Benedict XVI: The Pope Who Wants Sunday Laws
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Benedict XVI:
The Pope Who Wants Sunday Laws
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: RATZINGER OBSTRUCTED SEX-ABUSE CASES
Do you believe the following statement? church on that day. He also said that governments
“Perhaps we, too, can gain by looking to Pope throughout the world should enact laws, so every-
John Paul II as a good example of what it means to one could honor Sunday as a rest day.
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M be a Christian. I find it ironic that we criticize Catho- In that encyclical, dated May 31, 1998, he, in
lics for looking to one man who they consider ap- effect, called for National Sunday Laws! (Pope John
1
2 pointed by God to be a leader in their church. Do Paul II Calls for National Sunday Laws [WM–843-
7 we not do the same with Ellen White? Were they not
1 846]).
both godly individuals [Ellen White and John Paul
II] whom God used in a powerful way to lead His I have never believed that John Paul wrote that
people [Adventists and Catholics] through hard statement, nor any of his other official statements.
times. I imagine if they met each other and looked Neither have I thought that he wrote the scripted
back at their respective churches, they might both speeches he gave—the oral ones, yes, but not the
shake their heads and say with a sigh, ‘Oh, those ones he read.
rowdy kids.’ May we live in such a manner as to I assumed that, buried somewhere in the Vat-
meet them both someday.” ican, there was a group of high level priests who
Oh, you want to know who wrote it? wrote it all.
It was Alden Thompson, Professor of Church —Now I discover that all John Paul’s doctrinal
History at Walla Walla College, who teaches non- statements were written by Cardinal Josef Rat-
Adventist secularism to the youth you are foolish zinger! The man who is his successor! It is Ratzinger
enough to send to that Adventist school. who has been in charge of producing all Vatican
Thompson’s statement is quoted from the April doctrinal statements and position papers since
14, 2005 edition of The Collegian, the official weekly 1981!
newspaper of Walla Walla College, which is read by Here are these statements, written by Ratzinger
all the students. to Catholic leaders and secular governments through-
Thompson concluded the above paragraph by out the world!
stating that, if we make it to heaven, we will be “The fundamental importance of Sunday has
sure to meet John Paul II there. been recognized through two thousand years
Will he be there? When John Paul was shot in of history and was emphatically restated by
the early 1980s, he called on the Virgin Mary, a dead the Second Vatican Council.”—Page 2, section
woman, to save him. Softly, he said totus tuus (“all 3.
yours”). He was dedicating his life anew—not to God “Paul VI emphasized this importance once
or to Jesus Christ—but to, what he considered as, more when he approved the new General Ro-
a “departed spirit.” Dedication to departed spirits? man Calendar and the Universal Norms which
regulate the ordering of the Liturgical Year.”—
In his “will,” written over a period of several
Page 2, section 3. [This occurred near the conclu-
years, John Paul once again used that phrase: “I sion of Vatican II, and primarily concerned a re-
place it too in the hands of the Mother of my Mas- vised arrangement for yearly church festivals and
ter: Totus Tuus.”—And in one sentence, once again, holy days.]
he committed his life and his entire future after “The coming of the Third Millennium, which
death—into the hands of Mary. calls believers to reflect upon the course of history
I feel very sorry for the poor man. He had trusted in the light of Christ, also invites them to redis-
his salvation to the Catholic legends that dead cover with new intensity the meaning of Sun-
DATE OF PUBLICATION: MAY 2005
people can save you from eternal death and deliver day: its ‘mystery,’ its celebration, its signifi-
you into the future Kingdom of God’s dear Son. cance for Christian and human life.”—Page 2,
All good Catholics may believe that John Paul section 3.
is already in heaven; and Alden Thompson may be- “I note with pleasure that in the years since
lieve that, when you get there, he will welcome you the [Vatican II] Council this important theme
[of strengthening Sunday sacredness] has
at the gate. But it is not true.
