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| Attorney General Intervenes After Bill Gates Buys A Massive Amount Farmland In North Dakota |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-23-2022, 07:12 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Attorney General Intervenes After Bill Gates Buys A Massive Amount Farmland In North Dakota
Daily Caller | June 22, 2022
The office of the Attorney General of North Dakota sent a letter Tuesday asking Red River Trust, a group with ties to billionaire Bill Gates, to prove the company’s use of the land does not violate the state’s Corporate Farming Laws.
The trust had acquired six parcels of land in Pembina County.
“I’ve gotten a big earful on this from clear across the state, it’s not even from that neighborhood,” Agricultural Commissioner Doug Goehring, according to Valley News Live. “Those people are upset, but there are others that are just livid about this.”
The letter stipulated that under North Dakota law, there are “certain limitations on the ability of trusts to own farmland or ranchland.”
Quote:Bill Gates acquired six parcels of land in Pembina County. Tuesday, the office of the Attorney General sent out a letter asking the Red River Trust to confirm how the company plans to use the land and if it meets any of the exceptions to the North Dakota Corporate Farming Laws. pic.twitter.com/MGGFKV16mm
— DOCTOR FROM LONG ISLAND NEW YORK (@Doctorfromliny) June 22, 2022
“The Corporate or Limited Liability Company Farming Law has certain exceptions, such as permitting registered family farms or allowing the use of the land for business purposes,” the letter continued.
According to the letter, corporations that are in violations of this law will have a year to divest themselves of the land and are subject to a civil fine of $100,000.
“Our office needs to confirm how your company uses this land and whether this use meets any of the statutory exceptions, such as business purpose exceptions, such as the business purpose exception, so that we may close this case and file it in our inactive files,” the letter continued.
As of January 2021, Bill Gates is the largest owner of farmland in the U.S., owning 242,000 acres across 18 states, according to the Daily Mail.
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| Cdl. Müller: Pope Francis resigning with Benedict still alive would be a ‘big problem’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-22-2022, 04:33 PM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Cdl. Müller: Pope Francis resigning with Benedict still alive would be a ‘big problem’
Cardinal Gerhard Müller said there would be 'implications' for the Catholic Church should Pope Francis retire alongside Pope Benedict XVI.
![[Image: GettyImages-459228632-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-459228632-810x500.jpg)
German Cardinal Gerhard Müller outside St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City
Wed Jun 22, 2022
(LifeSiteNews) – As rumors continue to fuel speculation that Pope Francis might soon resign the papacy, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has expressed concern for the meaning of a Catholic Church with “two Popes Emeriti,” stating that it “is not good for the Church.”
Speaking recently in an interview with LifeSiteNews editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen, Müller said that while speculation intensifies around Francis’ resignation – especially in light of his declining health and the “very strange” timing of the August Consistory – “nobody knows what is happening. All is in God’s hand.”
The former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recalled the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, stating that the move sent a “shockwave” throughout the Church. Doubt has subsequently been cast on Francis serving the Petrine office until his death, Müller noted, adding that should Francis resign, there will be “repercussions, implications for the Church.”
“Pope Benedict is still alive, and it will be a big problem to have two Popes Emeriti. That is not good for the Church,” he said.
Although raising concerns about the nature of a Church with two retired pontiffs, Müller has thrown his full weight behind the legitimacy of Francis’ pontificate, stating earlier this month that “[t]here is legitimately only one pope and his name is Francis. Whoever was pope, living or dead, is no more, even if he is entitled to all gratitude and personal veneration.”
The respected prelate recognized that many in the Church disagree about papal retirement, but argued that “as a theologian, I am fundamentally against the resignation of the popes.”
“Only in extreme cases we can understand it, but in normal situations we must always accept that the Pope is a human who becomes older,” Müller said, adding that while age brings its own “problems … we have to give witness also in our sufferings, in our becoming old and old-aged.”
Quote:The day will come that everyone has to die, and the Pope is a human being, a man like us, is a pilgrim on this earth, and we have to pray for him because he is a successor of Saint Peter, the first pope and the shepherd of the universal Church, and also a human being with all his lights and shadows.
