Vatican City, Mar 13, 2017 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- She begged and scrounged for food in the forest; she drank water from a stream with dead bodies in it; she wrapped grass on her feet in order to walk long distances in the hot sun in order to survive, facing starvation and malnourishment, all before the age of six.
Now, Mirreille Twayigira is a licensed medical doctor hoping not just to save lives, but to inspire young women worldwide – particularly those in her same situation – by showing them there’s hope, and that life is more than the tragedies they face.
While some might label her life “a tragic story” due to the suffering and loss she faced as a young child, Twayigira said others might choose to call it “a story of courage and perseverance.”
However, “I choose to call it a story of hope, a story of God…from ashes to beauty, (like) a beautiful stained glass window.”
Twayigira was among several speakers at the March 8 Voices of Faith women’s gathering in the Vatican, marking International Women’s Day.
First held in 2014, the VoF conference was established in response to Pope Francis’ call to “broaden the space within the Church for a more incisive feminine presence.”
Gathering women from around the world, this year’s VoF took place at the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV, headquarters of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, and featured testimonies of women from around the world, including Syria and Burundi, who shared their stories of perseverance, highlighting the importance of building peace in a world filled with conflict.
In her testimony, Twayigira noted that when war broke out between Tutsis and members of the Hutu majority the government, leading to mass killings of the Tutsi tribe, she was just three years-old.
Although she doesn’t remember much about the war itself when it started, she remembers the day she got the news that her father had been killed.
“I remember being told that my father had been killed, his body being brought home wrapped in this blue tent,” she said, noting that she was too young to fully understand what was happening on the day of his burial.
Before the war, “we were a big, happy family. Our house was next to our grandparent’s house, so my sister and I used to spend our days with uncles and aunts…so it was a beautiful and happy childhood,” she said.
After her father’s death, however, this changed dramatically.
“My family knew that it was no longer safe for us, so they had to pack and leave,” she said, explaining that at first, they fled to another district of Rwanda, thinking they would be safe.
However, after just a short time her younger sister, who was just one-year-old at the time, got sick and, because her family didn’t have access to medicine or proper nourishment due to the war, she passed away.
After her sister’s death – which marked the second time she had lost a sibling, since an older sister had died before Twayigira was born – the family fled through Burundi to a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“In the camp I was a very happy kid,” she said, “but this all ended when I encountered more loss.”
While in the camp, her mother fell ill and “one night she was gone.” However, Twayigira said that despite the tragic death of her mother, “life had to go move on,” so she and her grandparents continued to move forward.
But just two years later, in 1996, they had to leave because of war in the DRC, which is when “I began to experience a life that is unimaginable,” she said, recalling how she had her grandparents fled the camp with bullets flying over their heads, and took refuge in the forest.
“We only survived by begging for food,” she said. Her grandparents begged from locals in nearby villages, and at times were given moldy bread to eat. When begging wasn’t enough, “we even had to eat roots from the forest.”
“I remember sometimes we had to drink water from rivers with dead bodies floating in it,” she said, noting that their situation had become one of the “survival of the fittest.”
They had long distances to walk going from village to village and in search of another camp, many times walking on rough terrain. When the weather was too hot for their bare feet, they bunched up grass and tied it to their feet in order to be able to walk.
“We escaped death from so many things: from hunger, bullets, drowning, wild animals, you name it. No child should go through what I went through. In fact, nobody should go through what I went through,” she said.
Eventually the family made their way to another refugee camp, “but life would not be better there,” she said. While there were some soldiers protecting them, they would take young boys and train them to fight, and would take girls either as companions for the night or, at times, as wives.
Most of the boys leave refugee camps “with some sort of trauma,” she said, noting that when it came to the girls, some got pregnant, and others were made to be servants.
“The only reason I survived this is because I was very little,” Twayigira said. Due to the ongoing war, she and her grandparents traveled to nearby Angola before eventually ending up back in the DRC for a period of time.
However, with no improvement to the situation and no end to the war in sight, they again made their way to Angola for the second time. But when they arrived, “my grandma was very tired, and as for me, I was very malnourished.”
“You can imagine a big tummy and thin brown hair, and swollen cheeks and feet,” she said, describing herself as a young girl.