prompted not only many interventions by you,
Let us now turn our attention to the new pope. dear Brother Bishops, as teachers of the faith,
Several years ago, we reprinted an entire encyclical but also different pastoral strategies which—
of John Paul II about the urgent need for Catholics with the support of your clergy—you have de-
throughout the world to honor Sunday and attend veloped either individually or jointly. On the2 Waymarks threshold of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, by biblical revelation. This is the perspective it has been my wish to offer you this Apostolic within which Christians need to rediscover this Letter in order to support your pastoral efforts precept today.”—Pages 5-6, section 13. in this vital area.”—Page 2, section 3. “ ‘We celebrate Sunday because of the venerable “I reflect with you on the meaning of Sunday and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we do underline the reasons for living Sunday as truly ‘the so not only at Easter but also at the turning of the Lord’s Day,’ also in the changing circumstances week’; so wrote Pope Innocent I at the beginning of of our own times.”—Page 2, section 3. the fifth century, testifying to an already well “Until quite recently, it was easier in tradi- established practice which had evolved from tionally Christian countries to keep Sunday the early years after the Lord’s Resurrection.”— holy because it was an almost universal prac- Page 7, section 19. tice and because, even in the organization of “Wise pastoral intuition suggested to the civil society, Sunday rest was considered a Church the christianization of the notion of fixed part of the work schedule. Today, however, Sunday as ‘the day of the sun,’ which was the even in those countries which give legal sanction Roman name for the day and which is retained to the festive character of Sunday, changes in so- in some modern languages. This was in order to cioeconomic conditions have often led to the pro- draw the faithful away from the seduction of cults found modifications of social behavior and hence which worshipped the sun, and to direct the cel- of the character of Sunday. The custom of the ‘week- ebration of the day to Christ.”—Page 10, section end’ has become more widespread, a weekly pe- 27. riod of respite, spent perhaps far from home.”— “It is clear then why, even in our own diffi- Page 2, section 4. cult times, the identity of this day must be pro- “Because of the sociological pressures already tected and above all must be lived in all its depth. noted, and perhaps because the motivation of faith An Eastern writer of the beginning of the third cen- is weak, the percentage of those attending the Sun- tury recounts that as early as then the faithful in day liturgy is strikingly low.”—Page 3, section 5. every region were keeping Sunday holy on a regu- “Given this array of new situations and the ques- lar basis.”—Page 11, section 30. tions which they prompt, it seems more neces- “What began as a spontaneous practice later sary than ever to recover the deep doctrinal became a juridically sanctioned norm [i.e., Na- foundations underlying the Church’s precept, tional Sunday laws were enacted and enforced]. The so that the abiding value of Sunday in the Chris- Lord’s Day has structured the history of the tian life will be clear to all the faithful. In do- Church through two thousand years: how could ing this, we follow in the footsteps of the age- we think that it will not continue to shape her old tradition of the Church, powerfully restated future?”—Page 11, section 30. by the Second Vatican Council in its teaching that “Given its many meanings and aspects, and its on Sunday, ‘Christian believers should come to- link to the very foundations of the faith, the cel- gether . . [to receive the mass, etc.]’ ”—Page 3, sec- ebration of the Christian Sunday remains, on tion 6. the threshold of the Third Millennium, an in- “The duty to keep Sunday holy, especially dispensable element of our Christian iden- by sharing in the Eucharist and by relaxing in tity.”—Page 11, section 30. a spirit of Christian joy and fraternity, is easily “Even if in the earliest times it was not understood if we consider the many different as- judged necessary to be prescriptive, the Church pects of this day upon which the present Letter will has not ceased to confirm this obligation of focus our attention.”—Page 3, section 7. conscience [the urgency of requiring obedience to “I would strongly urge everyone to rediscover it], which rises from the inner need felt so strongly Sunday.”—Page 3, section 7. by Christians of the first centuries. It was only “The Sabbath precept, which in the first Cov- later, faced with the half-heartedness or negli- enant prepares for the Sunday of the new and eter- gence of some, that the Church had to make nal Covenant, is therefore rooted in the depths explicit the duty to attend Sunday Mass; more of God’s plan. This is why, unlike many other pre- often than not, this was done in the form of cepts, it is set not within the context of strictly cultic exhortation, but at times the Church had to stipulations but within the Decalogue, the ‘ten resort to specific canonical precepts . . These words’ which represent the very pillars of the decrees of local Councils led to a universal prac- moral life inscribed on the human heart. In set- tice, the obligatory character of which was taken ting this commandment within the context of as something quite normal.”—Page 17, section 47. the basic structure of ethics, Israel and then “The Code of Canon Law of 1917 for the first the Church declare that they consider it not time gathered this tradition into a universal law. just a matter of community religious discipline The present Code reiterates this, saying that but a defining and indelible expression of our ‘on Sundays and the other holy days of obliga- relationship with God, announced and expounded tion the faithful are bound to attend Mass.’ This
W Benedict XVI: The Pope Who Wants Sunday Laws 3
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1 legislation has normally been understood as man. [Everyone needs to stop work once a week.]
