The following comes from a Dec. 24 item in the Inland Catholic Byte, an online publication of the San Bernadino diocese.
The chairman of Pope Francis’ Council of 8 cardinals appointed to help him reform the Roman Curia will visit the diocese of San Bernardino in January.
Honduran Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, will direct the Spanish-speaking priests retreat January 26-30. On January 30 he will give a talk to all men and women religious and all priests of the diocese from 12-4 pm at the Diocesan Pastoral Center. That evening he will address lay leaders in Hispanic ministry.
Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga, 72, is the current archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras and was President of the Latin American Episcopal Conference from 1995 to 1999. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001. He is the first cardinal from Honduras.
He is connected to the diocese through his acquaintance with Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine pastor, Father Alfonso Duran, and other brothers and priests of the Order of Mercy. Some Hispanic priests of the diocese had suggested that Cardinal Rodriquez Maradiaga lead the annual retreat for Spanish-speaking priests. Bishop Gerald Barnes extended a formal invitation to Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga during the summer and he accepted.
In addition to serving on Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals, Cardinal Rodriguez worked closely with then Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio in the creation of the Aparecida document, a master plan proposed by the General Assembly of the Bishops of Latin America and the Carribean in 2007 for the living of the New Evangelization in the Western World.
“It’s huge,” said Dr. Jose Antonio Medina, director of Continuing Formation of Priests, of Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga’s visit, “because he’s someone very close to Pope Francis. They have been working together for years and to have him here is to invite the diocese to be part of that vision they have for the Church.”
To read the entire story, click here.
Yes, what a great vision — of what?? Cardinal Maradiaga is simply a Marxist simpleton. Take from the “rich” (“you didn’t make that”) and give to the poor; stop evil capitalism — all of the Marxist foolishness.
The Catholic Church, over the centuries, developed the greatest charitable organizations in the history of Mankind. The Church also provided for a clear path to salvation for all those to whom the Church provided assistance. Now, the Francis-Maradiaga “Liberation Theology” approach finds Jesus in people like Fidel Castro.
What, what you say? Yes, the Pope “freed” Maryknoll priest Miguel D’Escoto to say Mass. And, guess what, D’Escoto did not disappoint; soon he was saying that Fidel Castro was a prophet, through whom the Holy Spirit “sends us messages”. See, Rorate Caeli blog of August 6, 2014.
Through some trick of Latin American/Marxist brilliance, the Francis-Maradiaga brigade understands the link between murdering tyrants like Castro (who keeps an entire island enslaved), the evils of all capitalism, the “carnivale” of Catholic Tradition, and “the [Biblical] poor”. Now they want to bring this mush (and worse) to the good old USA. Why did you leave us, Benedict?
Yes, and it’s only going to get worse! https://www.breitbart.com/london/2014/12/29/conservative-catholics-angry-as-pope-plans-to-issue-encyclical-on-climate-change/
And for those who say we’re in schism who find this pope a really scary guy, I will only say that I totally accept every teaching of the Church, and love Her with all my heart which is why I hate what is happening. I am obedient to the papacy and the Magisterium but this man is not. Period.
Dana,
I am sure like me you cry a lot for His and Her Church!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika and His Church!
Viva Cristo Rey!
Kenneth M. Fisher,
Kenneth, it is so good to be able to share with those who understand . The whole world seems to be going mad! God bless you!
“This [pope] is not.” What is this pope not? Not pope? Not pope because he is about to ask you to honor our Lord by caring for his creation? Have you ever read any of the biographies of Saint Francis?
My parents taught us the names of trees and flowers, we practically lived out side growing up and took family walks in the woods every Sunday and when we picnicked or camped we left the sites better than when we found it. I’ve gardened, composted, recycled and fed the birds all my adult life, and have had a deep regard for Gods creation, for which I’m eternally grateful to my parents . That is not the sort of guidance I need from my pope however, nor is it, I believe, in his job description. St Francis was never part of any environmental protection cult, either. His was a bubbling over with joy that was contagious, not pious finger pointing.
