Abomination in Germany II:
"Between War and Peace" Ecumenical Meeting in Aachen, Part 2

.... All in the "Spirit of Assisi"!

--Novus Ordo Watch Europe Correspondent Chris G. Reports--

Eye Witness The full horror of the 17th (!) Annual International Meeting of Prayer for Peace organised in Aachen by the Community of St. Egidio. Why did people take part? What motivated the people's presence? Some were there because they were ignorant, not so many because they were weak. Other acted out of deliberate fault. Ignorance on the part of the laity should not be to surprising in this day and age when John Paul II himself invites animists to meetings in Assisi. The hard comments in the piece are reserved entirely for those at the meeting who should and do know better. A distinction, of sorts, can be made between the organisation and some of the participants. God is the judge of these people and their hearts, not the present writer; but we can judge their external and objective actions. Who are the Community of St Egidio? The Community of St. Egidio was named after the patron saint of the poor, in English, St. Giles. It was founded as a result of a profound disenchantment with the Second Vatican Council--because the Council failed to deal with the problem of poverty. The Council was not radical enough! Their foundation The original community was established by students in 1968 who came together to read the Bible in the Church of St Egidio in the poor area of the Trastevere in Rome. The Community of St Egidio now claims a membership of 15,000 people. Just that little bit more radical Even if they were disappointed with the Council, the Community is entirely a fruit of the Council; their members belong to that generation who for the most part are entirely missing from the Catholic Church throughout Europe. They have spent all the intervening years, like all the liberals in the Catholic Church, trying to take things just that little bit further. Can they go any further after Aachen? I doubt it, but they will try. No less than twelve "Cardinals" were present! Bogus claims To be international The Community claims to be international; this is far from the truth. The overwhelming majority of members are Italian. Like all of the children of the '68 revolutions, they are now decidedly very middle class and conscious-stricken. They aren't really worried about poverty, more about their own wealth. This is what haunts them. The organisation wishes to be generous, but with other people's money, whether it comes from the UN or the EU, who after all raise the money from taxes on us all. The Italians predominated in Aachen. They controlled the entrances to the Cathedral and the lecture theatre for the opening. The press office was full of Italians. To be influential But how much influence does the Community have? To quote Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN Secretary General: "The Community of St. Egidio developed a technique which was different to those of the professional peace-makers, but which was complementary to theirs. The Community let her technique of informal discretion converge with the official work of governments and of intergovernmental organisations." Words are cheap. The truth will be that they will be as detached from the real political action as a monk in his cell. That does not stop them patting themselves on the back for their alleged achievements. To quote from their literature: "In the last few years, the Community of St. Egidio has been discovered by the media due to its peace initiatives for Mozambique, Algeria, Guatemala and the Balkans. It also has close relations with groups from many other countries who have been suffering for years due to injustice and war - Lebanon, El Salvador, Armenia, Burundi and the Horn of Africa." To be charity personified Not for them the Gospel imperative of not letting one hand know that the other hand is being a minister of charity. Media event The Mass of Aachen was one big media event, just part of another even bigger media event called the Community of St Egidio. Italian elite Of course the Novus Ordo establishment has been taken in by this self-serving nonsense of a narrow Italian elite. Why? They have the support of that great player on the media stage, whose thesis was called "The Acting Person", John Paul II himself. They themselves say that they carry on his "spirit of Assisi". What will they do if his successor calls time on the "spirit of Assisi"? The 1986 Assisi meeting diverted their focus away from the poor and allowed what little remained of their original founding intentions to be totally corrupted by the round of international conferences and associated media coverage. Franciscan branding There is, of course, more than a hint of the Franciscan about them, in their original reading of the Gospel and their desire to serve the poor. They share the strange desire of the Second Vatican Council to return to the early Church, as if the Church was fully formed just after being born! The grim reality is that they position themselves half way between Opus Dei and We are Church and combine the vices of both of them. Although noticeable by their absence were other new movements and orders. All of them have their own agenda which competes and does not co-operate with "Egidio vision."

