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GREAT
PRE-CONCLAVE MANEUVERS?
For
several months already, articles have been appearing regularly
concerning the next conclave, articles which have served
as spring-boards to launch the names of the more likely
papabili (an Italian word meaning a cardinal who
has a chance of being elected pope). Admittedly, the Pope's
health problems, his serious falls and his obvious fatigue
have set journalists off speculating on this momentous question.
However, journalists are not alone in thinking about the
upcoming conclave: high-ranking cardinals have also been
showing considerable interest in this important matter.
Card. Thiandoum, in an interview with the magazine 30
Days last July, admitted that on the occasion of the
last consistory (i.e., a meeting of the cardinals presided
over by the pope) - in June 1994 - the question of candidates
to the papacy was one of the subjects of conversation amongst
the cardinals. This is not the first time that more of less
secret maneuvers have been seen preparation for a conclave.
Here, for example, is what a Vatican specialist, Giancarlo
Zizola, tells us in his book precisely entitled The Conclave,
as he describes the preparations for the conclave.
What
is really surprising nowadays, is the great magnitude of
these maneuvers, launched in secret on the occasion of the
October 1992 Synod, and which have become somewhat official
with the article published in Limes in March 1993,
as well as with - by some strange happenstance - Card.
Achille Silvestrini's declaration:
In
the future, who knows, it could very well be a Latin American
or even an African who emerges.
This
could have been taken as a feeler thrown out just to see
how the land lies. In fact, it was quite a bit more than
that, as proven by the great number of articles regarding
the next conclave that have been published for over a year
and a half.
THE
LAST CONSISTORY: THE ITALIAN CARDINALS
Let
us, therefore, proceed in an orderly manner. The last consistory
constituted a decisive step in the future conclave. The
appointments of the new cardinals confirm that the clan
which does, in fact, wield power in the Vatican - (as has
previously often been mentioned by the Italian press as
well as by others also, and by Sì Sì No
No and Courrier de Rome) - is, in reality, more
active than ever right now.
Above
all, it must be noted that the four new Italian cardinals
are all following in the modernist steps of Silvestrini,
Casaroli, and Laghi:
1)
Luigi Poggi:
Prefect
of the Apostolic Library and Archives, born on November
25, 1917, at Piacenza, Bishop in 1965, and named (in 1976)
'itinerant nuncio' by Pope Paul VI to the Eastern countries
(i.e., Iron Curtain countries). Together with Card. Casaroli,
former Secretary for the Church's Public Affairs, he was
one of the artisans who initiated dialogue with the Communist
regimes (Östpolitik). Also, acting as chief
or head of the "Holy See's Delegation for Permanent
Working Contacts with the People's Republic of Poland,"
he prepared John Paul II's two first visits to Poland in
1979 and 1983 (LeMonde, November 1, 1994).
He
was later instrumental, in his capacity of Nuncio to the
government of Italy, in the nomination in Italy of bishops
following the "line" of Casaroli and Silvestrini;
for example, the present Bishop of Avicenza, Pietro Nonis,
and the present Bishop of Iglesi, Arrigo Miglio,
former Vicar General of Ivrea, who is at least the third
"man" of the "red" Archbishop of Ravenna,
Msgr. Baldassari (cf. Sì Sì No No,
Nov. 15, 1985, p.1).
2)
Carlo Furno:
Apostolic
Nuncio in Italy, born December 2,1921, in Bairo Canavesa
(Ivrea), Bishop in 1973, former fellow-student of Silvestrini
at the Apollinarius College (in Rome), and who spent several
years in Peru (after Poggi), where he allowed the "liberation
theology" to take hold and spread, and then spent seven
years in Lebanon, where he was so frightened and therefore,
in awaiting his promotion, he did nothing at all. He was
later posted to Brazil for a ten-year period, where he in
no way at all was of any help to the Brazilian bishops in
curbing "liberation theology." Since 1992, he
has been Nuncio in Italy, distinguishing himself by his
nomination of Bishop of Aversa, Msgr. Chiarinelli,
who was responsible for the worst Italian-language "catechisms."
