WHY HAVE WE FATHERS OF THE MAGAZINE THE ISLAND OF PATMOS NOT TALKED ABOUT THE SYNOD? BECAUSE WE ARE PRIESTS AND THEOLOGIANS, NOT GOSSIPARIES THAT EXCITE THE IRRATIONAL MOODS OF THE PEOPLE

Even before it began, this latest Synod was preceded by proclamations from unspecified internet experts who sowed terror not so dissimilar to that of the Hamas terrorists, to give a completely absurd-paradoxical hyperbolic example. If in fact Hamas terrorists kill innocent civilians, this other type of terrorist kills, in the increasingly lost faithful, the little that remains in them of faith and ecclesial feeling, of being members of the living body that is the Church.

— News in brief —

Author
Ariel S. Levi di Gualdo

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In one of my latest articles to which I refer you (see WHO) I spoke about the decline of the principle of authority in relation to social media, where even the least imbecile can launch into dealing in a grotesque and surreal way with topics that are the subject of complex historical debates on a scientific level, historical, social, politico, theological…

We the Fathers of this magazine we have convinced ourselves that when faced with certain desolations the ancient saying of Publius Terentius Afro is valid (190-159 a.C), universally known as Terence: «They are silent, praise them enough» (They are silent and in doing so they praise). With this maxim, the famous Roman playwright of probable Berber origin meant that sometimes silence prevents words from being expressed, also clearly, end up being distorted or even deliberately misunderstood by those who are inclined to misunderstand or look for any excuse for a dispute. From this maxim by Terenzi was born the famous popular saying "a beautiful silence was never written".

A personal note: for reasons that need not be explained, during this last Synod I had the opportunity to come and go from Martha House Sancthae several times, to meet and speak with various bishops from various parts of the world, clarifying the obvious that I certainly don't need to clarify, because the whole thing, for me as for many other scholars and theologians, it falls within the scope of obvious things about which there would be absolutely nothing to discuss. But, as I wrote in my previous article (see WHO) sometimes it is necessary to explain especially the things that seem obvious to us, in this crazy decadent world in which a boundless army of people thinks of giving maximum and unappealable sentences with a Tweet o a post su Facebook, after having fed themselves on the blogs of people who speak and discuss complex issues that they really don't know about practice and rigor.

Even before starting this latest Synod was preceded by proclamations from unspecified internet experts who sowed terror not so dissimilar to that of Hamas terrorists, to give a completely absurd-paradoxical hyperbolic example. If in fact Hamas terrorists kill innocent civilians, this other type of terrorist kills, in the increasingly lost faithful, the little that remains in them of faith and ecclesial feeling, of being members of the living body that is the Church (cf.. With the 1, 18).

For weeks we have read and heard proclamations in which certain web terrorists gave the best of themselves to disorient simple and increasingly lost Catholics by foreseeing the imminent customs clearance of priestly celibacy and married priests, women priests, or at least women deacons, the blessing at the altar of homosexual couples and so on to follow. And all these elements that to define as fantastic is just an understatement, they were announced as certain, indeed presented as taken for granted.

At the end of the Synod the Supreme Pontiff Francis spoke publicly, clarifying that priestly celibacy would not be affected in any way, reiterating what we have known for centuries: priestly celibacy, which has its roots since the first apostolic era and which has great value on a spiritual level, ecclesial and pastoral, it is not a dogma of faith but an ecclesiastical discipline. There is proof that even in the Catholic Church there have always been Eastern Rite priests who are married and have families. Having said this, the Holy Father reiterated that he does not intend in any way to modify ecclesiastical discipline on the celibacy of priests belonging to the Latin rite community, specifying that nothing similar "will happen under my pontificate".

Regarding the issue of women priests, the Supreme Pontiff Francis had already expressed himself several times in the past, therefore he did nothing but reiterate the pronouncement given in definitive form by his Holy Predecessor John Paul II which clarified for the present and future future: «The Church does not have the power to grant sacred priestly ordination to women» (cf.. WHO).

If in the preparatory stages of the Synod there was talk of the LGBT world, from the draft of the final document this acronym has completely disappeared, to the certain displeasure of that cheerful character Father James Martin supported not long ago with an article in the well-known pseudo-Catholic weekly slush Christian, originally born as Christian family, which he announced: «Pope Francis has restored dignity to LGBTQ people and this is a blessing for everyone» (cf.. QUI). So no blessing to the happy rainbow couples under the steps of the altars for the obvious reason that the Church, with the excuse of blessing the people who always need to be blessed, is not so naive and unprepared to end up blessing what for Catholic doctrine and morality remains the sin against nature (Catechism, n. 2357), which as such cannot be blessed, not even with the excuse of only blessing people. This is a topic on which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith had already expressed its opinion (cf.. WHO). Several times over the last few years I have written and explained that the Church has the duty to welcome the sinner, especially the worst sinners, because if she did not do so she would betray the mission that Christ God has entrusted to her (cf.. Mt 9,13), always being careful, however, never to welcome sin, which cannot be welcomed, much less blessed.

