Pope Francis announces the canonization of Bl. John Paul II!

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has confirmed that both Blessed Pope John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII will be canonized and possibly at the same time, although a date has yet to be set for the canonizations.  [How about Bl. Pius IX???]

Reading from a statement, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told reporters today that Pope Francis had approved a decree on a miracle attributed to John Paul II’s intercession.

He also said the Holy Father had approved a “favorable vote,” taken by a commission of cardinals and bishops, “on the canonization of Blessed Pope John XXIII.”

The commission has decided to “convoke a consistory” so that both canonizations can take place at the same time, but it’s not clear exactly when, as Pope Francis wants to hear the opinions of cardinals first.

“No date has been set,” Father Lombardi said, “but it is very likely that there will be one canonization ceremony before the end of the year.”

Father Lombardi said that in the case of John XXIII, Pope Francis has agreed to skip the usual second miracle required for canonization as a second miracle attributed to his intercession has not been forthcoming. [OMG!!!!  I....I....What....Oh God!....] Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1904-1963) was elected Pope John XXIII in 1958.

The announcement of the papal canonizations was just part of a long list of decrees issued today for sainthood causes.

Among them was a decree approving a miracle needed for the beatification of Father Alvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano (1914-1994) who succeeded St. Josemaria Escriva as bishop and prelate of Opus Dei.

Second JPII Miracle
Concerning the miracle attributed to John Paul II’s intercession, the Vatican has yet to release details, but it is understood to concern the healing of a severely ill woman from Costa Rica.

Spanish newspaper La Razon has identified her as Floribeth Mora, a 50-year-old law student. She suffered from a cerebral aneurism that was inexplicably cured on May 1, 2011 — the very day of John Paul’s beatification. Her family prayed for her at the time and she had been given only a month to live.

Her doctor, Dr. Alejandro Vargas, told La Razon that the disappearance of the aneurism “surprised me a lot” and that he couldn’t explain it “based on science.” Some reports say the exact details of the miracle will “amaze the world” and are to be revealed later today by Costa Rican doctors.
News of the miracle has already spread to Floribeth’s hometown of La Union, attracting a large number of visitors from all over Costa Rica. So many have been arriving, La Razon reports, that Floribeth left the town to seek refuge at her mother’s house in San Jose.

On July 1, 2011, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul II’s former private secretary, sent a relic of John Paul II to Costa Rica. Floribeth was able to see the relic and thank John Paul II, two months after her miraculous cure.

A neighbor told the Spanish-language daily: “The whole neighborhood is very happy because we always believed in John Paul II, you can see the nobility in his face.”

The first miracle attributed to John Paul II’s intercession and which led to his beatification in 2011 concerned Sister Marie Simon Pierre, whose recovery from Parkinson’s disease could not be explained by a Vatican panel of medical experts.

‘Santo Subito!’
John Paul II’s beatification occurred after Benedict XVI dispensed with the traditional five-year waiting period, permitting the beatification process to begin weeks after his April 2, 2005, death.

The decision was taken after chants of “Santo Subito!” (“Sainthood Now”), which erupted during John Paul’s funeral.  [That was how saints were made back in the early days of the Church, back when there was no formal declaration or formal investigation.]

Writing in the July 6 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Dziwisz said he spent “almost 40 years next to a saint, working by his side in Krakow and the Vatican.”

“[People] asked me a few times when would John Paul II become a saint,” he said. “I think he has been one since his youth. Karol Wojtyla was a normal guy, sharp and sensitive, full of energy and zest for life. But from the beginning, in him was something ‘more.’”

Paying tribute to his holiness, the Polish cardinal reflected on how difficult it was at John Paul II’s funeral for him to cover the former Pope’s face with a cloth — a face that was “so close, so friendly, so human.”

“Today,” he said, “I am delighted by the fact that from now on, the whole Church will establish the face of a new saint, St. John Paul II.”

In an interview in the same issue, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said both John Paul II and John XXIII were “united by the same pastoral concern for the Church.”

Both popes, he said, “have two common points of reference: the Council as a Gospel event of love and peace, and the Church as a generous and thoughtful mother, who is close to every human being, and gives comfort, help, support and hope.”

But some, including a few Vatican officials, are concerned that the Vatican is being too hasty with John Paul II’s canonization, coming less than a decade after his death. An unnamed Vatican official criticized the poor governance that took place under John Paul II, and especially during his final years, while other critics point to many deep-seated problems including clerical sex abuse scandals took place during his pontificate.  [Yeah.  I have to agree with that.  Most of the curial cardinals were fighting for who gets the "ear" of John Paul in decisions since the globe-trotting pope was busy abroad most of the time.  Benedict XVI started the change by staying most of the time in the Vatican governing rather than travelling.  John Paul's legacy will be tainted with the poor handling of the Church in the various scandals She faced during his pontificate.  Calling a spade a spade.  John Paul was not an excellent administrator.]

