What People Are Commenting
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Hammer & Sickle, Homo ‘Marriage’
‘Hermeneutic’ Reason to Accept the Communist Crucifix…
During the flight that took him from Asunción to Rome, Pope Francis answered reporters’ questions for about an hour. During that interview he commented on the hammer and sickle crucifix that President Morales had given him and said that he accepted it gladly. He said he did not know that Fr. Espinal was a sculptor and poet and that this was a surprise, but he never said that he did not know he was going to receive it. A way to dodge the question.
I'm sure you are right in your report that he knew perfectly what was going to happen, as all these papal meetings are reviewed in every detail.
He also clearly stated he understands this "protest" art and appreciates it. He, who never accepts awards, accepted the Espinal Award (medal) precisely because he sympathizes with the communist aims of the Liberation Theologian Jesuit priest and the communist President Evo Morales.
The “justification” of him accepting the communist symbol follows:
“I call it [the hammer & sickle crucifix] protest art, which in some cases could be offensive. Third, in this particular case, Father Espinal was killed in 1980. That was the time whenLiberation Theology had many strains. One of them saw reality through Marxist analysis. Father Espinal belonged to this one. …
“Let us look at that period hermeneutically. Espinal was enthusiastic about the Marxist analysis of reality, and also of theology, through Marxism. This is where the work [of art] came from. Espinal’s poems were also a protest, but that was his life, his thoughts. He was a special man, brilliant, who struggled in good faith. Hermeneutically, I understand this piece. For me, it is not offensive. But I looked at it hermeneutically, to avoid wrong opinions. So, I took it with me. It is coming with me [to Rome].”
Original news report by AsiaNews here.
M.G.
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Lucy’s Last Public Interview
This is from your article "Sister Lucy's Last Public Interview - 1957"
"These are the authentic words of her 1957 conversation with Fr. Fuentes, which came from the records of the official archivist of Fatima, Fr. Joaquín María Alonso, CMF. Fr. Alonso spoke with Sr. Lucy and publicly testified that her statements to Fr. Fuentes in 1957 were genuine and true."
Fr. Fuentes made this interview public in 1958. He was subsequently removed as Postulator for the Causes of Jacinta and Francisco.
In what year did Fr. Alonso speak with (The real) Sister Lucy to confirm the veracity of the interview?
Best wishes & God bless
N.C., India
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TIA responds:
Dear N.C.,
In 1966, the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima gave Fr. Joaquin Maria Alonso, CMF, the work of writing a complete history of the apparitions and message of Fatima. For that purpose, he was named archivist and editor of the Fatima documents. In 1974 he had prepared the first volumes of a series on Fatima – Fatima, Texts and Critical Studies.
At this point the new Bishop of Leiria, Alberto Cosme do Amaral, suspended his task, forbade the publication of the prepared volumes and ordered everything to be archived. Notwithstanding, Fr. Alonso allowed some of his works to filter out to the public. He died in 1981 still working on his series (check here),
In 1976 one of his works – The Secret of Fatima: Fact and Legend – was published in English. In this book he offers his judgment on the mentioned sermon/article of Fr. Fuentes' by which the last interview of Sister Lucy became known. In this link, check the information on Fr. Alonso – The Fatima Archivist – down the page.
So, as far as we could verify, it seems that there is neither a precise date for that statement nor for his contacts with Sister Lucy (the true Lucy? The false one? Who knows?). They could have taken place any time between 1966 and 1974.
Cordially,
TIA correspondence desk
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Against Same-Sex ’Marriage’
For your interest: The three principals of the daily paper Daily Record, Parsippany, NJ, wrote a long OPINION approving the Supreme Court ruling for same sex marriage.
Below is a brief email I sent to one of the principals.
John Domen
Opinion, June 28, 2015
Dear Mr. Donovan,
What a glorious time for sodomites and lesbians to be legally recognized in America, as the OPINION article pontificates! Opposition to legalization of same sex unions is just emotional, discriminatory, and faith-based as OPINION declares.
Well, the gates are finally open, and we are legally 'Sodom and Gomorrah.' We should be proud to carve out our own destiny in this world, for with this philosophy, our death is as final as the pig's or cow's. So, carpe diem!
We should remember, though, that there is archeological evidence that Sodom and Gomorrah were burned with sulfur, and our final destiny is not that of a pig or cow.
John Domen (Succasunna)
Posted July 16, 2015
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The opinions expressed in this section - What People Are Commenting - do not necessarily express those of TIA
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Kudos to your comments on Francis’ decoration with the hammer & sickle!
You are quite right when you say that the Vatican was aware that the Pope would receive that communist symbol. There was no surprise. As a confirmation, I came across some news reports in Spanish, dated before the arrival of the Pope in Bolivia, informing the public that the Pope would receive the Luis Espinal Order, which is an Order founded by the Marxist government of Evo Morales.
To be able to confer that Order to someone, Morales has to ask permission of Congress. So, there were several reports in the newspapers about the discussion in the two Houses of Congress – here, here, here, here and here – all them, I repeat, more than a week before Francis' arrival in Bolivia.
We have, then, a series of impossibilities that leads to a confirmation of what you stated:
- It was absolutely impossible that, before the papal visit, the Catholic authorities in Bolivia were not aware of the stated public intention of the government;
- It was impossible that those religious authorities did not know that the collar of the Order Luis Espinal holds a medal with the communist symbol of the hammer and sickle;
- It was impossible that, knowing it, they would not inform the Vatican;
- It was impossible that the Vatican, having been briefed about this intent, would not inform the Pope.
So, the Pope knew it beforehand, and he was not surprised when he received it. So, the question arises: Why did he show that first expression of surprise when he received the hammer & sickle from Morales’ hands? In the interview with journalists, flying back to Rome, he said he did not know that Espinal was sculptor and poet and was surprised about that. If this is true, we have a surprise about a point that has nothing to do with the topic of receiving the communist symbol. It is an irrelevant detail.The logical conclusion is that he knew beforehand that he would be decorated with the hammer & sickle and accepted it. Thus, we have a Pope who is identified with communist symbols.
No wonder Our Lady in Fatima kept secret that those who would spread the “errors of Russia” would be the conciliar Popes themselves… Who could have believed such a thing in 1917? Or even in 1960? It is also no wonder that these Popes sabotaged the message of Fatima as much as they could.
In Jesus and Mary,
E.J.