This is the same man that Casaroli, Silvestrini and the
present Bishop of Chieti, formerly Silvestrini's secretary,
rely on.
3)
Vincenzo Fagiolo:
President of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation
of Legislative Texts, born February 5, 1918, in Segni: he
was Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Vice-President of the Italian
Bishops' Conference, and then Secretary of the Congregation
of Religious.
He
is known for the new concordat (i.e., an agreement between
the pope and a sovereign) of 1984 with the State of Italy.
His role in this affair consisted not so much in elaborating
the text of the accord (this part was accomplished by the
delegation headed by Msgr. Silvestrini), as in defending
it (the concordat) against a general resistance and opposition,
as well as against the perplexities and confusion arising
in the ecclesiastical spheres as well as in the minds of
the Catholic faithful in general. Let it never be forgotten
that the cardinals of the Italian Bishops' Conference made
it known that they were strongly opposed to that concordat,
even resulting in a very violent clash between the then
Card. Luciani, who later became Pope John Paul
I, and Msgr. Silvestrini, artisan of that "masterpiece,"
by which Italy is now no longer a Catholic country.
Fagiolo
defended the new concordat in the columns of Il Tempo
and of Avennire, as well as in count- less conferences
and seminaries (cf. Sì Sì No No, November
15, 1985). And it is very probably this defense of that
concordat, essentially a "work" of Casaroli
and Silvestrini, which won him his cardinal's hat.
In his "capacity" as Secretary of the Congregation
of Religious, he unfailingly practiced a policy of non-intervention
in the gravest and most tragic cases, especially in doctrinal
questions.
4)
Tersilio Tonini:
Former
Archbishop of Ravenna, a native of Piacenza, a fellow-student
of Casaroli (same year). Tonini and Andreotti gave the official
speeches on the occasion of a special reception at the "Columbus"
in honor of Casaroli's priest jubilee. When he was Archbishop,
Tonini refused to reside at the archiepiscopal palace,
and had an apartment fitted out instead for himself with
the Sisters of the Institute of St. Theresa of Ravenna.
In doing so, he left to his successor the unenviable task
and worry of restoring the completely neglected palace.
When John Paul II paid a visit to his diocese, Tonini
fitted out two more apartments in the same Institute: one
for the Pope, and one for his friends Silvestrini
and Monduzzi.
Tonini
is well-known in Italy for his television appearances which
shine forth neither by their clarity nor by their orthodoxy,
and which have often provoked negative reactions in the
public. (Cf. Sì Sì No No, November
30, 1993, a letter on "The False Charity of Msgr. Tonini";
and Famiglia Cristiana, No.51, 1994, p.14: "It
is most unpleasant to see a cardinal going around dressed
like a bum.")
THE
NON-ITALIAN CARDINALS
Amongst
the new non-Italian cardinals many simply follow the "line"
of the men currently in "power":
Msgr.
William Henry Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore and
president of the US Episcopal Conference. He takes his cue
from Card. Bernardin, who represents the most "liberal"
wing in the US: he is a product of Card. Laghi's
ten-year nunciature in Washington.
Msgr.
Pierre Eyt, born June 4, 1934, Archbishop of Bordeaux
since 1989, an enthusiastic disciple of the new theology
and contributor to the review Communio. "Lately...he
said that he felt worried about certain signs of 'stiffening'
in the Church, as shown in Card. Ratzinger's letter
regarding divorced-and-remarried persons" (Le Monde,
October 31, 1994). A few months ago, he really made himself
well-known by a public conference titled "Who Killed
Jesus?" in which he blamed the Romans for Christ's
death. Insistent rumors have it that he could possibly be
Card. Decourtray's successor to the Archbishopric
of Lyons. It has also been written that the representatives
of the Jewish community in France have already met the Minister
of the Interior, Charles Pasqua, insisting on Msgr.
Eyt being appointed the next Primate of France.