If a pope does continue to serve his office until his death, “in every case, God is with us,” Müller contended, since “the government of the universal Church is another understanding to the government of a political state like the United States or the world powers.”
The Church, he said, “is more important. The testimony you are giving is Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord and the hope we have for us all after this earthly life.”
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| Dr. Robert Malone: Hospitals are sending your private medical data to Facebook |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-22-2022, 04:27 PM - Forum: General Commentary
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Dr. Robert Malone: Hospitals are sending your private medical data to Facebook
Patients should demand that their data not be entered into corruptible online or cloud-based systems.
Wed Jun 22, 2022
(Robert Malone) – An article entitled “Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information from Hospital Websites” is one of the more shocking investigative pieces of the week to not make mainstream corporate media.
The authors document how there has been a tracking tool installed on many hospitals’ private website pages, which has been collecting patients’ health information. This includes medical conditions, prescriptions, and doctor’s appointments. This tool is then sending all that data to Facebook (and its parent company Meta).
The authors, who originally published in The Markup, found this tool was installed in 33 out of 100 of the top hospitals in the U.S. and on seven major medical systems, including “My Chart.” This means that a large percentage of hospitals have been directly sending patient data to Facebook (or Meta):
Quote:“The 33 hospitals The Markup found sending patient appointment details to Facebook collectively reported more than 26 million patient admissions and outpatient visits in 2020.”
To be clear, this is just the 33 hospitals that The Markup tested, not the hospital systems or the vast majority of hospital and doctor’s offices who use these large cloud based or networked software systems in the U.S.
In reading this, I was struck that patients should demand that their data not be entered into such systems; a movement to return to data entry systems that are not corrupted by Meta, Facebook, or Google needs to be jump-started.
As late as 2017, the government was actually worried about medical systems being hacked. But now? Where is our government in protecting patient’s rights?
Clearly, “we” the people cannot rely on the U.S. government.
Therefore, we have to protect ourselves. Our doctors and hospitals are being encouraged to buy cloud-based software solutions to “protect us.” These medical providers also need to be educated – these large cloud systems-based solutions have been corrupted. The medical providers must understand that patients should be given a choice to opt out of the system. The right to privacy extends to healthcare in its entirety.
Another investigative article that has been overlooked by most corporate legacy media is “The Billionaire Family Pushing Synthetic Sex Identities (SSI),” published in Tablet and written by Jennifer Bilek.
The Pritzker family, among the top ten wealthiest families in the U.S., is using its vast resources to remake human gender and sexuality. They are using gender ideology to remake human biology.
Quote:“Through investments in the techno-medical complex, where new highly medicalized sex identities are being conjured, the Pritzkers and other elite donors are attempting to normalize the idea that human reproductive sex exists on a spectrum. These investments go toward creating new SSI using surgeries and drugs, and by instituting rapid language reforms to prop up these new identities and induce institutions and individuals to normalize them.
In 2018, for example, at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at the University of California Los Angeles (where the Pritzkers are major donors and hold various titles), the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology advertised several options for young females who think they can be men to have their reproductive organs removed, a procedure termed ‘gender-affirming care.’”
Of note, current Democrat governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker is a leading member of this family and this movement, and is being considered as a potential contender for the presidential election in 2024.
The Pritzker family has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to hospitals and universities to re-make medicine, education, and psychology. Their goal is to promote their vision of sexuality. This vision includes a remaking of sex education in schools to include new ideas about gender ideology and whole medical departments dedicated to transgender issues, including surgery on adolescents.
My short review does not give the article justice, and I recommend that you read the source article by Jennifer Bilek. You can find the article by clicking on this link.
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| Firebombed pregnancy center in New York under investigation for not offering abortion ‘services’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-22-2022, 07:11 AM - Forum: Abortion
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Firebombed pregnancy center in New York under investigation for not offering abortion ‘services’
CompassCare CEO Jim Harden revealed that the state is demanding 'an open book' on the pregnancy center's services.
