Clarity Amidst the Lio

While the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate must ask permission for saying Mass, for obtaining a liturgical calendar, indeed for most anything, Pope Francis has appointed a new cardinal for whom anything goes.

The 'crime' of the FFI is simply to revere the Mass as known for centuries, to uphold tradition, to adhere to the Vetus Ordo. For this, their order is being destroyed.

The Thinking Housewife details some of Cardinal Nichols' past 'accomplishments' as archbishop of Birmingham (in Great Britain), including a 'prayer' to Christ at a homosexual mass, which the cardinal endorsed for six years. Emphases mine:

"Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world. Rainbows serve as bridges between different realms: Heaven and Earth, east and west, queer and non-queer. Inspire us to remember the values expressed in the rainbow flag of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. Red is for life, the root of spirit. Living and Self-Loving Christ, you are our Root. Free us from shame, and grant us the grace of healthy pride so we can follow our own inner light. With the red stripe in the rainbow, we give thanks that God created us just the way we are. Orange is for sexuality, the fire of spirit. Erotic Christ, you are our Fire, the Word made flesh. Free us from exploitation, and grant us the grace of mutual relationships. With the orange stripe in the rainbow, kindle a fire of passion in us. Yellow is for self-esteem, the core of spirit. Out Christ, you are our Core. Free us from closets of secrecy, and give us the guts and grace to come out. With the yellow stripe in the rainbow, build our confidence. Green is for love, the heart of spirit. Transgressive Outlaw Christ, you are our Heart, breaking rules out of love. In a world obsessed with purity, you touch the sick and eat with outcasts. Free us from conformity, and grant us the grace of deviance..." [In all honesty, one must admit this 'prayer' is a clear case of diabolical disorientation.]

The cardinal has also endorsed adoption rights for homosexuals (as long as they are single, whatevah) and given the nod to teaching Catholic school kids both sides of the abortion and contraception issue, including how to access those things.

Pope Francis and Cardinal Nichols -- two sons of the Church.

 It brings to mind this quote from Archbishop Sheen: "He (Satan) will create a counter-church that is the ape of the Church, because he, the Devil, is the ape of God...It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in an inverted sense, and emptied of its divine content it will have a mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all appearances resemble the mystical body of Christ." (Communism and the Conscience of the West) [In other words, the form without the substance.]

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!

Lex, Lex, and Lex

Rorate-Caeli provides a portion of Fr. Stefano Manelli's pastoral report for the FFI (a report that was issued after Pope Benedict XVI's Moto Proprio Summorum Pontificum was issued). It is, of course, clear and true. A snippet:

More devastating—let us note this again—has been the negative influence of the Novus Ordo on the Religious Life, as already referenced above (with respect to the devastating losses in nearly all the Orders and Religious Institutes). And here we cannot fail to mention as well the sadness caused by the closing of so many monasteries and religious houses, as well as the closing of the greater part of the seminaries for priests and brothers, with the consequence of an aging clergy, the drop in the Missions without a turnover of missionaries, and the continual increase in the number of towns that even in Italy remain without a pastor, again because of lack of vocations. 

 There is much more. And of course, for speaking truth, Fr. Manelli has been severely persecuted and the FFI attacked with a diabolical ferocity.