Mr. Guimaraes,

Could you please comment on the article below? Is the latest encyclical socialist in its essence? Do we have a socialist Pope?

I would appreciate your assistance and clear thinking in clearing up this matter. It is so muddled.

     In Christo Rey,

     E.J.



Socialist Benedict
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Pittsburg Tribune online
Dateline, Vatican City:

"Pope Benedict XVI ... called for a radical rethinking of the global economy, criticizing a growing divide between rich and poor and urging the establishment of a 'true world political authority' to oversee the economy and work for the 'common good,'" reported The New York Times on July 7.

The pope's a socialist.

What was that classic line from George Santayana about those who cannot learn from history being doomed to repeat it?

Apparently the Catholic pontiff did not even consult with Church history before releasing his latest encyclical. We commend for his reading the words of Pope Leo XIII, from his Rerum Novarum encylical, issued on May 15, 1891:

The main tenet of Socialism, namely the community of goods, must be rejected without qualifications, for it would injure those it pretends to benefit, it would be contrary to the natural rights of man, and it would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonwealth.

Now, Leo was no laissez faire kind of pope; he had plenty of socialist leanings of his own. But as Cliff Kincaid of America's Survival, Inc. notes, Benedict's often contradictory encyclical "pretends that a world government can co-exist with freedom and democracy."

It cannot, of course, as history teaches us, and as at least one of Benedict's predecessors partially understood.

TIA,

I ran into this comment about Benedict's social encyclical Caritas in Veritate on the blog of an Opus Dei priest Rev. Robert A. Connor, New York City.

He notes that even the Novus Ordo conservative Weigel - who is always defending everything Pope Benedict does - has backed down on this encyclical. In a July issue of National Review, Weigel accuses Benedict of exercising a "hermeneutic of rupture" with Caritas because he is supporting a new social doctrine of the Church that began with Populorum Progressio (1967). Weigel complains that Benedict XVI's "entire effort to get the Catholic Church thinking of itself as a communion of believers in essential continuity over time is now back on the table of debate, because of the suggestion that something different in kind began, at least in terms of social doctrine, with Populorum Progressio."

What struck me is that this is more honest than many trads - who are trying to defend the encyclical by looking only at good or neutral paragraphs, and miss (purposely???!!!) the point of the whole thing.

By the way, Fr. Connor is upset with Weigel and fully supports Benedict's encyclical and Vatican II - which tells you a lot about Opus Dei. He correctly notes - in my opinion - that what is at stake is the very meaning of the Council "that has not been understood of yet."

I await Mr. Guimaraes' explanation of the new encyclical eagerly - hope he can get to it soon.

Thanks for your orientation. I faithfully follow your site. You're right on - on everything, yes, also the Chartres pilgrimage... I only wish the changed doctrine and heresies of Progressivism could get the same kind of excited reaction. Then the movement of Resistance would go ahead full steam.

     In Cristo Rey,

     J.F.



TIA responds:

Dear Mr. E.J. and Mr. J.F.,

We thank you both for your consideration and interest in Mr. Guimarães' comments about the last papal encyclical.

At this moment he is editing a Spanish translation of In the Murky Waters of Vatican II that was made by friends in a South American country, and has a press deadline there that he needs to make. Those friends are insisting on having the author's final editing of his book so everything else had to stop to allow time for this urgent task. It is a slow, careful and very time-consuming work.

This, on top of the daily work of editing the TIA website, makes it impossible for him to do anything else at this moment. However, as soon as the first task is finished - hopefully in around 15 days - he plans to read Caritas in veritate and comment on it.

Mr. J.F., we are on the same page as you regarding the lack of zeal of many traditionalists for the fight against Progressivism. Thank you for your support.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA,

My question : Who declared the late Pope John XXIII "blessed" and on what grounds? I have not been able to find this information and would appreciate your response.

R.C.



TIA responds:

Dear R.C.,

John Paul II declared John XXIII a blessed in 2000. You can check for yourself the résumé of his life on the Holy See website here; John Paul II gave a homily on the day of his beatification, which you can read here.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

TIA,

The following is a commentary on the Miami Herald's revealing August 17th front page article, PAIN AND PRAYERS - Archdiocese of Miami Shuts Down 13 Churches.

When I attended St. John Vianney Minor Seminary for the Archdiocese of Miami from 1960 to 1963 (Feb.), the Church had the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in Latin (Tridentine Mass) and 1930+ years of Catholic Tradition.

Never was the Church stronger in the whole world than after World War II...

Rumor has it that H.M. Queen Elizabeth II wanted to convert to Catholicism, so great was the Church's prestige under Pius XII.

But "good" Pope John XXIII, who was approached by London's Cardinal on behalf of the Queen, said NO, which, if true, says a lot about what happened in the next 40+ years!

Since Vatican Council II (1962-65), Holy Mother Church, known as the Bride of Christ, underwent a revolutionary transformation in her Sacred Liturgy and teachings. This has, as it were, diminished whatever was One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic about the Church - for which so many millions gave their lives as Martyrs for almost 2000 years...

If the Archdiocese of Miami were really serious about solving the current financial crisis, it should do its part to bring back the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic aspect of Holy Mother Church.

The first of many suggestions to help the Archdiocese of Miami is to restore in all the remaining churches the Latin Tridentine Mass that should never have been abrogated in the first place.

Otherwise, the "Pain and Prayers" of most Florida Catholics will continue, while the Protestants, etc., gain more and more of these disenchanted and disillusioned Catholics. WOE!

     In Christ the King,

     Arthur Denchfield

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