![[Image: CompassCare-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CompassCare-810x500.jpg)
CompassCare in Buffalo, New York sustained damage caused by radical pro-abortion extremists Jane's Revenge.CompassCare
Tue Jun 21, 2022
BUFFALO, New York (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-life pregnancy center CompassCare is being investigated for not offering abortions while a recent attack on its clinic remains unsolved, CEO Jim Harden told Catholic News Agency.
The investigation is part of pro-abortion measures put in place by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on June 13 that allow for an in-depth analysis of pregnancy centers that do not offer abortions by New York Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett.
According to the legislation, the inquiry aims at assessing the impact of “limited-service pregnancy centers” on women’s access to “accurate, non-coercive health care information.” Reportedly, it will also evaluate whether or not the pregnancy center offers “a comprehensive range of reproductive and sexual health care services.”
“They want to know anything and everything. They want an open book,” said Harden, revealing that he does not intend to comply with the measures. “It’s absolutely ironic and crazy.”
Harden explained that he was instructed to supply the state with information on CompassCare’s donors, patients, service processes, affiliates, and more.
Meanwhile, no arrests have been made after a June 7 firebombing attack on the pregnancy center carried out by pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge. Windows were smashed in the reception room and nurses’ office and firebombs were thrown into the building.
Jane’s Revenge, a self-proclaimed violent pro-abortion group, has been attacking numerous pro-life organizations in what they call a “Night of Rage.” However, as pro-abortion attacks increase throughout the country, the Biden administration has avoided condemning the actions.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to publicly denounce illegal protests at homes of pro-life Supreme Court justices. Her predecessor, Jen Psaki, claimed that the White House encourages “peaceful” protests “outside of judges’ homes, and that’s the president’s position.”
One protest occurred just hours after an armed man who intended to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh was arrested outside the justice’s home.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned of potential terrorist violence over the pending decision on Roe v. Wade, claiming that pro-life supporters as well as pro-abortion activists have been encouraging violence, despite no evidence of violence or threat of violence committed by the pro-life side.
There have been over 20 attacks on pregnancy centers across the U.S. since the draft of a Supreme Court decision concerning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May.
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| Vatican sells commemorative coins promoting the ‘need to be vaccinated’ against COVID |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-21-2022, 05:49 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Vatican sells commemorative coins promoting the ‘need to be vaccinated’ against COVID
An eight-piece set includes a 20 euro silver coin depicting a young person getting jabbed with a needle.
![[Image: Coin-image-810x500.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Coin-image-810x500.jpg)
Mon Jun 20, 2022
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews [adapted]) – Vatican City has issued a new set of coins, one of which shows a young person being vaccinated, presumably against COVID-19.
Quote:#Vatican’s new 20-euro coin dedicated to “theme very close to #PopeFrancis’ heart…the need to be vaccinated…[he] has repeatedly stressed the importance of vaccination,…[& that it] is important to ‘continue efforts to immunize even the poorest peoples’.”https://t.co/tWyfKcJjsT pic.twitter.com/qRVB9MdK1W
— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) June 20, 2022
The new coin set consists of eight coins that includes a 20 euro silver coin depicting a young person receiving a needle.
The coin itself does not say whether the jab given to the young person is for COVID, but the description on a Vatican website states that “The 20 euro silver coin, designed by Chiara Principe, is dedicated to a current theme that is very close to Pope Francis’ heart: treatments to counter the pandemic and the need to be vaccinated. The coin depicts a doctor, a nurse and a young person who is ready to receive the vaccine.”
In addition, the site states that “The Holy Father has repeatedly stressed the importance of vaccination, recalling that health care is ‘a moral obligation,’ and it is important to ‘continue efforts to immunize even the poorest peoples.’”
In total, the set costs 180 euros.
Catholic commentator Dr. Taylor Marshall reacted to the news with a tweet calling to mind a World Earth Day coin that depicted an image reminiscent of the Pachamama theme from the 2019 Amazonian Synod. ...
