Die"Oberösterreichischen Nachrichten" veröffentlichten am gestrigen Freitag ein Interview mit Kurienkardinal Kurt Koch, in dem dieser auch auf die Gespräche des Vatikans mit der Priesterbruderschaft St. Pius X. eingeht.
In dem Interview mit dem Kurienkardinal geht vor allem um ökumenische Fragen. Nach einer Frage bezüglich eines eigenen Dialogs mit progressistischen Initiativen und Bewegungen in der katholischen Kirche stellt der Interviewer die Frage:
„Aber geschieht das nicht sehr ungleich? Rom führt einen Dialog mit der extrem konservativen und schwierigen Piusbruderschaft. Mit den Progressiven gibt es das nicht."
Darauf antwortet Kardinal Koch: „Da gibt es einen grundlegenden Unterschied: Auf der einen Seite sind Bewegungen und Initiativen, auf der anderen Seite die Piusbruderschaft, die klare kirchliche Strukturen hat. Die Piusbruderschaft steht vor der Schwierigkeit zu entscheiden, ob sie bald wieder (von Rom unerlaubt, Anm.) neue Bischöfe weiht. Wenn das passiert, ist das Ende …More

En la mañana del día de hoy, sábado 31 de agosto, el Papa Francisco nombró al Arzobispo Pietro Parolin, como nuevo Secretario de Estado del Vaticano, en sustitución del Cardenal Tarcisio Bertone, cuya renuncia al cargo fue aceptada por el Santo Padre. Monseñor Parolin era hasta ahora Nuncio Apostólico en Venezuela, tiene 58 años de edad y asumirá el cargo el próximo 15 de octubre.
La información se hizo pública durante la recepción del Papa Francisco en audiencia especial, en la Casa Santa Marta, al Cardenal Tarcisio Bertone, al Cardenal Leonardo Sandri, Prefecto de la Congregación para las Iglesias Orientales, a Monseñor Dominique Mambertí, Secretario para las Relaciones con los Estados, a Monseñor Peter B. Wells, asesor para los Asuntos Generales, a Monseñor Antoine Camilleri, Subsecretario para las Relaciones con los Estados y a Monseñor Alberto Ortega Martín, oficial de la Secretaría de Estado para las Relaciones con los Estados.
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On Aug. 30, Pope Francis appointed Father Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, a member of the Legionaries of Christ, to be the new secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
The position is the Vatican's number-two administrator, and was vacated last Saturday, Aug. 24, when Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca was transferred to the Apostolic Signatura.
Fr. Vérgez will serve under the president of the Vatican City governorate, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello.
Fr. Vérgez was previously the director of the Vatican’s papal telecommunications office for five years prior to his new appointment.
He has not been appointed as a titular bishop, which is customary for the position, possibly signalling a new policy of Pope Francis.
Born in Salamanca in 1945, Fr. Vérgez made perpetual profession with the Legionaries of Christ in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1969. He studied philosophy and theology at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University and obtained a diploma from the School of Archives at the Vatican’s …More

First, Francis does not appear determined to dismantle the bureaucratic structures of the Vatican, but rather to make them work. If he wanted to blow things up, Francis would hardly have reached out to a career Vatican official, as well as an Italian churchman who hails from the Veneto region – two strong indicators of continuity.
In effect, this outsider pope has acknowledged he needs some insider help. In that sense, his reform shapes up not as a wholesale rejection of previous ways of doing things, but rather as a sort of “system restore" operation.
Second, by naming a veteran diplomat, Francis has signaled that he doesn’t want the church’s political and cultural relevance to dim while he puts out fires and fixes internal problems.
In Parolin, Francis didn’t just hire a CEO but also a statesman.
Third, Francis has also confirmed the moderate and pragmatic stamp of his papacy. Parolin profiles as basically non-ideological, a classic product of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps who prizes …More