2 entailing a grave obligation: This is the teaching When through the centuries, she has made laws
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of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and it is concerning Sunday rest, the Church has had
easy to understand why if we keep in mind how in mind above all the work of servants and
vital Sunday is for the Christian life.”—Page 17, workers, certainly not because this work was any
section 47. less worthy when compared to the spiritual require-
“It is the special responsibility of the Bish- ments of Sunday observance, but rather because it
ops, therefore, ‘to ensure that Sunday is appreci- needed greater regulation to lighten its bur-
ated by all the faithful, kept holy and celebrated as den and thus enable everyone to keep the Lord’s
truly the ‘Lord’s Day.’ ”—Pages 17-18, section 48. Day holy. In this matter, my predecessor Pope Leo
“For several centuries, Christians observed Sun- XIII in his Encyclical Rerum Novarum spoke of
day simply as a day of worship, without being able Sunday rest as a worker’s right which the State
to give it the specific meaning of the Sabbath rest. must guarantee.”—Page 23, section 66.
Only in the fourth century did the civil law of “In our own historical context there remains
the Roman Empire recognize the weekly recur- the obligation to ensure that everyone can en-
rence, determining that on ‘the day of the sun’ joy the freedom, rest and relaxation which hu-
the judges, the people of the cities and various man dignity requires, together with the asso-
trade corporations would not work. Christians ciated religious, family, cultural and interper-
rejoiced to see thus removed the obstacles sonal needs which are difficult to meet if there
which until then had sometimes made obser- is no guarantee of at least one day of the week
vance of the Lord’s Day heroic [difficult]. They on which people can both rest and celebrate.
could now devote themselves to prayer in com- Naturally, this right of workers to rest presup-
mon without hinderance. poses their right to work and, as we reflect on the
“It would therefore be wrong to see in this question of the Christian understanding of Sunday,
legislation of the rhythm of the week a mere we cannot but recall with a deep sense of solidarity
historical circumstance with no special signifi- the hardship of countless men and women who,
cance for the Church and which she could sim- because of the lack of jobs, are forced to remain
ply set aside. Even after the fall of the Empire, inactive on workdays as well.”—Page 23, section
the Councils did not cease to insist upon the 66.
arrangements regarding Sunday rest. In coun- “Therefore, also in the particular circum-
tries where Christians are in the minority and where stances of our own time, Christians will natu-
the festive days of the calender do not coincide with rally strive to ensure that civil legislation re-
Sunday, it is still Sunday which remains the Lord’s spects their duty to keep Sunday holy. In any
Day, the day on which the faithful come together for case, they are obliged in conscience to arrange their
the Eucharistic assembly. But this involves real sac- Sunday rest in a way which allows them to take
rifices. For Christians it is not normal that Sunday, part in the Eucharist, refraining from work and
the day of joyful celebration, should not also be a activities which are incompatible with the sanctifi-
day of rest, and it is difficult for them to keep Sun- cation of the Lord’s Day, with its characteristic joy
day holy if they do not have enough free time. and necessary rest for spirit and body.”—Page 23,
“By contrast the link between the Lord’s Day section 67.
and the day of rest in civil society [i.e., includ- “Dear Brothers and Sisters, the imminence of
ing non-Catholics] has a meaning and impor- the Jubilee invites us to a deeper spiritual and
tance which go beyond the distinctly Christian pastoral commitment. Indeed, this is its true
point of view. [The Sunday rest is needed by ev- purpose. In the Jubilee year, much will be done
eryone.] The alternation between work and rest, to give it the particular stamp demanded by
built into human nature, is willed by God Him- the end of the second Millennium and the begin-
self, as appears in the creation story in the Book of ning of the Third since the Incarnation of the Word
Genesis (cf. 2:2-3; Ex. 20:8-11). Rest is something of God. But this year and this special time will pass,
‘sacred,’ because it is man’s way of withdrawing from as we look to other jubilees and other solemn events.
the sometimes excessive demanding cycle of earthly As the weekly ‘solemnity,’ however, Sunday will
tasks in order to review his awareness that every- continue to shape the time of the Church’s pil-
thing is the work of God.”—Page 22, sections 64- grimage, until that Sunday which will know no
65. evening.”—Page 29, section 87.
“Finally, it should not be forgotten that even in “Therefore, dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
our own day work is very oppressive for many I urge you to work tirelessly with the faithful to
people, either because of miserable working condi- ensure that the value of this sacred day is under-
tions and long hours—especially in the poorer re- stood and lived ever more deeply. This will bear
gions of the world—or because of the persistence rich fruit in Christian communities, and will
in economically more developed societies of too not fail to have a positive influence on civil so-
many cases of injustice and exploitation of man by ciety as a whole.”—Page 29, Section 87.4 Waymarks
R ATZINGER OBSTRUCTED SEX-ABUSE CASES
Pope Obstructed Sex-Abuse Inquiry Breaching the pontifical secret at any time
Confidential Letter Reveals Ratzinger while the 10-year jurisdiction order is operat-
Ordered Bishops to Keep Allegations Secret ing carries penalties, including the threat of
The Observer - Britain, April 24, 2005 excommunication. [And all that time, the priest
Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he has been transferred to another parish where he
had “obstructed justice” after it emerged he is- can do it again.]
