Here's another oblique and far-fetched attempt to discredit Benedict XVI, imputing hypocrisy to the Holy Father by linking his words to the cause for beatification of C&L founder Don Luigi Giussani, whose funeral homily he preached memorably in the Cathedral of Milan in February 2005. As if Don Giussani's life and work were a contradiction in any way to the Pope's admonitions against careerism and the search for power and glory that animates many in the clergy.
Without even the slightest reference to Don Giussani's personal virtues or C&L's spiritual raison d'etre, this writer presents C&L in the worst possible light simply because it has championed conservative values, and therefore sees it only as a political movement intent on seeking and wielding political power - i.e., the Church is therefore seeking to beatify someone who was driven by the quest for earthly power and influence!...
The reporter writes from Milan, which has always been the center of radical leftist opposition to C&L which managed to flourish there despite the overtly liberal agenda of the Archdiocesan Curia in the past three decades or more under Archbishops Carlo Maria Martini and Dionigi Tettamanzi. .
Pope warns Church to resist
temptations of power after
C&L presents cause to beatify
founder Don Luigi Giussani
by Michael Day
24 February 2012
(Written for tomorrow's paper edition)
MILAN - Pope Benedict XVI has warned the Catholic Church to resist temptations of power, even as it emerged that ecclesiastical figures in Milan had moved to canonise Don Luigi Giussani, the founder of
the Vatican’s controversial political campaigning wing. [That outrageously false statement, which no serious religion reporter in Italy would ever make, sets the agenda and tone for this whole article.]
The Pontiff told his weekly audience on Ash Wednesday this week that the Church was faced with temptations of power just as Jesus was in the desert.
“Jesus found himself exposed to danger and faced with the temptation of the evil one who offered him a Messianism far afield from God’s plan, through success and power and dominion,” he said, adding that the same was faced "by the Church and us believers”.
But critics swiftly contrasted Pope Benedict’s warning with news that moves were now underway in Milan to make a saint of Don Giussani, whose teachings gave rise to Communion and Liberation, the Catholic,
anti-Marxist political group, which consistently supported former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. {False allegation and implying guilt by association with a man whose reputation has been universally blackened.]
The ultra-conservative, lay organisation has other important supporters in Italy’s richest area, Milan/Lombardy, including the regional president Roberto Formigoni.
Its political influence allows the pursuit of a right-wing social agenda on topics including stem cell research and assisted dying. {C&L would pursue its orthodox Catholic values whether it had any political influence or not. The fact that some important political leaders support it or even happen to belong to it does not mean the movement is consciously seeking political power.]
Moderate Catholic groups have opposed its aims and methods.
But Pope John Paul II backed the organisation’s political campaigning. And its current, central position in Italian society was underlined last year when a key Communion and Liberation figure, Cardinal Angelo Scola, became the Archbishop of Milan. [In what way did John Paul II 'back its political campaigning - not that C&L undertook any political campaigning at all???? And Cardinal Scola has repeatedly said - as recent as w few weeks ago, once again - that although he belonged to C&L, it has been decades since he took part in any C&L activities nor has he been linked to any such activities. He did not become Patriarch of Venice and now, Archbishop of Milan, because he was a member of C&L, but because he has great personal merits that qualify him to be a Prince of the Church and worthy of his prestigious appointments.]
As archbishop, Cardinal Scola, who had been a close friend of Don Giussani until his death in 2005 aged 82, received the official Communion and Liberation request to begin the beatification and canonisation processes.
[What's so sinister about that? Even if he had not known Don Giussani at all, or had no previous link to C&L, he would still have had the duty to receive the petition because he is the Archbishop of the diocese where Don Giussani lived and worked, and where any initial investigations into his cause for sainthood would have to be done.]
“It shouldn’t be a surprise: the Vatican has always been about power,” said James Walston, a politics professor at the American University in Rome. “But if Don Giussani’s the sort of person they’re going to be canonising, then Heaven help us.” [And heaven help you, Mr. Walton, for being so dismissive of a man whose garment you are not worthy to lift. You would think Don Giussani had been a charlatan instead of a man who inspired a very vital worldwide ecclesial movement, whose annual 'Meetings' in Rimini for dialog among peoples have been attended in the past three decades by almost every political leader of consequence - and of diverse ideologies.
The following is an obvious attempt to further conjure guilt by association, without mentioning that this Fr. Verze was always a most oustpoken critic of the Church Magisterium and detractor of Beneidct XVI, in general. That he had a dubious reputation, being an assiduous self-promoter, does not make him representative of the Church any more than do the pedophile priests.
Another prominent Church figure - the Milan priest, tycoon and hospital director Don Luigi Verzè, who died last year - was accused of being too close to the rich and powerful as result of close friendships with Silvio Berlusconi and disgraced former Italian prime minister Bettino Craxi.
He left a €1.5 billion black hole in the accounts of Milan’s San Raffaele teaching hospital and faced allegations of fraud.
The writer of the article did not even attempt to show the appearance of balance by interviewing at least one person who had something good to say about C&L and Don Giussani. He could have taken the easy way out simply by quoting from Cardinal Ratzinger's February 2005 eulogy, which will surely be one of the centerpiece testimonials in the cause for Don Giussani's beatification. But he can't do that because it was all spiritual and would not fit Day's crassly and purely political narrative.
C&L appears to be the New Opus Dei - or at least, joins it - as the Catholic bete noire of the liberal media, which means they have now incurred the same fear of their perceived clout as the Opus Dei kindled to white heat decades ago. You don't hear the same disparagement for, say, the always politically correct Sant'Egidio Community (which even prides itself on being called the analog of the 'United Nations' in the religious sector!) or other socially active ecclesial movements. Look for Dan Brown's next arch-villain to be a C&L type.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 27/02/2013 13:05]