This “master plan” is more of the same of their failed policies and evangelization. Cardinal Maradiaga has been a bishop since 1978. Back when the population of Honduras was over 90% Catholic. By the time he became Archbishop in 1993, the population was only 76% percent Catholic. Now in the year 2014, it is 46% Catholic. Under his leadership, the Church in Honduras lost one third of her members, 30% of the population. Catholics are now a minority in Honduras. That is a damning indictment of his leadership. Under the leadership of these Catholic bishops, Catholicism in Latin America has completely collapsed. If they had any shame, they would have resigned.
Cardinal Maradiaga has nothing to offer in they way of restoration, revitalization, and evangelization. His failed ideas and administration of the Church speaks for itself. The only thing he has to offer is his celebrity and that he is a friend of Pope Francis.
Interesting post. The Cardinal is clearly a big fish (cardinal) in a small pond (Honduras). Does such a minute see give a sufficient platform to oppose the very well funded evangelical influx coming out of Texas? I doubt it. Give him some credit.
He may be a big fish with a red hat, but his primary duty is to pastor the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa as Archbishop. A see which also makes him primate of Honduras. Not so minute. If he fails in his primary duty as shepherd for his archdiocese, then his globe trotting and celebrity is for naught. God has entrusted him Tegucigalpa, not the role of Vatican power player.
Why should the Texas protestants want to become Catholic ? They take one look at illegal immigration which is encouraged by the Catholic Church. Add that lawlessness to the existing misinformation in the non-Catholic world about the Church. Mix in the utter lack of effort by the American Church to reach out to American non-Catholics — the “Universal” and “diversity”-loving Church is just way too busy wooing hispanic illegals to worry about anyone else. Is anyone surprised ?
St. Christopher, unfortunately as usual you are correct. Depressing but correct. He was extensively quoted in that PBS special on Pope Benedict’s abdication (Cardinal M clearly disliked B16) and all I said to curious parishioners in the aftermath of the special was that the cardinal was an anti-semite and had no business being a cardinal.
Documentation of the nasty streak of anti-semitism (there are other sites too):
https://forward.com/articles/171392/is-pope-frontrunner-from-honduras-anti-semitic/
“FrMichael”: Your courage is applauded, in speaking out on the significant issues with Cardinal Maradiaga. Many do not realize that intellectual (and theological) honesty are often in short supply in the Church, due primarily to the ignorance and arrogance of sitting bishops, who gleefully punish anyone not to their liking.
So many within the Church are corrupt, and refuse to have much to do with the Faith. Your voice can be a powerful one in voicing the True Faith. Thank you.
The modernism espoused by His Eminence has lead to the continent of Central and South America to turn to Protestanism/Evangelicalism. Not much of a ‘new’ Evangelization. Did the Holy Spirit sent by God after the Ascension of Our Lord run out of power? Has the New Mass won over converts? Have not droves of former Catholics left the Church in Cardinal Maradiaga’s native Honduras? What ‘vision’ is in mind for the Church? Because the ‘spirit’ of Vatican II and the zeal for change has done nothing short of the complete destruction of the Catholic faith the world over.
I am a convert. I no longer want to belong to the Catholic Church. I love JPII and B16. Francis has confused people. He has left people like me desperate and desiolate.
Delilah,
Don’t give up the gift that God has given you. In order to stay Catholic in these evil times, one needs to know as much as possible about the History and Dogma of the Church, and if even a Pope goes against those teachings, per none other than St. Paul we should shun him because he is endangering our very salvation.
Find a Traditional parish and attend it.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika and His Church!
Viva Cristo Rey!
Kenneth M. Fisher
Delilah,
Don’t let these heretics deprive you of the gift of the Faith that God has given you.
In these days of evil, one must know both the History and the Dogma of the Church to stay Catholic!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika and His Church!
Viva Cristo Rey!