Twayigira recalled that her grandmother died shortly before they reached the refugee camp in Angola, and that had they not arrived when they did, “I was also almost gone.”
With just the two of them left, Twayigira explained that her grandfather eventually decided to travel to a different refugee camp in Zambia, because he heard they had a better school.
Despite such a long journey and so much loss, her grandfather moved again for no other reason “than to give his granddaughter a better education,” Twayigira said. She recalled that her grandfather “really believed in me so much. He never once said, ‘she’s just a girl, let me not waste my time on her.’”
After spending a few years in Zambia, the pair decided to make yet one more move, this time heading to a camp in Malawi that had better living conditions and even better schools. They arrived in September 2000.
Twayigira immediately enrolled in school once she arrived, making several new friends and, for the first time since they had left, was happy to have adequate food and shelter.
Being able to do well in her classes “would give me joy. Because at least I got to make some people proud, and I was very happy,” she said. Twayigira was eventually selected to join a Jesuit-run school, with all fees paid for by the Jesuit Refugee Service.
When she finished school in 2007, Twayigira’s grandfather fell ill, passing away just a few days after.
“I cried uncontrollably, badly, but life had to go on, and although I was in so much pain with the loss of my loved ones, it did not stop me from working hard,” she said, “because I knew that my future, it was not certain, I did not know what my future had, but I knew that my hard work would pay off.”
In 2009 she studied for the national final exam in Malawi, and finished among the top 6 students in the country. At the awards ceremony, the Chinese embassy offered a number of full-ride scholarships to study in China for the top students.
Twayigira was one of the students selected and, despite being a refugee with no citizenship status or passport, was able to get her paperwork in order with the help of the Jesuits at her school, a Catholic radio station and even the Malawian parliament.
She then moved to China and studied the language for a year before officially beginning classes in Chinese. She has since graduated and is currently working as a medical intern in Malawi.
While there were many times she wanted to give up along the way, Twayigira said she persisted, because at a certain point she realized that “God spared my life” not to keep it for herself, but because “there are people that I was meant to serve.”
“Before I went to China, I used to think I was just this girl with a tragic past…but when I got to China I realized that I’ve got a story to tell; a story of God and his love, a story that can change somebody’s life.”
As a doctor, Twayigira said she feels she can give even more. But in addition to her medical duties, she also looks for opportunities to speak in schools to try and “raise hope among the youth, especially refugee youth.”
She said that in the future, she hopes to work more directly with refugees, “because I believe I have a lot to share, having gone through what they’ve gone through.”
“Now this is my story…but unfortunately for many, theirs is just in the tragedy part,” she said, explaining that many refugee children don’t even have access to adequate housing let alone higher education.
Even those who do get a good education don’t necessarily have the same opportunities, Twayigira said, so “their hopes are just crushed.”
In order to change the situation, she said war itself has to end: “why not end all this violence, and I’m not talking about people from other countries coming in to invade our own countries, I mean why wait for an outsider to come to stop hurting, and killing?”
“Is the money or power at the expense of their blood really worth it? I don’t think so,” she said, adding that the only way to really resolve conflict is with “forgiveness, mercy and love.”
“Is there such humanity in us, or have we become robots?” she asked. “What is happening to innocent kids is completely unfair, and it needs to stop and I believe it starts from within us: from love, forgiveness and mercy.”
People in situations similar to hers need to know “that they are loved by God and people around them. They need to know that they matter, that there is hope for them, that they have a purpose in life,” she said, noting that this stems not only from having the basic needs met, but above all from education.
In an interview with CNA after her talk, Twayigira stressed the importance of education, saying it’s “really the key to everything, because if not educated, many girls don’t even know their value.”
However, with a good education women learn that “okay, I’m not worthless and someone can’t just come and step on my foot. I am somebody,” she said, adding that a proper education helps women to step into decision making positions where they can change things.
“I believe that once a girl is educated, that means you’re actually educating the whole family. Because a woman, you raise your children, they’re with you all the time, you know that whatever they get is what you teach them,” she said.
“So if a woman is educated that means the whole family will get quality advice from their mothers. So educating a girl is actually educating the whole country.”
