Coronavirus pandemic is a chastisement for the Church: Cardinal who warned the Church about falling into idolatry of earth

March 31, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — German cardinal Paul Josef Cordes has joined the growing number of Catholic leaders looking at the coronavirus pandemic as a chastisement. “God’s Word also clearly states that life contrary to God can lead to illness,” wrote the former president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

Reliable exegetes state, “Sickness is the wages of sin.” Among other biblical passages, Cordes pointed to the story of the paralytic in the Gospel of Mark, which “makes the link between illness and sin irrefutable.”

Without naming him, Cordes quoted archbishop Ludwig Schick of Bamberg, Germany, who claimed that it would be “cynical” to call the COVID-19 pandemic a chastisement. The cardinal said this statement is only true if it meant to indicate a direct connection between a person suffering and that person’s very own sins.

Cordes, again without naming any names, also criticized cardinal Angelo Scola, who until 2017 headed the Milan archdiocese. Scola had said, “The idea of divine punishment is not part of the Christian vision — even in such a dramatic situation as the one we are experiencing right now. Of course it is a complex issue, but God does not use punishment to convert us!”

The German cardinal commented, “Whoever distorts God’s love so completely condemns angrily the popular piety of centuries. He has God’s word against him, which says, ‘God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?’ (Heb. 12:7)”

“And what is most deeply disturbing, such consolers do not only close church doors, but also heaven,” Cordes added. “But God is not apathetic.”

Recently, bishop Athanasius Schneider called the coronavirus pandemic “a divine intervention to chastise and purify the sinful world and also the Church.”

Unlike Cardinal Cordes, the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mary Most Holy in Astana, Kazakhstan was explicit in describing the potential causes of the chastisement.

He quoted from the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. “I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching ... that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.”

“I am convinced,” Schneider added, “that Christ would repeat the same words to Pope Francis and to the other bishops who allowed the idolatrous veneration of the Pachamama and who implicitly approved sexual relationships outside a valid marriage, by allowing the so-called ‘divorced and remarried’ who are sexually active to receive Holy Communion.”

The bishop, who grew up in the Soviet Union before coming to Germany in 1973, said the current situation “is so unique and serious that one can discover behind all of this a deeper meaning.”

Receiving Holy Communion in the hand, a practice disobediently adopted locally and then permitted in a widespread way by Pope Paul VI roughly 50 years ago, “has led to an unintentional and intentional desecration [of] the Eucharistic Body of Christ on an unprecedented scale. For over fifty years, the Body of Christ had been (mostly unintentionally) trampled by the feet of clergy and laity in Catholic churches around the world. The stealing of sacred Hosts has also been increasing at an alarming rate.”

According to Schneider, taking the Eucharist “directly with one’s own hands and fingers resembles ever more the gesture of taking common food.”

For many people, he said, this practice led to a weakened faith in the real presence. “The Eucharistic presence of Christ has, over time, unconsciously become for these faithful a kind of holy bread or symbol.”

The current situation, where in many parts of the world no public Masses are said, and Holy Communion cannot be received by the faithful, “could be understood by the Pope and bishops as a divine rebuke for the past fifty years of Eucharistic desecrations and trivializations and, at the same time, as a merciful appeal for an authentic Eucharistic conversion of the entire Church.”

Other Catholic leaders — for instance, John Smeaton, chief executive of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children — the first and largest pro-life organization in the United Kingdom, have offered similar assessments.

In his article for CNA Deutsch, Cordes also expressed his disappointment in the general Catholic response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the published statements of the German bishops prevail thankfulness towards doctors and helpers, encouragement to be available for service to others, and a strengthening in humanitarian discipline,” the cardinal explained.

“For example, it was bad news that the current situation no longer allowed public worship services. But solidarity and caution are called for. The risk of infection should be reduced, especially among the sick, the old and the weak. Catholics are called upon to show understanding. The church is part of society and must make its contribution,” Cordes recounted.

“These are the words of the instructions with which the ordained shepherds announce the cancellation of services,” he then added, no longer hiding his bewilderment.

Cordes pointed out that spiritual advice “can only be discovered with difficulty in the proclamations. Here and there comes the proposal to pray. The word ‘God’ is almost always avoided.”

The cardinal referred to the way the Church traditionally handled catastrophes like plague, for instance by passion plays or processions.

The experience “of powerlessness and hardship,” which many are experiencing today, drives people to God, Cordes is convinced. “Necessity teaches to pray.”

‘The light of Revelation opposes decidedly all worship that is not directed at God,’ said Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes.

Saint Simon of Lipnica, Martyr of Charity for caring for the victims of the Plague

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Bergoglio closed the door of the Grace of the sacraments to the dying victims of the Chinese coronavirus. Some of the members of modernist sect even dared to replace the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, desecrating it and invalidly delegating it to nurses and healthcare personnel.  They also dared invalidate phone confessions thus violating the humanitarian rights of Catholic patients who are dying from the virus by removing the help provided by receiving the sacraments.

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St. Szymon of Lipnica 

Beatified 24 February 1685, Saint Peter's Basilica, Papal States by Pope Innocent XI

Vatican.va/news

Blessed Simon was born in Lipnica Murowana, in the south of Poland, between the years 1435-1440. His parents, Gregory and Anne, knew how to give him a good education, inspired by the values of the Christian faith, and, despite their modest conditions, they took care to secure him an adequate cultural formation. Simon grew up with a pious and responsible nature, rich in a natural predisposition towards prayer and a tender love for the Mother of God.