Careful Canonical Process
Cardinal Amato, however, stressed that “all the canonical procedures desired by John Paul II during his pontificate have been followed carefully, without haste and superficiality.” He also recalled St. Anthony of Padua was canonized by Gregory IX on May 30, 1232, less than a year after his death, which took place on June 13, 1231.  [St. Peter Martyr was the one who had the fastest canonization process.  Hmm...if they were careful for the cause of John Paul II, why to super duper haste with John XXIII?]

Also writing in the Vatican paper was Msgr. Loris Capovilla, John XXIII’s former private secretary, who paid tribute to his former superior as a man whose philosophy was one of “simplicity and prudence.”

“It is difficult for me to express in words the tumult of feelings in me caused by this splendid decision of Pope Francis to join the canonization of two popes whose holiness I have personally experienced,” he said.

He recalled anecdotally praying with John Paul II soon after his election, and sharing with the Pope his moments of suffering, also alongside John XXIII.

John Paul II replied to Msgr. Capovilla, “We all have to suffer. And Pope John, being a prophet, had to suffer for his faith in Christ. But sooner or later, they’ll realize it: He was a saint.”


***

Canonizations are a pope's infallible act to declare dead person is already in Heaven and can be venerated in all altars throughout the Catholic world.

John Paul's case?  If there was a proven miracle, I personally have no problems with that.

But with John XXIII's?

There was no reported miracle!

Is Pope Francis "enjoying" much of the plenitude of his Petrine office?

If that be the case...

Why not beatify these two other Blessed Popes?

Blessed Innocent XI

Blessed Pius IX

Does it mean just because you are the Supreme Leader makes you immune to the laws you are supposed to uphold and protect?

Well...

What are your thoughts?

Pope Francis's "Stunners"

No not this kind of a stunner...

Read this interesting article from CNN.


***


The pope said what? Six stunners from Francis
By Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor


(CNN) –Pope Francis has challenged his flock of 1 billion Catholics not to be “starched Christians” who chat about theology over tea.  [And who argue about rubrics over coffee...weehee!!!]

He’s been taking his own advice.

Since his election in March, Francis has delivered sharp and unscripted remarks on everything from homosexuality to atheism to his unlikely election to the seat of St. Peter. [Chair or See?]

Anyone who bet the 76-year-old Jesuit from Argentina would become Supreme Pontiff likely won a lot of dough, Francis joked on Sunday.

We’re wagering this pope’s got a few more surprises up the sleeves of his white cassock.

Meanwhile, here are six eye-openers Francis has uttered thus far.

1) There’s a “gay lobby” inside the Vatican

Meeting with Catholic leaders from his native Latin America and the Caribbean on Sunday, the pope said that there’s a lot of holy people in the Curia, Catholicism’s Rome-based bureaucracy.

But there is also a “stream of corruption,” Francis said, including a “gay lobby.”

"We need to see what we can do," he added, somewhat cryptically.

Only the pope knows exactly what he means. The Vatican has clammed up, refusing to explain.  [Lombardi clammed up, you mean.  His fellow Jesuit is a master in clamming up.  Wonder why he was even made spokesperson!]

Catholic experts [?] believe Francis was referring to a secret dossier presented to his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI that investigated a series of embarrassing leaks from Vatican insiders to Italian journalists.

The dossier referred to a Vatican network of sexually active gay clergy who might have been subject to blackmail, according to Italian reports.


2) All atheists go to heaven?

During a homily in Rome on May 22, Francis said that God redeems everyone – not just Christians, but atheists, as well.

“We must meet one another doing good,” the pope said. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

So, was the pope saying that people can go to heaven, even if they don’t believe in God?

Probably not, say church experts.

Catholicism has long held that salvation is open to everyone – but with a really big caveat. If you know about the church and don’t become a member, the door to heaven is likely closed, a Catholic spokesman later clarified.  [It still is!  Remains the same!]

Many American atheists say they appreciated the olive branch from the pope, however unclear his remarks may have been.  [They appreciated that remark???  Hell!  They don't believe in Heaven!  Hell!  They don't believe in hell!  They only believe in themselves! Good grief!]


3) “I didn’t want to be pope”  [I know someone who does!  Ha!]

