Vatican City, Jul 9, 2017 / 09:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his 22 years as spokesman for St. John Paul II, Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls became somewhat of a legend in the Vatican – not only for his keen professional abilities and insight into the Pope’s mind, but also for his genuine kindness and deep spiritual life.
In a word, most who knew the late Spanish layman, who died earlier this week, have referred to him as a “gentleman” who was elegant, professional, kind and incredibly savvy.
Fr. John Wauck, a longtime friend of Navarro-Valls, described him as “an old-school gentleman and a consummate professional – capable, discreet, committed, loyal.”
Likewise, Greg Burke, current Director of the Holy See Press Office, said after announcing news of Navarro’s passing on Twitter that “Joaquin Navarro embodied what Ernest Hemingway defined as courage: grace under pressure.”
Burke said that he had met Navarro-Valls while working as a correspondent for Time Magazine the same year that the publication had named St. John Paul II “Man of the Year.”
In dealing with the Pope’s spokesman, Burke said “I expected to find a man of faith, but I found a man of faith who was also a first class professional” that was already well known and respected by his peers in the communications world.
“I didn’t always agree with Navarro, but he always behaved like a Christian gentlemen – and those can be hard to find these days,” Burke said.
Navarro-Valls was born in Cartagena, Spain in 1936. He studied medicine at the Universities in Granada and Barcelona, and worked as a professional psychiatrist and teaching medicine before obtaining degrees in journalism and communications.
He joined Opus Dei after meeting its founder St. Josemaria Escriva, continuing to collaborate with the founder in Rome, where he moved in 1970.
In Rome he was a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper ABC and was twice elected president of the Rome-based Foreign Press Association in Italy.
He was the first lay journalist to hold the position of Director of the Vatican Press Office, which he was appointed to by Pope St. John Paul II in 1984. He served through the Pope’s death and two years into the pontificate of Benedict XVI before retiring in 2006.
After, he served as president of the advisory board of the Opus Dei-affiliated Campus Biomedical University in Rome until his death.
In his tenure at the Vatican Press Office spanning more than two decades, Navarro-Valls helped to modernize Vatican communications, especially as technology advanced. As Burke said, “he lived through the fax to the age of the internet.”
In 1992, he used $2 million to equip the press office with up-to-date technology and to modernize the facilities. He also streamlined the distribution of materials by making archives, documents and the Pope’s activities accessible online.
He died in Rome July 5 surrounded by fellow members of Opus Dei after battling terminal cancer. His funeral was held Thursday, July 6 at 11a.m. at the basilica of Sant’Eugenio, and was celebrated by the Vicar General of Opus Dei, Bishop Mariano Fazio.
Mario Biasetti, a journalist under the last five popes and a friend and colleague of Navarro-Valls, said he was a professional journalist, and it showed in everything he did.
Even when a colleague or a journalist would ask him a tough question, “it didn’t faze him,” Biasetti said. “He would tell you exactly what happened, but he would do it with a smile.”
“Joachin Navarro was a very well thought of man all-around. He had no difficulty to speak with anybody, whether officially or not officially.”
Biasetti traveled on many papal trips with John Paul II, and Navarro was always there and always by his side, he said. He was also always willing to pitch in and “always came through” for journalists with whatever they needed.
For Burke, one of the key things that stood out about Navarro-Valls is that he was someone who would work “shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest of us,” who “knew the world” and was good with languages.
Burke noted that before coming to the Vatican, Navarro worked as a correspondent, “and his colleagues from around the globe clearly recognized his merits, electing him President of the Stampa Estera in Rome.”
“I remember watching Navarro closely during the U.N. Population Conference in Cairo – one of the best examples of what Pope Francis calls ideological colonization. It was fascinating to see someone who was defending the faith, but he wasn’t on the defensive. He was leading the fight.”
Asked about what, if any, advice he had given Burke on doing the job, the spokesman said the advice he got “was more personal than professional, such as ‘don’t neglect your interior life, and make sure you pray – you’ll need it in this job.’”
This attention to the spiritual life is something that was also obvious to others who worked with Navarro. In Biasetti’s words, the Spaniard “was a journalist, yes, but he was also a churchman.”
Fr. Wauck, a professor of the Institutional Church Communications faculty at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and a fellow member of Opus Dei, recalled that this spiritual dynamic was evident even in Navarro’s work.
The priest said that when he thinks of Navarro, the first thing that comes to mind is “the conversion of the Time magazine reporter Wilton Wynn,” a well-known old-time reporter in the Middle East and Rome during John Paul II’s pontificate.
