Saturday 1 September 2012

Martini - bitter and stirred!

 Cardinal Martini (on the left) wearing some of the vestments he apparently thought so awful and pompous, according to his last interview.

For many years during the reign of Blessed Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Martini was tipped as "Papabile".  Now that he has died, it seems that the Holy Spirit had good reason for making sure that never came about.

See the BBC report on his last interview here,  carried, interestingly, as the headline story on its BBC World page - presumably on the basis that any criticism of the Church deserves as much publicity as the BBC can give it - especially when the headline is "Roman Catholic Church is 200 years behind the times".  It''s carried on the ticker tape on BBC World headlines as well.

Instead the Holy Spirit kept Blessed Pope John Paul on the Throne of St Peter for long enough for Cardinal Martini to be passed over by the time of the last conclave (his health was already poor by then) and for Joseph Ratzinger's time to have come.

Here is a little something that Blessed Pope John Paul said about being thought of as "behind the times".
I am convinced that a priest should have no fear of being "behind the times" because the human "today" of every priest is included in the "today" of Christ the Redeemer.

Pope John Paul in his book "Gift and Mystery"

11 comments:

Jacobi said...

I hope we are not 200 but 2000 years behind the times, back to the Resurrection and the authority Christ gave to Peter and his Successors to bind and to loose - whatever the fleeting, passing, fads of the ages.

Zephyrinus said...

I find it absolutely INCREDIBLE that you, dear Fr, cast Nasturtiums upon the BBC.

Is this the same BBC that is universally renowned as the bastion of everything honest, true, and "inclusive" ?

The idea, that the BBC might relish the opportunity to headline an anti-Christian and anti-Catholic story, feels me with sadness.

I am shocked and stunned.

Honest.

Chloe said...

After reading the BBC's "Thousands of people have been filing past his coffin at Milan's cathedral, where he was archbishop for more than 20 years."I can only assume the were making sure he had gone. May God have mercy on his soul

Credo said...

It would not surprise me to find out that the Holy Spirit has been out of the conclave business since the election of Pius XII. I am not of the SSPX persuasion or a sedevacantist. St Paul's second letter to the Thesalonians chapter 2, just seems to fit the Vatican II era perfectly and the Pope in question chose said Apostle for his namesake!

Anonymous said...

Since nothing happens by chance, God must be telling us something in the recent deaths of two very different Jesuits: Fr. Thwaites and Cardinal Martini. Thwaites died a relative unknown, with no high honors, and with his own order refusing his last request. Martini died papabile, with tens of thousands of mourners (including the major news services), and a grand funeral. Look at the Poor Man of Nazareth, read Martini's last interview, and draw your own conclusions.
Scott W

Aged parent said...

With his last gasps, Martini spouts off his banalities about a Church he served so disgracefully. Like Bernardin who promoted the homosexual perversion right to his coffin Martini spend his final interview telling us that the Church is out of date.

What a tiresome exit line.

Anonymous said...

Please have more respect for this man and indeed for those who have died. Our time will come. I hope nobody speaks as ill of me as others have here of this priest and religious.

Anonymous said...

RIP as with the Jesuit fraternity in general!

Anonymous said...

rThe lack of respect or charity towards the Cardinal in the tone and wording of this post and commentary is scandalous to me.

Where is the compassionate witness to Christ? Where is the humility to love ones enemies?

Anonymous said...

You should be ashamed of yourself as a priest to say what you have about Cardinal Martini and for setting up the vitriol behind much of the posting on this thread.
Shame on you all.
Or perhaps this is what you thrive on.

Hickory said...

I applaud Fr Henry for publishing these comments. If the only comments printed were in support of the author, it wouldnt be much of a blog.