Meeting with Catholic students from Italy and Albania on June 7, Francis ditched his “boring” speech and instead took questions from the children.

A little redhead in a blue scarf elicited laughter by bluntly asking, “Francis, why did you want to become pope?”

“I didn’t,” Francis answered. In fact, “a person who wants to become pope doesn’t love himself. And God doesn’t bless him,” the pontiff said.  [One priest feels he can become monsignor soon or even bishop soon!  He even wears his "ring" on his right hand and not on the customary left for religious and priest.  It might not be an epsicopal ring but the ring is placed as if he were a bishop.  Wanna know who that guy is?  Well, one word:  FEELINGERO!  Mediocre theology student, got ordained to be a secretary, now throws his weight around as if he is the head honcho!  Well, if the head honcho is always in absentia, out and about gallivanting, taping, talking, still taping...what do you get?  The secretary sitting in the boss' chair!  That's the guy!]


4) Sleepy prayers

In May, the pope shared intimate details about his spiritual life with a crowd of 200,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Every day, Francis said, he prays at an altar before he goes to bed. On occasion, the sandman arrives before the end of his prayers, the pope said.

“Sometimes I doze off, the fatigue of the day makes you fall asleep, but God understands,” Francis said.  [Who doesn't?  But do you sin because of that?  I don't think so.  Pray!  Just pray!  Better fall asleep praying than being wide awake 24 hours a day committing sin.]


5) Christians should mind their own beeswax

In some of his sharpest comments as pope, Francis criticized Christian busybodies in May.

“We all chat in church,” the pope said. “As Christians we chat.  ["Batiin ninyo ang katabi ninyo ng "Good morning!"  GOOD GRIEF!!!  Father, you just greeted us, "The Lord be with you!" and you wanted us to wish everyone have a good morning???  What would be greater than wishing that the Lord be with you? Huh?!  This is just plain stupid EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY OF THE MONTH!!!  ARRRGGGHHH!!!  And after that and after the sign of peace....chaos!  Everyone is chatting!  Why?  You just shattered the sacred silence by asking everyone to greet with the simple greeting "Good morning"  Why not just use that all the time???]

“It is as if we want to put each other down,” Francis continued. “Instead of growing, one makes the other feel small while I feel great. That will not do.”  [Yeah, like the priest-blogger who tagged me "Secret SSPX Supporter" and the lawyer who called me "Pseudo-Catholic".  Don't worry I called the other hypocrite and the other one desperate.  Yeah, I know.  I sinned.]

Gossip, the pope said, is like honey. It tastes sweet at first, but large doses deliver stomach aches.  [No wonder the guy is fat!  Ha!]


6) Throwing food away is stealing from the poor

The first Latin American pope has made fighting poverty a top priority of his papacy. Scarcely a speech or homily ends without a mention of the homeless and disabled.

On June 5, Francis lambasted a “culture of waste” in which consumerism trumps compassion, people become just another disposable object, and little care is given to those who need help. [Watch American reality shows and see how they just throw and waste food.  And look at how some of our youth behave today with food!  Throwing a tanturm fit over fish because he wanted hotdog or Chickenjoy!  Good grief!  Other kids would scavenge in garbage sites just for food!]

“This culture of waste has made us insensitive even to the waste and disposal of food, which is even more despicable when all over the world many individuals and families are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. ” Francis said.  [Mother Teresa once said "there is so much for everyone's need and not enough for everyone's greed.]

“We should all remember, however, that throwing food away is like stealing from the tables of the poor, the hungry.”


***

I hope these are the kind of "stunners" we'll hear from the Holy Father...

And not this one!

Ahhhhh!!!!!

RIP Msgr. Cesar Salomon

From Una Voce Philippines, comes this sad news.


***

Msgr. Cesar Salomon, an advocate of the Traditional Latin Mass has returned to his Creator! Remember him in your prayers as we the Traditional Latin Mass communities mourn his passing!

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine;
Domine, exaudi vocem meam. Fiant aures tuæ intendentes
in vocem deprecationis meæ.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus:
Speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.

In paradisum deducant te
angeli; in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam
Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro, quondam paupere,
æternam habeas requiem

Requiem Aeternam dona eis, Domine
et lux perpetua luceat eis:
Requiescant in pace. Amen.

John Paul II might be canonized in December!

from Fox News

***


A Vatican official says Pope John Paul II has cleared the final obstacle before being made a saint.

The ANSA news agency said a commission of cardinals and bishops met Tuesday to consider the case and signed off on it, leaving only Pope Francis to approve it. A Vatican official confirmed that the decision had been taken some time back and that Tuesday's meeting was essentially a formality.