sued an order ensuring the church’s investiga- The letter is referred to in documents relat-
tions into child-sex abuse claims be carried ing to a lawsuit filed earlier this year against a
out in secret. The order was made in a confiden- church in Texas and Ratzinger on behalf of two
tial letter, obtained by The Observer, which was alleged abuse victims. By sending the letter, law-
sent to every Catholic bishop in May 2001. It as- yers acting for the alleged victims claim the car-
serted the church’s right to hold its inquiries dinal conspired to obstruct justice. Daniel Shea,
behind closed doors and keep the evidence the lawyer for the two alleged victims who dis-
confidential for up to 10 years after the vic- covered the letter, said: “It speaks for itself. You
tims reached adulthood. The letter was signed have to ask: why do you not start the clock
by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected ticking until the kid turns 18? It’s an obstruc-
as John Paul II’s successor last week. tion of justice.”
Lawyers acting for abuse victims claim it F__ John Beal, professor of canon law at the
was designed to prevent the allegations from Catholic University of America, gave an oral depo-
becoming public knowledge or being investi- sition under oath on 8 April last year in which he
gated by the police. They accuse Ratzinger of admitted to Shea that the letter extended the
committing a “clear obstruction of justice.” church’s jurisdiction and control over sexual as-
The letter, “concerning very grave sins,” was sault crimes.
sent from the Congregation for the Doctrine of The Ratzinger letter was co-signed by Arch-
the Faith [in earlier years, called “The Inquisi- bishop Tarcisio Bertone who gave an interview
tion”], the Vatican office that once presided over two years ago in which he hinted at the church’s
the Inquisition and was overseen by Ratzinger. opposition to allowing outside agencies to in-
It spells out to bishops the church’s position vestigate abuse claims. “In my opinion, the de-
on a number of matters ranging from celebrating mand that a bishop be obligated to contact the
the eucharist with a non-Catholic to sexual abuse police in order to denounce a priest who has ad-
by a cleric “with a minor below the age of 18 years.” mitted to having committed the offence of paedo-
Ratzinger’s letter states that the church can philia is unfounded,” Bertone said.
claim jurisdiction in cases where abuse has Shea criticized the order that abuse allega-
been “perpetrated with a minor by a cleric.” tions should be investigated only in secret tribu-
The letter states that the church’s jurisdiction nals. “They are imposing procedures and secrecy
‘begins to run from the day when the minor has on these cases. If law enforcement agencies find
completed the 18th year of age’ and lasts for 10 out about the case, they can deal with it. But
years. It orders that “preliminary investigations” you can’t investigate a case if you never find
into any claims of abuse should be sent to out about it. If you can manage to keep it se-
Ratzinger’s office, which has the option of refer- cret for 18 years plus 10 the priest will get
ring them back to private tribunals in which the away with it,” Shea added. A spokeswoman in
“functions of judge, promoter of justice, notary the Vatican press office declined to comment when
and legal representative can validly be performed told about the contents of the letter. “This is not
for these cases only by priests.” “Cases of this a public document, so we would not talk about
kind are subject to the pontifical secret,” Ratzin- it,” she said.
ger’s letter concludes.
More WAYMARKS - from ————————— PIL GRIMS RES
PILGRIMS RESTT
HCR 77, BOX 38A - BEERSHEBA SPRINGS, TN 37305 USAHOW R ATZINGER WAS ELECTED
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: A FEW ROMAN FACTS
They tried to get the stove fired up; but just as Another dissenter, punished by Ratzinger for his
they poured chemicals in it to whiten the smoke, ac- modernist positions, was Brazil’s Leonardo Boff who
cording to Chicago’s Cardinal George, “The stove had championed liberation theology. Before the re-
backed up, pouring smoke into the chapel.” At first, cent conclave, Boff predicted that the “odious” Rat-
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only gray smoke emerged from the stovepipe. zinger “will never be pope.” There were just too many
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But not long after, after a chorus of bells had modernists who opposed the German cardinal who
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sounded, the announcement was made from a win- was in charge of all doctrinal statements issuing from
2
7 dow in St. Peter’s: Habemus Papam! “We have a the Vatican.
2
Pope!” From 1986 to 1992, Ratzinger supervised the
But how did it all happen? How did Ratzinger writing of the new Catholic Catechism, He did most
get elected instead of the papabili—the potential of the writing, along with a helper, Austria’s Cardinal
candidates that so many expected? Schonborn.
