From The Associated Press:

[SNJM]

I have friends in this community, had no idea this was going on. Prayers are necessary!


Associated Press picks up Rorate Franciscan Friar Crackdown Story

Below you will find a story from the Associated Press following our report on the breathtaking crackdown on the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (FI) by order of Pope Francis. Good reporting from AP's Nicole Winfield ensures this story is told to a world-wide audience and that, God willing, relief for the order will come soon.

Read Rorate's report here for what prompted this story to now go viral.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis may have been named Time magazine's Person of the Year, but he has come under scathing criticism from a growing number of traditionalist Catholics for cracking down on a religious order that celebrates the old Latin Mass. The case has become a flashpoint in the ideological tug-of-war going on in the Catholic Church over Francis' revolutionary agenda, which has thrilled progressives and alarmed some conservatives.

The matter concerns the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, a small but growing order of several hundred priests, seminarians and nuns that was founded in Italy in 1990 as an offshoot of the larger Franciscan order of the pope's namesake, St. Francis of Assisi.

Then-Pope Benedict XVI launched an investigation into the congregation after five of its priests complained that the order was taking on an overly traditionalist bent, with the old Latin Mass being celebrated more and more at the expense of the liturgy in the vernacular.

While the order was in turmoil, the dispute at its core comes down to differing interpretations of the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which include the use of local languages in Mass that some considered a break with the church's tradition.

Benedict, a great admirer of the pre-Vatican II Mass, had relaxed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass in 2007.

The Vatican in July named the Rev. Fidenzio Volpi, a Franciscan Capuchin friar, as a special commissioner to run the order with a mandate to quell the dissent that had erupted over the liturgy, improve unity within its ranks and get a handle on its finances. In the same decree appointing Volpi, Francis forbade the friars from celebrating the old Latin Mass unless they got special permission, a clear rollback from Benedict's 2007 decision.

In the weeks that followed, four tradition-minded Italian intellectuals wrote to the Vatican accusing it of violating Benedict's 2007 edict by restricting the Latin Mass for the friars, saying the Holy See was imposing "unjust discrimination" against those who celebrate the ancient rite.

Volpi though was undeterred: He sent their founder, the Rev. Stefano Maria Manelli, to live in a religious home while he set about turning the order around [Rorate note: Fr. Manelli is basically on house arrest, not even permitted to speak to his family or friends].

And on Dec. 8, he took action, issuing a series of sanctions in the name of the pope that have stunned observers for their seeming severity: He closed the friars' seminary and sent its students to other religious universities in Rome. He suspended the activities of the friars' lay movement. He suspended ordinations of new priests for a year and required future priests to formally accept the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and its new liturgy or be kicked out. And he decreed that current priests must commit themselves in writing to following the existing mission of the order.

In a letter detailing the new measures, Volpi accused friars loyal to Manelli of seeking to undermine him and even accusing some of embezzlement. He denounced a cult of personality that has grown around Manelli, saying it "reveals a great spiritual poverty and psychological dependence that is incompatible with" the life in a religious community.

The sanctions seem harsh when compared to recent actions taken by the Vatican against other much larger religious orders or groups found to have doctrinal or other problems, such as the Holy See's crackdown on social justice-minded American nuns or the Vatican's reform efforts of the disgraced Legion of Christ. In both cases, a papal envoy was named to rewrite constitutions or statutes and oversee reforms, but Volpi's actions with the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate would appear to go much further.

Traditionalists have charged that a double standard is at play, with a conservative, tradition-minded order being targeted for particular sanction on ideological grounds by a pope with a progressive bent.

"I hope that I am not being intemperate in describing this as rather harsh," the Rev. Timothy Finigan, a British priest whose "The Hermeneutic of Continuity" blog is much-read in traditionalist circles, wrote last week of the sanctions.

Francis has called Benedict's 2007 decree allowing wider use of the Latin Mass "prudent," but has warned that it risks being exploited on ideological grounds by factions in the church; Francis has made clear his disdain for traditionalist Catholics, saying they are self-absorbed retrogrades who aren't helping the church's mission to evangelize.

For some, the issue is purely ideological: Christopher Ferrara, a columnist for The Remnant, a traditionalist biweekly newspaper in the United States, said Volpi's aim was to make the order conform to the more progressive ideology of other religious orders like Volpi's own Capuchins, which he noted are dwindling in numbers while more conservative, tradition-minded orders like the Franciscan Friars are growing.

"Traditionalism isn't an ideology, it's holding fast to everything that has been handed down," Ferrara said in a telephone interview.

A group of tradition-minded lay Catholics has launched an online petition asking for Volpi's ouster, but it's not clear how many signatories have yet signed on; an email seeking figures wasn't returned Saturday.


The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, defended Volpi as a sage, esteemed and experienced administrator and dismissed calls for his ouster.


"He knows religious life well, was for many years head of the Italian conference of religious superiors and I think his nomination was a wise choice," Lombardi said in an email to The Associated Press. "While the situation seems difficult and painful, it appears the letter is yet another demonstration that the naming of a commissioner was necessary and that he knows what to do with the powers he has.


"I don't have any reason to doubt it," Lombardi concluded. …

[cmaD2006]

Ok ... I found a link to the Salt Lake Tribune also attributing the same information to the Associated Press.  (There is a partial post on huffingtonpost.com).

 

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/57263297-80/mass-order-latin-francis.html.csp

 

Before this thread continues ...

a) I ask that any discussion be very charitable.  If it isn't it will be closed.  There are a number of communities mentioned in the article, so I request that a good dose of prudence be applied when posting in this thread.

b) do not (I repeat -- do not) include any information that can be considered confidential.  A good rule of thumb -- if it is publically on the net, it is fair game.  But if you know any internal information about the community don't post it.

c) As mentioned in another thread, if you are going to talk about a community especially in a detrimental manner, then you should really do it in an anonymous manner.