“Naturally, it was the vibrant Christian example of the Pope that attracted Wilton to the faith, but his long friendship with Navarro-Valls played a key part as well,” Wauck said, adding that Navarro-Valls “maintained an affectionate concern for Wilton’s spiritual well-being for the rest of his life.”
Another memory the priest recalled is “a small act of kindness” that took place over the summer some 15 years ago.
Fr. Wauck said that he had mentioned, in passing, in front of Navarro, that he had broken his swimming goggles. “The next day, I found a new pair on my desk, and they were much better than the ones I’d broken.”
Fr. Federico Lombardi, Navarro-Valls’ immediate successor as Director of the Holy See Press Office, also reflected on his relationship with his late predecessor, calling to mind Navarro’s character and impact on Vatican communications.
Lombardi recalled meeting Navarro after coming to Rome in 1991 to take on the role as Director of Programming for Vatican Radio.
After meeting and working alongside the Spaniard, particularly when the Pope traveled abroad, it immediately became clear that he was “a stable and important component” of the papal entourage, “but also likeable, friendly and cordial,” Lombardi said.
“Naturally I already knew him for his fame as a brilliant and competent ‘spokesman’ for the Pope,” he said, noting that the official title for someone in Navarro’s position is “Director of the Holy See Press Office.”
However, in the case of Navarro-Valls, spokesman “was an entirely appropriate name.”
Even if this wasn’t the official description of his duty – which was rather “Director of the Press Office” – it must be said that in his case it was an entirely appropriate name given the close relationship he had with John Paul II.
According to Lombardi, it was Navarro himself who often stressed that it was “absolutely necessary to have – and to indeed have – a direct relationship with the Pope, in order to know his thinking and line of thought with surety and clarity, and to be able to present himself to the world, to the Press Office and to public opinion as an authoritative interpreter of that thought, and not just hearsay.”
Throughout Navarro’s lengthy tenure working in the Vatican, there was absolutely “no doubt” that “he was very close to the Pope, so close that he must be considered one of the most important figures of that extraordinary pontificate.”
This, Lombardi said, is “not only because of his evident public visibility, but also for his role as intervention and advice. Certainly John Paul II had great confidence in him and held his service in high esteem.”
Burke, who is Lombardi’s successor as Director of the Holy See Press Office, referred to this relationship when he announced Navarro’s passing, posting a photo of him standing next to John Paul II with a big smile.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”tl” dir=”ltr”>Joaquin Navarro, 1936-2017.<br>Keep Smiling. <a href=”https://t.co/VCqL4GH5sS”>pic.twitter.com/VCqL4GH5sS</a></p>— Greg Burke (@GregBurkeRome) <a href=”https://twitter.com/GregBurkeRome/status/882672100091322370″>July 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
“I tweeted out a photo of Navarro-Valls and John Paul II smiling together, saying ‘Navarro, keep smiling.’ But I actually took that quote from John Paul II,” he said.
It was after a meeting between the Pope and the editors of Time Magazine, Burke explained. Navarro was standing off to the side a little, but smiling, happy with how things had gone and Pope St. John Paul II, noticing, said to him in English: “keep smiling.”
“You could tell that they had a very, very good relationship,” he said.
When it came to Navarro’s professional abilities, Lombardi said that at U.N. conferences the Spaniard would end up playing a primary and even diplomatic role, thanks to his “experience and communicative ability.”
“His intelligence, elegance and relational abilities were prominent. To that is added a great knowledge of languages and a true genius in presenting news and information content in a brilliant, attractive and concise way,” Lombardi said.
These are all gifts that made Navarro “an ideal person as a point of reference in the Vatican for the international information providers, but also for relations” with people in the public, communications and political spheres.
As both a layman and a consecrated member of Opus Dei, Navarro could be counted on as a competent and respected professional, but also as someone “whose dedication and faithful love of the Church could really be counted on, for the effective availability of both time and heart.”
For Lombardi, the lengthy duration of Navarro’s service as Director of the Press Office, his authoritativeness, efficiency and the quality of his work make his tenure “an age that will likely remain unique in the history of the Press Office and of Vatican communications.”
“Certainly, the dimension of communications and public relations in the immense pontificate of John Paul II cannot in any way be independent of Dr. Navarro’s work and personality,” he said. “It was an invaluable service to the Church.”
Lombardi voiced his gratitude to Navarro, specifically for the “courtesy and attention” he showed during the time they worked together.
“I always considered him a teacher in the way of carrying out his service and I never would have imagined to be called to succeed him,” Lombardi said, adding that his predecessor was “totally inimitable.”
“In the context of a different pontificate I tried to interpret and carry out the task assigned to me as best as I knew how, but preserving, for what was possible, his precious legacy,” he said.