He moved to Krakow, to attend the famous Jagiellonian Academy, in 1454. It was precisely in those years that St. John of Capestrano enthused the city through the sanctity of his life and the fervour of his preaching, attracting a dense crowd of young, generous men to the franciscan vocation. On the 8^th September 1453, the Italian saint founded the first convent of the Observance, with the name of the recently canonised St. Bernardine of Siena, in Krakow. It was for that reason that the Friars Minor of the convent were called the “Berdardini” by the people.

In 1457, the young Simon, fascinated by the franciscan ideal, also chose to acquire the pearl of great price mentioned in the Gospel and left aside a possible successful and rich future. He asked to be received, with another ten fellow students, into the convent of Stradom.

Under the wise guidance of the Novice Master, Br. Christopher of Varese, a religious renown for his teaching and sanctity of life, Simon generously embraced the humble and poor life of the Friars Minor and received the priesthood about the year 1460. He exercised his first ministry in the convent of Tarnów, where he was the Guardian of the fraternity. He later established himself in Stradom (Krakow), dedicating himself untiringly to preaching with a clear word, full of ardour, faith and wisdom, which permitted a glimpse of his profound union with God and of his prolonged study of Sacred Scripture.

Like St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John of Capestrano, Br. Simon spread devotion to the Name of Jesus, obtaining the conversion of innumerable sinners. He, the first of the Friars Minor, took up the duty of preacher in the Cathedral of Wawel in 1463. Because of his dedication to preaching the Gospel, the ancient sources conferred the title of “predicator ferventissimus” on him.

In his desire to give homage to St. Bernardine of Siena, the inspirer of his preaching, he, with some Polish confreres, went to Aquila to participate in the solemn transfer of the body of the saint, on the 17^th May 1472, to the new Church erected in his honour. He was again in Italy in 1478, on the occasion of the General Chapter of Pavia. He had a way, then, to be able to satisfy his deepest desire to visit the tombs of the Apostles in Rome and to extend his pilgrimage to the Holy Land later. He lived this experience in a spirit of penance, truly loving the passion of Christ, with the hidden aspiration of spilling his own blood for the salvation of souls, if it would please God. He emulated St. Francis in his love for the Holy Places. In view of the possibility of being captured by the non-believers, he wished to learn the Rule of the Order by heart before undertaking the journey in order “to have it always before the eyes of his mind”.

The love of Simon for his brothers and sisters was manifested in an extraordinary way during the last year of his life, when an epidemic of plague broke out in Krakow. The city was under the scourge of the disease from July 1482 to the 6^th January 1483. The Franciscans of the convent of St. Bernardine tirelessly did all they could to care for the sick as true consoling angels.

Br. Simone, held it to be a “propitious time” to exercise charity and to fulfil the offering of his own life. He went everywhere comforting, giving succour, administering the sacraments and announcing the consoling Word of God to the dying. He was soon infected. He suffered the pain of the disease with extraordinary patience and, near the end, expressed his desire to be buried under the threshold of the church so that all could trample on him. On the sixth day of the disease, the 18^th July 1482, without fear of death and with his eyes fixed on the Crucifix, he gave his soul back to God.

The “ab immemorabili” cult rendered to Blessed Simon, which passed into the history of seraphic sanctity under the title of “Salutis omnium sitibundus”, was confirmed by Blessed Innocent XI on the 24^th February 1685.

The cause of his canonisation, taken up by the Holy Father Pius XII on the 25^th June 1948, today reaches its happy ending, following the recognition of his heroic virtues and of the miraculous cure which occurred in Krakow in 1943 and attributed to the intercession of the Blessed. The respective Decrees were promulgated by the Holy Father Benedict XVI on the 19^th of December 2005 and the 16^th December 2006.

Simon of Lipnica knew how to combine admirably his commitment to evangelisation and to giving witness to charity, which flowed from his great love for the Word of God and for the poor and suffering. The Order of Friars Minor, on the vigil of the celebration of the VIII Centenary of its Foundation (1209-2009), salutes him as an authentic witness to poverty, humility and simplicity, as well as to the joy of belonging fully to the Lord and to being a gift to the life of the Friars. 

Saint Simon of Lipnica, we implore your intercession so that God stops the worldwide spread of the Chinese virus and does no more harm

                                   

Saint Simon of Lipnica, we ask that Christian victims of the Chinese virus are no longer have their human rights violated; and not be treated as lepers who die inhumanly without being able to see their families and are deprived of the sacraments. You who heroically tended spiritually to the victims of the plague intercede before God to end this just punishment.  Ask that the coronavirus from Wuhan does no more harm and that God stops its spread so that many recover their health; May the final fruit be the conversion of many souls; and so those who are infected by the deadly plague of sin may be healed and liberated. Saint Simon of Lipnica intercede for us who turn to you.

