catholics-from-switzerland

"It is no presumption to say that our educated Catholic laity is, unfortunately, too little acquainted with the safely stored treasures of Catholic tradition and learning regarding the Holy Scriptures. We fear also that too little time is given to biblical study and questions in many of our Catholic colleges and high schools. When the divine character and the historical authority, the genuineness and credibility of our holy books are more than ever attacked, even in popular literature, with the most insidious arguments of a pretended science and criticism, it behoves the educated Catholic to know something of the unanswerable proofs, by which the Catholic Church, the divinely appointed custodian and interpreter of God’s written Word, defends her claims to and her belief in the Sacred Scriptures. Nor should he forego the enhanced pleasure and profit in reading the sacred Books which he will assuredly derive from a better knowledge of their historical, geographical, political, and domestic surroundings. The wider the budding rose unfolds its fragrant leaves, the more abundantly will it drink of the refreshing morning-dew. So will the Christian soul open itself, by study and prayer, to receive in fuller measure the waters of eternal life, flowing, as from a rich fountain-head, from the Words of the Living God."

"The charge made by the Jansenists that the popes curtailed the rights of archbishops in order to increase and strengthen their own claim of universal primacy, is best refuted by the fact that the metropolitan authority in it struggles against encroaching primates and patriarchs or rival metropolitans, found no stronger support than that given by the Holy See. On the other hand, Rome had also to defend the native or acquired rights and privileges of suffragan bishops against usurping claims of their metropolitans. That the Holy See did not exceed its powers is further proved by the fact the Council of Trent restricted rights of metropolitans even more than the popes had done."

"If we manage to intensify coexistence between local faithful and immigrants and to make their cohabitation more gratifying, the pastoral care of migrants represents a great opportunity for the Catholic Church in Switzerland."

"What really attracts the will, and stirs it as a motive to action, is the goodness of the object presented by the intellect; for the rational appetite is by its nature an inclination to good. Hence it is that the desire of perfect happiness necessarily results from rational nature, and that the supreme good, clearly apprehended by the mind, cannot but be desired and embraced by the will. Hence, too, a law is not presented as obligatory, unless its observance is known to be necessarily connected with the attainment of the supreme good. It is, therefore, wrong to denounce the pursuit of happiness as immoral or repugnant to human nature. On the contrary, a paralysis of all human energy and utter despair would result from bidding man to act only from the motive of stern necessity inherent in law, or forbidding him ever to have his own good in view or to hope for blessedness."

"The contribution of historians was in fact indispensable. The Church wished to ask for forgiveness not in a disordered manner but with effective knowledge of that happened because from the truth there is nothing to fear. Moreover the Church wished to ask pardon from God and from mankind for the sins of some of her sons who, influenced by the mentality of the times, may have used violence in the name of truth, and while asking for forgiveness she recognises that the sins of her sons are her own."

"As Bishop of St. Cloud, he was extremely active, and renowned as a pulpit orator."

"You know, as nuncio, as a representative of the Holy Father, I am saddened and ashamed, that when in a neighboring country crosses are erected, it is bishops and priests of all people who think they have to criticize the decision. That is a disgrace! That is unacceptable."

"I believe that if you can involve people more, there will be more trust. And that can't harm anyone."

"An inner fatigue has grown in me that has gradually deprived me of the momentum and serenity needed to lead the Church of Lugano. The public aspects, the representation, the financial and administrative management, have become unbearable for me, despite the valuable presence of collaborators to whom my gratitude is due. I tell you this with an open heart: I can no longer imagine being in the position I have tried to hold until now."

"In all frankness, I was hoping that the choice would not fall on me. What the Pope wants, you cannot refuse. It is quite frightening, and the only reason that I'm not too afraid is that when God calls he also helps, and I know that because I have noticed that in my life already."

"The Kingdom will never come in this life. The Kingdom, in its totality, its splendor, will come with Jesus’ advent at the end of time. But, meanwhile, one builds, and sows. And the evangelizer, in seeing what is positive in each culture, as well as in revealing its limits and contradictions, tries, illumined by the Gospel, to improve it. We see it in the history of the Church."

"I would love to be present, in the office or as emeritus, in the celebrations that will mark the end of the works. But I am far more interested in giving all my strength to reinforce the unity of a diocese that I found quite divided."

"In spite of the diversity of national situations and - within a Country such as Switzerland - of individual dioceses, we all need to be encouraged in hope. The only hope is Christ. However, the Synod invites us to see Him alive in His Church. Therefore also the Church must become a sign and source of hope in this world."

"My first feeling, after the death of Pope John Paul II, is of thanks to God for having given him to us. In such an important period for the history of the Church and the world, he has been God’s blessing for everyone Two images remain embedded in my memory and in my heart. I see him in prison as he forgives his aggressor and I see him at the feet of the western wall of the Temple of Jerusalem, an encouragement for all those who promote interreligious dialogue."

"We should never give up whatever happens because there is someone real stronger than every political power, and that is the strength of the risen Lord,"

"Although we may be different in our look, ethnicity, culture, and clothing we are all the same and want the same – faith, hope and love. Our beliefs bind us so closely, that even though we come from various backgrounds we are able to live with each other in peace and harmony."

