SYNODGATE – Five Cardinals Book stolen from participants’ mailboxes at last year’s Synod on Family

It seems that this story about #Synodgate is being picked up by lots of people.

What will be really interesting to watch is who does not pick this up.

_____ ORIGINAL Published on: Feb 25, 2015 @ 9:32

I have wanted to write about this for soooooo long now.

Kathnet broke this, in German HERE.

Remember the Five Cardinals Book™? Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church helped to turn the tide – in a good way – during last October’s Synod of Bishops.  It was simultaneously released in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish.  It is going to be issued in: Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Croatian, Slovak, and Czech. It contains essays of five cardinals, of the archbishop secretary of the Vatican congregation for the Oriental Churches, and of three scholars direct at the notions suggested by Walter Card. Kasper in the opening discourse of the consistory in February 2014.  It blew the Kasper proposals and arguments out of the water.

You will also remember that Synod members were up in arms because of the manipulations and machinations of the staff of the Synod office.  Remember all the controversies about whether texts of speeches would be released?  About what could be reported?  About how the mid-term report was produced?  About certain strange paragraphs that didn’t reflect the discussions of the Synod?

There’s more.

Here is something of the story that you don’t know, because at the time it couldn’t be told.

The people who crafted the Five Cardinals Book™ wanted to make sure that Synod members had copies, at least in English or Italian, as the Synod was starting up.  Therefore, they sent copies to every member of the Synod (quite a few) through the Italian post to each member’s personal mailbox near the Synod Hall which was set up individually by the Vatican Post.  Remember, Vatican Post is the postal service of a sovereign nation that has laws.  The Book was sent in individually addressed and franked envelopes.  They weren’t just envelopes with someone’s name on them shoved into the slots by whomever.  They were properly sent postal items.

When the organizers of the Synod realized what had been sent to the members of the Synod, someone removed all the envelopes from the members’ mail boxes!

That’s called theft.   That’s called illegal.   They stole people’s mail.  Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t that a crime in, I think, every country?   The Vatican City State… that’s a country… isn’t it.

That’s how frightening the Book is to those who want to overturn the Church’s practice and, therefore, teaching.

The Kathnet piece, by  Manfred Ferrari, indicates that the heist was ordered by Card. Baldisseri, who is the head of the office of the Synod of Bishops.

At the end of the piece, Ferrari adds:

[…]

“This episode took place in the Vatican and not in the Kremlin. As I told it to a friend who, in those days, traveled back to Africa, he smiled at me mildly and said, “Manfred, what’s bothering you. Here in South Sudan things aren’t any better … “

There were inquiries made about what happened to the Book.  Only a few of the Synod participants out of the some 200 received their copies… before they were boosted.  The Governor of the Vatican City State would have a legal obligation to look into the situation.  No?

I cannot underscore enough how important the Five Cardinals Book™ was during the Synod.  It is still important.  It is still under attack.  

The Five Cardinals Book™ addressed the foundations of the odd proposals made about Communion for the divorced and remarried, and it demolished them.  Since then, pretty much everything that has come out in favor of the Kasper proposal has not actually dealt with the arguments in the Book.

Instead, they just repeat the same ol’ same ol’ and then suggest that anyone who doesn’t agree is the enemy of mercy and of Pope Francis.  [CUE DIABOLICAL SURPRISE MUSIC HERE]

Do you have your copy yet?

Are you in these USA: HERE

You can get it on Kindle.

Don’t have a Kindle yet?  What on earth are you waiting for?  USA HERE (for one type, a Paperwhite, you can surf to others) and UK HERE

Also available now in the UK! HERE – UK KINDLE HERE

REMINDER of what is in this pivotal book.

Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church contains nine chapters:

  • The Argument in Brief- Robert Dodaro, O.S.A.
  • Dominical Teaching on Divorce and Remarriage: The Biblical Data – Paul Mankowski, S.J.
  • Divorce and Remarriage in the Early Church: Some Historical and Cultural Reflections – John M. Rist
  • Separation, Divorce, Dissolution of the Bond, and Remarriage: Theological and Practical Approaches of the Orthodox Churches – Archbishop Cyril Vasil’, S.J.
  • Unity and Indissolubility of Marriage: From the Middle Ages to the Council of Trent – Walter Cardinal Brandmüller
  • Testimony to the Power of Grace: On the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Debate concerning the Civilly Remarried and the Sacraments – Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller
  • Sacramental Ontology and the Indissolubility of Marriage – Carlo Cardinal Caffarra
  • The Divorced and Civilly Remarried and the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance  – Velasio Cardinal De Paolis, C.S.
  • The Canonical Nullity of the Marriage Process as the Search for the Truth – Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke

 
UPDATE:

In Spanish…. Permanecer en la verdad de Cristo: Matrimonio y Comunión en la Iglesia Católica (Spanish Edition)

If you are in SPAIN or EU

spain remaining

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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85 Comments

  1. I’d never have thought the extent of such skullduggery would characterize the organizers of the Extraordinary Synod. Over at pewsitter.com, there’s an appellation being assigned to such conduct: “The Pontificate of Thugs.”

    http://www.pewsitter.com/view_news_id_197063.php

  2. HeatherPA says:

    Don’t they see if they are breaking the Ten Commandments to further their agenda that there is something diabolical about their agenda?