Modlitwa do św. Szymona z Lipnicy

Błogosławiony Szymonie, Ojcze najukochańszy, któryś miał tak czułe i wrażliwe serce na cudze cierpienie i niedostatek, a zwłaszcza na nędzę duchową, jaką powoduje grzech i odstępstwo do Boga, błagamy Cię i prosimy: wstaw się za nami do Boga, byśmy mogli otrzymać to, czego tak bardzo pragniemy. Nie odmawiaj naszym prośbom, choć płyną one z serc grzesznych. Postanawiamy powstać z upadków i odmienić nasze życie. Dopomóż nam tylko poznać nasze winy i przeprosić za nie naszego Stwórcę i Pana. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Szymon of Lipnica:

Blessed Simon, beloved Father, who had such a merciful heart and sensitive to the suffering and scarcity of other people, and especially to the spiritual misery caused by sin and apostasy to God, we beg you and ask you: say a good word in our favor to God so that we can receive what we so desire_____________. Do not reject our prayers, even though they come from the hearts of sinners. We decided to rise from our falls and change our lives. Help us to know our defects and apologize to our Creator and Lord for our faults. Amen

Archbishop Viganò on COVID-19 and the Hand of God

Written by  Michael J. Matt | Editor

Remnant Editor's Introduction: During this seemingly apocalyptic moment, we must be ever mindful of the fact that, despite the great apostasy that's been unfolding in the Church for decades, God Himself has not abandoned us.
Good priests all over the world are answering the call of the disenfranchised faithful, to help them maintain the lumen Christi in the midst of the present darkness that seems to be enveloping the whole world. In this moment of desolation, many of them are beginning to understand the warp and woof of the Modernist revolution that has decimated the Catholic Church, nearly destroyed the venerable Roman Rite and now finally left us all spiritually abandoned outside of locked churches.

In the face of this chastisement, when so many bishops have fled and taken our Sacraments with them, we're so grateful that at least a few good shepherds have broken the chains of collegiality in order to bring to  us the consolation of Christ's truth and call the scattering sheep back into the protection of the fold. 
Clearly, we are not alone. God is again raising up his prophets. 
Millions of Catholics are struggling to assimilate everything that has happened in the last few weeks. On this First Sunday of Passiontide, Archbishop Viganò honors us with this interview, in which he provides  honest and Christocentric guidance.
First he reminds us that "disease - and therefore epidemics, suffering, and losing a loved one - must be accepted in a spirit of faith and humility, even in atonement for our own personal sins." We must allow this scourge to soften our hearts and induce us to repent and turn back to God. 
Then he enjoins all baptized Catholics to keep in mind that despair is certainly not an option and that we should "bear these trials for the sins of others, for the conversion of those who do not believe, and to shorten the time the Holy Souls have to spend in Purgatory."

If "something as terrible as covid-19 can also be an opportunity for us to grow in Faith and active Charity," so too can it become an opportunity for our shepherds to resolve to soften their hearts and realize they must not go on "offending the Majesty of God" and even disobeying His mother:  "Our Lady of Fatima asked the Pope and all Bishops to consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart," Archbishop Viganò recalls, and she "announced wars and disasters until this came about. Her calls have gone unheard. The Hierarchy must now reform and obey the Mother of God!" 
So, how must the Church respond to this crisis? 
His Excellency warns that "the pope, the Hierarchy, and all Bishops, Priests and Religious must immediately and absolutely convert." Bishops especially must "regain consciousness of their own Apostolic Authority" since the time has come to "put an end to synodal paths," to that "hypocritical use of the word ‘dialogue’ instead of fearlessly preaching the Gospel," and so too the bishops must stop "teaching false doctrines",  stop being afraid of "preaching about purity and holiness," while "being silent in front of the arrogance of evil."
The sheep will follow, but the shepherds must learn to lead us away from the world and back to Christ again.
May God bless and keep Archbishop Viganò. His is a voice crying in the wilderness, and I would plead with our readers to pray for him and to ask God to grant him the grace and the courage to continue to sound the alarm before it's too late. Nations and men alike must turn back to Almighty God, if peace and tranquility are to return to our shores.  - Michael J. Matt

Interview with Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

Michael J. Matt (MJM): Your Excellency, how do you feel ordinary Catholics are to assess the covid-19 pandemic?
+ Carlo Maria Viganò:  The coronavirus pandemic, as with all diseases and death itself, are a consequence of original sin. The sin of Adam, our first parent, deprived him and us not only of divine grace, but also all the other good things God gave to creation. Then disease and death came into the world as a punishment for disobeying God. The Redemption we were promised in the Protoevangelium (Genesis 3), prophesied in the Old Testament and brought to completion with the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord, redeemed Adam and his descendants from eternal damnation; but its consequences were left as a mark of the Fall and will only finally be restored at the Resurrection of the flesh, as we proclaim in the Creed, and which will happen before Judgment Day. This must be remembered, especially at a time when the basic tenets of the Catechism are unknown or denied.
Catholics know that disease - and therefore epidemics, suffering, and losing a loved one - must be accepted in a spirit of faith and humility, even in atonement for our own personal sins. Thanks to the Communion of Saints - thanks to whom the merits of all the baptized are passed on to everyone else in the Church - we may also bear these trials for the sins of others, for the conversion of those who do not believe, and to shorten the time the Holy Souls have to spend in Purgatory. Something as terrible as covid-19 can also be an opportunity for us to grow in Faith and active Charity. 
As we have seen, if we only consider the clinical side of the disease - which plainly we must do everything we can to fight - completely removes the transcendental side of our lives, thus leaving them without any spiritual outlook and inevitably locking us into blind and hopeless selfishness.
MJM: Several Bishops and Priests have claimed the God “does not punish” and that considering coronavirus as a scourge is a “pagan idea.” Do you agree?
The first ever punishment, as I was saying, was visited upon our first parent. However, as we hear in the Exsultet which is sung during the Easter Vigil, O felix culpa, qui talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem! O happy fault, that merited to possess such and so great a Redeemer! 
A father who does not punish his children does not love them, but neglects them; a doctor who uncaringly observes the patient getting worse until gangrene does not want his recovery. God is a loving Father because He teaches us what we have to do to be worthy of eternal happiness in Paradise. When we disobey His commandments by sinning, He does not let us die but comes to find us and sends us many signs, often very sternly. Then we mend our ways, repent, do penance, and return to our old friendship with Him. You are my friends, if you do the things that I command you. I think the words of Our Lord leave no room for ambiguity.