Adolfo
Antonio Suarez Rivera, Archbishop of Monterrey,
Mexico. Born on January 9, 1927, at San Christabel de Las
Casas in Chiapas, Archbishop Rivera was a creation of the
Marxist Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia, the Bishop of San Christabel
de Las Casas. Under Baggio, he was an assistant at
the Episcopal Congress (1979-83), a delegate by papal nomination
to the 6th General Episcopal Synod (Sep/Oct 1983) and a
member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (cf.
L'Osservatore Romano, Nov. 11, 1994).
Adolfo
Suarez Rivera, one-time president of the Mexican Episcopal
Conference, is a disciple of the fighting bishop, Samuel
Ruiz Garcia, from Chiapas, S.E. Mexico, while he was
his vicar-general for many years in San Christabel, and
to whom he owes his episcopate. He is well known amongst
the Roman Curia, which he frequently visits.
The
journal, 30 Days, wrote in November, 1994:
30
Days is in a position to reveal the behind-the-scenes
events of his nomination. Last Spring, when everyone still
thought that the Consistory might be convoked for the
month of June, the Mexican Ambassador to the Holy See,
Enrique Olivares Santana, sent a confidential message
to the secretary of State. The diplomat desired the "purple"
for certain ecclesiastics and wanted Msgr. Sandovad of
Guadalajara to be appointed as Archbishop of the town
of Mexico and Msgr. Suarez appointed Archbishop of Monterrey.
The latter was an appointment that was in the interests
of the government, the other being a mere routine request.
The desires of the ambassador were fulfilled, thanks to
the support of the Papal Nuncio for Mexico, Jerome Prigione,
who over the last six years had worked in a perfect accord
with Suarez in the Presidency of the Episcopal Conference.
However, this acquisition of the "purple" can
be taken another way, for the new cardinal would be the
successor for the Archdiocese of the city of Mexico, for
which position he had already candidated in vain back
in 1977.
The
facts that we have pointed out are of a very serious nature,
because the ambassador in question is a notorious Freemason
- as revealed in the Courrier de Rome of December
1992:
Carlos
Vasquez Rangel, Grand Commander of the Supreme Council
of Mexican Freemasonry, has for the last 30 years been
co-lodge member and confidant of the Mexican ambassador
to the Holy See, Enrique Olivares Santana, the Grand Master
of Mexican Freemasonry, active member of the Vallée
Lodge and holder of the distinction of "the most
distinguished mason of recent years," and militant
of honor in the Scottish Rite and the Mexican Rite.
Commenting
upon the nomination of his "fellow mason" to the
Holy See, Vasquez Rangel said:
He
will, most certainly, find there (at the Vatican) many
reactionaries, but also many freemasons. In the four quarters
that constitute Vatican territory, there are eight Masonic
Lodges. Like ourselves, they belong to the Scottish Rite,
but under an independent form. And in the countries where
the Church cannot act, they carry on their business secretly,
using lodges as intermediaries. (Processo no. 832,
Oct 12,1992 as quoted in Courrier de Rome of December
1992) [Processo is a progressive Mexican Catholic
journal].
They
say that the most radical wing of Mexican Freemasonry, "Los
Dinosaurios," was responsible for the assassination
of the Cardinal of Guadalajara, Msgr. Posados Ocampo,
who had promoted the beatification of the Mexican martyrs
- the Cristeros (cf. 30 Days, July 1994).
The Grand Master of Freemasonry, Enrique Olivares Santana,
left his post as ambassador at the Holy See and returned
to Mexico at the end of October 1994.
Mission
accomplished! His brother "Dinosuares" can thank
him for his services in Rome: for their candidate, Msgr.
Suarez Rivera is now a cardinal (Cf. El Universal,
December 5, 1994 - "Promovia Olivares Santana el
cardenalato por Adolfo Suarez Rivera).
Msgr.
Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch
since 1986: Silvestrini personally negotiated his appointment
as Patriarch, with Syria (cf. Courrier deRome, April
1990 and December 1992).
Msgr.
Gilberto Agustoni, Pro-Prefect of the Tribunal of
the Apostolic Signature, who is a dedicated participant
in the meetings between ecclesiastics, journalists and the
"power-group" at the Leonine Library.
