Friday, March 29, AD 2024 3:00am

PopeWatch: Explanation

Edward Pentin gives the Vatican’s explanation as to why a pro-abort fanatic Dutch politician was made a Commander in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great:

 

The Vatican has said a papal honor given to a militant pro-abortion Dutch politician was standard “diplomatic practice” when someone is part of an official delegation with their head of state, and in no way was meant as a sign of support for her politics of abortion or birth control.

In comments given Monday evening, Paloma García Ovejero, deputy spokesperson of the Holy See Press Office, said the honor awarded to Lilianne Ploumen — as Commander in the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great — was part of an exchange of honors between delegations after she took part in an official state visit to the Vatican last year of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.

In response to a question on whether the Vatican could confirm the honor and, if so, why Ploumen received it, Garcia said:

“The honor of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great received by Mrs. Lilianne Ploumen, former Minister of Development, in June 2017 during the visit of the Dutch Royals to the Holy Father, responds to the diplomatic practice of the exchange of honors between delegations on the occasion of official visits by Heads of State or Government in the Vatican.

Therefore, it is not in the slightest a placet [an expression of assent] to the politics in favor of abortion and of birth control that Mrs Ploumen promotes.”

News of the honor emerged earlier this month when Ploumen was seen in a video by Dutch national broadcaster BNR showing off her medal, saying it was a “high distinction from the Vatican, from the Pope.” The story was first broken by the U.S.-based Lepanto Institute.

 

Go here to read the rest.  Convinced?  PopeWatch isn’t.  There isn’t a chance in the world that the current Vatican would grant such an honor to a politician who was given to making racist statements.  That they overlooked her radical pro-abort record wasn’t a matter of diplomatic cynicism but rather the fact that the powers that be at the Vatican are not going to make an issue of abortion.  Pope Francis has political irons in the fire that are much more important to him than the fact that a politician has spent her career championing the slaying of children in the womb.  When it comes to pro-lifers, the Pope tosses us a soundbite every now and then, and then he does something like this to reassure his political allies on the left that he really does not mean it.

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John Patrick Hynds
John Patrick Hynds
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 8:35am

“…standard “diplomatic practice” when someone is part of an official delegation with their head of state, ” And the list of those receiving similar “Honors” when Trump visited, is where?

Mary De Voe
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 8:42am

Pope Francis needs to stop being a diplomat and start being a Pope.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 10:01am

If so, then where are Obama’s and Trump’s medals from their Vatican visits? You are 100% correct, Donald–the pontiff is happy to whisper sweet nothings to pro-lifers because they are content to accept such. Rather like certain criticisms of the relationship between the Republican party and pro-lifers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_meetings_between_the_Pope_and_the_President_of_the_United_States

Art Deco
Art Deco
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 10:05am

This pontificate cannot end soon enough.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 10:06am

Oh, and look at this latest gesture from the Zero Tolerance Pontiff:
http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/01/13/180113b.html

That’s right: the man responsible for the largest sex-abuse settlement in history–$600 million–is the pontiff’s designated Special Envoy.
Truly an age of mercy.

Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 10:49am

In a time to come the unborn child who suffered abortion will visit those who had opportunities in life to help change the culture of death, but instead, they helped to extend the Holocaust. Woe to them that have a position of leadership but fail to use it to support Life. So many souls, 59 million, that are ready to visit those who have chosen poorly to do everything possible to act on behalf of the Innocents. Missed opportunities for these leaders will have consequences in a time to come.

John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 11:32am

“..responds to the diplomatic practice of the exchange of honors between delegations on the occasion of official visits by Heads of State or Government in the Vatican.”

It would seem to be a VERY easy thing for a journalist to confirm all of the other recipients of the “honor”. How many diplomats and whom? Then compare that list to those who have received them prior to 2013.

Richard Malcolm
Richard Malcolm
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 11:35am

“When it comes to pro-lifers, the Pope tosses us a soundbite every now and then, and then he does something like this to reassure his political allies on the left that he really does not mean it.”

Whether this is his actual intention or not – even granting him every possible benefit of the doubt – there’s no question now that this is just how such gestures with regards to Ploumen, Bonino, et al are being perceived by the EU intelligentsia. And the Holy See does nothing to disabuse them of it.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 1:08pm

That’s right: the man responsible for the largest sex-abuse settlement in history–$600 million–is the pontiff’s designated Special Envoy.

In fairness, John Paul pulled Cdl. Law out of the obscure posting he’d gone to with a community of women religious and gave him an honorary position at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. I didn’t follow the catastrophe in the Los Angeles and Orange. I’m not sure you could find a series of discretionary judgments by Cdl. Mahoney or Bp. Brown which quite compare to those Cdl. Madeiros and Cdl. Law made re John Geoghan and Paul Shanley.