Papa Francesco potrebbe accogliere domani le dimissioni a suo tempo presentate dal cardinale Segretario di Stato Tarcisio Bertone e secondo diverse indiscrezioni avrebbe deciso di nominare al suo posto l'arcivescovo Pietro Parolin, nunzio apostolico in Venezuela.
Il nuovo «primo ministro» vaticano ha 58 anni, ed è originario a Schiavon, in provincia di Vicenza. Sacerdote dal 1980, entrato nella diplomazia vaticana nel 1986, nel 2002 è stato nominato sottosegretario della Sezione per i Rapporti con gli Stati della Segreteria di Stato, in pratica «viceministro degli Esteri», dove ha collaborato prima con il cardinale Sodano e poi con Bertone. Nel settembre 2009 Benedetto XVI, che qualche settimana prima lo aveva nominato nunzio in Venezuela, lo ha consacrato vescovo. Tra i co-consacranti c'era anche Bertone.
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Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
August 30, 2013
Syrian rebels in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta have admitted to Associated Press journalist Dale Gavlak that they were responsible for last week’s chemical weapons incident which western powers have blamed on Bashar Al-Assad’s forces, revealing that the casualties were the result of an accident caused by rebels mishandling chemical weapons provided to them by Saudi Arabia.
“From numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families….many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the (deadly) gas attack,” writes Gavlak.
Rebels told Gavlak that they were not properly trained on how to handle the chemical weapons or even told what they were. It appears as though the weapons were initially supposed to be given to the Al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra.
“We were very curious about these arms. And unfortunately …More

A Georgia high school project that has sparked outrage among some students and parents will not be taken down, the district decided.
Alcovy High School leaders will instead meet with students to explain the context behind a poster featuring the quote, “God is Dead” from Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible.”
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After torching a Franciscan school, Islamists paraded three nuns on the streets like "prisoners of war" before a Muslim woman offered them refuge. Two other women working at the school were sexually harassed and abused as they fought their way through a mob.
In the four days since security forces cleared two sit-in camps by supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Islamists have attacked dozens of Coptic churches along with homes and businesses owned by the Christian minority. The campaign of intimidation appears to be a warning to Christians outside Cairo to stand down from political activism.
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Argument cher à Benoît XVI, le rapport entre la beauté et l’expression de la foi est souvent à l’honneur des conférences liturgiques internationales, avec malheureusement peu de fruit constatable. En France, où tout est toujours plus idéologique, ce rapport est rarement objet de recherche et de discussion mais plutôt de provocations plus dures qu’ailleurs, comme celles de Serrano et de Castellucci l’ont illustré. Il faut dire que de nombreux ecclésiastiques – bien encouragés par les officines de la culture d’État –, quand on leur demandait leur avis – ce qui est de moins en moins le cas (voir la récente affaire d’un tournage à sujet « religieux », particulièrement scandaleux, imposé au curé de l’église militaire du Val-de-Grâce) –, se sont faits les promoteurs convaincus du plus désacralisant des arts contemporains. Comme dans le domaine de l’art en général, il s’agit de subvertir un cadre esthétique classique par des œuvres contemporaines dont la signification provocatrice intrinsèque …More

By Fr Dwight Longenecker
As a student at fundamentalist Bob Jones University I can remember the preachers inveighing against what they called “the social gospel”. This was a watered down version of Christianity which avoided talk of sin and salvation, repentance and redemption. The cross and resurrection were studiously avoided to portray a compassionate Jesus who lived among the poor and whose chief ministry was healing the sick, preaching against the rich, criticizing the religious hypocrites.
The “social gospellers” were all “liberals” who were forsaking the true message of the gospel in favor of soup kitchen Christianity. They were all for giving people bread, but not the bread of heaven. They were all for helping the poor have a better life, but not concerned about eternal life.
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By Damian Thompson
The Amish are good at keeping members inside the fold: 85 per cent of children keep the faith. Combine this with an average of seven children per family, and you begin to understand why the Amish have grown from 6,000 to 275,000 over the past century.
There’s more to this success than big families combined with social pressure. The Amish spell out how to live your life, leaving little space for speculating about the supernatural. They have no seminaries; their aim is not to understand God but to follow him by perfecting their daily living. That’s a modern recipe as well as an ancient one.
The Amish, Hasidic Jews and Salafist Muslims are all good at holding on to their flocks. These three groups have different attitudes to conversion – almost no one joins the Amish, a few secular Jews become Hasidic, lots of Muslims embrace strict observance – but their emphasis on behaviour rather than belief gives them a certain robustness in a sceptical 21st century. Mainstream …More

El Vaticano ha decidido intervenir la congregación religiosa de los Franciscanos de la Inmaculada. Es una potestad de Roma que ningún católico puede negar. Cuando la Iglesia aprecia desviaciones morales, disciplinares, teológicas, administrativas… debe poner, y a veces pone, los correctivos que correspondan. Y encomiendan autoridad en el instituto a un comisario o delegado a quien todos deben someterse como si fuera su superior general. Los Franciscanos de la Inmaculada son una escisión de los Franciscanos Conventuales ocurrida por los años setenta del pasado siglo y que en estos días de hundimiento de las órdenes y congregaciones religiosas presentan un crecimiento notable. Afectos al modo extraordinario de la misa, aunque no lo mantienen en exclusividad, aparentemente eran un modelo de ortodoxia, piedad, pobreza, mantenimiento del hábito religioso, abundancia de vocaciones… Lo que no estábamos acostumbrados a ver en muchos otros institutos regulares. Digo aparentemente porque no hay …More