Forget the poor, become a socialist And they have moved away from the poor and become involved in the whole welter of left-wing causes. They felt no shame in listening to a message from Lula da Silva, the ultra-left President of Brasil. To quote a Brasilian political commentator on Lula and his party: "Nearly seven months later, I discover the messianic side of the PT (the socialists): the direct line of the party, and mainly its chief, with history, destiny, God ... the party and its chief are infallible, frequent Mount Sinai, and from there, after talking with God in the burning bush, bring down the tablets of the law. No earthquakes, Congress, judges, and even less corrupt and corrupting journalists, can contradict these tablets and hinder plans of national salvation." Lula is busy reducing his country to anarchy and poverty. Lula calls himself the father of his nation. Likewise, at the opening ceremony on Sunday, there was a film about the problems of Africa, specifically the AIDs projects of the Community. No mention of the Orwellian madness of Zimbabwe! No mention of the moral vacuum which has caused the AIDs crisis. No criticism of the President of South Africa who denied there was an AIDs crisis. Why should there be? The Community can even tolerate the Head of the Sharia Court in the Israeli Occupied Territories attending the event. The Godfather To quote the founding-father of the Community of St Egidio, Andrea Riccardi, who shares a beard and the worldly messianism of Lula. "Dialogue means a conversion towards the other person: you have to try to understand him, and at the same time help him to change his agenda." Sadly, they hardly ever change people's agendas, but in the process become more and more like the devils with whom they are in dialogue. Why Aachen? At the opening ceremony, we were told that the Bishop of Aachen was responsible for inviting the Community. The truth was, of course, that the meeting in the city of the Holy Roman Emperors fits in John Paul II's political agenda for Europe. He is attempting to get a lame reference to spiritual inheritance of Europe into the European constitution. What difference will that make? The truth is that the Church in Europe is so weak in numbers that Catholics will be lucky to get that. Special Exhibition To coincide with the Egidio event, there is an exhibition in the Town Hall and in the Cathedral Treasury. It is called Ex Oriente--"from the East" and illustrates the gift of a white elephant from the Caliph of Baghdad to Charlemagne. In English, a "big white elephant" means a pointless project to which a lot of energy has been devoted. Unconscious irony. But the real scandal lies in the fact that Ex oriente refers not to a white elephant but the Divine Revelation of Our Lord, Ex orient Lux, from the East Light. But the advertising seems to indicate that Judaism and Mohammedism contribute to this Light.

The Opening "Mass" See previous report for the full horror of the heresy of the Bishop of Aachen. A reporter from Vatican Radio told us that he agreed with the idea that God is not Christian but would have formulated it differently. He thought that no one could disagree that God is the father of all people. The Bishop's language was not the language of Rome. We are all so relieved! But we will wait a very, very long time for a correction. The collection was worth watching for people that are so generous with other people's money from funding programmes of the UN and the EU. No bills, only a few coins from each! The congregation had little reverence during the "Mass" and for the "Blessed Sacrament." Receiving in the hand and standing was (almost) universal. Only one person was to be seen genuflecting in front of the Tabernacle. In fact, the steps of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel were used for seats. Some members of the congregation joined in the "Eucharistic Prayer" with the concelebrants! In the prayers, there were a multitude of references to the Beatitudes of the Sermon of the Mount. The sincerity of the Novus Ordo establishment would be more credible if they sought to put the Beatitudes into practice--why don't they seek "real dialogue" with traditionalists rather than trying to suppress them?? They should be looking after their own flocks who are true to the Catholic Faith and not pursuing the strange gods of Aachen and Assisi. But this establishment would rather share an altar with non-Catholics.

After the "Mass," there was a great parade of the Novus Ordo establishment and their ecumenical friends in the streets of Aachen.

Complacent Anglican "Bishop" -- "Yes, I am from England, Church of England actually!" Scandal crying to God If the shock of the "Mass" in Aachen Cathedral was not enough, we discovered scandal beyond belief in the Church of St Nicholas. A forum was being held and we heard a Muslim read from the Koran and explained his religion. His was stumped by one simple question: When will it be possible for Christians to pray in mosques?!!! Also in the Church was an exhibition of books and papers from the Bahai, Muslims, Jews, Christians and Buddhists: The location of the Bahai stand obscured St Joseph: The Muslim propaganda was bad: "Entdecke den Islam! -- Discover Islam!" [very appropriate for a Catholic Church to host] But the worst was the statue of Buddha in a church where the "Blessed Sacrament" remained reserved throughout the day: The Face of Evil: His Wickedness, Cardinal Walter Kasper, was also present.

Pagan idols: Catholics died rather than worship them, so what is this doing in a Catholic Church?   This concludes the report of the Novus-Ordo-sanctioned abomination in Aachen, Germany. Say your prayers! C. G. Novus Ordo Watch Europe Correspondent

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