Kenneth M. Fisher
Delilah: outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. When you converted, didn’t you fall in love with God, Jesus, and the Catholic religion? The Catholic Church is not the Pope. The Pope is the vicar of Christ , leader of the Church, and bishop of Rome, but the Church and religion is bigger than him. If he strays from the faith, that is a terrible thing, but when can pray for his conversion and IGNORE him. We continue to hold and believe in the faith. The Church is a treasure and beauty for us to love. We have her rich traditions and the support of her saints and the other 265 popes.
Stay with our Church, Del. This is truly the Church that Christ began on the Rock of Peter…there is none other. This pope won’t live forever and in the meantime we must remain faithful and persevering. This is my Church! It’s your Church! No one has the right to make us feel we must leave. We must remain in Christ and do what we can, as the faithful, to carry on. The modernists want to take us down an easy and wide path and I’m going to keep on the narrow, difficult one. Are you in? ;)
Yes stay in the Holy Catholic Church, Delilah. Do not let modernist/progressive/heretical clergy and laity destroy your faith. I would recommend reading from the Fathers of the Church and the writings of saints such as Ss. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, and St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Therese of Lisieux. When I returned to the Church via the RCIA program, I found that reading pre Vatican II Catholic books and articles greatly aided my understanding of the true beauty and timeless doctrine of the Catholic Church. The devil is working overtime to destroy faith. Pray to Our Lady and to St. Michael for help. God be with you. +JMJ+
Delilah, I would second Kenneth and Dana here.
Acknowledging or discerning the troubles within is no cause to abandon the Faith. If anything, stand firmer, for it is the Truth which is assailed unrelentingly. The Holy Ghost was promised to protect the Church – and this would not have been necessary if there wasn’t a horrific battle that would be waged against Her. Often by those who should be Her closest friends/defenders. (It was Judas, after all, who betrayed Christ. I can only imagine the confusion of those who had come to Christ through his preaching.)
God bless :)
The good cardinal remains the Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, and has been so for years. Throughout his tenure, the vocations picture has been so bleak there that there is only one priest for every 11,500 Catholics. And he’s the man chosen to aid the Holy Father in renewing the Church?? What a cruel and perverse joke. He should stay home and tend to his own knitting. The British newspaper, The Standard, has reported that he is anti-American to the core. He berates the capitalist system unmercifully—but always from the salons of fancy places like Paris, London, Rome and Washington—where he is frequently seen, wearing expensive suits, cuff links and the whole shebang. No “smell of the sheep” there. God save the Church from this ladder-climbing hypocrite.
And let me just add this. The capitalist system, as practiced in the USA does a he**uva better job in feeding its people than the socialist system Rodriguez Mara-
diaga peddles. Maybe he’s not noticed that THOUSANDS of Honduran children are pouring across the USA border to be fed and housed, not the other way around. What’s he done to improve those kids’ situation? Jetting around (first class?) to conferences to attack American values doesn’t put food on their tables. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad!
Bishop Gerald Barnes does NOT encourage the Priests or Laity within his Diocese to read the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition” which is printed in many languages including Spanish.
https://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/Home+Page/BOOKS/Espa+ol+Spanish/CATECISMO+DE+LA+IGLESIA+CAT+LICA+-+SEGUNDA+EDICI+N.axd
Why Bishop Barnes withholds the knowledge of the CCC which contains the Doctrine of the Faith is not understood by many.
People can not accurately answer the questions of others or evangelize, if they do not know the teachings of the Church accurately.
The CCC includes that all Immigrants must OBEY the Law (and this does not exclude immigration laws) and must contribute not be a burden on society – CCC # 2241;
and
that one must not covet thy neighbor’s goods, and that envy is a capital sin;
and
Commutative Justice – without which no other form of justice is possible (including safeguarding private property rights) – CCC # 2411.
not that the Diocese of San Bernardino is a prize posting, with its terrific shortage of priests. Bishop Barnes and Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga have that in common—together with His Eminence-Emeritusof Los Angeles, through whose good offices Bishop Barnes was probably appointed. Read the Catholic Directory and see how many Los Angeles parishes are staffed by religious order priests, with the remainder staffed mostly by imports from Africa, Mexico and the Phillipines. The Archdiocese would sink if it had to depend on the home-grown vocations it generates.