Ernst Schreiber
Ernst Schreiber
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 3:08pm

I think you’re underestimating the power of bureaucratic incompetence on the part of the secretariat of state myself.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, January 17, AD 2018 3:53pm

Mahony was as bad as Law, and was up to his eyeballs in shielding priests from the authorities. But I agree that JPII’s solicitude for Law was appalling.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/us/files-show-cardinal-roger-mahony-covered-up-sex-abuse.html

Donna Steichen
Donna Steichen
Thursday, January 18, AD 2018 2:21am

It is quite unjust to equate the failings of Cardinal Law and those of Cardinal Mahony. Cardinal Law’s response to the existence of sex abuses in his archdiocese was not heroic, but he had not caused them. And he had some stars to his credit before he ever came to Boston. Cardinal Mahony completely outdid Cardinal Law in the Bad Shepherd department. During his reign, Mahony himself created a cozy climate for active homosexuals at the expense of the pro-life movement, enabled sex offenders to evade legal consequences, failed drastically to protect children, fostered the scandalous Religious Education Congress. and poured archdiocesan funds into a hideous new cathedral in which tourists need a guide to find the Blessed Sacrament chapel. He was so much the model of a flawed archbishop that National Catholic Reporter loved him. Cardinal Law looks cherubic by comparison.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Thursday, January 18, AD 2018 3:05am

Donald say it all:
“When it comes to pro-lifers, the Pope tosses us a soundbite every now and then, and then he does something like this to reassure his political allies on the left that he really does not mean it.”

Pope Francis is a menace to God’s Word and Man’s soul.

Kmbold
Kmbold
Thursday, January 18, AD 2018 6:30pm

I hear that Mahony’s Religious Ed Congress is still ongoing under Archbishop Gomez and is in every way is just as appalling.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, January 18, AD 2018 10:29pm

enabled sex offenders to evade legal consequences,

Did he destroy personnel files? Did his counsel remonstrate with judges to quash subpoenas in criminal investigations?

(The bishop known to have destroyed compromising personnel files was Walter Curtis of Bridgeport).

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, January 18, AD 2018 10:41pm

Cardinal Law’s response to the existence of sex abuses in his archdiocese was not heroic, but he had not caused them.

There aren’t that many bishops of whom that could not be said. Re Madeiros and Law, the chancery had concluded by 1980 that John Geoghan was a paedophile. He committed five additional offenses known to the chancery over the succeeding 12 years and was returned to the ministry four times before Cdl. Law finally put him on ice. One of those offenses consisted of forcible buggery. You get the impression from Cdl. Law’s account of himself that he played Henry Blake to his subordinates Radar O’Reilly. (“SIgn here. Initial here. Now sign here to show that you initialed when you should have signed.”). Cdl. Madeiros solution to complaints about Geoghan delivered via telephone was for his subordinates to put the phone on the desk and let her talk into the air.

bill bannon
bill bannon
Friday, January 19, AD 2018 7:05am

Court ordered disclosures showed that the CDF office had a damning audio tape of Fr. Shanley in 1979 spouting his pro gay ideas in public. They later asked Boston Diocese by letter what they were doing about him but Boston, writing back, switched to generalist mode…saying they were watching all such men.
A Miss Gavreaux stated to reporters that she twice told Cardinal Law to his face that Fr. Shanley was dangerous to youth; Law stated that he could not recall Miss Gavreaux. Shanley was promoted to pastor after Gavreaux’s first warning and after the CDF office had the audio tape in 1979.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Friday, January 19, AD 2018 10:58am

The surviving memoranda passed back and forth between Law and one of his subordinates re Shanley consisted of expressions of anxiety that Shanley pull up stakes in Los Angeles and return to Boston. Shanley’s actual conduct was far less interesting to Law than the prospect that he, Law, might again have to take responsibility for supervising Shanley and might run the risk of embarrassment if Shanley ran afoul of the law or was publicly rebellious. How do you say ‘self-centered dithering nincompoop’ in Latin?

Art Deco
Art Deco
Friday, January 19, AD 2018 11:04am

There’s a priceless photo of Law and Shanley chatting. It was taken at a tunk held to celebrate (!) the 25th anniversary of Shanley’s ordination (I assume jointly with other members of that ordination class, but maybe not). If I’m not mistaken, it’s been established that Shanley began diddling youths within four months of when he was ordained in 1960.

Descriptions of Cdl. Madeiros lead one to believe the man was an emotional ruin who should have been shut up in a monastery and not assigned any tasks which required exercising authority or making decisions. No clue why shadowy figures in the Congregation of Bishops thought he was suitable to supervise the Archdiocese of Boston.

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