    This makes me so sad.

  3. CradleRevert says:

    Wow. How come this couldn’t be talked about until now?

  4. Elizabeth D says:

    Unreal. Maybe Baldisseri prayed for the intercession of St Dismas the Good Thief for a dispensation from the 7th Commandment? Wait, Dismas was only a thief BEFORE he met the One who said remarriage after divorce is adultery.

    This is dramatic news and it is impressive the self control involved in so many concerned people not revealing it publicly.

    Will Cardinal Baldisseri say like Saint Dismas “we have been condemned justly… Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom”?

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  5. CPT TOM says:

    Pope Francis needs to stomp on the responsible parties immediately. If the accusations are proven to be true, then Card. Baldisseri should be barred from having anything to do with the Synod. Dishonesty of this kind severely damages the credibility of the Synod and the Papacy. The Holy Father needs to make sure that the Synod needs to be seen and be completely above board so not to distract from what could be a HIGHLY controversial event, at least in the media.

  6. Legisperitus says:

    Can we take up a collection to mail the book to all the participants again before the synod reconvenes?

  7. Bosco says:

    Manfred Ferrari indicates that the heist was ordered by Card. Baldisseri.

    Shocking! It can only be considered heartening in the sense that matters seem to be reaching critical mass very very quickly.

    “… the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from enemies outside, but arises from sin in the Church.” Pope Benedict XVI remarking on the Third Secret of Fatima

  8. iPadre says:

    “The smoke of Satan has entered the Church.” And he’s running scared because his time is short. Our Lady of Fatima is going to crush his proud head.

  9. Andrew says:

    The title of this post gives the impression that only five books were stolen.

  10. Suzanne Carl says:

    So this week we’ve heard about theft, and vile profanity against a Cardinal by a priest. Dark days indeed.

  11. SimonDodd says:

    “The Governor of the Vatican City State would have a legal obligation to look into the situation. No?”

    That would be Giuseppe Card. Bertello, and will he look into it? He might suddenly learn that his talents, too, are needed elsewhere. People who make the wrong enemies in the Vatican sure seem to have a way of suddenly becoming indispensable for positions in which they will be less nettlesome.

  12. crickally says:

    When I first saw this I thought it was something from “Eye of the Tiber.” I’m now convinced it’s not satire. This is really scary; that this could happen at the Vatican. Who, really, is on the Throne of St Peter? I’m reminded of the Harry Potter story in which Professor Alastar Moody is appointed to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogswort. It later turns out that a “Deatheater” has assumed Moody’s form; the real Moody is locked up in a magic trunk. So who really is on the Throne of St Peter?. Is the real Jorge Bergoglio locked up in a trunk in some Vatican basement?

  13. JesusFreak84 says:

    99.999% sure that, in the US, this would be a FELONY >.>

  14. jbpolhamus says:

    Believe it or not, this is consummately appropriate:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfosbBc_FyA

    I think it also gives an accurate portrayal of the mental processes of ecclesial modernists when it comes to their perception of tradition, established doctrine, and dogma. Does that group include Francis? I wish I could be sure that it didn’t.

  15. ofHippo says:

    Please note: after reading about the book on this very blog I ordered the copy and shared the link far and wide. I don’t know when you posted first about this book Fr. Z but I pre-ordered it then from Amazon. It did not arrive to me until December- well after the Synod. If souls could but understand that this is not about the Communion for the divorced- it is about normalizing Homosexuality and stating this is no longer a sin. What of these poor souls who are being enabled (pastoral?) by their Catholic leaders of the cloth to their own destruction. In our current culture of “what’s in it for me” it begs the question how rampant is the homosexuality in the hierarchy of the Church?

  16. YoungLatinMassGuy says:

    Vade Retro Satana.

    I’m Praying for the upcoming Synod.

    In my darker moments, I wonder: How much fun do the demons in Hell have with unfaithful Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.

  17. acardnal says:

    That’s called theft. That’s called illegal. They stole people’s mail. Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t that a crime in, I think, every country? The Vatican City State… that’s a country… isn’t it.

    “I’m shocked, shocked to find that [stealing] is going on in here.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbPi00k_ME

  18. acardnal says:

    Actually, after further consideration, I think one of Fr. Z’s favorite videos is more appropriate in this case:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssnw2GA657s

  19. Joseph-Mary says:

    indicates that the heist was ordered by Card. Baldisseri, who is the head of the office of the Synod of Bishops.
    There are FAR too many men like this who are being appointed by the pope. Far too many. Some are caught in their underhandedness and lies; some are spouting off heresy with impunity or heterodoxy at the very least. Think of C. Marx, Kasper, Wuerl, and appointments like Fr. Volpi and others.
    It is downright scary! Cannot trust what is coming from Rome these days.