NOMINATIONS
OF NEW CARDINALS AS MEMBERS OF CONGREGATIONS
Those
who doubted the "power-group's" efficacity in
promoting its "own," can cast a glance towards
the recent nominations of new cardinals as members of Congregations.
At
the Dicastery, representative of ecclesiastical power, the
"line" remains unchanged. In the Council of Cardinals
and Bishops, in the section that deals with relations between
States and the Secretary of State, we see the names of Poggi,
Furno and Fagiolo. As members of the Congregation
for Bishops, another Dicastery key, again Poggi,
Furno and Fagiolo, and also Agustoni.
We
must also point out that the appointment of Pierre Eyt,
to the former Holy Office of St. Peter, was a reward for
his fidelity to the New Theology.
POWER
GROUP AND THE NOMINATIONS OF BISHOPS
The
nomination of bishops has always been regarded as a strategic
point. Before the last consistory, the nomination of bishops,
at least in Italy, was exclusively in the hands of the "Power-Group":
on the one hand, Furno being named as Nuncio and Fontana
as Secretary at the Nunciature of Rome; while on the other
hand it appointed to the congregation for Bishops such names
as Silvestrini, Casaroli, Laghi, Poletti, Martini, Giordano...
Today,
after the recent consistory, this circle has been reinforced
with the likes of Poggi, Furno, Fagiolo, who have been named
as members of the Congregation for Bishops. Thus, the "Power-Group"
is assuring its succession.
THE
NEXT STAGE: THE CURIA
The
numerous posts within the Curia reached their date of expiry
this last May. A chance not to be missed! In the Courrier
de Rome of December, 1992, we wrote:
After
almost 10 years as Nuncio in the United States, Pio Laghi
began to visit Rome in order to start his electoral campaign.
He went around saying that, henceforth, he would be ready
to take on important posts within the Roman Curia. He
was supported by the Vaticanists of the "Casarolian"
press and those of Belleri. But things did not turn out
as expected. Casaroli's post, which he hoped to obtain,
went up in smoke and today, he is, against his wishes,
Prefect for Seminaries.
Now,
not being able to attain anything better, Laghi has
the key post of the Congregation for Bishops in his sights,
but he is simultaneously seeking to get his papers in order
for an eventual nomination as Cardinal Vicar, so as to cultivate
relations at a very high level with Berlusconi or
Irène Pivetti [President of the Chamber of
Deputies]. With regard to his current post at the Congregation
for Seminaries, his successor has already been ear-marked:
Msgr. Marchisano, former Under Secretary of the same
congregation, who has already worked with Card. Garrone
in the destruction of seminaries, especially the regional
seminaries, so desired by Pope St. Pius X.
THE
MEETING PLACE
We
have made several references to the Leonine Library and
its director Fr. Gina Belleri. One must not forget
that this belongs to the Holy See, as do the libraries of
Ancora and Coletti, where the books and journals of modernists
and neo-modernists are sold, who having lost their faith,
will be instrumental in making others lose theirs also.
For years the Holy See has let this go on, despite the fact
that the Leonine and Ancoran libraries are run by religious
or ecclesiastics.
The
Leonine Library, 16-18 Via dei Corridori, is under the helm
of (now) Msgr. Gino Belleri, a child of Mary Immaculate,
a religious congregation, which he left to be incardinated
in the diocese of Cassino and then later Albano. His library
functions as a place for parallel Vatican Press Conferences,
where one can meet in order to obtain "good inside
information" as well as other news (cf. Courrier
de Rome, December 1992). Its visitors regularly include
Laghi, Silvestrini, Poggi, Oddi,
Marchisano, Sonda, Gemiti, Principe,
Kasteel, Silvano Tomasi and the "Vaticanists"
Zizola, Politi, Santini, Sandro
Magister, Accatoli.
Perhaps
it's a pure coincidence that from the list of these ecclesiastics,
several ecclesiastical sources (Panorama, O.P., etc.)
have linked these personages with Freemasonry, yet not
one them has gone to the trouble of denying this.