Two years ago, Cardinal Tettamanzi of Milan—an Another problem to the church was Hans Kung,
Italian, as so many wanted—was the favorite. Other a very liberal theology teacher in Tübingen, Germany.
front runners were cardinals in South and Central In 1993, Kung remarked about Ratzinger, “He is very
America. sweet . . and very dangerous.”
But not Ratzinger. He was old; and he was too For 24 years Ratzinger had, single-handedly,
stern, too supportive of the old traditions in a mod- masterminded every theological position of the
ern world. He was also unusual in that he was will- entire world church! No little task, but it was a task
ing to issue strong demands and push his ideas Ratzinger could handle. When he sets his mind to
through to success. getting Catholic theology enforced, he does it. —And
he was the one who wrote John Paul II’s 1998 encyc-
It all started many years earlier. lical, urging governments throughout the world to
Josef Cardinal Frings, Archbishop of Cologne who enforce Sunday observance (See Benedict XVI: The
had to travel to Vatican II, remembered that the most Pope Who Wants Sunday Laws WM–1271).
brilliant priest in Germany was a young man named
Ratzinger. So he took him along to be his theological By the time of his death, John Paul II had ap-
adviser at the historic council. pointed 115 new cardinals. All those over 80 (includ-
It was not long before other church leaders at- ing many opposed to Ratzinger) were ineligible to vote.
tending Vatican II were surprised at the incisiveness John Paul II had stacked the College of Cardinals
of Ratzinger’s mind. One was John XXIII’s succes- with men who would tend to favor his conservative
sor, Paul VI. He elevated Ratzinger to Archbishop of views.
Munich; and then quickly, in the spring of 1977, he After October 2003, most of the prominent car-
made him a cardinal. dinals passed the voting age limit of 80. Cardinal Mar-
The next year, Paul VI died and Ratzinger attended tini was the only one of stature still able to rally car-
the conclave which elected John Paul I on August 26, dinals to the liberal cause. But in 2002, the pope had
1978. Unfortunately, he was murdered 33 days later. approved his transfer to a scholarship position in
(See my book, The Murder of Pope John Paul I for Jerusalem, where he would have less influence.
an understanding of why it happened and who prob- In contrast, John Paul II was careful not to let
ably did it.) Ratzinger give up his several bureaucratic jobs in the
Both at that papal conclave and the next one, Rat- Curia, although he offered to do so twice.
zinger and a young cardinal from Poland became ac- Among other duties, Ratzinger was dean of the
quainted. After being elected as John Paul II on Oc- College of Cardinals. Another significant fact was that,
out of a total of 117 cardinals, Ratzinger was one of
DATE OF PUBLICATION: MAY 2005
tober 16, he searched for an archconservative to head
the extremely important Office of the Inquisition. In only two cardinals who had not been appointed by
1981 he appointed Ratzinger to the job. (Later, to John Paul II.
make it sound better, the name was changed to the In 2004, Ratzinger, instead of slowing down,
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.) seemed energized—and poured forth still more theo-
In 1986, Ratzinger unflinchingly got rid of Charles logical position papers. He was managing the church
Curran, a theologian at the Catholic University of while John Paul II spent his time traveling all over
America (located in Washington, D.C., close to Ta- the world. —And that is exactly what the two of
koma Park, Maryland), who had been voicing unor- them had been doing together for over 20 years!
thodox views about contraception. Writing several articles for key Italian newspa-2 Waymarks
pers in 2004, Ratzinger was able to quench Italian balloting. The rest of the votes were spread among
desire for “an Italian pope.” He had become the car- several Italians; and, according to one cardinal, sev-
dinal that Italian conservative church leaders wanted eral ballots were left blank.
for the next pope. Cardinal Ruini, the vicar of Rome, kept the Ital-
In February 2005, as John Paul was admitted to ian cardinals with Ratzinger. Many of the 20 cardi-
the hospital, Ratzinger delivered a powerful sermon nals from Latin America quickly joined with his sup-
at the funeral of the founder of Communion and Lib- porters. They liked his traditionalist positions.
eration, a very influential Catholic lay movement, and The second ballot saw Ratzinger reach 60 votes.
received enthusiastic applause. His leading rival, By the third, he was only a few votes short of the 77
Tettamanzi of Milan, left the gathering shaken. required for the papacy. By the fourth, he had won
For the Good Friday sermon, with John Paul near 95 votes from the 115 cardinals present.
death, Ratzinger gave an utterly daring sermon, de- Why should this be a surprise? The man who
claring that the Church needed to be “cleansed from had been in charge of the Vatican for 24 years had
filth.” This caused many, many Catholics to regard won. Interestingly enough, twice he had offered his
him as the sole towering priest of strength who was resignation from the Congregation for the Doctrine
needed to guide the Church in the years to come. of the Faith; but each time John Paul refused to let
Then John Paul died; and cardinals from his penman leave the Vatican.
around the world arrived at Rome for the forthcom- One liberal left the conclave grumbling: “A good
ing conclave. Turning to officials in the Curia for conclave is one where there are at least two candi-
counsel, they were pointed to Ratzinger as the man dates deadlocked; a bad one is where there’s one
they should go to for counsel. dominant figure. That was the case this time.”