I should also like to add that the truth about a just God Who rewards the good and punishes the wicked is part of our common inheritance from natural law which Our lord gave everyone throughout history. An irrepressible call to our earthly paradise, which shows even pagans how the Catholic Faith is the necessary completion of everything which sincere and well-disposed hearts suggest to them. I am surprised that nowadays, instead of stressing this truth written deeply into everyone’s hearts, those who seem to feel such great sympathy for the pagans fail to accept something the Church has always considered the best way of attracting them.
MJM: Does Your Excellency feel that there are certain sins which have provoked the wrath of God rather than others?
The crimes which stain each of us in the eyes of God are another hammer blow on the very nails used to pierce Our Lord’s sacred and venerable Hands, a lash ripping away the flesh from His Sacred Body, a spit in His beloved Face. If only we realized these things, we would never sin again. And sinners would weep with profound sorrow for the rest of their lives. And yet here is what really happened: during His Passion, our divine Savior took upon Himself not just original sin, but also all the sins all men have committed and will commit. The most glorious thing is that Our Lord went to die on the Cross, when just one drop of his Most Precious Blood would have been enough to redeem us all. Cujus una stilla salvum facere totum mundum quit ab omni scelere, as Saint Thomas teaches us.
As well as the sins committed by individuals, there are also the sins of societies, of nations. Abortion, which is still murdering innocent children even during the pandemic; divorce, euthanasia, the abhorrence of so-called gay “marriages,” the celebration of sodomy and other terrible perversions, pornography, the corruption of children, speculation by the financial elite, the profaning of Sundays, and the list goes on…
MJM: May we ask why Your Excellency makes a distinction between the sins of individuals and the sins of nations?
Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that it is the duty of the individual to recognize, worship, and obey the one true God. By the same token societies - which comprise many individuals - cannot fail to recognize God and ensure that their laws allow members of society to reach the spiritual end to which they have been destined. There are nations which do not merely ignore God, but deny Him openly. There are those which require their citizens to accept laws against natural morals and Catholic teaching, such as recognizing the right to abortion, euthanasia, and sodomy. Others corrupt children and violate their innocence. Those who allow people to blaspheme God’s Divine Majesty cannot evade God’s punishment. Public sins require public confession and public atonement, if public forgiveness is sought. Let us not forget that the ecclesiastical community, which is also a society, is not exempt from heavenly punishment when its leaders become responsible for collective offences.
MJM: Is Your Excellency saying that the Church can have faults?
The Church has always been unfailingly holy, because She is the Mystical Body of Our Lord and Savior, and it would be not only rash but indeed blasphemous even to begin to consider that this divine institution which Providence placed on this earth to provide us all with Grace as the only Ark of Salvation might be even minimally imperfect. The praises we sing of the Mother of God - whom we call precisely Mater Ecclesiae - can be sung of the Church, the Mediatrix of all graces via the Sacraments, the Mother of Our Lord, onto Whose limbs it holds. The Church is the Ark of the Covenant, guardian of the Blessed Sacrament and the Commandments. The Church is the Refuge of Sinners, to whom it grants pardon after a good confession. It is Health of the Sick, upon whom it has always lavished much care. This Queen of Peace promotes harmony by preaching the Gospel. However, it is also terrible as an army set in battle array, because Our Lord has given his sacred ministers the power to crush demons and the authority of the Keys to Heaven. Let us not forget that the Church is not only the Church Militant here on earth, but also the Church Triumphant and the Church Penitent, whose members are all saints.

I must also say that although the Church is holy, some of Her members and of Her hierarchy here on earth may be sinners. In these troubled times, there have been many clerics unworthy of the name, as the abuse scandals committed by them and, unfortunately, even Bishops and Cardinals, have shown. The faithlessness of the Sacred Pastors is a scandal for their confreres and for many among the faithful, not only in terms of lust of thirst for power, but also - I might say especially - when they touch the integrity of the Faith, the purity of the Church’s teachings and the holiness of morals. They have even committed acts of unprecedented gravity, such as we saw with the adoration of the pachamama idol in the Vatican itself. Indeed, I think Our Lord has rightly become indignant at the great multitude of scandals committed by those who ought to be setting a good example, because they are Shepherds, to the flocks to whom they have been entrusted.
Let us not forget that the example given by so many in the Hierarchy is not merely a scandal for Catholics: it is a scandal for those outside who look at the Church as a lighthouse and a point of reference. Nor is this all: this scourge cannot dispense the Church, in her Hierarchy, from making a proper examination of her conscience for giving in to the spirit of this world. She cannot escape her duty to condemn firmly all those errors she has allowed in after the second Vatican Council, which have brought down upon her all those just punishments. We must mend our ways and return to God.
It pains me to have to say that even now, after we have seen the divine wrath beating down upon the world, we go on offending the Majesty of God by speaking of mother earth demanding respect, as the Pope said a few days ago in his umpteenth interview. What we must do is ask forgiveness for the sacrilege perpetrated in the Basilica of Saint Peter’s, and reconsecrate it before the Holy Sacrifice of Mass can be said there. We should also call a public procession to show penance, even if only Prelates take part under the Pope’s guidance. They must call down the mercy of God upon themselves and upon His people. This would be a sign of that true humility we are all waiting to see, as reparation for all the offences committed.
How are we to contain our bewilderment when we hear words like those said in Santa Marta on 26 March? The Pope said, “The Lord must not find us, at the end of our lives, and say to us, ‘You are corrupt. You have left the path I showed you. You have bowed down before idols’.” Such words as these are truly bewildering, especially if we remember that he himself brought off a terrible sacrilege before the eyes and ears of the whole world, before the very Altar of the Confession of Saint Peter, a real profanation, an act of pure apostasy, with those filthy and satanic images of pachamama.  