A
CONSPIRACY
It
was Vittorio Messori who sounded the alarm:
They
are organizing opposition to the Pope. I am speaking of
clerical opposition, internal opposition coming from the
"catho-progressives." Their goal is unmistakably
clear: It is to force John Paul II to resign, or at least
to discredit him as a sick old man whose only ambition
is to cling to power as long as possible, simply refusing
to let go the reins of government and thus proving harmful
to the Church (La Voce, November 1, 1994).
For
months on end, an endless stream of articles has been published
on the next conclave and on the papabili, as well
as articles on Pope John Paul II's health, together
with all sorts of suppositions.
From
various sources, reports and rumors have it that enormous
pressures are now being applied on the Pope to resign. To
this end, everything seems to be being put to use: doctors'
declarations, fatigue, etc. Why so much ado coming from
the group currently in power? Two hypotheses may be considered
at this time: (1) Those men actually in power know that
Pope John Paul II is truly sick and that his days
are counted; (2) Or else, the group in power has decided
to "take over" the papacy (by replacing Pope
John Paul II with one of their own inside men), which
would explain the present urgency for a conclave, seeing
that those interested in doing so are all practically over
70 years of age (Laghi, 72; Silvestrini, 73;
Moreira Neves, 69) and that it is therefore "now
or never" for them. If Pope John Paul II manages
to "hold on" until the year 2000, it will be finished
for them. And in their breathless impatience, these over-eager
and overzealous possible successors to St. Peter's Chair
have certainly have been worried by the fact that the Pope
has recently repeated Card. Wyszynski's words, "You
will usher the Church into the third millennium."
It
is imperative for them therefore that Pope John Paul
II tender his resignation, which may be obtained through
enormous psychological pressure, an operation which is already
under way.
PREPARATIONS
FOR THE CONCLAVE
We
are not referring here to the new palace actually under
construction at the Vatican - a building able to lodge some
120 cardinals, but rather to the current "election
campaign." On the occasion of the 1992 October Synod,
people spoke about a secret meeting held at the Via Aurelia
in view of the next conclave (cf. Sì Sì
No No, November 30, 1993). Zizola also alludes
to other mysterious clandestine encounters of central-European
cardinals who met in Paris to discuss this very same subject
(ll Conclave, p.372).
Several
cardinals have, of late, been making themselves conspicuous,
if not as personal candidates to the papacy, at least as
powerful intriguers likely to play an important role at
the next conclave:
Pio
Laghi. Already well known to our readers (cf. Courrier
de Rome, December 1992). There can be no doubt about
it, he continues to nurse his public image and his ecclesiastical
career with the utmost skill. In 1992, there appeared a
report entitled "Card. Pio Laghi Named Honorary
Citizen of Bethlehem." Such was the homage paid
to him by the diocese of Faenza-Modigliana on the occasion
of the Cardinal's seventieth birthday. When read, however,
we are quickly made to understand that it is nothing but
a tailor-made propaganda publication in view of his own
future career, even though Msgr. Bertozzi, Bishop
of Faenza writes:
I
hope that the following testimonials of praise...will
in no way offend Card. Pio Laghi's well-known simplicity
and modesty (p.5).
As
though the Bishop had taken the personal initiative of going
ahead with this publication, without notifying the Cardinal
at all! On the contrary, the entire book shows that the
Cardinal's public image was studied, groomed and realized
with not only his consent, but also with his active collaboration,
as proven by photographs which could have only possibly
come from his own personal records. Numerous and important
also are those who collaborated in the production of this
composite work. The writer, a priest and history professor
at the University of Camerino and Urbino, and friend of
such wretched personages as La Valle, Turoldo
and Franzoni. Card. Silvestrini wrote the
chapter entitled "Service, Yes; Career, No," a
title which contradicts that very same chapter where, speaking
of his entrance into the Academy of Nuncios, Silvestrini
writes:
That
was the career which Don Pio (Laghi), as well as others
like him, and I myself took up.