One priest close to Ratzinger later said, “It’s a Belgium’s Cardinal Danneels was one of the few
fact that most cardinals don’t know most other car- prelates to voice disappointment publicly. Benedict
dinals. They get to know each other in Rome. And XVI was “the choice of the college [of cardinals],” he
how do they get to know each other? They ask the told a Flemish newspaper. “Whether he was an ideal
Curia Cardinals.” candidate is another matter.”
As a result, the person everyone wanted to meet Upon learning that Ratzinger had become pope,
was Ratzinger, a quiet man with a warm smile—when President George W. Bush praised him as a “man of
he is smiling. great wisdom . . who serves the Lord.”
On the Saturday before the conclave, he turned In his Memorandum to Cardinal Theodore E.
78. For days he had been impressing cardinals by McCarrick (2004), Ratzinger had earlier written:
speaking to them in German, French, English, Ital- “A Catholic would be guilty of formal coop-
ian, and Spanish. eration in evil, and so unworthy to represent
Ratzinger was at center stage at every important himself for holy communion, if he were to de-
event. He led out at John Paul’s funeral, at the first of liberately vote for a candidate precisely because
the novemdiales masses (held on the nine days after of the candidate’s permissive stand in favor of
a pope’s funeral), as chairman of the cardinals’ daily abortion and/or euthanasia.”
congregation meetings, at the preconclave mass. It was Ratzinger who wrote the 1998 encyclical,
For two full weeks—Ratzinger was in charge of urging prelates and governmental leaders to enact
everything at the Vatican. And, as the one who made strict Sunday laws (See Benedict XVI: The Pope Who
all the decisions, he made sure that he gave all the Wants Sunday Laws WM–1271). Would the above
sermons and homilies, was in charge of all the statement also include as sin decisions made by vot-
masses, and chaired all the cardinals’ meetings. ers or politicians not to vote for Sunday laws?
Then, on the Monday morning of the conclave, he As one newspaper put it:
delivered a powerful speech to the cardinals, declar- “By all accounts, the new Pope Benedict XVI
ing that he would not compromise his positions in is known neither for charisma nor a propensity
order to win votes. At that meeting, he was only sup- for reform. Quite the contrary, he is described
posed to present to the cardinals general principles as an immovable advocate of strict Catholic tra-
for electing the next pope—not provide them with a dition
. in almost every area, one who challenges—
political speech about his own candidacy. and has suppressed—momentum for reform.”—
The liberals had arrived in Rome, fully believing Chattanooga Times, April 20, 2005.
that Ratzinger could not possibly be elected. But they Have you read chapter 35 (Aims of the Papacy)
quickly changed their minds. of Great Controversy lately? It spells out in detail
the “strict Catholic tradition” that Benedict XVI stands
The conclave began on Monday afternoon. Car-
for. —vf
dinal Martini of Milan tried to blunt Ratzinger’s lead,
but Ratzinger was already solidly ahead in the firstA Few Roman Facts
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2 What You Didn’t Know about the Popes of Rome peppered throughout with several centuries of forger-
- Excerpted from an unpublished article by Mark ies along with Gratian’s own fictional additions.
Owen, a free-lance Protestant writer - April 6, 2005— Gregory also formalized the celibacy doctrine in
The triple sovereignty of the pope is distinct in fact and order to curtail the many gifts of church lands being
in law. Internationally, he is not subject to any author- given away to all of the illegitimate children of priests
ity on earth. His cardinals are considered to be Princes and bishops. According to Catholic historian Peter de
of the Church and peers of the sons of reigning mon- Rosa in his book, Vicars of Christ: “Popes had mis-
archs. Each diocese is considered to be a royal fiefdom. tresses as young as fifteen years of age, were guilty of
The word, “diocese,” originally signified an adminis- incest and sexual perversions of every sort, had innu-
trative unit devised by the Emperor Diocletian, a ty- merable children, were murdered in the very act of
rant noted for his persecution of Christians. adultery. In the old Catholic phrase, why be holier than
Following are brief sketches of some of the more the Pope?”
interesting holders of the title, “Vicar of Christ.” (It Another interesting figure was Alexander VI (for-
should be noted that the Latin equivalent of the Greek merly Rodrigo Borgia). He reigned from 1492-1503.