MJM: On the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady, the Bishops of Portugal and of Spain dedicated their countries to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Bishops of Ireland and of England and Wales did the same. In many Dioceses and towns elsewhere, the Bishops and the local authorities have placed their communities under the protection of Mary Most Holy. How does Your Excellency consider these events?
These are actions which fill my heart with hope. Although they are not enough to atone for our faults they have been completely ignored by those at the top of the Church, even though the simple faithful have long cried out for solemn acts such as these by their Shepherds. Our Lady of Fatima asked the Pope and all Bishops to consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, and announced wars and disasters until this came about. Her calls have gone unheard. The Hierarchy must now reform and obey the Mother of God! It is shameful and scandalous that no Bishop in Italy has joined in with this great initiative!
MJM: How do you judge the suspension of the Sacraments which we have seen in almost all the world?
This is a terrible suffering, perhaps even the worst the faithful have ever seen. It is unbelievable to think such a thing has been denied to the dying.
At this juncture, it seems most that the Hierarchy, with very few exceptions, had no scruple in closing the churches and in preventing the participation of the faithful in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They have behaved like cold bureaucrats, like executors of the will of the Prince, and most of the faithful have taken their actions as a sign of their lack of Faith. Who can blame them?
I almost wonder - and it is a terrible thing to think - whether the closure of churches and the suspension of all Celebrations might not be another punishment by God, in addition to the pandemic. That they might know that by what things a man sinneth, by the same also he is tormented. (Wisdom 11, 17) Offended though He is by the slovenliness and lack of respect shown by his priests, outraged by the profanation of the Blessed Sacrament which occurs every day when they give Communion in the hand, and tired of silly songs or heretical homilies, He is still - from His place of silence within the Tabernacle - satisfied by the austere composed praise offered by the many Priests who are still saying the Mass of all time. The Mass which goes back to the time of the Apostles. And which has always been the beating heart of the Church down through the centuries. Let us remember this most solemn warning: God is not mocked.

Clearly I understand and share the basic worries about safety and protection which the authorities require for public health. However, just as they have the right to pass measures for things affecting our bodies, so the Church authorities have the right and the duty to worry about the health of our souls. They cannot deny the faithful the spiritual sustenance they receive from the Eucharist, not to mention the Sacrament of Confession, Mass, and Viaticum. 
When so many shops and restaurants were still open, the various Bishops’ Conferences had already suspended all sacred functions, even when the civil authorities had not asked them to do so. This is further proof that the Hierarchy is in a dreadful state and shows that Bishops are all too willing to sacrifice the well-being of souls to pacify the power of the state or the dictatorship of ideas.

MJM: Your Excellency mentioned restaurants. What do you say about the meals for the poor which were offered in the last few months in places of worship?
For Catholics, helping those in need is an act of charity. It reminds us that God is love. We have to love God above all things with our whole hearts, and love our neighbor for love of Him. Thus, in accordance with the beatitudes, we can see Our Lord in the poor, in the sick, in prisoners, and in orphans. From the very start, the Church has always been a luminous example in this field. Even the pagans admired us for it. History shows us the many impressive works of aid which have been started thanks to the generosity of the faithful, even in times of great hostility by states. Rulers have often taken over these works under orders from freemasons, who clearly despised the great works of so many good Catholics. Caring for the poor and those on the edges of society is not something that started with Bergoglio or with various woke associations.
We must realize that when the new regime helps the poor, it does so with absolutely no reference whatever to the supernatural. All we are seeing is works of corporal mercy, whereas works of spiritual mercy have been utterly wiped out. Nor is this all: the current Papacy has completely eliminated any form of apostolate, and says the Church must not perform any missionary activity, which it calls proselytism. We can only provide food, hospitality, and health care, but nobody provides food, hospitality, or care for the souls of those who so desperately need it. The modern Church has been turned into a sort of NGO. True Charity is nothing to do with its masonic imitation, however much they try to hide it with an extremely vague sense of spirituality: it is the exact opposite, because the various bodies we see at work today deny that there is only one true Church, whose message of salvation must be preached to those outside it. This is not all: the Church has drifted so far after the Council in questions of religious freedom and ecumenism that many charitable bodies now confirm the people entrusted to their care in their paganism or atheism. they even offer them places of worship where they can go and pray. We have even seen terrible examples of Masses where, at the explicit request of the Celebrant, instead of the Holy Gospel a reading is taken from the Koran or, as happened more recently, idolatry has been practiced in Catholic churches.
I think the decision to turn churches into refectories or dormitories for the needy is proof of this basic hypocrisy which, as we have seen with ecumenism, takes an apparently good thing (such as feeding the hungry or sheltering the homeless) - and exploits it to help the grand masonic plan for one world religion with no dogmas, no ceremonies, no God. Using churches as hostels, in the presence of smug Prelates who drop by to serve pizzas or pork chops with an apron over their ecclesiastical dress means profaning them. Especially when those smiling to the photographers absolutely never open the doors of their own mansions to those they want to take advantage of for political purposes. Let me go back to what I was saying and repeat that all this sacrilege is the underlying cause of the current pandemic.