Twayigira said she was happy to be able to speak at the Vatican, since the event was streamed live. She voiced her hope that people can hear her story “and not just feel sorry for me, but also see ways they can help other people like me to get a better education or a safe place, or open their homes to refugees like me.”
She said she also hopes other young women and girls from around the world will be able to see and hear her story, and to know that “it’s all possible…I believe that I’m a pillar of hope for them.”
She said one of her hopes coming out of the conference is not only to encourage young women in her situation to have hope, but also that the people who have the power and resources to change things will see that they “can actually do something under-privileged people like I was.”
“Their actions can change somebody’s life for the better, never to be the same,” she said.
[…]
At first it seemed retaliation without just cause. However, the ‘specific’ charge of “denying the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the rightful pontiff” appears serious enough, although the wording “denying the legitimacy” could mean lots of things. For example, denying the validity of Francis’ election, or that Pope Francis is unfit for the position of supreme Pontiff. This latter can be construed as an opinion, which doesn’t rise to the canonical definition of schism. Fundamentally, schism is the repudiation of a binding Pontifical pronouncement. That I haven’t perceived in Archbishop Carlo Viganò. However he did appear to publicly repudiate Vat II in an essay, but then followed it with the explanation that he actually repudiated how Vat II was interpreted. If there’s more convincing evidence than that I haven’t seen it. Although perhaps there is more.
Needless to say, I hope this can be resolved. It seems he can choose his canon lawyer advocate to make his defense. I’m sorry for him and for the many of us who admired Viganò’s forthrightness while Apostolic nuncio. Cardinal Parolin admits to that.
Dear Fr Peter, thanks for this restrained & balanced comment.
Some would want to reflect on the political value PF hopes will flow from decapitating a senior & well-informed critic of his scandalously anti-Apostolic acts:
“This’ll shut-up any other cardinals who’d dare to think for themselves! After their long careers, they’ll be terrified of exclusion!”
I have seen PF totally destroy another Cardinal in good standing who mercifully pointed out doctrinal error. He was stripped of his office and not given another assingment. When he chose ro stay in Rome, he was stripped of his monetary stipend as well. It saddens me to see such retaliatory behavior by our Supreme Poniff. It also continues to sadden me to see sexual predators go unpunished. I am still in full communion with the Catholic Church, but find many recent censures quite dismaying. I simply peay for God’s continuing guidance for our Church and for Pope Francis. As a sidenote, I gave up my shoe-in career in any public school of my choice in my state to serve the Church by teaching in a Catholic School system and working for pennies on the dollar while my husband labored 12-14 hrs. a day 365 days a year as a bulk milk hauler with no foreseeable future. I am not patting mydelf on the back in ANY way…I simply made the choice because I BELIEVED it was the BEST way to raise our 2 daughters…
God bless you and your family Mrs Jill.
Yes, there’s that [intimidation] as a consideration. Although most important is the validity of the Archbishop’s contentions. He deserves great credit for the exposure of the McCarrick files and the pontiff’s non response. What followed, much of it detailed by Peter Beaulieu, is the larger contention most of us are aware of. That is, aside from the Covid pharmaceutical conspiracy and like presumed issues, that which directly impacts the direction of our Church. We can also place aside the manner in which these matters were presented.
Nonetheless he did address them according to his conscientious convictions. As you’re aware these apparent transgressions from perennial doctrine, although done informally, have endangered the salvation of a host of people. The duty of a bishop, who has the ordained office defender of the faith is to address these apparent transgressions. Others, notably Cardinal Burke have engaged the pontiff and paid a price. Carlo Viganò witnessed Christ as he saw fit in his particular circumstances. In the end Christ will be his judge at the final tribunal. However faulty his efforts may have been, we clerics must concede he faithfully performed his duty under extreme duress. Savonarola was burned at the stake. Our modern Savonarola may suffer excommunication. Justice however God wills will triumph.
It won’t shut up several faithful, older Cardinals such as Raymond Cardinal Burke to speak truth when necessary regarding the Catholic faith.
I wonder what a Canonist such as Edward Peters would have to say about these charges?
Does Fr Morello really need to remind us of his Ph.D. With every comment?
