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<div class="m_920598832654601279gmail-post-title m_920598832654601279gmail-clearfix"><h1>Cardinal Sarah Endorses the “Notes” of Pope Benedict, “Martyr For the Truth”</h1><div><a href="http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2019/05/20/cardinal-sarah-endorses-the-%E2%80%9Cnotes%E2%80%9D-of-pope-benedict-%E2%80%9Cmartyr-for-the-truth%E2%80%9D/?refresh_ce" target="_blank">http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2019/05/20/cardinal-sarah-endorses-the-%E2%80%9Cnotes%E2%80%9D-of-pope-benedict-%E2%80%9Cmartyr-for-the-truth%E2%80%9D/?refresh_ce</a></div>
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<p><img class="m_920598832654601279gmail-aligncenter m_920598832654601279gmail-size-full m_920598832654601279gmail-wp-image-21656" src="http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/files/2019/05/Sarah2.jpg" alt="Sarah" width="257" height="192"></p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b><a href="http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2019/01/09/all-of-the-articles-from-2019/" target="_blank"><b></b></a>Cardinal <a href="http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351022bdc4.html?eng=y" target="_blank"><b>Robert Sarah</b></a>
took everyone by surprise on the evening of May 14 in Rome</b></span>, in the
auditorium of the cultural center of the church of St. Louis of the
French, when everyone was expecting him to present his latest book,
entitled “<a href="https://www.fayard.fr/documents-temoignages/le-soir-approche-et-deja-le-jour-baisse-9782213705217" target="_blank"><b>Le soir approche et déjà le jour baisse</b></a>,” on the Church’s crisis of faith and the decline of the West.
<p>Because instead, the cardinal said right away, “this evening I will
not talk about this book at all.” And the reason - he explained - is
that <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>“the fundamental ideas that I develop </b></span>in it <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>were illustrated,
presented, and demonstrated brilliantly last April by Pope Benedict XVI
in the ‘<a href="http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2019/04/11/joseph-ratzinger-on-sexual-abuse-in-the-church-%e2%80%9cthe-ultimate-reason-lies-in-the-absence-of-god%e2%80%9d/" target="_blank"><b>notes</b></a>’
that he had composed in view of</b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b> the summit of the presidents of the
episcopal conferences on sexual abuse convened in Rome by Pope Francis
from February 21 to 24.</b></span>”</p>
<p>Cardinal Sarah continued:</p>
<p>“His reflection has revealed itself to be a true source of light in
the night of faith that touches the whole Church. It has prompted
reactions that at times have bordered on intellectual hysteria. I have
felt personally struck by the wretchedness and coarseness of several
comments. We must be convinced <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>that once again the theologian Ratzinger,
whose stature is that of a true father and doctor of the Church, has
seen correctly and has touched <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">the deepest heart of the<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> Church</span>’s crisis</span>.</b></span></p>
<p>“I would therefore like us this evening to allow ourselves to be
enlightened by this demanding and luminous thought of his. How could we
summarize the thesis of Benedict XVI? Allow me to simply cite him: ‘<span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>Why<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">
</span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>has pedophilia reached such proportions? </b></span>In the final analysis,<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> the
reason is the absence of</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>God.</b></span>’ <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>This is</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b>the architectonic principle of
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the entire reflection of the pope emeritus</span>. </b></span>This is the conclusion of
his long argumentation. This must be the starting point of every
investigation of the scandal of sexual abuse committed by priests, in
order to propose an effective solution.</p>
<p>“The crisis of pedophilia in the Church, the scandalous and
distressing multiplication of abuse has one and only one ultimate cause:
the absence of God. Benedict XVI summarizes it in another formula that
is also clear. I quote: <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>‘It is only where <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">faith</span> no longer determines the
actions of man that such crimes are possible.’</b></span></p>
<p>“The theological genius of Joseph Ratzinger here touches not only
upon his experience as pastor of souls and as bishop, as father of his
priests, but also upon his personal, spiritual, and mystical experience.
He goes back to the fundamental cause, he allows us to understand what
the only way can be for getting out of the frightening and humiliating
scandal of pedophilia. <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>The crisis of sexual abuse is the symptom of a
deeper crisis: the crisis of<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> faith</span>, the crisis of <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the sense of God.”</span></b></span></p>
<p>The entire conference by Cardinal Sarah is reproduced, in French, on this other page of Settimo Cielo:</p>
<p><a href="http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2019/05/14/lumiere-dans-la-nuit/" target="_blank"><b>> Lumière dans la nuit. Au cœur de la crise des abus sur mineurs, le regard de Benoît XVI sur l’Église</b></a></p>
<p>And on National Catholic Reg<b>i</b>ster you can find a synthesis in English:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-sarah-praises-benedicts-notes-on-abuse-crisis" target="_blank"><b>> Cardinal Sarah Praises Benedict’s "Notes" on Abuse Crisis</b></a></p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Sarah goes over Joseph Ratinger’s analysis step by step, agreeing
with it completely. </b></span>He refutes in biting terms the criticisms that have
been brought against it. He emphasizes the effects of the crisis of
faith in the lives of priests and in the formation of seminarians.<span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b> He
stigmatizes</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>the false “guarantism” that, in tolerating doctrines
contrary to</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>the integrity of the faith,</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>also encourages practices
contrary to </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>chastity</b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>He invokes that profound respect for the
“Eucharistic body of the Lord”</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>withou</b></span>t <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>which</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b>there is no longer </b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>any
respect for “the pure and innocent bodies of children.”</b></span></p>
<p>And this is the finale, more than ever in unison with Ratzinger:</p>
<p>“To conclude, I say to you again with Pope Benedict: <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>yes, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">the Church
</span>is full of sinners</b></span>. But it is not in crisis, <b><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">we are the ones who are in
crisis. The devil wants to make us doubt. He wants to make us believe
that</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"> God </span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">abandons</span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">his Church</span></b>. But no, this is always ‘the field of God.
There are not only the weeds but also the good wheat of God. To proclaim
these two aspects with insistence does not stem at all from a false
apologetics: it is a service that it is necessary to render to the
truth,’ says Benedict XVI. He proves it, his prayerful and teaching
presence in our midst, in the heart of the Church, in Rome, he confirms
it for us. Yes, in our midst is the good wheat of God.</p>
<p><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>“Thank you, dear Pope Benedict, for being according to your motto a
cooperator with the truth, a servant of the truth. Your word encourages
and reassures us. You are a witness, a ‘martyr’ for the truth. Thank
you.”</b></span></p>
<p>No need to say that <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>this impassioned apologia for Ratzinger’s
analysis made by Cardinal Sarah</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>is the polar opposite of the gelid
welcome reserved for it by <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">Pope</span> Francis:</b></span></p>
<p><a href="http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2019/04/17/between-the-two-popes-there-is-%e2%80%9cfracture-%e2%80%9d-the-silence-of-francis-against-benedict/" target="_blank"><b>> Between the Two Popes There Is “Fracture.” The Silence of Francis Against Benedict</b></a></p>
<p>As for the most recent book by the cardinal, the third in a trilogy preceded by “<a href="http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351022bdc4.html?eng=y" target="_blank"><b>Dieu ou rien</b></a>” and “<a href="http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351385bdc4.html?eng=y" target="_blank"><b>La force du silence</b></a>,”
for now it is on sale in the original French edition. But by next
September it will also be in bookstores in Italian, English, Spanish,
German, Polish.</p><br></div><br>
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