All too often they use the poverty and homelessness of these poor people so they can appear on the front pages of the newspapers. This we saw only too often with the landings of all those immigrants. The only purpose was to set up a new industry for reception, behind which are hidden not only mean economic interests but also their complicity with those who seek to destroy a Christian Europe starting with Italy.
MJM: In other cases, such as the city of Cerveteri near Rome, the forces of law and order stopped a Priest who was saying Mass. How have the Church authorities reacted to this sort of thing?
Cerveteri may simply have been an excess of zeal by two local policemen, especially if they have to work under all the extra stress that has arisen since to coronavirus outbreak. It must also be clear, though, especially in a country like Italy which signed a Concordat with the Church in 1929, that the ecclesiastical authorities have sole rights over places of worship. The Holy See and the local Ordinary really ought to have protested over such a violation of the Lateran Treaty, which was confirmed again in 1984 and which is still in force. Yet again, the authority of Bishops, given directly to them by God, melts away like snow and shows how cowardly they all are. This might lead to even worse abuses in the future if it is not corrected now. Let me take this opportunity to ask for a forthright condemnation of this unacceptable meddling by government forces in affairs which are the direct responsibility of the Church Authorities.
MJM: Pope Francis invited all Christians, Catholics and non-Catholics, to come together on 25 March to ask God to put an end to this pandemic, and let it be understood that members of other religions could pray too.          
The religious relativism which was brought in with Vatican II led many people to believe that the Catholic Faith was no longer the only means to salvation, or that the Blessed Trinity was the Only True God.
In his Abu Dhabi declaration, Pope Francis said that God wants all religions. Not only is this a blatant heresy, it is also a very serious apostasy and a terrible blasphemy. Saying that God wants to be worshipped as something other than how He revealed Himself means that the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Savior are completely meaningless. It means that the reason for founding the Church, the reason for which millions of holy Martyrs gave their lives, for which the Sacraments were instituted, along with the Priesthood and the Papacy itself, are all meaningless.

Unfortunately, just when we should be making atonement for our offences against the divine Majesty of God, here is someone who asks us to pray to Him along with those who deny the divine Maternity of His Mother, on Her Feast day.
Would this not be the best way to put an end to the current pestilence?
MJM: It is also true that the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted special Indulgences to those struck by this terrible affliction and for those who assist them materially and spiritually.
Firstly let me stress that Indulgences can never take the place of the Sacraments. We must firmly resist the villainous decisions taken by several Shepherds, who have forbidden the Priests from hearing Confessions or baptizing children. These measures - along with the ban on public Masses and the suspension of Holy Communion - go against the law of God, and are proof that behind it all is Satan. Only the Evil Serpent can explain these measures which will bring about the spiritual loss of so many souls. It would be like ordering doctors not to treat patients in danger of death.
The example of the Bishops in Poland should be followed by the universal Church: they ordered more Masses to be said so that more faithful could go safely to hear Mass. This would happen if the Hierarchy actually cared about the eternal salvation of Catholics. Do not forget that in Poland, the effects of the pandemic are much lower than in other countries.
The Church’s teaching on Indulgences has not been swept away by the revolutionaries, and this is a good thing. However, whereas the Bishop of Rome has the power to draw upon the infinite riches of Grace, it is also true that Indulgences cannot be trivialized or considered as some sort of end-of-season sales bonus. The faithful felt the same things towards the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, when a Plenary indulgence was granted under such strange conditions that those earning the Indulgence hardly realized what was happening.
There is also a problem with the Sacrament of Penance and Eucharistic Communion which are necessary for an indulgence to take effect, which the Apostolic Penitentiary has postponed until some unspecified “as soon as possible.”
MJM: Does Your Excellency feel that the general dispensations for General Absolution instead of absolving individuals may apply in the current epidemic?
An imminent danger of death justifies certain solutions which the Church, in Her zeal for the eternal salvation of souls, has always generously allowed. Such is the case with General Absolution for soldiers about to go into battle, or for people on board a sinking ship. If an emergency affecting an intensive care ward does mean that a Priest can only enter under extremely strict conditions, and he cannot hear the individual confessions of the dying, I think such a solution may be the best.
However, if a precedent is set whereby General Absolution is extended to all cases, even when penitents are not in danger of immediate death, we must be extremely careful to ensure that what the Church allows in extreme cases does not become the norm.
Let me remind people that watching Mass on the internet or on television does not absolve the precept of going to Sunday Mass. It can be a good way to sanctify the Lord’s Day when it is absolutely impossible to go to church; but we must always remember that living the Sacraments cannot be replaced by virtualizing the Sacraments. At a more banal level, we cannot feed our bodies by looking at a photograph of a loaf of bread.
MJM: What message would Your Excellency like to give those in charge of defending and guiding Christ’s flock?
The Pope, the Hierarchy, and all Bishops, Priests and Religious must immediately and absolutely convert. This is something the laity are calling for, as they suffer because they have no firm and faithful guides. We cannot allow the flock which Our Divine Lord has entrusted to our care be scattered by faithless mercenaries. We must convert and go completely over to being on God’s side. We cannot reach any compromises whatsoever with the world.
Bishops must recover an awareness of their own Apostolic Authority, which is personal, which cannot be delegated to intermediate subjects such as Episcopal Conferences or Synods, which have distorted the exercise of the apostolic ministry, causing serious damage to the divine constitution of the Church.