American journalist Diane Montagna tweeted the description of the 2020 coin that depicted “a mother carrying the earth in her womb … ”
Quote:Recall Vatican’s 2020 coin to mark 50th World Earth Day, “depicting a mother carrying the earth in her womb, to whom we owe care & love as if it were a daughter, with long ears of wheat in her hair, in a reference between past & future that becomes timeless, & therefore eternal.” pic.twitter.com/v64jbjLoSw
— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) June 20, 2022
COVID vaccines have been associated with numerous instances of severe side effects that have included permanent injury and death.
In March, it was confirmed that a 34-year-old English woman died of a “sudden and catastrophic” brain bleed after taking the AstraZeneca COVID jab.
Most major vaccine manufacturers, including Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, were created using fetal cells during the production and testing stages.
The potential dangers of taking a COVID jab and the link to abortion has led prominent Catholics such as Abby Johnson to state their intention to avoid cooperation with the current vaccines for moral and religious reasons.
Pope Francis’ push to vaccinate against COVID with abortion-tainted jabs has made it difficult for some Catholics to receive religious exemptions from employers due to supposed Church support for vaccination.
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| Did Europe's Latest (& Little Noticed) Anti-Russia Move Just Push The World Closer To WW3? |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-20-2022, 06:36 AM - Forum: Global News
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Did Europe's Latest (& Little Noticed) Anti-Russia Move Just Push The World Closer To WW3?
![[Image: Kaliningradmap_0.jpg?itok=SY_1YCRq]](https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/Kaliningradmap_0.jpg?itok=SY_1YCRq)
ZH [emphasis in the original] | Jun 19, 2022
Quite possibly the biggest Russia-West provocation of the entire four-month long war in Ukraine has occurred this weekend, but few in the media establishment seem to be taking notice of the singular event which has the potential to quickly spiral toward a WW3 scenario.
Baltic EU/NATO member Lithuania has implemented a ban on all rail transit goods going to Russia's far-western exclave of Kaliningrad, after transport authorities initially announced the provocative measure on Friday. "The EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology, and Alikhanov said the ban would cover around 50% of the items that Kaliningrad imports," Reuters wrote.
This has given way to fears of panic buying breaking out in Kaliningrad Oblast, which is Russian sovereign territory on the Baltic Sea, but which is sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, and is thus reliant on overland shipping for passage via its EU neighbors.
Anton Alikhanov, the governor of the Russian oblast which has a total population of some one million people (with Kaliningrad city including almost 450,000 - and 800,000 total if outlying suburbs are counted) is urging calm:
Quote:Urging citizens not to resort to panic buying, Alikhanov said two vessels were already ferrying goods between Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg, and seven more would be in service by the end of the year.
"Our ferries will handle all the cargo", he said on Saturday.
Russian officials and media have long warned against what they dubbed Western aims to "blockade" Kaliningrad. Crucially, the EU enforcement measure being implemented from Vilnius marks a complete break in a three decade long treaty that's been in effect...
Quote:RUSSIAN-LITHUANIAN TREATY REGARDING KALININGRAD, 1993 https://t.co/4LatUKPN6J pic.twitter.com/ahwCYWMt8c
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) June 19, 2022
Ahead of the new Lithuanian transit ban taking effect, the state railways service was reportedly awaiting final word from the European Commission on enforcing it:
Quote:The cargo unit of Lithuania's state railways service set out details of the ban in a letter to clients following "clarification" from the European Commission on the mechanism for applying the sanctions.
Previously, Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Mantas Adomenas said the ministry was waiting for "clarification from the European Commission on applying European sanctions to Kaliningrad cargo transit."
Brussels then ruled that "sanctioned goods and cargo should still be prohibited even if they travel from one part of Russia to another but through EU territory," according to Rueters/Rferl.
In Moscow's eyes, this is tantamount to laying economic siege to part of Russia's sovereign territory and one million of its citizens. When the EU first proposed the blockage of goods as part of the last major sanctions package in early April, Kremlin officials warned of war given Moscow would have to "break the blockade" for the sake if its citizens.