The
first paragraph is, however, even more interesting:
At
the Juridical Seminary of St. Apollinarius, we were three
from Faenza: Don Dino Monduzzi (Class of 1946), Don Pio
Laghi (Class of 1947), and myself (Class of 1948); all
three of us attending the Utriusque Juris Faculty (Civil
Law and Canon Law) of the Lateran. Only a stone's throw
from the Apollinarius College at the Capranica College,
Don Franco Gualdrini was just finishing his theological
studies at the Gregorian University. All four of us had
common interests which have continued to keep us united
throughout our active lives (p.9).
At
this point, Card. Silvestrini simply confirms what
the Courrier de Rome had reported in its December
1985 issue:
The
central figure of intrigue in the Roman Curia: Msgr. Achille
Silvestrini.
The
report on Pio Laghi's period as Nuncio in Argentina
was given by Msgr. Jorge Meija, the well-known "doctrinal"
apologist for the wretched Assisi affair. Finally, the section
devoted to Laghi's nunciature in the USA was penned
by Card. Bernardin, of ultra-modernist notoriety.
Another
fact that has cast an unfavorable light on Pio Laghi:
In its November 1992 issue, 30 Days published the
results of its investigation in an article entitled "The
Church and the Lodges" (i.e., freemasonry), in which
Pio Laghi appears as a member of that secret society.
In a matter of only a few hours after that report reached
the bookstores, the ANSA Press Agency immediately published
what was intended to be the Cardinal's denial of that grave
accusation:
That
piece of news is absolutely without foundation and totally
fanciful.
Words
just too trite and thread-bare for such a damning charge:
a cardinal, a prince of the Church, under open and public
suspicion of belonging to freemasonry, should never have
limited himself to a simple denial (which was, in fact,
quite unconvincing), but should at least have gone further
into the matter, explaining the Church's repeated teachings
concerning masonry, and recalling the popes' solemn condemnations
of that sect, which has been proven to be totally incompatible
with Catholic doctrine. And yet, since that time, both the
national and international press have presented Laghi
as a candidate where various currents of thought (i.e.,
Catholic and masonic) could "find some sort of compromise"
(New York Times Magazine, December 11, 1994).
Achille
Silvestrini. Card. A. Silvestrini has certainly
not given up the idea of playing a leading part at the next
conclave. With consummate skill and dexterity, he leaves
it up to his friends and colleagues to keep him in the public
eye. One example: his friend, the writer Giancarlo Zizola,
in his book Il Conclave, devotes a whole half page
in his exaltation of Card. Silvestrini:
Silvestrini
held the important position of Prefect for the Congregation
for the Eastern Churches. A native of Emilia, a region
in the Po valley, with a solid theological background,
he has lived his entire career at the very summit of the
Congregation for Extraordinary Affairs, first with Domenico
Tardini, then with Antonio Samore and finally with Agostino
Casaroli. He had acquired international fame as the head
of the Holy See's delegation at the table of the Conference
for Security and Cooperation in Europe where he had succeeded,
with extraordinary skill, to have all members, including
the Soviets, sign commitments concerning religious liberty
which were seen to be very important for the Holy See.
That performance, however, was not sufficient to keep
him from being relegated, for several years, to the function
of head of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature,
at a time where everything was leading to consider him
as Casaroli's natural successor to the head of the Vatican's
"Ministry of External Affairs." But Wojtyla
was not too long in finding a remedy to his "distraction"
by naming Silvestrini to a position where his adaptability
and proverbial intelligence could be used to greater advantage
for his pontificate. As a matter of fact, he need not
have been sorry for the above-mentioned "distraction,"
since Silvestrini was later to prove to be a great boon
to him in the period (1990-1992) of the thorny and vexing
question of the crisis with the Russian Orthodox authorities.
He also helped the Pope to obtain a somewhat less precarious
situation for the Christian Churches in both the Near
and Middle East (p.372).
And
then Silvestrini himself, whenever he has the chance
to do so, seeks to "re-dimension" certain facts
that could have injured his reputation, his public image.