Lombardi and Navarro remained friends even after the latter stepped down. For Lombardi, his predecessor was always “an example of a discreet, true and deep spiritual life, fully integrated with his work, a model of dedication to the service of the Pope and the Church, a teacher in communications.”
“Even for me – as I already said, but I willingly repeat – he was inimitable.”
[…]
I remember hearing about stuff like this back in the 1970’s & ’80’s. It should have died a quiet death. It’s too bad we have to resurrect it again.
Mrscracker there are wild ceremonies – the Vatican Garden Amazonia Synod ceremony among the milder, and there are wilder [meaning unconventional Liturgy]. If you remember, seaside marriages were the thing post Vat II. Fr Malachi Brendan Martin [Irish born controversial Jesuit priest confidant to Paul VI unhappy with the dissolution of faith post Vat II permitted to leave his order accepted by the Archbishop of New York] gives one such wild account in his book Hostage to the Devil. A priest performing the ceremony unknown to all except for the suspicion of another priest friend, onlooker from a short distance – was diabolically possessed. The celebrant priest suddenly leaped at the hopeful bride dragged her into the pounding surf both grappling she for her life he attempting to drown her. His priest friend plunged into the surf with others and saved her then dragged his possessed friend away. The priest was consequently exorcised with permission of the Bishop. Fr Martin who attended several exorcisms gave the background of this priest’s possession. He was a young priest, nature lover who began finding intense, what he presumed mystical experience contemplating beautiful pastoral scenery. It got to the point that he began unconsciously substituting Eucharistic Prayer wording with aspects of nature including the consecration similar to This is my sunshine rather than Body. Bizarre yes but apparently true. His friend picked up on this and suspected something deeply wrong, his fears confirmed at the seashore wedding ceremony. Added to this I can’t withhold a sense of alarm over the Vatican Amazonia ceremony. Aside from Fr Martin’s book my experience in Africa, and with some of our Southwest Native Americans was that virtually all if not all the pagan ceremonials, rituals had an underlying evil dimension, some immoral finality.
Chaos and cosmos; cosmos and chaos? What about creation ex nihilo?
Assisi tree planting symbol of the Little Poor Man who through the years became more identified with butterflies and Nature than the Crucified Savior whose wounds he bore. Parallel to the earthly humanization of the saintly mystic is Christianity’s demythologizing less mystical more mundane guitars banjos Gregorian chant a memory. Anomaly is global minded brethren are rigidly intolerant toward brethren with discriminating mores. Stridently so. Britain passed law that certain words are forbidden everywhere anytime the home no longer sanctuary arrest possible. Portend? Semi pagan marvelous display of European man stolid in appearance with painted face semi religious the woman shaman who indeed made the sign of the Cross after she exorcised the Pontiff with secret powder magic words at the Vatican lawn ceremony. Woman shaman woman priests. A passing thought. It appeared early on we’re at a crossroads Christ’s Revelation one pathway Paradigm Shift the other. Question for us all is which pathway the Bishop of Rome will take and which will we? Faith in Christ dispels that question.
“Which pathway will the bishop of Rome take” this bishop of Rome just had shamans performe a ceremony steps away from where Peter was curcified upside down. The path he has been on from the start to change the dogmatic teachings of Christ and His church. How much more does he need to do or not do? The not do is getting rid of those who promote that which Jesus said “NO” and are trying to instigate well “yes” those aren’t really sins and there is no punishment except for the “ridgid” who actually do believe in “death, judgment, heaven and hell” along with evanelizing the world to come to Christ and His Church. Geeze this pontif has said not to evangelize and essentially all doctrines of differing beliefs are wished by God which goes directly (do not pass go) against “I am the way, the truth, the light no one comes to the Father except through Me”. Love all with the charity to get them into heaven.
Katedee this Pontiff is by far the greatest challenge in its long history to the Church’s faith in Christ. Know we’re being tested.
Guess we should accept Wicca…um no! Lord please give us a new Pope!
While the surface of the earth is some 130 Billion acres, why does it now become necessary to smear Amazonia/Wiccan graffiti on the 109 acres of Vatican grounds? Even as Amazonia bishops–some of the curiously German–continue to wallow in a working-paper swamp. Pope Pius IX, the Prisoner of the Vatican, weeps.
To his credit, the manipulated Pope Francis remained outside the circle, and even departed from “prepared remarks” (no doubt prepared by some puppet-master ghost writer) and instead appealed to Our Father who [still] art in heaven.
And Michalangelo’s overhead Sistine Ceiling still recalls the real Creation, if only in barely a quarter of an acre of surface area, but at least it’s above our eyes rather than below our feet–as if the metaphysical terms “above” and “below” still mean anything.
