Confusion as faithful Catholic order is brutally disciplined while dissidents left to fester
(lifesitenews.com) Among the most faithful of all of the new
Catholic religious orders, especially in regard to their pro-life commitment,
was an order known as the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate (FFI). They were
made a pontifical institute of religious life by His Holiness John Paul II in
January 1, 1998. The order has thrived and been considered stellar in its
evangelization efforts. However, recent actions by the Vatican against the order
have generated a firestorm of controversy and confusion about what priority the
Church is now giving to the fidelity of religious orders to all Church
teachings. Many pro-life Catholic fans of the order are reeling from what has
been done to the order in just the past few months.
Most Americans are familiar with the many religious orders of sisters
who have sided with President Obama against the Bishops of the United
States. Some will remember that under Pope Benedict an investigation into such
dissident nuns was undertaken with a good
start but eventually little
result and hardly
any discipline meted out whatsoever. Catholics have been pleading for
decades for Vatican intervention to halt the decline of many of these orders
into New Age, lesbian, pro-abortion and otherwise out-of-control, anti-Catholic
behaviour that has had serious negative effects on the Church and a catastrophic
vocations drop-off.
On the other hand, there have been relatively unknown faithful orders growing
in the Church, with seminaries and convents bursting at the seams with new
applicants, having to turn many away
because of overcrowding. These orders have been attracting the large numbers
of young men and women with callings who have been repelled by the infidelities
and chaos in most of the older, mainstream orders.
The FFI has been considered one of the very best of these astonishingly
thriving new orders. The FFI were very traditional to be sure, even encouraging
the Latin Mass and all that, but they were known to be teachers of the faith on
the Culture of Life par excellence – unwavering in their adherence to the truths
of life and family.
However, an internal dispute in the order around the use of the traditional
Latin Mass has ended up in one of the most severe disciplines against any order
that many can ever recall seeing in their lifetimes. While religious orders
(for example, the Jesuits) riddled with major, in-your-face dissent, sexual
abuse, rampant homosexuality and more for decades remain still comparatively
untouched by Church authorities, the FFI have been ruthlessly dismantled in a
period of just several months.
The controversy began in July when Pope Francis named Capuchin Fr. Fidenzio
Volpi as Commissioner of the order, displacing the founder at least temporarily
and also simultaneously forbidding the friars from celebrating the Latin Mass
(known as the Extraordinary Form).
From there things got worse quickly.
As the Associated
Press reported earlier this month, Fr. Volpi issued “a series of sanctions
in the name of the pope that have stunned observers for their seeming severity.”
Reports AP, Fr. Volpi:
- Sent their founder, the Rev. Stefano Maria Manelli, to live in a religious home while he set about turning the order around.- 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.
AP’s Nicole Winfield notes “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.”
Traditional Catholics have sounded the alarm. A petition by Italy’s famed
Catholic Professor Roberto de Mattei has over 5000 signatures. In America, the
traditional blog Rorate Caeli
has been following the case closely with the most up-to-date information in
English.
However, it is not only ‘traditionalist’ Catholics that have sounded the
alarm. Last week, the EWTN-owned National Catholic Register, published
a plea to Pope Francis for help. Written by Pat Archbold known for his
popular Catholic blog Creative
Minority Report, the appeal to Pope Francis Archbold details the above
discipline on the order.
Archbold reminds Pope Francis of the Holy Father’s own words about being
lenient with religious orders which make mistakes, and urging them to move
forward nevertheless.
Archbold adds: “Fr. Volpi himself has stated, in response to criticism, that
the reason for such draconian and disproportionate measures is that ‘the founder
and ex- MinisterGeneral, Father Stefano Maria Manelli, in January 2012, had
already evaded constructive dialogue with the religious who had complained of a
crypto-lefebvrian and definitely traditionalist drift.’”
Says Archbold:
Crypto-lefebrvrianism? A traditionalist drift?Dear Holy Father, is faithful traditionalism within the Church now a crime? Is becoming more traditional a sign of deficiency within an order? Holy Father, that cannot be!Perhaps the FFI did not manage this transition as well as one would hope, but certainly this response is disproportionate and wildly severe.Holy Father, perhaps the FFI has made some mistakes, but why are they being prevented from moving forward?I cannot believe that you know the full detail of what is occurring. Holy Father, if these draconian and disproportionate actions of Fr. Volpi are allowed to stand, I fear that one message will be loud and clear:Faithful Catholic traditionalists no longer have a place in the Church.Holy Father, I do not believe for one second that this is the message you intend to send.Please Holy Father, please help.
In the meantime, religious orders in the world must be considering what their
direction should be under the current circumstances. Under Pope Benedict, there
was encouragement to give respectful attention to long-standing Church
traditions, including the Extraordinary Form, and also to place emphasis on the
Church’s authentic moral teachings, an emphasis lacking in much of the Church
for the past several decades.
Now, especially in the thriving new orders, all growing almost entirely
because of their consistent emphasis on joyful faithfulness to all Church
teachings, there has to be anxiety as to how Rome sees them and what might be
expected in the years ahead. Whether intentionally or not, the FFI have been
made a very blunt example to all – but to what end is not exactly clear
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