No Charles. But I worked so hard to get the damn thing that I want to show it off.
Hilarious reply Fr. M!
Perfect.
Father Morello it IS difficult to get a PhD, but I think that “Fr.” in front of your name is the best accomplishment. Having said that, I offer the following, not to pile on, but because I think this is one of the most entertaining videos ever posted. It is a parody inspired by former CA Senator Babs Boxer. Two minutes that will make everyone’s weekend. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjayK62XBCE
Do you know how to change your username or image Charles? Perhaps Fr. Peter does but I don’t. If you do, please let me know so I can tweak mine & add a non-generic image . Thanks.
Charles, I secured a place for an M.A. but then couldn’t move past 1st base and right now I am exploring the ballpark mostly like in the bleachers. Hooray for Fr.’s Ph.D.!
The schism charge suggests to me they want to separate Vigano from whatever leadership he has over his “following” and through his service commitments.
I thought it stood for Possible herniated Disk(Disc?), and have been praying for his strength!
Thank you Father Peter, as your succinct letter better places charges in context. I suppose many Catholics then would be at risk for excommunication, as they disagree with how Pope Francis has approached controversial and sensitive topics, and perhaps more what he has seemingly failed to do, rather than explicit actions. Moreover, many Catholics have since read documents from Vatican II and drawn the same conclusion that the content was “interpreted”–or “misconstrued” to extend beyond and outside the parameter of the Council. However, who is listening, and where is tha synod focus?
I accept that Pope Francis was elevated by the Holy Spirit though who of us understands God’s Will–Divine Plan–in this? His papacy is legitimate, but what Pope has not been confronted by criticism in the performance of that position in some way by Bishops, fellow clergy, and the laity? If questioning and even raising serious and legitimate concerns are grounds for excommunication, I would imagine millions would be so disposed.
Amen, and again amen.
In the third century, Bishop Cyprian of Carthage controverted Pope Stephen’s views on baptism by heretics. Cyprian (whose opinion the Bishop of Rome denied) became a saint, and Pope Stephen also became a saint, both through martyrdom for the faith.
St. Peter’s comportment at St. Paul’s controverting his Judaizer sympathies, is described by Cyprian:
Peter, whom first the Lord chose, and upon whom He built His Church, when Paul disputed with him afterwards about circumcision, [did not] claim anything to himself insolently, nor arrogantly assume anything; so as to say that he held primacy [primates, seniority], and that he ought rather to be obeyed by novices and those lately come. — Epistle 71[70]:3
I hope that both Vigano and Francis begin to behave as saints should.
Spare us, O Lord, O spare us, thy people:
and let not thy wrath be upon us ever.
The haze is removed. Thank you meiron.
I believe Vigano should go and “do as they say but not do as they do”. He should use the opportunity to give voice to what is going unsaid pertinent to the occasion and appertinent (appurtenant) to the issues. And this would be charity in communion. I know it’s hard to do. One has to force one’s mind to settle and ask God to shed His light and bring out the matter.
By using the verb appertain I do not mean merely legal accompaniment. I mean an embrace of the whole scale of accompanying issues legal and other. Charging Vigano in isolation of the rest of it is harmful to all and to the Pope and NOT taken into consideration amounts to putting unwarranted, albeit opportunistic blocks to Vigano.
Thanks that is very helpful.
“Fundamentally, schism is the repudiation of a binding Pontifical pronouncement.”
Affirmation of the Sanctity of the marital act within The Sacrament Of Holy Matrimony, and the Sanctity of human life from the moment of conception, have always been “a binding Pontifical pronouncement “.
To follow a man who could not have been canonically elected to The Papacy, because as a cardinal he “repudiated a binding Pontifical pronouncement “, is to follow a schismatic into schism.
“Canon 188 §4 states that among the actions which automatically (ipso facto) cause any cleric to lose his office, even without any declaration on the part of a superior, is that of “defect[ing] publicly from the Catholic faith” (” A fide catholica publice defecerit“).“
It has always been about The Marriage In Heaven and on earth.
“Blessed are those who are Called to The Wedding Supper Of The Lamb.”