As with history’s disfigured “Amazons” of old, a New Paradigm that amputates the present from Tradition simply is not the way to keep abreast of significant truths.
“People carried bowls of dirt from different places around the world, each symbolizing a different issue from ecological devastation to migration. The dirt was placed around a tree from Assisi, which was planted as a ‘symbol of integral ecology.’ ”
Yes, nothing says “integral” (or a concern for Nature as “natural”) like placing samples of dirt from various diverse sources that realistically and organically do not occur around a particular tree in a particular place in time. An apt gesture which also embodies the forced sense of “natural” in same sex marriage, transgender ideology, “death with dignity” and a female priesthood, which invariably, shortly after the sobbing “newly ordained” ex-nun (who always just “knew” she had a vocation) hugs all her priestess friends becomes likewise in short order first pantheistic but then Chthonic and Christless, pretty much lesbian, “women love better” witchcraft.
Forgive me. I give little credit to Bergoglio for staying out of the circle or no comments. This may even be his “respect” for the whole thing and his silence just part of his politics.
“After what appeared to be the offering of prayers by participants, who prostrated themselves on the grass around a blanket upon which fruit, candles, and several carved items were set, an indigenous woman approached the pope and presented him with a black ring, which appeared identical to the one she was wearing.”
Ah, the commitment to the poor (and “making a mess”) in the tucum ring! No worries, folks! No need to say to Bergoglio, “You know the first year of marriage can be quite an adjustment.”
So much of this makes even Plotinus seem like Fulton Sheen. It’s not “matter” here that’s “evil”…but “matter as deity?” I do think that such a religion (this emerging religion) is indeed ultimately “evil” (and allows for infanticide, sexual abuse/poly-perversity and euthanasia as “natural”) and is ultimately non-transcendent…non-salvific…and for all the talk of being “cosmic” it is primarily tribal…and yes, it also appeals to the Germans.
With regards to St. Francis of Assisi, much of this “mess” started already with a post Vatican II counterfeit “Franciscan joy” popularized by Franciscans in the mid-80s through the 90s but still in progress? their convenient take on St. Francis’s reverence for the Eucharist and churches in almost mandatory loud, yes campy guffawing in the sanctuary and boisterous laughter and chatting after Liturgies.
The loss of reverence for the Eucharist opened the door for this “new church.”
I’ll say it again: this is just apostasy.
Apostasy, or something worse and even more interesting?
Perhaps the lawn artistry and symbolism (following the collage/chaos instrumentum laboris) is just a passing symptom of syncretic, confused and fused evangelization, devoid of clear Christian affirmation. First the Tree of Life, then the Tree of “the knowledge of good and evil,” then the Burning Bush on holy ground, BUT NOW and once again a flat-universe and a merely cosmic tree rooted in only the dampened ground of Mother Earth.
A piece of lawn art serving as a territorial marking for a new-paradigm/hybrid religion? And, as dampened ground, a natural marking of territorial dominance as if by any typical quadruped in the wild during rutting season?
The historic elevation of some pre-Christian elements into the new creation of Christian symbolism/channels for grace was one thing (e.g., fertility and the family); but the surrender today of Christian verities to pre- post- and anti-Christian paganism and hybrid lawn markings is quite another (“images of two semi-naked pregnant women”).
The Amazon anaconda kills by incremental strangulation and then swallows its prey whole, head first. One could wonder, after this desecration (yes?) of the Vatican ground whether it should be reconsecrated…
“By Courtney Grogan
Vatican City, Oct 4, 2019 / 10:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis witnessed an indigenous performance at a tree planting ceremony in the Vatican gardens Friday, during which people held hands and bowed before carved images of pregnant women, one of which reportedly represented the Blessed Virgin Mary. ”
An additional detail from CNA presented above.
That and other aspects of this “ecological ritual” may very well require a reconsecration…to follow up on the “ecological ritual.”
Perhaps Bergoglio being outside the circle was actually a part of the ritual, to symbolize/embody that a new church was being established with the Petrine office and Faith being…”developed.”
And all of this is happening during the Month of the Rosary.
I hope and pray that Francis’s successor as Pope will imitate St Boniface and take a chainsaw to that tree.
The “Sin of Manasseh” (2 Kings 21: 7-15) leads to the exile of Judah and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Just what was the “sin”? Exactly what just occurred in the Vatican Gardens. Manasseh, the King of Judah brought an Asherah into the courtyard and then into the Temple to “worship” (bow before). Just what is an Asherah? A carved graven image of the fertility goddess and/or a tree. Does the Pope not read the Bible?
I am sure he does read the Bible, but I am less sure that he applies it to himself.