
4. Cardinal Leandro Sandri of Argentina-Prefect of the Congregation of Oriental Churches
5. Aforementioned Cardinal Scola of Italy-Patriarch of Venice

MercoPress has a list, additionally, of some more alternative candidates with an emphasis on South America.

On a personal note, I would like to divulge and denote that Cardinal Rodriguez is the great uncle of my niece.

In terms of others that have greater insight than I into these matters, I would urge my readers to access, via the embedded links on their names, these individuals:

Adam Brickley, a master historian of Papal conclaves & prognosticator.
Raymond Arroyo, lead anchor at EWTN Catholic global network.
Dr. Robert Moynihan, Vaticanologist based in Rome.
John Allen, Jr., renowned journalist and Papal expert.

MercoPress has a list, additionally, of some more alternatived

Please remember that you can follow my updates on Twitter, as well.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe weekend...Vaya con Dios.