One example will be sufficient. In the middle of a press
conference given on the occasion of the 75th anniversary
of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, and in the presence
of Card. Silvestrini himself, there came, on the
part of the Rector and Secretary of the Oriental Institute,
the earth-shaking revelation that for over several years
past, KGB spies had infiltrated the Vatican on behalf
of the Soviet Union. Even until last year, faced with similar
disastrous disclosures, the Holy See would simply withdraw
into the most absolute silence, whereas now such surprises,
such "bombshells," are set off in the very midst
of Vatican press conferences....Sì Sì No
No, however, in its May 30, 1987 issue, had already
revealed the presence of Soviet spies in the Vatican, spies
well-known to Silvestrini. And, as a matter of fact,
Silvestrini, on the above-mentioned occasion, simply
said:
A
known infiltrator is also a tolerated infiltrator, the
real problem being those about whom we know nothing, or
about whom we were unaware (La Republica, May 29,
1993).
Thus
did he absolve himself concerning those spies whom he knew
very well and yet whom he "tolerated."
Carlo
Maria Martini. For quite a long while now, it is
said that this Cardinal is acting like the "pope"
in Milan or that he is "preparing to become pope."
Moreover, he has publicly declared himself to be a candidate
at the next conclave. This he did in an interview in the
Sunday Times "Illustrated Supplement" issue
of April 26, 1993, with his photo spread across the first
page carrying the title "The Next Pope?"
It
is always interesting to read those interviews given by
these prelates - or even those articles that they write
far away from their home bases because, in such circumstances,
their words and their writings are, in general, more likely
to reveal their true thoughts much more candidly than when
they are in their own countries due to their opportunism,
their career concerns or simply, their slavishness, which
all work to veil or to hide their true thoughts. This interview
is therefore, quite revealing, quite interesting, in helping
us to seize and appreciate Martini's true position
concerning contraception, women priests, etc....According
to this cardinal, all those foolish issues will have their
positive answer not "in this millennium," but
in the third millennium (cf. Sì Sì No No,
November 11, 1993, and Chiesa Viva, December 1993).
Still another interview was given by Martini to the
Le Monde newspaper of January 4,1994 (cf. Courrier
de Rome, March 1994, as well as Chiesa Viva,
September 1994). Many, many other articles concerning this
Cardinal of Milan have also appeared in national and international
journals, reviews and magazines. Such a vast campaign in
view of the next conclave could not be carried on without
the consent or willingness of the person involved, for Card.
Martini could simply refuse to give all those interviews.
Moreover, he is continuously traveling all over the world,
visiting every continent to preach spiritual exercises to
priests; this gives him an excellent opportunity of making
himself known to those cardinals expected to take part in
the coming conclave. More yet: Card. Martini is publishing
or having published books and brochures at a tremendous
rate, and always with his photo on the cover. Ever since
his nomination in Milan, there have been over 100 of these
publications with more than 10 million copies sold. To be
convinced and aware of Card. Martini's doctrinal
"orientations," which are not at all orthodox,
we need but to read those numerous articles about him which
we (or Sì Sì No No) have already published
in our periodical (especially "C.M. Martini, an 'Unbeliever'
on the Throne of St. Ambrose," Courrier de Rome,
March 1994).
Last
but not least, an article appearing in the weekly Europeo
of June 25, 1993, clearly illustrates this Milanese Cardinal's
attitude towards freemasonry:
For
the first time ever, Religious have opened wide their
convent doors to a meeting of freemasons. And this is
not a case of the habitual extravagance of some insubordinate
priests, no, not at all: permission came directly from
the Cardinal of Milan, Carlo M. Martini. This news was
of world-wide interest; this "event" was prepared
and held after months of meetings and negotiations between
delegates of both institutions (i.e., the Catholic Church
in Milan and freemasonry...) who succeeded in keeping
all these maneuvers secret until the very end.
This
news certainly gives us all some food for thought: If he
should ever become pope, Card. Martini could very
well extend official Vatican hospitality to that same freemasonry
so often condemned by previous popes for over 200 years.
