BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

I love this item!... BENEDETTO XVI, SEI VERAMENTE GRANDISSIMO! Only he could make this well-deserved rebuke in such a public yet most appropriate manner!


COMMUNIQUE FROM THE PRESS OFFICE:
MEETING OF THE HOLY FATHER
WITH CARDINAL SCHOENBORN
Translated from

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1) The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna and president of the Austrian bishops' conference, who had requested to explain personally to the Holy Father the present situation of the Church in Austria.

In particular, the Cardinal wished to clarify the exact sense of his recent statements about some aspects of present ecclesiastical discipline, as well as some judgments he made on the attitude of the Secretariat of State, particularly that of the Secretary of State under Pope John Paul II of venerated memory, with regard to the late Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër, Archbishop of Vienna from 1986-1995.

2) Subsequently, Cardinals Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, and Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State were invited to join the meeting.

In this part of the audience, some widespread equivocations were clarified and resolved that had come in part from statements made by Cardinal Schoenborn, who expressed his displeasure for the interpretations they were given.

In particular:

a) It must be remembered that in the Church, accusations against a Cardinal are within the exclusive competence of the Pope, and that others have a consultative role, but always with respect owed to the persons concerned.

b) The word 'chiacchiericcio' has been interpreted erroneously as a lack of respect for the victims of sexual abuse, for whom Cardinal Sodano feels the same sentiments of compassion and condemnation of evil as the Holy Father has expressed in various interventions.

The word which he used during his Easter greeting to the Holy Father was taken literally from the Pope's own homily on Palm Sunday in which he praised "the courage of those who have not allowed themselves to be intimidated by the idle chatter of dominant opinion".

3) The Holy Father, remembering with great affection his pastoral visit to Austria, sends his greeting and encouragement, through Cardinal Schoenborn, to the Church in Austria and its Pastors, entrusting their path to a renewed ecclesial communion to the heavenly protection of Mary, who is greatly venerated in Mariazell.

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Paragraphs 2a and 2b cannot be read otherwise than as a rebuke to Schoenborn who 1) did level his accusation of covering up for Groer directly at Cardinal Sodano; and b) did tell news editors in Austria hat he felt the word 'chiacchericcio' in Cardinal Sodano's Easter greeting was a lack of respect for the victims of sexual abuse!

There was no misinterpretation there, as Schoenborn still claims, of what he said, since he was quoted directly!

I am glad, of course, having been very indignant from the start about the media slur on Sodano for his use of the word, that the Vatican has formally straightened out that part about the word 'chiacchiericcio' and that the Holy Father had used it himself before Sodano did!

Finally, how can one miss the Pope's invocation entrusting the Church in Austria to the Virgin of Mariazell 'for a renewed ecclesial communion'! For all intents and purposes, that is something that the Church in Austria has not observed in quite some time. Schoenborn and the other Austrian bishops have been openly critical of some aspects of Church teaching and practice that are against their liberal preferences. They should all read St. Irinaeus for what he says about church Tradition with a capital T.

P.S. Do you suppose Schoenborn apologized to Cardinal Sodano once they wre face to face? He must have apologized to the Pope. at least, because he himself asked for this meeting! He probably did not imagine the Pope would call Cardinals Sodano and Bertone in, much less have the Press Office issue the communique that it did!

The simple fact is that Schoenborn and his bishops have been beating their breasts, more Tarzan-like than pharisaical, for the benefit of media and liberals everywhere, not just in Austria, knowing full well that their grandstanding and posturing violate the spirit of ecclesial communion. Not a pretty sight and never has been! As tasteless and revolting, in fact, as the liturgical robes they foisted on the Holy Father in Mariazell - very emblematic of the 'most common denominator' that they have chosen to stand for, instead of affirming genuine Catholic identity.

In their breast-beating, they have ranged themselves clearly alongside 'We are Church' and its ilk against the real Church. Only an idiot could fail to see that, whatever Schoenborn says in self-defense. Now, try to raitonalize that, Fr. Fessio.


I was away most of the day, so I haven't really seen how MSM has reported this story. But the AP story is probably representative in all its infuriating bias!