This is why we remained silent, because we are priests, theologians and above all men of faith aware that even today the Church is experiencing very delicate moments, or if we want even confused and sad, In any case, she will never be able to betray the mission that Christ God has entrusted to her to meet the whims of the world, because God chose us from the world but we are not of the world (cf.. GV 15, 18-19).

Let's move on and conclude with two elements. The first: the essence of ecumenical councils and synods of the Church; The second one: the unusual attitude, perhaps even questionable and ambiguous of the Supreme Pontiff Francis.

The Catholic Hamas terrorists who have carried out campaigns for months and weeks aimed at exciting people, now at terrorizing them, they demonstrated first of all that they have no idea what councils and synods are in the two-thousand-year history of the Church. First let's see the difference between the two: by ecumenical council we mean, as the word itself says, an extraordinary event that involves all the bishops of the universal Church. The term “ecumenical” in fact it derives from Greek world (oikoumene) and it means universal. Otherwise instead, the Synod, which can be local or even global, it involves a slice of the episcopate, or invited and selected participants, which can also represent Catholic universality, but which do not constitute an ecumenical council, that is, that most important and solemn act of the Church which requires and implies the participation of the entire Catholic episcopate.

In both cases, whether it is an ecumenical council or a synod, participants are simply not entitled, but precisely the duty to discuss everything and its exact opposite. In discussions they can, indeed, even the most unlikely or even absurd hypotheses must be raised. Perhaps the great Fathers and Masters of classical scholasticism did not do this, often starting in their disputes even from surreal and paradoxical elements, in order to stimulate the speculative sense and arrive at wise judgments? What does this take to make clear to the aggressive blogger or to those who have a sentence on Twitter they have solved problems that have not yet had a definitive answer for centuries. Therefore, than certain fringes of the episcopate, that is, the inevitable Germans and Northern Europeans, have raised certain questions, It shouldn't have surprised anyone, including hardcore bloggers and tweeters, if only they had known the rudiments of Church history.

The Supreme Pontiff Francis for its part remains an enigma, as I defined it in an old article of mine from 2013 commenting on his first ones 100 days of pontificate (see WHO) where I compared him to the Pied Piper of Amelin, which deserves enormous credit: having made all the mice come out for what they really are, after they had hidden themselves in the most false and calculated condescension for thirty years under the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. At least today, thanks to this Augusto Pifferaio, we get to know the mice one by one for what they are and what they really think. This will make it especially difficult for them, or rather, really impossible to be able to recycle it at the next change of helmsman of Peter's boat, given that a 87 years and with health problems of no small importance, the Supreme Pontiff Francis will certainly not last forever. If so tomorrow, as if nothing had happened, a playful cardinal even went so far as to lower himself into a manhole to reconnect electricity to the inhabitants of an illegally occupied building (see WHO), if he showed up with three meters of cappa magna and a galero on his head - something that certain chameleons would be capable of doing because by their nature they lack the very sense of modesty - we would all ask him: "But you, Were you perhaps not the one who, under the pontificate of Francis, went in trousers and rolled up shirt sleeves to bring coffee in the evening to the tramps who had transformed Bernini's colonnade into a public urinal?, after showing off gold cufflinks and artfully pleated purple robes under the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI?”.

For the umpteenth time the Supreme Pontiff Francis brought them together, speak and vent in a Synod, causing them all to come out into the open again. Once the discussions were over he announced "then we'll see", concluding with a "see you next year", assuming of course that the Holiness of Our Lord is always alive.

Of the two one: or we are faced with a man who alone is crazier and more deranged than Joanna of Castile, Henry IV and Ludwig II of Bavaria all three combined, or we are faced with a man who in a very difficult and complex historical moment did what was best and most appropriate to have been done, using his state grace wisely and prudently, although at the moment his actions cannot be understood. In fact we cannot affirm either one thing or the other, because we lack the elements to be able to do it. Maybe it will take many years, but one day history will clarify the great "enigma" for us Francesco, how I defined it in 2013 after the first ones 100 days of his pontificate, revealing him as the right man who rode out an extraordinarily delicate season in the best way.

the Island of Patmos, 29 October 2023

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Father Ariel's new book has been released and is being distributed, you can buy it by clicking directly on the cover image or by entering our bookshop WHO

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