One possible canonization date is Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a major feast day for the Catholic Church. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because canonization cases are covered by pontifical secret, confirmed reports in La Stampa newspaper that John Paul could be canonized together with Pope John XXIII, who called the Second Vatican Council.  [John XXIII had a miracle?]


***

Hmmm... anti-Vatican II peeps would be smelling a conspiracy about this for fast tracking the cause of two popes closely associated with the controversial council.

Makes you wonder why the cause of Pius XII is not even moving.

For all I have read about the great pope, he should have been beatified first than John XXIII, in all honesty.

But!

There goes the historical revisionists who claim Pius XII did nothing during the war, blah, blah and more blah.

Ask yourselves.

Why would the prime minister of Israel hail Pius XII's effort to save the Jews during the war, after the pontiff's death?

And then suddenly, you have legend and myth writers, who were not even born yet when Pius XII reigned claiming otherwise.

Ahhh...

The smell of anti-Catholicism.

Anywho...

Rejoice for the news of John Paul's impending canonization!

On the other hand...

PIUS XII, Santo Subito!!!

"Anything old is bad..."

No.  That was not me saying.

That is the rule of thumb of those who are against the Traditional Latin Mass.

And I have been blogging about this since day 1 of this blog.

And Michael Voris of ChurchMilitant.TV has said it...again!

We have to pound on the issue to drill the message in.

Those who are against the Traditional Latin Mass often invoke the Second Vatican Council's liturgical reform as the reason why no one...and I write NO ONE should celebrate this form of the Mass even though Pope Benedict XVI explained why it is legitimate to celebrate this Mass!

And you have guys like Fr. Geny Diwa and Fr. Reginald Malicdem publicly ridiculing Pope Benedict and Summorum Pontificum as if:

1.  They are better theologians than the former pope or
2.  They are POPES!

Such is the audacity of these two priests to continue their attack on the former pope and his teachings, you wonder, are they really doing this is obedience and genuine love of the Church?

Then, they are no better than this group.

Oooooo....surprising comment from a "secret SSPX supporter" eh Fr. A?



PS:  Yes, Fr. Geny Diwa and Fr. Reginald.  You were one of those priests that Cardinal Burke was talking about!

And Fr. Malicdem...You'll never be a Socrates Villegas!

"Daang Matuwid" shows it true colors.

What do you expect?

It's been planned all along!

And you still find this president laudable?!

Sheesh!


***

MANILA, July 2, 2013— Two Catholic Church officials said the plan to appoint former lawmaker and staunch advocate of a contraception law as Health undersecretary looks like political payback.  [It is!  Hano pa nga bah?!]

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Archbishop Oscar Cruz said that appointing former Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin as Health undersecretary only shows that the government is “pro-population control.”  [And loves attack dogs!]

“It’s already very evident that the President (Benigno Aquino III) is anti-population,” said Cruz, who heads the Church’s National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal.

“I think they are the same as far as population control is concerned. They are very much in agreement,” he added.

Mr. Aquino on Tuesday said the co-author of the controversial “Reproductive Health” bill will be an asset to the Health department because of her “extensive experience” as a doctor and a lawmaker.  [extensive experience meaning being Aquino's loudest barking "female dog" (you get the drift) while she was at Congress.  Seriously, she is so full of it!  I was at Congress during Committee and Plenary debates and I can tell you that you can easily beat her arguments!  If she can be a medical doctor, anyone can!  Believe me!]

Fr. Melvin Castro of the CBCP’s Commission on Family and Life said Garin’s looming appointment is Aquino’s way to pay his debt of gratitude for pushing the RH measure.

“It is obviously payback time,” said Castro.

He said what they are more afraid of is the pushing of more anti-life measures under the current administration.

“Well entrenched in the Aquino government are the anti-natalist, anti-life, anti-family forces,” he said. (CBCPNews)


***

If you have Catholics like Aquino working like this against the Church, who needs the Iglesia ni Manalo or the Ang Dating Lalaki Church of Ateng Eli Soriano?

Who else needs them?

The devil is having a vacation right now.  Or is he?

Look!  The Catholic Benigno Aquino is doing the attack on Christ's Church on earth!

PS:  Thank his Jesuit educators for his uninformed conscience which led him to push the contraceptive agenda!

Wow!!!

The blog just reached a milestone!

PAGE VIEWS!

Some of you know that I planned to give up blogging, but your constant "nagging" (hehe) and daily visits of an average of more than 2,000 a day, even on holidays(!), made me think twice.