Quote:One escalation step closer to WW3 today. The West by de facto putting Kaliningrad under seige is goading Russia to roll into the Baltics. https://t.co/Q6wIGz6xFb
— Mark Sleboda (@MarkSleboda1) June 18, 2022
According to an April 6th statement in Russia's TASS by a state Duma official:
Quote:Statements from the West about a possible blockade of Kaliningrad is testing the waters, but Russia can ‘break the blockade’ in case these threats become a reality, it has an experience, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Federation Council upper house’s Committee for International affairs, said on Wednesday.
"I think that for now, this is a game, testing the waters <…>. In case of a blockade, as they are saying, the Soviet Union knows how to break the blockades, we (Russia as the successor of the Soviet Union - TASS) have vast experience," the senator said.
"If they want to go to the length of making us break this blockade to save the lives of our people, who live there, we can do this," Dzhabarov said in a video interview at the press center of Parlamentskaya Gazeta (Parliamentary Newspaper).
He expressed hope, however, that the West "will have enough brains to opt against this".
Kaliningrad's governor Alikhanov has already called on Russian federal authorities to prepare tit-for-tat measures against Lithuania in wake of the transit ban.
Quote:The blockade of the Kaliningrad??region may become a reason for the outbreak of war B/T Russia & NATO
??has published a PR on the fifth package of sanctions against??
The document,in particular, prohibits transit of goods by ??&?? transport operators through the territory of ?? pic.twitter.com/M7k2XAxP0S
— Marialvw (@arktinentuuli) April 8, 2022
"These steps are illegal and may entail far-reaching implications for Lithuania and the European Union. In particular, I would like to quote a few paragraphs from the Joint Statement on EU Enlargement, with references to international agreements, the documents which both the European community and the Russian Federation acceded to," Alikhanov said Saturday.
Additionally he cited a key condition that was part of Lithuania’s 2004 accession to the EU. He quoted the prior agreement saying that the Baltic state "will apply in practice the principle of freedom of transit of goods, including energy, between the Kaliningrad Region and the rest of Russian territory."
"In particular, we confirm that there shall be freedom of such transit, and that the goods in such transit shall not be subject to unnecessary delays or restrictions and shall be exempt from customs duties and transit duties or other charges related to transit," Alikhanov quoted the Joint Statement further as saying.
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| Then-Fr. Ratzinger: 'A Young Revolutionary Firebrand at Vatican II' |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-19-2022, 09:21 AM - Forum: The Architects of Vatican II
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An excerpt from the Dr. Carol Byrne series on The History of the Dialogue Mass, highlighting one of the many instances of blatant rejection of Catholic Tradition by Pope Benedict XVI during his lifetime:
Dr. Carol Byrne: A Series on the History of the Dialogue Mass
Pope Benedict XVI Continued the Conciliar Revolution
Taken from here [slightly adapted - emphasis mine].
In 1966, the same year he was appointed to a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tübingen, the then Fr. Joseph Ratzinger criticized the Tiara as a form of “dangerous triumphalism,” adding insult to injury by implying that those who wore it were guilty of “self-glorification”:
“So long as the Church is on pilgrimage on the earth, she has no ground to boast of her own works. Such self-glorification could become more dangerous than the Sedia Gestatoria (1) and the Tiara, which are more likely to elicit a smile than a feeling of pride.” (2)
But this assertion is unjustified, for these two items of papal regalia had nothing to do with boastfulness or self-aggrandisement. This is evident from a centuries-old custom performed as part of papal coronations. While the newly-crowned Pope, still wearing his Tiara, was being carried in the Sedia Gestatoria, the procession would stop three times, and a master of ceremonies, brandishing a piece of burning flax, would chant this warning in a mournful tone: Pater Sancte: Sic transit gloria mundi. (Holy Father, thus passes the glory of the world).
![[Image: F212_Fla.jpg]](https://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/HTimages_b-f/F212_Fla.jpg)
Pointing to the burning flax, the cleric entones ' Thus passes the glory of the world'
These words served as a reminder to the Pope of the transitory nature of earthly life and worldly honors, lest he should be tempted to see his position in terms of self-glorification. Nothing could be more calculated to dampen the fires of pride in power than the flax-burning rite.