The time has come to put an end to synodal paths. To an absurd sense of inferiority and flattering when dealing with the world. To that hypocritical use of the word dialoguing instead of fearlessly preaching the Gospel. We must stop teaching false doctrines and stop being afraid of preaching about purity and holiness. And stop being silent in front of the arrogance of evil. Stop covering up terrible scandals. Stop lying, tricking, and taking revenge.
Catholic life must be a battle right to the end, not a happy-go-lucky walk towards the abyss. All of us, having received Holy Orders. will be asked by Our Lord to give account of the souls we have saved, and those we have lost by not reprimanding and rescuing them. Let us go back to the One true Faith. To living a life of holiness. To the only Cult pleasing to God.
Conversion and repentance, as Our Blessed Lady, Mother of the Church, asks of us. Let us all ask Her, Tabernacle of the Most High, to give Priests and Bishops the heroic impetus they need to save the Church and to bring about the victory of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
+ Carol Maria Viganò
First Sunday of Passiontide 2020

Archbishop Lenga on COVID-19: 'Pope' Francis is 'Hiding Away in His Palace,' Bishops 'Hidden Away'

CNSNews 
By Michael W. Chapman | 

In relation to the coronavirus, Catholic Archbishop Jan Lenga,  the former head of the Diocese of Karaganda, Khazakhstan, said that unlike the doctors and nurses on the frontlines, many priests and bishops have "hidden away" and that Pope Francis is "hiding away in his palace." 

Churches are closed and Masses are cancelled, he said, adding that this is not the way faithful clergy behaved in the past when there were plagues. This "shows they are far from the true faith and far from God," said the archbishop.

"They choose to stay in hiding, in their cozy shelters," he said.  "They are well-stocked and have multiple parishioners waiting on them hand and foot, making sure the bishop doesn’t lose any weight."

“There is a panicked fear of death everywhere, instead of the fear of the Judgment Day, or God’s punishment, which will come!" said Archbishop Lenga, 69, who is retired in Poland.

The archbishop made his remarks during a lengthy interview with the Polish Internet TV channel wRealu24. 

“We had plagues in the past of different infectious diseases and people did not give up going to church," said Lenga, in reference to the coronavirus (COVID-19)  "Churches were not locked down. A priest in the north of France was brave enough to take the Most Blessed Sacrament and walked with a group of people, blessing everybody and giving them hope that not all is lost."

“Where are the bishops [today]?" asked Lenga. "Where are the cardinals? Where are the Church hierarchy, usually so self-confident and important?"

“No, they are all hidden away, having left the people alone," he said. "You can’t reach them in their offices or on the phone. They are staying put, so as not to have to do anything. When they call for the people to pray the Rosary, they only very gently suggest that prayer is an option. Why don’t they come out and show people how to pray?"

Re-emphasizing the importance of prayer, Archbishop Lenga said, "If congregations are limited by law to 50 people, then you should go out in groups of 50 people. If all churches sent 50 people to pray, we could stop this epidemic!"

He continued, “The bishops closed down all churches, no Masses are available. This says a lot about the bishop and those poor priests, who separated themselves from the faithful, as if they didn’t exist."

"And look at the doctors and nurses!" he said.  "How they are fighting, some of them are dying, fulfilling their duties on the frontlines. And the priests ran away from all this. They just want to live long. That shows they are far from the true faith and far from God."
Lenga then reminded his fellow clergy that a priest is supposed to serve as Alter Christus, or "another Christ," to set an example to the world and to provide the Sacraments, especially Confession and Holy Communion.

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“You’re supposed to serve Christ, be Alter Christus’!" said the archbishop.  "The hierarchy lack ideas to help people figure this out, find out-of-the-box solutions. Be creative! Have faith! Don’t just mindlessly listen to the government and do whatever they say.
"You are ready to deny Jesus and destroy everything," he added.  "You are going to die sooner or later anyway. You, an old priest, or an old bishop, will soon die anyway and you’re still afraid of death?"

He continued, ““Sacrifice yourselves for the people! Holy Communion must be received internally, not just virtually. People need Confession. Why don’t you install protective measures to safeguard the priest and the penitent? Keep disinfecting the area, etc."

"They don’t even try, they don’t come up with any ideas," he said.  "They don’t want to spend money on this. Spend the money and help people. They are lost, they don’t know what to do. And you closed down the churches and ran away from the people. How poor this world and this Church is, going astray without God."
In concluding his remarks, Archbishop Lenga said, “[Pope Francis] is hiding away in his palace. The cardinals are hiding away. Why don’t you come out to the people? [Pope Francis] used to ride on public transportation in Buenos Aires, visiting people. Why don’t you come out and visit the people now? Instead of saying quiet Masses [online].