“anti” is “vicarius,” from whence is derived the word, Alexander committed his first murder at the age of 12.
“vicar.”) [In Greek, “anti” can mean “against”; thus “Vicar Upon assuming the Papal miter he cried, “I am Pope,
of Christ” = “against Christ,” or “anti-Christ.” vf] Vicar of Christ!” In his Decline and Fall [of the Roman
Without a doubt, there was one pope who was com- Empire], Gibbon referred to Alexander as the Tiberius
pletely mad. In 896 Stephen VII set in motion the trial of Rome. Like his predecessor Innocent VIII, Alexander
of his rival, the late Pope Formosus who had been dead sired many children, baptized them personally and of-
for 9 months at the time. Formosus’ corpse was dragged ficiated at their weddings in the Vatican. He had ten
from its tomb and arrayed on a throne in the council known illegitimate children (including the notorious
chamber. The corpse, wrapped in a hair shirt, was pro- Cesare and Lucrezia [Borgia]) by his favorite mistress
vided with council, who wisely remained silent while Vannoza Catanei. When she faded, Borgia took the 15-
Pope Stephen raved and screamed at it. The crime of year old Giulia Farnese. Farnese obtained a cardinal’s
Formosus was that he had crowned as emperor one of red hat for her brother who later became Paul III.
the numerous illegitimate heirs of Charlemagne after Alexander was followed by Julius II, who purchased
first having performed the same office for a candidate the papacy with his own private fortune. He didn’t even
favored by Stephen. pretend to be a Christian. A notorious womanizer who
After Stephen’s rant, the corpse was stripped of its sired any number of bastards, Julius was so eaten away
clothes and its fingers were chopped off. It was then with syphilis that he couldn’t even expose his foot to be
dragged through the palace and hurled from a balcony kissed. Under Leo X (1513-1521)—who cursed and
to a howling mob, below, who threw it into the Tiber. excommunicated Martin Luther—specific prices were
The body was later rescued by people sympathetic to enumerated by the Roman Chancery for every imagin-
Formosus and given a quiet burial. able crime. For instance, a deacon accused of murder
Stephen was strangled to death a few years later. could be absolved for 20 crowns. Once pardoned, he
In 964 Pope Benedict V raped a young girl and could not be prosecuted by civil authorities.
absconded to Constantinople with the papal treasury, Two hundred years earlier, John XXII had done
only to reappear when the money ran out. Church his- much the same thing, setting prices for crimes ranging
torian, Gerbert, called Benedict “the most iniquitous from incest to sodomy.
of all the monsters of ungodliness.” The pontiff was During his pontificate Innocent VIII (1484-1492)
eventually slain by a jealous husband. His corpse, bear- granted a 20-year Butterbriefe indulgence to persons
ing a hundred dagger wounds, was dragged through who met his price. For a sum, one could purchase the
the streets before being tossed into a cesspit. privilege of eating favorite dishes during Lent.
In October 1032 the papal miter was purchased Leo X (Giovanni de Medici) commissioned the Do-
for the 11-year old Benedict IX. Upon reaching his 14th minican friar, Tetzel, to sell indulgences which released
year, a chronicler wrote that Benedict had already sur- one from purgatory. Tetzel’s famous refrain went, “As
passed in wantonness and profligacy all who had pre- soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purga-
ceded him. He often had to leave Rome in a hurry. tory springs!”
Gregory VII was a master forger, surpassing even Pope Sixtus IV charged Roman brothels a “Church
the great fraud known as the Donation of Constantine, Tax.” According to historian Will Durant, in 1490 there
the document that created the Papal States. Gregory were 6,800 registered prostitutes in Rome. Pius II de-
had an entire school of forgers turning out document clared that Rome was the only city run by bastards (the
after document bearing the papal seal of approval. These sons of popes and cardinals). The iniquity of the vari-
documents were later systematized in the mid-1100s ous popes has filled many books; and one has to won-
in Bologna by Gratian, a Benedictine monk. He called der if the Church has been cursed from the very begin-
his work the Decretum, or Code of Canon Law. It was ning. After all, Constantine leveled the Stadium of4 Waymarks
Caligula and the Temple of Apollo and used the stones Vatican.
and marble from them to erect the original basilica of “The incidence of satanic pedophilia—rites and
Peter. Martin Luther, centuries later, declared, “If there practices—was already documented among certain
is a Hell, Rome is built over it. It is an abyss from whence bishops and priests as widely dispersed as Turin in
issues every kind of sin.” Italy and South Carolina in the United States. The cultic
Very brief mention should be made of the stagger- acts of satanic pedophilia are considered by profession-
ing scale of the Inquisition. In his History of the Inqui- als to be the culmination of the Fallen Archangel’s Rites.”