A few years back CWR generously carried articles–and enabled a long thread of comments from non-credential/non-clericalist readers–on how to regard the Second Vatican Council. Part of that dialogue (!) pointed to the difference between the “real” council and the “virtual” council fed to the media by Hans Kung et al (Benedict’s terms). Brief but strategic Teilhardian phrases edited into the Documents, here and there, are offset by other interventions…etc.
FOR EXAMPLE, these correctives: “The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and definitive [!] covenant, will never pass away, and we now await no further new public revelation [synodal Holy Spirit?] before the glorious manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf 1 Tim 6:14, Tit. 2:13)” (Dei Verbum, n.4). AND: “In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience [….] the Council wishes to recall first of all the permanent binding force of universal natural law and its all-embracing principles” (Gaudium et spes, n. 16, 79). AND, “Christ the Lord…by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to himself [!] and makes his supreme calling clear” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 22).
QUESTION: Such wording, maybe only a pitchfork against the incoming tide. But without airbrushing the Council, itself, as the apostasy, one could still flag the abuses of sleeper-cell termites now said to be consuming the Barque of Peter. Vigano has “aggregated, compiled and synthesized” (the synodal jargon!) a litany charges…
Even if Cardinal Vigano’s points can be shown to be only half-truths or worse, why can’t they finally be received in a spirit of mutually respectful dialogue (!) also involving other half-truths or worse? Why aren’t the adults in the room?
Cardinal Vigano: ” […. Pope Francis] promotes uncontrolled immigration and calls for the integration of cultures and religions. Globalism supports LGBTQ+ ideology: [Pope Francis] authorizes the blessing of same-sex couples and imposes on the faithful the acceptance of homosexualism, while covering up the scandals of his protégés and promoting them to the highest positions of responsibility. Globalism imposes the green agenda: [Pope Francis] worships the idol of the Pachamama, writes delirious encyclicals about the environment, supports the Agenda 2030, and attacks those who question the theory of man-made global warming. He goes beyond his role in matters that strictly pertain to science, but always and only in one direction: a direction that is diametrically opposed to what the Church has always taught. He has mandated the use of experimental gene serums, which caused very serious damage, death and sterility, calling them ‘an act of love,’ in exchange for funding from pharmaceutical companies and philanthropic foundations. His total alignment with the Davos religion is scandalous. Wherever governments at the service of the World Economic Forum have introduced or extended abortion, promoted vice, legitimized homosexual unions or gender transition, encouraged euthanasia, and tolerated the persecution of Catholics, not a word has been spent in defense of the Faith or Morals that are threatened, or in support of the civil battles of so many Catholics who have been abandoned by the Vatican and the Bishops. Not a word for the persecuted Catholics in China, with the complicity of the Holy See, which considers Beijing’s billions more important than the lives and freedom of thousands of Chinese who are faithful to the Roman Church [….] (June 20, 2024).
SUMMARY: The historic challenge, threat, and opportunity picked up by the two Vatican Councils together, is how to fully engage the good elements of historical modernity while at the same time being fully faithful to the reality of the historical and singular Incarnation and Pentecost (aggiornamento and ressourcement)?
As always, and especially now, how to be in the world without being of the world?
Dear Peter D. Beaulieu: “how to be in the world without being of the world?”
As so very many well-informed, very loyal Catholics – like Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò – have commented, along the lines:
“This cannot be achieved in the P. Francis way of striving to be the first Summum Pontifex Paganorum; truly a novelty in our venerable Catholic ecclesial history!”
In a culture of social-media obsession, NOVELTY makes the pope to be OF the world. He is intoxicated by a popularity that betrays our Master, Jesus Christ.
In some ways, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò represents all Catholics in courageously trying to face the PF faction with the plain truth. THAT is true loyalty.
Yet, like Pontius Pilot, they retort:
“Of what use is truth? Don’t you know we have the power to cut you off?”
How sad to see The Church becoming more & more like Russia, China, & North Korea, with honest freedom of expression forcefully suppressed.
Keep praying, everyone; King Jesus Christ is still on The Throne!
Looks like koochy-koo katholicism has gone on vacation for the summer? That is, until we have the termination of the Vetus Ordo in July. Would that the likes of James Martin SJ and others of a heterodox bent on a range of issues — moral, theological, liturgical — shoulder the same penalty. Then, perhaps, this affront to justice against Archbishop Viganò might have an iota of credence.