(Getty Images)

“There is a real lack of real elites in the world today, in the state and in the Church. They are all hiding away. And if you try to tell them something bold, they start yelling, ‘how dare you say that? That is too harsh! Who listens to you?’  They said the same things to Christ: who is going to listen to you? But He knew what He was saying. And they also know it is the truth.
“But they don’t want to listen to the truth because they live in a different paradigm.
“So, brothers and sisters who believe in God, I am talking to you first and foremost. If you trust in God, stay strong in the Faith and don’t let this [coronavirus] throw you off. Do what you can do.

Crucifixion image from the movie, The Passion of the Christ. (Screenshot)

"If you can’t go to your own Church because the priest or the pastor is afraid to fall out of favor with the bishop, go to another church.
“What happened to Catholicism?  It’s a disaster. Gentlemen, bend your knees. Amen.”
Archbishop Jan Paul Lenga was born in the Ukraine and studied secretly for the priesthood in Lithuania, which was controlled by the Communist Soviet Union. He was ordained in secret in 1980. 
Lenga was appointed bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan in 1999 and elevated to archbishop in 2003. He resigned in 2011 and moved to Poland to retire. That year he was awarded the Commander's Cross of Merit and the Order of the Republic of Poland. 

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"Coronavirus is a punishment for abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality and sexual diversity" Bishop of Cuernavaca

Exorcist: “Coronavirus Is Punishment For Pachamama Worship”

Italian Bishop Links Coronavirus to Francis' Pachamama Cult and to society’s ‘immoral drifts’

COVID-19 is ‘a cry from God’ because of abortion, euthanasia and sexual diversity: Bishop of Cuernavaca

Cardinal Burke: Consider Virus in Light of 'Actual Sins,' Abortion, Gender Theory

CNSNews 

By Michael W. Chapman | March 27, 2020 | 3:56pm EDT

(CNSNews.com) -- Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American who serves on the highest court at the Vatican, said the coronavirus should be viewed in natural terms and spiritual terms because "great evils like pestilence are an effect of original sin and our actual sins."

God must "repair the disorder which sin introduces into our lives and into our world," he said, and our response to the pandemic must include a consideration of our culture, which kills the unborn through abortion, neglects the elderly, and perverts human sexuality -- God made them male and female -- through "so-called 'gender theory'" and even "violent" sex-change surgery.

Cardinal Burke, in his March 21 Presentation on his website, made clear that people should obey the advice of doctors and public officials about social distancing, washing our hands, and using "every prudent means to avoid contracting or spreading the coronavirus."

However, "in considering what is needed to live, we must not forget that our first consideration is our relationship with God," said the cardinal. Just as we must have access to food and medicine, we also "must be able to pray in our churches and chapels, receive the Sacraments, and engage in acts of public prayer and devotion...."

Given that the Catholic Church has many large chapels and churches, accommodations can be made to ensure that the medical advice is followed, including proper disinfecting of surfaces.

"Without the help of God, we are indeed lost," said Cardinal Burke.  "Historically, in times of pestilence, the faithful gathered in fervent prayer and took part in processions. ... Likewise, in the traditional Litany of the Saints, we pray: 'From plague, famine, and war, O Lord, deliver us.'"

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Given the separation from public worship (churches closed) and reception of Sacraments such as Holy Communion, caused by the coronavirus, many people are "deeply saddened and discouraged," said the cardinal.

With this in mind, people of faith "cannot consider the present calamity in which we find ourselves without considering also how distant our popular culture is from God. It is not only indifferent to His presence in our midst but openly rebellious toward Him and the good order with which He has created us and sustains us in being."

(Getty Images)

"We need only think of the commonplace violent attacks on human life, male and female, which God has made in His own image and likeness (Gn 1, 27)," said Cardinal Burke, "attacks on the innocent and defenseless unborn, and on those who have the first title to our care, those who are heavily burdened with serious illness, advanced years, or special needs."

"We are daily witnesses to the spread of violence in a culture which fails to respect human life," he added.

"Likewise, we need only to think of the pervasive attack upon the integrity of human sexuality, of our identity as man or woman, with the pretense of defining for ourselves, often employing violent means, a sexual identity other than that given to us by God," said the Cardinal.

"With ever greater concern, we witness the devastating effect on individuals and families of the so-called 'gender theory,'" he added.

The cardinal then noted some of the sin in the Church. "We witness, too, even within the Church, a paganism which worships nature and the earth," he said.  "There are those within the Church who refer to the earth as our mother, as if we came from the earth, and the earth is our salvation. But we come from the hand of God, Creator of Heaven and Earth."

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He continued, "There is no question that great evils like pestilence are an effect of original sin and of our actual sins. God, in His justice, must repair the disorder which sin introduces into our lives and into our world. In fact, He fulfills the demands of justice by His superabundant mercy."
Cardinal Burke then explained that bishops and priests need to explain the necessity of prayer and worship in churches and arrange for the faithful "to go in procession through the streets and ways, asking God’s blessing upon His people who suffer so intensely."

The resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. (Fra Angelica, screenshot)

At the same time, people of faith can and should look to their homes as little churches where family members can pray. "[W]e must remember that our homes are an extension of our parish, a little Church into which we bring Christ from our encounter with Him in the bigger Church," said Cardinal Burke.  "Let our homes, during this time of crisis, reflect the truth that Christ is the guest of every Christian home."

To read Cardinal Burke's complete Presentation, click here.

Related:

'It's About Sin!' Hermit says coronavirus is a 'chastisement'