The flax plant had been associated from Old Testament times with all that is fragile and transient, making it a suitable symbol for the brevity of our earthly existence. (3) Its rapid consumption by fire was a visual reminder to the Pope that he would soon return to dust – the perfect antidote to personal vanity in the exercise of power.
Besides, as symbols of the rightful exaltation of the Church, the Tiara and the “Triumphal Chair” point not to the person of the Pope, but to his office, and beyond that to the One Who founded the Church, whom he represents. These trappings of royalty were seen in Tradition as visual aids for the mind to assimilate the transcendent truth of the Kingship of Christ exercised by His Vicar on earth.
Earlier in that same century, Pope Pius XI had issued his Encyclical Quas primas (1925) by which he inaugurated the Feast of Christ the King. This has inspired the Catholic faithful to defend the Church against attack; and some, notably Fr. Miguel Pro, have given their lives for the cause.
But after Vatican II, few Catholics would think of rallying behind the banner of Christ the King. Such loyalty to the Faith is considered by progressivist theologians to be so objectionable that any display of papal supremacy – spiritual or temporal – is now regarded, to quote Ratzinger again, as “dangerous.”
The Tiara 'An Impediment to Christian Unity'
Pope Benedict had a personal interest in discontinuing the Tiara, which explains why he considered it such a danger that it had to be discarded. As a young revolutionary firebrand at Vatican II, acting under the auspices of Card. Frings who was President of the German Bishops’ Conference and a strong opponent of Roman centralism, he thought that the symbolism of the Tiara would jeopardize the success of two of Vatican II’s key progressivist ideas which both he and Frings wished to promote: Collegiality and Ecumenism.
![[Image: F212_Her.jpg]](https://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/HTimages_b-f/F212_Her.jpg)
The ecumenical Benedict presided over an interfaith encounter for peace: Assisi, 2011
First, Ratzinger did not accept the traditional teaching that the government of the Church is monarchical, with the Bishops owing subservience and obedience to the Pope. He favored a more communitarian approach, and saw collegiality of the Bishops as an antidote to papal supremacy insofar as it would “supplement and correct the monarchic idea.”(4)
But Christ founded the Church as a Kingdom, not a People’s Republic. In other words, the basic structure and inner meaning of the divinely-appointed Constitution of the Church is monarchical, not democratic.
Second, there was the “ecumenical” question which, for progressivists, involved compromising the Faith by conciliating those outside the Church who rejected papal supremacy. Ratzinger explained:
“All the work of the Council was in a sense centred on the ecumenical problem. …This involved a readiness to see and admit the mistakes of the past, and to make amends for them, and the determination to remove every impediment standing in the way of unity.” (5)
He further stated that “the problem of papal centralism is readily understandable to everyone. Even the person indifferent to religion sees the papal primacy as an obstacle to the unity of Christendom.”(6)
The effects of such corrosive criticism coming from those who are embarrassed by the history, traditions and the teachings of the Church – which became de rigueur after Vatican II – were noted by Romano Amerio:
“The present denigration of the Church’s past by clergy and laity is in lively contrast with the courage and pride with which Catholicism confronted its adversaries in centuries past. … In the wake of the radical innovation that has occurred in the Church, and the consequent rupture of historical continuity, respect and reverence have been replaced by the censure and repudiation of the past.”(7)
Placing the Gospel under a Bushel
On the occasion of his taking possession of the Chair of the Bishop of Rome at his Cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Pope Benedict XVI, having eschewed the Tiara, stated:
“The Pope is not an absolute monarch whose thoughts and desires are law.”(8)
![[Image: F212_Ina.jpg]](https://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/HTimages_b-f/F212_Ina.jpg)
Benedict XVI inauguration: refusal to wear the Tiara & affirmation that the Pope is not a monarch
This statement is problematic because the word “absolute” is undefined. That the Catholic Church is an absolute monarchy is plainly shown by her institution and her history. She is ruled by the Pope who is an “absolute” monarch in the sense of absolutus in Latin – one who possesses in himself alone the fullness of supreme power, whose rule is independent, free and unrestricted by anyone else.