 

My intent is not to be "heavy handed" but to prevent what I would call "gossip" before it even starts.  It's happened on threads on VS in the past, so again just being proactive.

[Chiquitunga]

this was being discussed here a bit in July/August, though nothing since then I think. I love the FIs so much and am sorrowful to see them going through this. there are a number of errors/lack of clarity in this Associated Press article, better to read the original sources which I'm glad they do link to - http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/12/for-record-situation-with-franciscans.html

[Chiquitunga]

"Francis has called Benedict's 2007 decree allowing wider use of the Latin Mass "prudent," but has warned that it risks being exploited on ideological grounds by factions in the church; Francis has made clear his disdain for traditionalist Catholics, saying they are self-absorbed retrogrades who aren't helping the church's mission to evangelize."

 

okay, just wondering, where did they get this from? they are not citing a source here

[NotreDame]

I know nothing about the FFI, but the actions do seem harsh considering that they in no way could be worse than the legion, who seem to be getting comparatively better treatment. 

 

I do know that Latin-Massers in Argentina loathed Bergoglio (sorry, but no other way to put it.)  But I also know that when Pope Francis talks (and complains) about "pelagians" he doesn't have Traditionalists in mind - at least not exclusively - but other "neo-conservative" orders (along the lines of the Legion) who are prevalent in Argentina. 

 

So what gives?  I have no idea.

 

 

[miserere55]

This seems to me to be reminiscent of the trials that most new communities go through.  Many of the founders and/or foundresses of religious congregations have been ousted from their positions of leadership at some point. Many faced Vatican or diocesan inquiries.   (A congregation, of which I was a member, had thrown the foundress out, but she had the last laugh and has been proclaimed "blessed").

Its a fact, that they will be tried by fire.........their justification will come in how they accept this persecution, if that's what it is.  And remember, if God WILLS their existence and apostolate, nothing can destroy it.

Edited December 15, 2013 by miserere55

[SNJM]

I had heard rumors about this but posted it only after the AP published the story. Every time I read a story like this I feel sad.

[manymarys]

Yes, this is much like the trials that many new orders go through and some things similar to what Padre Pio and other Franciscan saints encountered.  We are friends with many families who have children who are in the order and they have told their parents that they do recognize that this is just a trial.  The associated press got some points right, but as would be expected from the media they also erred in some regards. 

[beatitude]

This article has a very sensationalist tone and it doesn't offer sources for all the more gossipy claims (i,e, Francis judging traditionalist Catholics to be 'retrograde'). It seems to want to paint Francis as the reformer who is making tidal waves among the trads, and I do not think this representation of the situation is fair or just either to the Holy Father or to the FFI.

[TheresaThoma]

I'm pretty skeptical of this article it sounds like they are looking for a "sensational" story. We don't have all the facts so it is hard to say what is truely going on. They sound like a good community and I pray they will be able to sort things out and persevere through this trial.

[NotreDame]

I finally found an article that gives some background on this.  Key portion below.  If it's true, then I'm a bit relieved and the actions of Fr. Volpi seem called for if the majority were asking for a Papal Visitor.

 

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2788/hype_and_hope_for_the_ffi.aspx

 

 In 2012, five Franciscan Fathers from the motherhouse at the Casa Mariana Frigento formally petitioned the Congregation for Religious, asking them to intervene, because they had found it impossible to dialogue with Father Manelli about the governance of their tripartite community.  As a result, the Holy See ordered an apostolic visitation of the Institute, which took place from July 2012 to July 2013.  

No one disputes the fact that the FFI is one of the rare postconciliar religious communities that has thrived and done excellent apostolic and missionary work.  It is naive, however, to assume that the government of a fledgling institute with three branches should be running smoothly and trouble-free less than 15 years after it received papal approval.  The call to Rome for help came, not from a handful of malcontents, as they are often portrayed, but from friars who had collaborated closely with the Minister General of the Institute.  

On September 19, 2013, authorization was obtained from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life to publish the results of a questionnaire sent by the Apostolic Visitor to all the friars in perpetual vows.  Slightly less than two-fifths said that the Minister General was governing well;  61 percent said that there were significant problems.  Of the latter group, almost three quarters thought that the problems could not be resolved by an Ordinary General Chapter but required either an Extraordinary General Chapter or a Vatican-appointed Commissioner.  The response to the question about the Minister General’s decisions in liturgical matters was similar:  almost two to one, the friars admitted that there were problems, and about half of the respondents said that extraordinary measures were needed to resolve them (77 percent of 64 percent = 49.3 percent).   Finally, more than half (53 percent) said that relations with the Superior General of the Sisters’ Institute were problematic, and of them, 85 percent considered extraordinary measures necessary.  

Again, the argument that all was well until Vatican bureaucrats unfairly singled out the “conservative” FFI for persecution is baseless.  Members of a religious community, like loyal members of a family, usually do not air their disagreements in public but try to deal with them privately.  The statistics summarized above clearly indicate that it was high time for the FFI to seek outside help from the authorities in Rome and that there was significant support for that petition. 

 

[SophiaMaria]

Father Zuelsdorf's blog has had some posts on this that you might want to read. the address is  www.wdtprs.com  

[reminiscere]

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/12/important-deep-dive-into-vatican.html

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2013 by reminiscere

[NotreDame]

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/12/important-deep-dive-into-vatican.html

 

Thanks!   I think the problem is clear now.  Whoever was running the FFI's finances just wasn't kicking back enough to Cardinal Sodano :hehe2:

[reminiscere]

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/12/important-franciscan-sisters-of.html