Georgetown University’s health insurance will cover contraception starting next month for students, faculty, and staff.
The announcement came in the form of a blast email to the entire campus from university president John DeGioia, indicating that because the Affordable Care Act requires that all insurance policies cover contraceptives (including abortifacients and sterilization procedures), all students, faculty, and staff will have that coverage, which goes into effect August 15th.
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Vatican City, 19 July 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Secretary of State released the following communique on the Holy Father's chirograph for the establishment of a Pontifical Commission on the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See:
“The Holy Father, by a chirograph dated 18 July, has established a Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organisation of the economic-administrative structure of the Holy See.
The Commission will gather information, report to the Holy Father and co-operate with the Council of Cardinals for the study of the organisational and economic problems of the Holy See, in order to draft reforms of the institutions of the Holy See, with the aim of a “simplification and rationalisation of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations”.
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Devout Catholic couples have the best sex, say Catholics, as studies show 'Catholic guilt' is a myth
A Christian group says married Catholic couples have better sex than other demographics.
The group says religious virgins who marry will have great sex - because its the only sex they'll ever know.
Recent studies show that Catholics are more permissive than previously thought.
Only 14 per cent of Catholics would feel guilty about sexual activities including extramarital sex and watching pornography
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement in response to the Supreme Court’s rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8:
Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation. The Supreme Court has dealt a profound injustice to the American people by striking down in part the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Court got it wrong.
The federal government ought to respect the truth that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, even where states fail to do so. The preservation of liberty and justice requires that all laws, federal and state, respect the truth, including the truth about marriage.
It is also unfortunate that the Court did not take the opportunity to uphold California’s Proposition 8 but instead decided not to rule on the matter. The common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage. Now is the time to redouble our efforts in witness to this truth. These …More

Last Friday, late in the afternoon (which is apparently the administration’s favorite time to do business) it was announced that President Obama was nominating Ken Hackett (the former head of Catholic Relief Services) as the new U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican.
Many prominent Catholics have praised the appointment.
But what I’m curious to know is, why didn’t Obama nominate a gay man or woman to become the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican?
After all, Obama is on-track to nominate five new openly-gay ambassadors to key posts around the world (including Spain, Australia and Denmark) as part of the administration’s ongoing celebrations of “June gay pride month” — bringing the total to eight.
It’s no secret this is payback to the wealthy gay bundlers who helped finance Obama’s reelection campaign.
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On the feast of St Matthias, 14 May, our postulant received the Benedictine habit and was given a new name. Below is Mother Abbess’ talk in Chapter on that occasion.
In today’s liturgy of the Feast of St. Matthias, we are given clear evidence of God’s elective love, a theme prominent also in the Prologue of Our Holy Father St.Benedict to his Rule: “What can be sweeter to us, dearest brethren, than this voice of Our Lord inviting us? Behold, in his loving mercy the Lord shows us the way of life.” Ecce pietate sua demonstrat nobis Dominus viam vitae.
We also choose, or rather elect to respond to this invitation. A monastic vocation is, therefore, the meeting of two choices, God’s and ours. In choosing to follow Christ in the monastic life, a person sets aside other choices, which could have brought natural fulfilment and even the plaudits of the world. Instead, she seeks to walk carefully in the truth, to study beauty, to practise goodness and engage in self-conquest, to become “communis …More

The speedometer on Teresa Forcades' battered silver Peugeot saloon shows 130kmh, but Spain's most famously radical nun is so busy talking she seems oblivious to the 80kmh speed limit signs above the motorway near her Sant Benet convent on the slopes of Montserrat, Catalonia's sacred mountain.
The woman whose biting criticism of everything from banks to big pharmaceutical companies has shot her into the political limelight is rushing to Barcelona's train station so she can travel to Valencia to deliver a speech. Then she will fly to the Canary Islands for the next appointment on her public speaking schedule.
She is on the campaign trail to promote a radical manifesto for revolutionary political change (link in Catalan). In the black headdress of the Benedictine order, Forcades has emerged as one of the most outspoken – and atypical – leaders of southern Europe's fragmented, confused far left.
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