Thanks to all the support and trust.

It is also because of your emails and alerts that fill the pages of this blog.

To expose those who hurt the Church from within and to defend the Church from those attacking Her from outside.

And the blogging continues!

Is celibacy the problem and other problems plaguing the Church

Or is it really the active homosexual lifestyle?



Now it looks like a former priest, an active homosexual, found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor, was found to be lying about the whole gay scandal in the Vatican.

But this does not mean there is no ring of gay clergymen, corrupt clergymen...the Church has members who are mortal men, bound to commit mistakes.

The Apostles were no exception to that.

PS:  Don't forget to pray for Holy Mother Church as asked for by Michael Voris in the video.  Comment in the TPC Facebook page or  here in the comment box.

BREAKING NEWS: Pope Francis' first encyclical out on July 5

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis' first encyclical, which he has said is largely the work of retired Pope Benedict XVI, will be published July 5.

The Vatican announced July 1 that "Lumen fidei" (The Light of Faith) will be presented at a news conference featuring Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation of Bishops; Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.

An encyclical on faith was long expected as the last volume in Pope Benedict's trilogy on the three "theological virtues," following his encyclicals "Deus Caritas Est" (2005) on charity, and "Spe Salvi" (2007) on hope.

In June, Pope Francis told bishops meeting in Rome that his first encyclical would be largely the work of his predecessor.

"It's an encyclical written with four hands, so to speak, because Pope Benedict began writing it and he gave it to me," Pope Francis said. "It's a strong document. I will say in it that I received it and most of the work was done by him and I completed it."

***

Another report says Fr. Lomabardi commented that the encyclical is not extensive.

What "extensive" means, remains to be seen.

As always, the encyclical can be downloaded in the Holy See'w website www.vatican.va.

In the Vatican: Caught on tape

Look at how this priest refused communion in the hand to a woman attending the Pallium Mass at the Vatican.

Communion in the Tongue is still the only was to receive the Lord in papal masses.

Simple fact.

Communion in the MOUTH is the NORM.

Communion in the HAND is the EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.

This priest was courageous enough to implement Church laws in the reception of the Blessed Sacrament.

Will your priest even do the same?

Masonry's selling point

As if Christianity does not teach that!

So makes you wonder why you still have to be a Mason other than you need some connections for your business and your career.

Masonry is Anti-religion and anti-Catholic!

Former Masons have spoken up against it.

And Catholic must join this damnable organization!

The clerical garb: Unless you are ashamed of it or...

...or you are proud of who you are or...

...you want to play permanent CosPlay.  Ha!

This is going to be a classic!

Fr. Robert Paul Zarate has his own blog, Pari sa Japan, and has written a true classic about the Clerical Collar and Cassock.  Go click here to read the full post.

Makes me wonder why an elderly priest would scold a seminarian aflame with love for God and proud of his vocation just for wearing the garb, uniform proper for his state of life.

Are you ashamed old man?

Here is his advice for those who opted to enter the religious life.

"Dear young seminarian, be always happy and grateful to God for the gift of your vocation and commitment shown through your cassock or your clerical.  Yes, be always grateful.  Never content yourself on the comforts of what ordinary, casual clothes can give you.  Never desire to be “invisible” in this world.  You chose to walk that path to the priesthood, a path that has never taken any “undercover” role in the world of evangelization.  (Leave that  to the lay!)  Take care of that cassock.  Respect it and don’t let it just hang around as some piece of rag.  Take care of your collar.  That collar is meant to be shown, not hidden or tucked in.  Let your cassock and clerical be your instant instrument of evangelization.  Let them also be your instant shield from temptations.  Let them be instant reminders to you and to others that God is just among us... yes, just here among us!"

I am still looking for a valid argument from priests and religious who go around not wearing their cassock or habit.


***

PS:  The note is for priests and seminarians.  Not for any altar server or not for any guy who goes around claiming to be an instituted acolyte or an instituted lay missionary or whatever hockum you could think of to justify the wearing of the collar.

Makes me wonder, to quote Fr. Bob Zarate:

"If you see a Buddhist priest standing and praying with a begging bowl in front of train stations, chances are they are not real Buddhist priests.  They are fake.  They just stand there to collect money for their daily living sans proper work.  Yet, they are dressed to the detail.  I was moved to think that if people who are not really so can dress up well as if they are the real thing, what about a real priest dressing up as a real priest!"

Still it does not justify the fakes one going around dressed up as if they are priests.

I am pretty sure Fr. Bob agrees on this one.