We Americans have a unique experience this season. Two tiers of justice boldly on display in both Church and society. Secular materialist globalism reigns high in both. As someone noticed at another Catholic website, Hans Kung, who denied the infallibility of the Pope, did not face this consequence.
Whatever could be going on?
There is something going on here that transcends the picture we have at the moment. Is there a method to Viganò’s madness?
I would not be surprised. May it be speculated that Archbishop Viganò’s most recent statements were a calculated move to bring his concerns to the canonical venue? After all, it has been 2827 days since Cardinals Brandmüller, Burke, Caffarra, and Meisner sent their dubia regarding Amoris Laetitia to the Holy See where it remains unanswered.
Archbishop Viganò will have his day in court. What will be brought to light at that time could be quite illuminating regarding far more than Archbishop Viganò. The man is not foreign by any means to the complexities of ecclesial existence in the corner office.
May God reward Archbishop Viganò for his willingness to put his head on the block in defense of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church — Christ’s One True Church.
It is not for nothing that most decent, American Catholics that I know lack faith in their political and Church leaders. Instead of looking to our leaders, though, we should look to ourselves:
Let’s teach the Faith to our children ourselves without waiting on “the Church” to do it for us. Let’s do what Jesus commanded us without waiting on “the Church” to do it (or tell US to do it).
I have been waiting decades for “the Church” to get it’s act together, and I doubt I will see any real change before I die. The good news is that you can be the person God wants you to be in spite of Church leaders. Sad that it’s like that, but such is life…
Very good advice in the current dysfunctional and chaotic situation in our Catholic Church!
Spot on. I taught high school religion for two years at the end of the seventies. You cannot imagine the resistance I received from the faculty for insisting that the students be responsible for the material conveyed in class. It was all academic — no banners and poster work.
The Church has been committing suicide since 1958.
Thank you for your faith. My journey from atheism to Catholicism occurred mostly during the seventies. My scientific work enabled me to eventually find the fingerprint of God, and a pro-life orientation made me curious about religion. But it took time before witnessing all the dissenting Catholics in the seventies prepared me, with grace, to figure out that human pride always rebels against deep truth. And along with meeting my late wife, meeting those other Catholics who held firm pulled me over the top in the long climb up the hill. I don’t know what my life would have been with a Francis as pope back then.
What is often forgotten or not known by those who find Archbishop Vigano a sort of hero in their anti-Pope Francis cause and sentiments is that Vigano became what he is now as a schismatic sedevacantist disgruntled bishop starting in 2016 only. As Nuncio to the U.S., he botched the 2015 Papal Visit to the U.S.. Because of this he was returned to headquarters and mothballed (given no official assignment) which effectively derailed his ambition for higher ecclesiastical office. (His successor Christophe Pierre was elevated a Cardinal.). His diatribes against Pope Francis and Vatican II are not based on principles or convictions, they are only his way of getting back at his boss who fired him.
Francis might find the same reaction to his persecution and attempt to silence those who criticize his leadership that we seem to be experiencing here in the USA with Deep State’s attempt to silence its political enemies.
The reaction is a backlash against autocratic, totalitarian rulers.
Let’s remember that freedom of thought/ freedom of speech is an inalienable right. It cannot be surrendered, forfeited or taken away by any entity as it is endowed by our Creator God.
Dear DD: if your emotional, popesplaining post were presented in a court of law it would be roundly excluded, for fervid partisan lack of balance and logic.
1. no one has an: “anti-Pope Francis cause & sentiment” – from the Dubia through all too many other critiques, it is the FACTS of PF’s serious errors (unlike any other pope of recent times) that causes good Catholics, worldwide to repeatedly make factual protests – again, unlike with any other pope in my memory.
2. Archbishop Vigano (like many others who are learned in Canon Law) has expressed concern with the validity of some of the ungodly mechinations uniquesly involved in the election of PF. History will no doubt illuminate what Rome is concealing.