"Above all, our service requires a passion for unity and a love for the Church as it was founded by Christ and as He wanted it. This passion drives us to continuous study, it permits us to learn through experience, to explore possible new paths, as well as to exercise the virtue of patience since the times are not ours but are the Holy Spirit's."

"Fundamentalism, especially the kind which appropriates itself of a religious matrix, is never acceptable. It is a stance exploited merely as a means to justify extremism or even failure of a personal life or vision of the future."

"It is clear that Pope Francis wants to let us live and survive. He even said, to those who want to hear him, that he would never harm the Fraternity. He has also said that we are Catholics. He refused to condemn us for schism, saying, ‘They are not schismatics, they are Catholics,’ even though he later used a somewhat enigmatic term, namely that we are on the path towards full communion."

"We have souls to save. The Church is not new. If we follow what the Church has always done, and what the saints have always done, we are assured of being on the safe path to Heaven. In all times, the Church has considered novelties dangerous and the fruit of pride. We might, today, say that there is a sickness for novelty and change. But God does not change. The Faith does not change. The Commandments do not change. Be faithful to what the Church has always taught in her catechisms and you will be assured of being on the right side of this fight for God and His glory."

"We already speak of the invalidity of many Masses. But to say that all Masses are invalid does not correspond to the line of the Fraternity. This is something we have never said. In our discussions with Rome, we have always emphasised that we recognise the validity of the new Mass, if it is celebrated according to the books and with the intention of doing what the Church is mandated to do. In this regard, a distinction must be made between valid and good."

"The lifting of the excommunication, together with the Motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI on the old Mass, is an important, truly important sign for our little lifeboat. That is why I speak of joy and satisfaction. Interviewer: Where and when did you learn of the decree? Mgr. Fellay: I learned of it a few days ago in Rome, in the office of a cardinal, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, the president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission."

"(About Mater Populi Fidelis) I would dare to use the word ‘pitiful.’ It is an insult to God. It’s only God who produces grace in us. But God wants his creatures to collaborate and cooperate in his work. Precisely because He made us free, He wants us to make use of that freedom. And more than that He wants us to merit, He wants us to work. Our Lady at Fatima said there are so many souls who fall into hell because no one prays and makes sacrifices for them. Which means if you pray and make sacrifices you can really save souls. If that’s true for any souls, how much more for the Blessed Virgin Mary? She had been chosen by God to be His mother."

"I repeat, we have never separated ourselves from the Church."

"Interviewer: Who in the Vatican worked hardest to reach this solution?}} Mgr. Fellay: Certainly Cardinal Hoyos, who is head of the Commission responsible for relations between the Holy See and the Fraternity of St. Pius X. But above all, Pope Benedict XVI. I understood this from the first audience I had with him shortly after his election. Although he reproached us, the Holy Father's tone was gentle, truly paternal."

"When Pope Francis was elected, I thought: now comes the excommunication. But it was the opposite: Cardinal Mueller wanted to have us excommunicated, and Pope Francis refused. He told me personally: ‘I will not condemn you.’ Reconciliation will come. Our Mother Church is incredibly divided at the moment. The conservatives want us, and they have said so in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The German bishops absolutely do not want us. Rome has to deal with all these elements, we understand that. If we were simply accepted as we are, there would be a war in the Church. There is a fear that we will triumph. The Pope told journalists: ‘I will make sure that it is not a triumph.’"

"We both agree that there are already a number of practical provisions in place that make schism practically impossible. That is, in practice, in our everyday actions, we express and show Rome our submission, the fact that we recognise these authorities, and this not only at Mass, not only by naming the Pope and the local bishop in the canon of the Mass, but also in other ways. There is the example of the Pope himself, who has given us the power to hear confessions. There are also legal acts: it is a little complicated to explain, but it can happen that a priest commits canonical crimes, and in such cases we refer to Rome, which grants us the faculty and sometimes even requires us to issue a judgement on such cases. So these are really normal relationships. It is not just a matter of jurisdiction over confessions, there is a whole range of things involved."

"The rules express perfectly the spirit of the Church; but they also contain some important characteristics of our Founder’s personality. The rules are an excellent instrument for a true reform of the Church for our time. They are essentially a response to overcome the deep crisis in the Church, namely, by fostering a true understanding of the priesthood of Jesus Christ, a lively faith, and a missionary spirit."

"We have an excellent relationship. As soon as Pope Francis) hears that we are in Rome, he opens all doors for us. He often offers us his help, even in minor matters. Once he said to us: ‘I have problems when I do something good for you. I help Protestants and Anglicans... why shouldn't I also help Catholics?’ Some want to prevent reconciliation. We are a disruptive factor in the Church."

"With Pope Francis we do not see this attachment to either liturgy or ancient discipline; one could even say that the opposite is true, manifested through many contrary statements, and this is what makes understanding such benevolence even more difficult and complicated. I think there are at least several possible explanations, but I confess that I do not have the final word on the matter. One explanation is Pope Francis' view of everything that is marginalised, what he calls the “existential peripheries”. I would not be surprised if he considered us one of these peripheries to which he clearly gives his preference."

