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| Mass in the main church of the Heralds of the Gospel, near Sao Paulo, Brazil |
The latest "Franciscan Intervention in a Conservative Religious Institute", revealed by Marco Tosatti, in Nuova Bussola:
The Congregation for Religious is to begin an apostolic visit regarding an international association of faithful, the Heralds of the Hospel, the first born in the Third Millenium, and that has had an enormous growth in the past few years. According to confidential internal sources of the Congregation, presided by Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Avis, and whose Secretary is Spanish Franciscan Jose Rodriguez Carballo, the formation of a commission composed by a bishop, a sister, and a canon lawyer to inquire into the Heralds of the Gospel is imminent. The motivations for this initiative are unknown. The founder [of the Heralds] is Monsignor Joao Scogamiglio Cla Dias; and the fact that he is an admirer of Plinio Correa de Oliveira, the great figure of Brazilian Traditional Catholicism, who died in 1995, is already a reason for suspicion for the current Vatican administration. [Source, in Italian]
First, we must make two observations.
First: the Heralds of the Gospel originated from a group of people from the famous "TFP" ("Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property") who found acceptance in the Brazilian Hierarchy because they abandoned the TFP's long exclusive attachment to the Traditional Mass -- so, just to be clear, they do not celebrate the Traditional Mass, therefore they are not Traditionalists, they only "beautify" the Pauline new liturgical creation in order to make it look "Traditional", and that is why they have spread widely in the world. Second, we have heard from very trustworthy sources who used to be on the inside some very strange quirks about the Heralds of the Gospel.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that, because both Prefect of Religious (the ultra-liberal Cardinal Aviz) and the very conservative founder of the Heralds of the Gospel are from the same country, there is a heightened amount of hostility (and Francis in particular hates conservative Catholics, and those of his continent even more). The Heralds should get ready for a wild ride...
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What is particularly curious is that it is known that Benedict XVI highly favored the Heralds of the Gospel -- he even mentioned the Institute by name in his interview-book "Light of the World": for the Pope Emeritus (then speaking as Pope), the Heralds are, "young people full of the enthusiasm of having recognized in Christ the son of God, and of proclaiming him to the world." So, yes, this intervention is also a sign of the raging war, raging yet undeclared, Francis is waging against all matters close to the heart of Benedict XVI.