Vatican admonishes Schoenborn


VATICAN CITY, June 28 (AP) - The Vatican on Monday issued an unprecedented rebuke of a top cardinal who had accused the retired Vatican No. 2 of blocking clerical sex abuse investigations, publicly dressing down a man who had been praised for his criticism of Church abuse cover-ups. [HUH??? The dressing down was not for criticizing cover-ups but a) for breach of ecclesial discipline, b) for erroneously inflaming the public discussion of the sex-abuse 'scandal' by saying Cardinal Sodano's well-meant comment in his Easter tribute to the Holy Father was 'an insult to the victims' (though Sodano was echoing what the Holy Father himself said one week earlier), and ultimately, c) for the worst offense of all, lack of 'ecclesial communion'.]

The silencing of Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna and long considered a papal contender, drew heated criticism from clerical abuse victims. They said the Vatican should be honoring Schoenborn, not publicly humiliating him, for his calls for greater transparency and demands for a crackdown on priests who rape and sodomize children.

Schoenborn has also called for an open discussion of priestly celibacy; views that the Vatican said he "clarified" on Monday during an audience with the Pope.

As it admonished Schoenborn, the Vatican appeared caught on the defensive on two other fronts in the ongoing sex abuse scandal: it remained locked in a diplomatic tiff with Belgium over the brazen raid on church offices last week, during which police detained bishops and even opened a crypt in search of church abuse documents. [What diplomatic tiff? The Belgian ambassador to the Holy See was informed of the Vatican reaction promptly last Sunday - but Belgium right now has no government to respond to anything! The Vatican reaction has been very correct and measured - it's the media that is trying to create another meritless cause celebre.]

And it bristled at the U.S. Supreme Court decision to let a sex abuse lawsuit in Oregon naming the Holy See go ahead. [It has? How? When?]

Schoenborn had accused the former Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in April of blocking a church investigation into the late Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who was accused by victims in 1995 of abusing boys at a seminary - a scandal that rocked the Austrian Church and cost Groer his job.

Schoenborn also accused Sodano of causing "massive harm" to victims when he dismissed claims of clerical abuse as "petty gossip" on Easter Sunday.

The Vatican said Monday that only the Pope can level such accusations against a cardinal, not another fellow prince of the church.

And it sought to clarify the "petty gossip" comment, noting that the Pope himself had used the same phrase a week earlier, referring to the need to have "courage to not be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinions."

The phrase, and Sodano's repetition of it, [S}had sparked widespread criticism that the Vatican simply didn't appreciate the significance of the clerical abuse scandal. [First of all, none of the MSM reports at the time recalled at all that the Pope himself had used the term - which MSM persists in translating as 'petty gossip' when the more applicable translation is 'idle chatter'! And who 'sparked the widespread criticism' but AP and its fellow mavens in the witch hunt against the Pope? Sodano's remarks would probably never even have been reported by MSM, except that it happened to be a tribute to Benedict XVI, and the Pope's enemies could not accept that someone could actually pay tribute to the Pope at a time when they were crucifying him mercilessly!]

It suggested the Pope himself and his collaborators believed the hundreds of reports that were flooding in of children being molested by priests, and the ensuing questions about the Vatican's handling of such cases, were mere gossip, not serious crimes. [Again, that suggestion came entirely from MSM and the victim advocacy groups they coddle oh-so-solicitously - although, strangely, there is no evidence that they have been solicitous at all about the far greater population of pedophilia victims by men who are not priests!]

The Vatican said that interpretation was "erroneous," although it didn't explain what the Pontiff or Sodano meant by the phrase. The Vatican said both men felt compassion for victims and condemnation for those behind the abuse. [Obviously, AP can't read what it does not want to read. The context of 'chiacchericcio' was explained in the note by quoting how the Pope used it in his Palm Sunday homily. And obviously, the AP thinks that neither the Pope nor Sodano have 'compassion for the victims and condemnation for those behind the abuse!]

More blather from the advocacy groups:
Victims groups said the Vatican should have praised Schoenborn for his honesty in taking Sodano to task, not humiliate him and stifle other potential whistle-blowers within the church.

"By choosing instead to publicly embarrass Cardinal Schoenborn, the pope is sending an unmistakable message to his bishops that in his administration, avoiding scandal still trumps truth," said Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, which compiles information and documents on clerical abuse.

The main U.S. victims' group, SNAP, said the dressing down of Schoenborn, coupled with the pope's harsh denunciation of the Belgian raid over the weekend, showed that the pope's professed claim to do everything possible to stop priestly abuse was little more than lip service.