"We have never said that the Council directly professed heresies. But the wall of protection against error was removed, and thus error was allowed to manifest itself. The faithful need protection. This is the constant struggle of the militant Church to defend the faith."

"The new Mass has shortcomings and hides dangers. Of course, not every new Mass is directly scandalous, but the repeated celebration of the new Mass leads to a weak faith and even to its loss. We see how every day there are fewer and fewer priests who still believe in the Real Presence."

"What the Society of Saint Pius X has done since its foundation and will continue to do, it has done and will do solely for the good of the Church. Even the episcopal consecrations of 1988 were done for that purpose: for the good of the Church and for our survival. Archbishop Lefebvre had to, I repeat, had to ensure continuity."

"Hans Urs von Balthasar is the only one in our century to have raised the question of the essential “form” of Catholicism, a form that Balthasar finds more often in the works of certain poets or writers than in those of theologians."

"In his Gospel, St. John, through long and deep contemplation, acknowledges Jesus to be the Logos of God. In his epistles he points entirely away from himself toward Christ. Finally, in the Apocalypse, in the vision of the Lamb of God, Old and New Testaments are united, and the whole drama of salvation is summed up."

"There were many mystical phenomena in Adrienne's life—stigmata, transferences, the radiating of light, levitation, speaking with tongues, and other things of that kind, but they all occurred in a totally unemphatic way. They were mere accompaniments to show forth the heart of the matter: what was to be passed on to the Church, invisibly through prayer and strenuous penance, visibly through the dictated works. The criterion of her mysticism's authenticity lies primarily, if not exclusively, in the quality of what she did and what she had and has to say."

"God deserves more love than the world gives him. Men, too, need more love than they receive from the world. Our community wants to take her place where these two needs meet."

"In Maximus all the streams of the Greek patristic tradition flow together in synthesis. At the same time, with real originality, there is much from within that tradition that he takes to a higher level. But the course of this saint's life impressed me even more than his teaching. Once again, like Athanasius, one man was able to defend orthodox Christology against a whole empire. A Byzantine joins forces with Pope St. Martin I in Rome and finally suffers martyrdom for the true faith. This is the summit of that unity of doctrine and life which marks the whole patristic age; speculation and mysticism of the greatest subtlety are wedded to a soberly and consciously grasped martyrdom. In St. Maximus we can see in the Catholica what Kierkegaard found within the individual."

"Christ's Passion, viewed from within, is of a diversity that the biblical texts and images leave hidden; but numerous mystics through the centuries have been allowed to experience a great deal of it in ever-varying aspects—if only by drops, as it were, compared with the Son of God."

"What deserves to be called mysticism—not in the vague sense of the history and philosophy of religion, but rather in the Catholic-ecclesial sense—occurs when God's Word is heard, not only with exegetical and theological understanding, but with the whole heart, the whole being, when one is steadfast before the self-disclosure of the heart of God despite fire and night."

"The Mystical Body of Christ does not rest on abstract principles but on concrete persons who have missions, or on missions which are personal."

"Balthasar said that a true theologian is on his knees; if you write like Hans von Balthasar did, a fifteen volume work, his must be calloused."

"Love alone is credible; nothing else can be believed, and nothing else ought to be believed. This is the achievement, the “work” of faith: to recognize this absolute prius, which nothing else can surpass; to believe that there is such a thing as love, absolute love, and that there is nothing higher or greater than it; to believe against all the evidence of experience (“credere contra fidem” like “sperare contra spem”), against every “rational” concept of God, which thinks of him in terms of impassibility or, at best, totally pure goodness, but not in terms of this inconceivable and senseless act of love."

"The exalted moment of love is always full of promise: it is not closed in on itself, but open; we see its natural fruitfulness revealed in the child, even if its spiritual fruitfulness remains hidden."

"The inner reality of love can be recognized only by love."

"Only by presupposing God's prior and inconceivable forgiveness can the limitations of human good will be transcended, and only thus can the danger of human pride be avoided."

"Charisms are not distributed at random but are dispensed by God to supply what is needful and lacking in his Church at each historical moment. If they are from God, they usually do not flow with the latest fashionable trend but much more likely contain an antidote and remedy for the perils of the time."

"Adrienne von Speyr has brought mysticism back from the clandestine existence into which, increasingly misunderstood, indeed scorned, it had been exiled and silenced by official theology and proclamation and has returned it to the center of salvation history."

"Adrienne had a very high spirituality with many mystical manifestations (including stigmata). By conversing assiduously with her and noting down her confidences, B. slowly developed his own theological vision."

"There were many mystical phenomena in Adrienne's life—stigmata, transferences, the radiating of light, levitation, speaking with tongues, and other things of that kind, but they all occurred in a totally unemphatic way. They were mere accompaniments to show forth the heart of the matter: what was to be passed on to the Church, invisibly through prayer and strenuous penance, visibly through the dictated works. The criterion of her mysticism's authenticity lies primarily, if not exclusively, in the quality of what she did and what she had and has to say."