3. On what sort of hearsay do you claim Archbishop Vigano has “botched” his duties?
4. Careful consideration by learned, committed Catholics of the many serious issues raised by AV (see for example Fr Peter Morello PhD and Peter D. Beaulieu; & there’re numerous others) makes nonsense of your claim that AV’s questionings of our current pope: “are not based on principles or convictions”.
Sadly, we’re now in an age of rampant, partisan disinformation. Is it not inadvisable for Catholic lay or clergy to fall over themselves into that rabbit hole?
Ever seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
Perhaps what you say is true as to his motive but as best that I can discern Vigrano has been truthful and has not engaged in false witness against Pope Francis whose yes does not necessarily mean yes, nor does his no, necessarily mean no to the rejection of clarity within his body of work.
Deacon Dom has given a pretty good example of an ‘ad hominem’ argument. I thought personal attacks were discouraged in these comments.
Hard to read motives, but at the same time there may be a bit of truth in what you say! 😏
True Catholics abjure “bits of truth”.
We have THE TRUTh.
DD errs in defending PF’s corruptions of truth, and malicious attacks against truth-speakers.
Why not? It’s a qualification he no doubt worked hard to earn, and which attests to a certain depth of knowledge.
Do you need to remind us you’re a deacon?
Deacon Dom: As a hopeless backwardist, need I remind you of the Ten Commandments. Number Eight involves not treating your presumptions of motivations as factual and then repeating them as factual in public.
I am willing to spend the entirety of my net worth saved for my retirement and remaining few years to finance his defense and/or a public demonstration in St. Peter’s Square in his defense. I do not have the means to organize such an effort, but if anyone can, I am willing to support it.
Can’t a young person be found who will claim to be a sexual abuse victim of Archbishop Vigano?
Then the truth-telling cleric would be home free as far as Bergoglio’s Dark Vatican goes.
…Á la Rupnik.
It seems the church would be better off if II had never happened?
We seem to be like a Protestant church with the Eucharist and accompanying rituals.
God Bless Abp Vigano.
In case the ‘world’ hasn’t noticed: evil never stops, not in our suffering country, not in our suffering Church. Let us remember Solzhenitsyn “Man has forgotten God”.
And let us heed Our Lady of Fatima “the errors of Russia will spread throughout the world.” Now compare the USA Today to Bolshevik Russia under Lenin and Stalin. Atheism and murder of innocent babies in the womb are only two of the awful markers; fake elections; fake trials, women forced to work, massive popular substance abuse, fake news agencies, government corruption and oppression, political prisoners, secret police, …..
Vigano has solid &valid accusations minus the validation of pope Francis . I do know that if I were to visit the Vatican anytime soon I would feel the need to shower following that visit. The filth this pope surrounds himself with right down to his choice of comedians. Need I say more !
Has the Vatican ever been a clean place to live?
Yes.
This pontificate comes down hard on those who defend traditional Catholicism or are perceived enemies of the Pope
There is no “doctrine of Vatican II” to be rejected. And regardless of whether he was validly elected or not, Pope Francis has delegitimized not only himself, but the papacy itself. Defenders of this scandalous pontificate of the real problem in the Church today, not outraged bishops prone to intemperate speech.
Deacon Dom, as usual your writings do nothing but protect a pope who has protected the likes of Ted McCarrick and Marco Rupnik who have done far worse things. Did Vigano cross the line, that is to be determined. But the outcome of this “trial” has already been decided much like Bishop Strickland. Francis has long protected those who have questionable morals and silenced those who uphold to the teachings of the faith. I am not, nor have ever been a member of any group outside of the Church. However, I thank God my faith formation was not by some of those in charge today in the Church. Also, show me where Vigano is a sedevacantist as by definition they believe the last valid Pope was Pius XII. Otherwise, you are making false claims.
Another act as the curtain slowly closes on “theater-of-Pontiff-Francis,” heralded by McCarrick as Pontiff Francis came on stage, attested for 10 years by the ensemble of sex abusers and coverup artists from central casting, now “augmented” by their successor in sycophancy the miraculous Rupnik.
Reject the rule of Christ: “admissable” in the theater of Pontiff Francis.
Reject the rule of Pontiff Francis and his cult: a criminal offense to their persons.
Archbishop Viganò you are in my prayers. Keep up the good work. I agree with you. Thank you.