"With his words, Benedict professes concern for victims. But by his actions, Benedict shows concern for his colleagues," said David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

The Holy See issued the statement after Schoenborn met with the Pontiff in a private audience Monday. The audience was then broadened to include Sodano and the current Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The Vatican communique said Schoenborn had wanted to "clarify the exact sense of his recent comments" concerning celibacy and Sodano. It said Schoenborn "expressed his displeasure for the interpretations."

When asked by The Associated Press for further comment, Schoenborn's spokesman said the cardinal would not be available for an interview. [He probably will be, once he gets back to Vienna. I can't wait to see how he will turn somersaults to play up to the 'We are Church' types. Though I'd love to be proved wrong!]

Schoenborn has been a leading figure in the abuse crisis, forcefully denouncing abuse, presiding over service of reparations for victims, and openly calling for an honest examination of issues like priestly celibacy. [The AP-otheosis of Schoenborn!]

Just last week, he unveiled measures designed to prevent clerical abuse and help victims in Austria, including the creation of a foundation for victims to cover their therapy costs and possible compensation demands.

Schoenborn's comments about Sodano were remarkable in that they were directed at Pope John Paul II's No. 2, who is also under fire for his alleged stonewalling of a Vatican investigation into the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, who was found to have abused seminarians and fathered at least three children.

Though retired as secretary of state, Sodano still wields enormous influence in Vatican circles as the dean of the College of Cardinals. [How exactly except among the handful of Curia holdovers from the Wojtyla era? Certainly nowhere near the influence of Cardinal Ratzinger who was the CDF Prefect all the time he was Dean of cardinals!]

The Vatican's public and formal reprimand of such a highly regarded cardinal is extremely rare. Previously, cardinals who have stepped out of line questioning church policy or doctrine have quietly issued their own mea culpas.

[The AP writer has to be very dense indeed not to see that Benedict XVI is showing everyone that Schoenborn is not above rebuke just because he is reputed to be his 'fair-haired boy', protege or what-have-you. The Pope cannot play favorites when it comes to ecclesial discipline and communion! Schoenborn had overstepped bounds of propriety in many ways over the past 2-3 years, and it was abotu time he got his knuckles rapped!

Also, Schoenborn was no whistle-blower, and Benedict did not need him to blow the whistle on anyone - because obviously, the Pope know muchs better and much more accurately than he about how things were in the Curia! Before Schoenborn verbalized his accusation to Austrian editors, it was an open secret that John Paul II's inner circle did not favor transparency about sex abuse cases because they were taking their cue from the late Pope himself, whose Communist-era experiences led him to be extremely wary about sex-abuse accusations. His egregious mistake was making a direct accusation against Cardinal Sodano, absent any proof. Even in civilian circles, you do not do that to a colleague.]

Schoenborn made the comments April 28 to a select group of Austrian journalists. He made them in a bid to defend Pope Benedict XVI, who was coming under fire himself for his handling of abuse cases both during his time as archbishop of Munich and as the head of the Vatican's doctrine office. [Oh come now! 'In a bid to defend Pope Benedict'? Even if that had been his intention, it all came out wrong. First, because Benedict XVI does not need Schoenborn to defend him, especially not at the expense of somebody else! That's not even Christian! Second, because his remarks were reported not at all as a 'defense of Benedict' but as a direct accusation of Sodano. And third, in the process, he was making a hero of himself - he's not stupid, Schoenborn: surely, he knew how the media would play it!]

In the discussion, Schoenborn said then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had immediately pushed for an investigative commission to look into the allegations against Groer. The cardinal stepped down shortly after the first allegations surfaced - officially due to old age. He died in 2003 but never admitted any guilt.

But Schoenborn said Ratzinger was thwarted by others in the Vatican - described by Schoenborn as the "diplomatic track," meaning the secretariat of state, a clear reference to Sodano.

The Vatican statement Monday recalled that "in the Church, only the pope has the competence to deal with accusations against a cardinal; other instances can have a consultation function, but always with the necessary respect for the people involved."

In other comments on April 28, Schoenborn was quoted as saying the quality of a gay relationship should be taken into greater consideration, the Church needed a new perspective on the remarriage of divorcees, and it was no secret the Vatican government was "in urgent need of reform." [[Surely Schoenborn is acutely aware about how statements like these would be treated by the MSM - he is now their new idol, their anti-Church 'poster boy' who is all the more 'appealing' because he is supposed to be Benedict XVI's protege! They are thinking - Who could be more effective as the liberal foil to Benedict? God save the Pope from 'friends' like Schoenborn!]