He has been outspoken, but was probably threatened and reneged.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/dershowitz-says-contender-for-papacy-an-anti-semite/
There are still rumors that the highly esteemed and loved orthodox Pope Benedict XVI was forced to retire. With regard to Pope Francis, I wish there were term limits for popes. Unfortunately, Francis is still relatively young. He has made statements that he won’t judge homosexuals, that he doesn’t think highly of Catholics who pray at abortion mills, etc. We don’t need his liberation theology or those of his hand-picked reformers who plan to change the Vatican. The Vatican may need changes, but what will be changed? We need to pray for Holy Mother Church daily.
Sarah ~ To your way of thinking, with papal term limits, what year would we have been denied the leadership of our beloved St. John Paul II?
The church in Central and South America is losing members at an alarming rate as stated by others on this site. The Cardinal and other Bishops need to be held accountable, but … Where have most of the people gone? A very large percentage have gone to the Evangelical churches. Why have the gone there? Because they seem to think that those churches offer more relief for their current survival. The Catholic Church, with few exceptions has been the church that supported the dictators and other corrupt governments and did little for the people. We are experiencing the same thing in our country in many places. The Church has not kept up with the times when it comes to pastoral care. Our beliefs haven’t changed and that is a problem for many, but the Evangelicals have not changed their beliefs either. What they have changed is the way that they “pastor.” If you visit one of the large mega-churches you will find AA several nights a week, you will find psychological help for people, vibrant youth programs, teen programs, groups for young adults, lots of Bible study classes, etc. Compare that to the typical Catholic parish. Our Priest, try as they might, have not been trained to create these vibrant programs for people. They haven’t been trained to run exciting Bible studies for all age groups, they haven’t been trained to run large organizations, etc.
“Bob One”: speaking from the approved Zombie-Liberal memo again, are we? The Latin American Catholic Church loses members because it deserves to. Instead of being taught the True Catholic Faith, the Latin American bishops have simply abandoned it in favor of a Marxist approach to living. (And, who do we know that comes from Argentina that says stuff like this???)
People know, instinctively in their hearts, that the dopey liturgy and compromised (and compromising) Faith that they are being given is not what it should be. Evangelicals — and we must thank them for this — teach Biblical Truth, without exception. They teach Christ Crucified, and the need for repentance for sin (yes, there is such a thing), and the reality of Heaven and Hell. Most Catholic Churches in Latin America are imploding, and it will get worse as Pope Francis and his theologically murderous henchmen disassemble any remaining Tradition there. Why, just look at what was done to one of the very few successful (and Traditional) diocese in Paraguay, when the Pope summarily fired Bishop Livieres Plano. (One wonders, by comparison, what a Liberal bishop must do to be canned, given their record of indolent, unsuccessful, cowardly, and abortion and homosexual sexualist-loving actions and attitudes?)
Being a bishop is like having tenure as a professor , St. Chris. Practically the only thing that will induce them to quit is death, and sometimes that happens years before the actual event. The only thing that would hasten their departure from the Church or colleges or school systems, apparently is for them to come out of the closet and say they believe in Jesus Christ and the rule of Natural Law and the Ten Commandments…they’re moved on pretty smartly, no doubt about it. If Cd.Caspar decided Cd.Burke was indeed correct, he’d probably find himself carrying out his retirement giving spiritual assistance to the Kapauku Papuans in the outer jungles of New Guinea.
Delilah,
God has given you a great gift in the Faith, don’t let these heretics deprive you of that.
None other than St. Paul taught us that if others teach other than what they have given us, we must ignore them.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika and His Church!
Viva Cristo Rey!
Kenneth M. Fisher
Thank God that Cardinal Madariaga lost the Papal election.