Msgr.
Lucas Moreira Neves. Libération (Doc.
Presse 1994-1995, no.11, Francis Devinat's Research)
writes:
It
is already quite clear that the "mechanics"
(i.e., methods used) applied during the next conclave
will consist of group manipulation, networking, lobbying
the great electors rather than nations, a Vatican expert
has recently observed. An African? It is still too soon?
Someone from the East? That has already been done. A South
American? They have Latin roots and represent those great
and fruitful lands of Catholicism in the Southern Hemisphere.
Why not?
One
name keeps cropping up: that of the Primate of the Church
in Brazil, the Cardinal Archbishop of Bahia, Msgr. Lucas
Moreira Neves, 69 years of age. This Dominican is a
former member of the Roman Curia and speaks Italian perfectly.
His election to the papacy would serve as a prelude to some
future African pope:
He
has "black" blood coursing through his veins,
since his paternal grandfather was a son of African slaves.
In
fact, his name is heard everywhere there is talk of the
coming conclave.
Who
is this Lucas Moreira Neves? He is a Dominican whom
the Nuncio Baggio appointed auxiliary bishop in São
Paulo (Brazil), first under Card. Agnelo Rossi, and
later under Card. Arns. Moreira Neves then came to
Rome as a Secretary of the Council for the Laity, where
he made the acquaintance of Karol Wojtyla, who was
also a member of the same secretariat. Pope John Paul
II later named him Secretary for the Congregation for
Bishops, where he never lifted a finger to come to the aid
of dioceses in distress, and did even less for Brazil. Maybe
the Pope thought that Moreira Neves could control
Baggio, but Neves himself being a friend of Baggio's,
to whom he owed his episcopacy, he supported him. Nevertheless,
Neves would complain that he was a victim of Baggio's,
and was hoping to succeed him. Therefore, Neves was indeed
quite peeved and upset when Baggio's position, which he
had long been coveting, went instead to Card. Gantin.
In the end, a group of cardinals appealed to the Pope for
his summary dismissal, but Moreira Neves, really
annoyed by then, insisted that a vote be taken by the members
of that same Congregation in order to decide upon his removal
from their midst. That vote confirmed the cardinals' previous
appeal to the Pope, and it is for this reason that he is
no longer to be found in Rome but in his native Brazil instead.
In
short, Moreira Neves is known to have always carefully
"nursed" his career as has also been shown in
his recent interview in Il Nostro Tempo (a Catholic
periodical in Turin, Italy). We need not be astonished,
then, if his name appears amongst those of the other papabili.
TREACHEROUS
MANEUVERS IN VIEW OF THE NEXT CONCLAVE
We
may be absolutely certain that the present modernist "powers
that be" will leave no stone unturned in their struggle
to secure all the key positions for themselves: the Secretariat
of State and the Congregation for the Bishops, as well as,
if at all possible, the Chair of Peter. If necessary, they
could leave the papacy to a weak soul while retaining the
truly effective reins of power in their own hands. As we
have already explained (cf. Courrier de Rome, December,
1992), at the future conclave one third of the cardinals
will be sufficient to thrust aside any possibly "non-aligned"
(i.e., unacceptable to the modernist group actually in power)
candidate, and to favor the election of their own man, or
at least elect a compromise candidate who would accept to
yield the power of the Secretary of State to the group controlling
the determining one-third of cardinals. And it is to be
feared that Laghi, Silvestrini, Casaroli
(or in his place, his friends), Poggi, Furno,
Fagiolo, etc., manage to make up this ominous one-third....Up
to this point, it has been a question of human stratagems
and intrigues. There always remains, however, the possibility
of a merciful intervention on the part of Providence which
could utterly lay waste all those sordid plans of ecclesiastical
political maneuverers, as has already happened in previous
conclaves.
E.M.
Courrier
de Rome, March 1995
Courtesy of the Angelus
Press, Kansas City, MO 64109
translated from the Italian
Fr. Du Chalard
Via Madonna degli Angeli, 14
Italia 00049 Velletri (Roma)
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