sition, Canon Llorente, who was Secretary of the Inqui- The verdict on the pederasty, that is endemic to the
sition in Madrid from 1790-1792, estimated the num- Roman priesthood, is in. The Church paid out more
ber of condemned in Spain alone to have exceeded 3 than $1 billion in claims to victims of sex abuse by
million, with 300,000 burned at the stake. clergy in the 1990s alone. And the American branch
A Catholic historian comments on the events lead- offers a very disturbing treatment method to offenders.
ing up to the suppression of the Spanish Inquisition: One startling example should suffice:
“When Napoleon conquered Spain in 1808, a Polish Fr. Jay Mullin was accused of molesting a boy more
officer in his army, Col. Lemanouski, reported that the than 20 years ago in Boston. Then Cardinal Bernard
Dominicans (in charge of the Inquisition) blockaded Law commanded Mullin to be evaluated at St. Luke’s
themselves in their monastery in Madrid. When Lem- Institute. The Institute is a Washington clinic that was
anouski’s troops forced an entry, the inquisitors de- profiled in a Boston Globe article of February 24, 2002:
nied the existence of any torture chambers. The sol- “Mullin was flown south in 1992 to a clinic outside
diers searched the monastery and discovered them un- Washington, D.C. The church-run clinic had a huge col-
der the floors. The chambers were full of prisoners, all lection of child pornography of varying degrees, which
naked, many insane. The French troops, used to cru- ranged from soft porn to hardcore S&M images, all fea-
elty and blood, could not stomach the sight. They emp- turing preteen boys and girls.”
tied the torture chambers, laid gunpowder to the mon- This would have to rate as the most devilish form
astery and blew the place up.” of aversion therapy ever known. It would be akin to
Rome was truly drunk with the Martyrs’ blood. And treating alcoholics with copious quantities of vintage
the Papacy isn’t fairing much better in our modern age; wine or bombarding junkies with free packets of China
it would appear to be in serious decline, if not in out- White heroin. Truly degenerate and depraved lunatics
right defeat. were running the asylum, known as St. Luke’s.
In November 2000 Italian headlines screamed, Notwithstanding the scandal and shock of the afore-
“Devil Defeats Pope!” [The Roman newspaper] Il mentioned, Rome carries on quietly with her program
Messaggero reported that the pope had been confronted of world dominion. They lead the competition to estab-
by a teenage girl in the Vatican who screamed insults in lish the first one-world system that has ever existed.
a cavernous voice during an audience. John Paul at- Their ultimate goal is global religious syncretism and
tempted an exorcism, but his ministrations had no ef- to eventually wield control and authority over every in-
fect on the girl. dividual on earth. The human solidarity goals of the
Devils in the Vatican would come as no surprise to Roman Church are identical to the goals and objec-
Msgr. Luigi Marinelli. His book, Gone With the Wind, tives of the United Nations. This is why they are such a
at the Vatican fairly flew off the shelves in Italy, reveal- perfect fit. Rome only gives the appearance of objecting
ing as it did stories of money-laundering prelates, sex to the UN agenda.
abuse, and satanic rituals performed within the walls At the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome, Cardi-
of the Holy See. nal Angelo Sodana pledged the Holy See’s support for
Marinelli’s comments echo those of the late Malachi the UN’s humanistic Programs of Action.
Martin, a former Jesuit and exorcist, whose 1990 book, Rome also has designs on Jerusalem. For 46 years
The Keys of this Blood, contains the following disturb- after Israel’s rebirth, the Vatican refused to acknowl-
ing information: edge Israel’s right to exist. But Rome wants to exert
“Most frighteningly for John Paul, he had come up premier influence over Jerusalem. In a 1993 letter to
against the irremovable presence of a malign strength the Pope Shimon Peres promised to internationalize
in his own Vatican and in certain bishops’ chanceries. Jerusalem, granting the UN political control of the
It was what knowledgeable churchmen called the Old City and the Vatican hegemony over the holy
superforce. Rumors, difficult to verify, tied its installa- sites within. This was confirmed by the Italian news-
tion to the beginning of Paul VI’s reign in 1963. Indeed, paper, La Stampa.
Paul had alluded somberly to ‘the smoke of Satan which In March 1995 the Israeli radio station, Arutz Sheva,
has entered the Sanctuary’—an oblique reference to an was leaked a cable from the Israeli Embassy in Rome,
enthronement ceremony performed by satanists in the confirming the hand-over of Jerusalem to the Vatican.
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