While this is not addressed in Ratzinger’s statement, attention is diverted from this primary truth by emphasizing a secondary, irrelevant point about laws not being made on the personal whim of the Pope. Of course, the Pope is not an absolute monarch in that sense. But to mention what he is not, while omitting to say what he is, leaves a negative connotation in the listener’s mind.
The lasting impression is that the Pope is not a monarch at all. This impression is reinforced by the decision of post-Vatican II Popes not to wear the Triple Crown. This simply demonstrates that the traditional pope-as-monarch concept is now considered so unacceptable that it must not even be mentioned.
A Blot on the Escutcheon
In Pope Benedict XVI’s personal coat of arms, (9) the Tiara with its clear, unambiguous meaning has disappeared and is replaced by a mitre with three gold stripes. This turned out to be an exercise in dissimulation and prevarication. The symbolism here is artfully ambiguous, for any Bishop of the Roman Rite (including the Pope) can wear a mitre, but only the Pope can wear the Tiara.
For some – progressivist Catholic Bishops, members of the so-called Orthodox and Protestant groups – it could be taken to mean that the Pope is simply the Bishop of Rome, with no jurisdiction outside the Eternal City – as in the Book of Common Prayer’s famous taunt; (10) others see in the three stripes a faint hint of the three crowns of the Tiara, but which lacks conviction or force.
Nor does the official Vatican explanation (11) clear up any confusion, but rather adds to it. No mention is made of the supremacy of the Pope’s universal jurisdiction, but only a reference to some vague “sharing” of power among brother-bishops as a “visible sign of collegiality and subsidiarity.”
Some Unforeseen Ironies
But as with all attempts to diminish or eradicate Catholic Tradition, the Faith cannot be entirely uprooted from the hearts and minds of the ordinary faithful. Here are some examples of how things “went wrong” for the reformers and produced unintended consequences.
![[Image: F212_Gar.jpg]](https://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/HTimages_b-f/F212_Gar.jpg)
A mistake in the Vatican Gardens - the Tiara instead of Benedict's mitre
In the Vatican Gardens there is a topiary display made from low, carved and trimmed hedges specially designed in the shape of each new Pope’s coat of arms. Before Benedict XVI’s deviation from Tradition, papal heraldry had for centuries featured a personalized shield surmounted by the Tiara and the Keys of St. Peter.
But when the Vatican gardeners dug out the plants representing the previous Pope’s arms and replaced them with new ones for Pope Benedict, they left those representing the Tiara and Keys undisturbed. Perhaps these hardy perennials of the Faith were too deeply embedded in the Catholic soil to be uprooted. However, we are now faced with the anomalous situation of two co-existing papal coats of arms for the same person – one in keeping with Tradition, and the other out of kilter with it.
What was the Catholic world’s surprise when, one Sunday in October 2010, the traditional design, complete with the Triple Crown, made a sudden and unexpected come-back on a tapestry hanging from the balcony of Benedict XVI’s apartment overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
This sparked rumours about a possible change in direction of papal policy regarding the Tiara, but Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, who did not seem to be able to explain the anomaly other than as “a gift,” hastened to assure the public that it would not be displayed again in that form. (12) Evidently, the unnamed donor was not too ashamed to emblazon the “unwelcome” symbol of papal supremacy across the Pope’s balcony for all to see.
![[Image: F212_Tia.jpg]](https://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/HTimages_b-f/F212_Tia.jpg)
Benedict XVI received a Tiara from German pilgrims
Another unexpected contingency occurred in May 2011 when Pope Benedict XVI was presented with a Tiara as a gift from some visiting German pilgrims, his own compatriots. The leader of the group obviously lamented the passing of the Tiara, for he said that he “would be very happy if we had a Pope who was crowned again like a king or a queen.”(13)
His sentiments were immediately echoed by a multitude of Catholics on the social media and assorted websites. The incident drew public attention to the inappropriateness of discarding the papal Tiara in the face of the robust sensus fidei of the ordinary faithful who wanted the Popes to retain the coronation ceremony with all its pomp and glory.