Perolin and “posse”? He/they might as well that those who signed onto
the document calling [and backed by hard evidence ] for Pope Francis to resign because of heresy. Viganó and these learned signers are on the same track. Is the accumulating “pressure” from SUCH hard evidence leveraging Cardinal Perolin [. . or is it that TOTALLY ANTI-Apostolic Mass “back-room” Cardinal??] to father the Vatican’s own “legitimate” push-back?
Take Vigano down and the LEARNED signers of the recent Document calling
for Francis’ RESIGNATION because of well-corroborated instances of
heresy might as well ALSO be “swept under the rug”.
The evidence that Vigano covered for McCarrick and slandered the pope is quite overwhelming but it is obvious the agreed upon lie is to pretend that there is nothing to look at. Otherwise Vigano would be released to slither off to join his father below in whatever pit is handy. If anyone wants to take the trouble to examine the evidence, go to Reason and theology.com click on page 2 at the bottom to find the June 6 article entitled” Uncovering the real story:archbishop Vigano and cardinal McCarrick”
Dear JJR, even if that had some truth, it does nothing to erase the very pertinent criticisms made by AV against the PF clique. Very serious criticisms that are well canvassed in the above comments, if you’d take the time to read them.
Let us never blind ourselves to unpleasant truths; even if the messenger is imperfect.
The serious failures of PF are many (far, far greater than any other modern pope). Much of his teaching & actions can legitimately be described as: ‘anti-Apostolic’.
By giving Holy Communion to public advocates of infanticide, PF is the figurehead advocate for mortal sin and sacrilege. He is proclaiming: “I am right, God is wrong!” For those who believe Catholicism is totally Apostolic, PF is exposed as non-Catholic.
We must never move from the divine reality that: “The Truth will set you free!” To the extent that AV & other senior hierarchs are bravely willing to expose the heterodoxies of the PF faction, millions of ordinary Catholics rejoice that truth still stands.
How to cut the worldwide Gordonian knot that PF’s deceptions have woven?
Let our bishops & cardinals call for his resignation so they can elect a proper Pope.
Ever in the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
Not to worry.
Don’t you know that Archbishop Vigano has infinite dignity? 😉
If our dear Abp. Vigano answers this imperious summons from the alleged High Priest of Christendom, he will not survive the journey. (cf. Acts 25:1-12)
Well,well,given the length of this comment section I would have expected Pope Francis to be called “Bergoglio” a couple of dozen times by now. Brineyman so far seems to be the only one who wants the “badge of bonor”. The others keep pussyfooting around the term while confirming their defacto schism and sedvacanism. I will give Vigano one thing, he has done his bit to fulfill the Fatima prophecy that if enough of us did not repent then the errors of Russia would spread all over the world. Vigano praises the new Red Czar’s crimes and endorses the Third Rome idealogy.
Dear ‘JJR’, we gather from your fact-free tirade, that you’re fond of PF but loathe AV, apparently in proud ignorance of what so many well-informed experts have commented.
GOD bless you, anyway!
George Bergoglio is the man’s name, from the vernacular, secular, and legal points of view. Pope Francis is a Church title. Do we address you as “Mister/Miss Layman,” by preferred pronoun, by job title or highest professional earned degree? No? The same applies to Bergoglio. If and when he becomes a saint or a god, even then are we not free to refer to him by the words and labels we choose? Do you not know the man to whom the name ‘Bergoglio’ refers? Has your ‘holy father’ concocted a new commandment against free speech? Do you or does your dad misunderstand the sin of blasphemy? Perhaps I may be accused of a lack of decorum, but that’s as far as I’m able to accuse myself in this milennial year 2024. And if we are in schism or sedevacantism, BY WHAT AUTHORITY DO YOU IMAGINE YOURSELF TO JUDGE US SO? My bishop would beg to differ with you, LOG BEAM.
I think Carlo María Vigano is one of the few authentic voices in the Catholic Church today. While the world is falling apart, who is preparing us to be true to Christ’s teachings. The majority of the Church is on a different agenda including Pope Francis. I dont hear about the true Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, Confession, Chastity, or any virtue except love thy neighbor. Thank you.