However, Pope Benedict XVI did not wear the Tiara during his Pontificate. Nor did Pope Francis wear the one specially made for him and presented to him in 2016. (14) These, as with most valuable gifts given to the Popes, were destined for the Vatican Museums.
To be continued
1. The sedia gestatoria (“Triumphal Chair”) was a silk-covered, richly adorned portable throne on which Popes were carried on the shoulders of 12 footmen on the day of their coronation ceremony and certain other solemn occasions. The immemorial custom was ended in 1978 when Pope John Paul II replaced it with a motorized “Popemobile.” Pope Francis now drives himself around Rome in a series of old cars, or travels on public transport.
2. Joseph Ratzinger, Das neue Volk Gottes: Entwürfe zur Ekklesiologie (God’s New People: Concepts for Ecclesiology). Düsseldorf: Patmos-Verlag, 1969, p. 150.
3. Sometimes referred to as tow, as in the Book of Ecclesiasticus 21:10 and Isaiah 1:31. The well-known reference to “the smoking flax” in Matthew 12:20 is the fulfilment of the prophecy in Isaiah 42:3.
4. Joseph Ratzinger, Theological Highlights of Vatican II, New York: Paulist Press, 1966, p. 142.
5. Ibid., p. 92.
6. Highlights, pp. 88-89.
7. Romano Amerio, Iota Unum: A Study of Changes in the Catholic Church in the Twentieth Century, Angelus Press, 1996, p. 119.
8. Benedict XVI, Homily preached at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, May 7, 2005.
9. It is important not to confuse the personal coat of arms of a particular Pope with the coat of arms of the Holy See, which retains the Tiara and Keys, as the symbol of the papacy, as does the flag of the Vatican City State.
10. Article 37 of the 39 Articles (1562) recognizing the English Monarch as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England stated: “The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.”
11. This was issued by the Apostolic Nuncio, Mgr. Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo.
12. Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service, October 14, 2014.
13. Catholic News Agency, Vatican City, May 25, 2011.
14. Andrea Tornielli, ‘A Tiara for Every Pope’, Vatican Insider, May 17, 2016.
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| Inching closer: The Fed - a U.S. digital dollar could help ... |
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Posted by: Stone - 06-19-2022, 08:18 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Inching closer...
Fed's Powell: a U.S. digital dollar could help maintain international primacy
June 17 (Reuters) - The development of an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could help safeguard its global dominance as other countries issue their own, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday, weighing in with generally positive remarks on a hot-button topic at the central bank that has left policymakers divided.
"A U.S. CBDC (central bank digital currency) could... potentially help maintain the dollar's international standing," Powell said in introductory remarks to a research conference held by the central bank on the international roles of the dollar.
The Fed has just finished a four-month public consultation period soliciting opinions on the idea of a digital dollar. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard has emerged as a key supporter while Fed Governor Chris Waller has made the case against.
"As we consider feedback...we will be thinking not just about the current state of the world, but also how the global financial system might evolve over the next 5 to 10 years," Powell added.
Ten countries have already launched central bank digital currencies and another 105 countries are exploring the option, according to the Atlantic Council, leading to fears the dollar could lose some of its dominance to China.
The dollar remains underpinned by key fundamentals, including a commitment to transparency, the rule of law and the full independence of the Fed, Powell noted.
In addition, the Fed's commitment to its price stability mandate contributes to widespread confidence in the dollar as a store of value, Powell said.
"To that end my colleagues and I are acutely focused on returning inflation to our 2% objective," Powell said. The Fed earlier this week delivered its largest interest rate increase in more than a quarter of a century as it tries to stem a surge in inflation.
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| Staggering Data Concerning Wind and Solar |
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Posted by: Juan Diego - 06-18-2022, 10:17 AM - Forum: Global News
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Oil, natural gas and coal supply 84% of all the world's energy. Oil still powers 97% of all global transportation.
Can solar and wind ever meet that much energy?
What are the effects and cost of wind and solar?
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