  20. Fr Francis says:

    Better still buy two copies of the book and give one copy to your pastor.

  21. kpoterack says:

    Interesting. I have taken the effort to send copies of the book to the bishops in their home dioceses. I have sent out a little over 30 copies in English and French. I have covered the four American delegates, and parts of Africa, and some scattered places (e.g. Sri Lanka – got a nice thank you note from Cardinal Ranjith). If others want to cover Europe, Central and South America, Asia, etc., be my guest. I don’t think anyone will be offended if they get two copies. I have also sent out the Fr. Soba/Kampowski “The Gospel of the Family” book to bishops which is a little easier to read. I would say 70% of the bishops have written back thanking me.

    Make it a Lenten spiritual work of mercy.

  22. Titus says:

    Hmm, the Vatican City State’s laws are not all online; only “some” are: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/legislazione-e-normativa/leggi-e-decreti.html

    I don’t see anything in the excerpts about tampering with the mail, but there is a long AAS bit from the wake of the Lateran Treaty, and I don’t read Italian. There might also be an implicit enactment on the topic contained in a treaty ratified by the VCS. It could be difficult to tell if there’s a specific crime, beyond petty theft, implicated.

  23. “The Kathnet piece, by Manfred Ferrari, indicates that the heist was ordered by Card. Baldisseri, who is the head of the office of the Synod of Bishops.”

    Wasn’t it Card. Baldisseri who stated that the pope had approved the so-called “interim report” that allegedly had been prepared before the Synod even started?

    “I cannot underscore enough how important the Five Cardinals Book™ was during the Synod. ”

    Does this mean that the synod bishops some received copies in time for the Synod, despite the interception of the copies that had been mailed to them?

  24. codefiend says:

    Who’s surprised anymore?
    Waiting patiently for the 3 days.

  25. Robbie says:

    A previous poster suggested the Pope needs to stomp on the responsible parties immediately. But knowing how closely Baldisseri and the Pope have worked on the Synod, are we certain the Pope wasn’t aware of this at the time?

  26. HeatherPA says:

    That pewsitter article is about as depressing as this post is.

    It truly is the time of Satan’s fury. You would think these learned theologians would know this, if a housewife can figure it out, for crying out loud.

    Our Lady of Akita predicted all of this, too.

    Also, 2017 is the 100 year anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, not to mention when Obama is supposed to leave office, though I am not holding my breath for that.

  27. Dundonianski says:

    This latest revelation following so closely after the “Is there an agenda at work behind Pope Francis’ back?” adds yet more drama to the ongoing events in the Vatican. What staggers me are the (blessedly diminishing) comments that somehow Francis must be blissfully unaware or just naive as to the direction of travel of his own papacy. This Lenten time is arguably the most challenging ever in my near seven decades, I pray now more than ever for delivery from this disorientation.

  28. Stephen D says:

    The Vatican is a member of the ‘Universal Postal Union’, an arm of the United Nations which imposes standards on its member states. These standards must surely include provisions that post will be delivered and, that once delivered, will not be taken away without the consent of the addressee.

  29. SimonDodd says:

    CPT TOM says:
    “Pope Francis needs to stomp on the responsible parties immediately. If the accusations are proven to be true, then Card. Baldisseri should be barred from having anything to do with the Synod…The Holy Father needs to make sure that the Synod needs to be seen and be completely above board….”

    If it was done, I don’t know why one might think that it was not done with Francis’ full knowledge and assent. I have seen nothing that makes me think that Card. Baldisseri does anything on his own but rather does just what the Pope who chose him commands him to do (cf. Jn 12:49).

  30. Kathleen10 says:

    The church parallels the secular world in many ways. I don’t know if that was always so, but it appears to be now. The progressives know their time is now. They aren’t going to waste a moment. All indications are these are hard core sons of anarchy who are going to do whatever it takes to get what they want. I have never thought this is about Holy Communion for divorced/remarried, although these men seem to want to remove any notions of guarding the Holy Sacrament so that Jesus is not received unworthily. They don’t care about that because they don’t believe it. No, the larger prize is for homosexuality. It has many adherents and proponents, clearly, both inside and outside of the church, and they are perceiving they are getting close to their goal, the acceptance of homosexuality as a consideration in the Catholic church. The breakdown of the traditional family, the foundation of all societies, is also appealing. All of this decays moral judgment making, anathema to them, and eventually, will make pederasty within reach. There is little more evil than the corruption of a child, and as horrible a thought as this is, it is appealing to many, not a few. The smoke of Satan indeed.
    We can expect ruthless behavior and acts. We can expect subterfuge and fantastic manipulations. We can expect skullduggery and “reappointments”. What we’ve already seen and heard is illuminating, but not in a good way. What liberals fear, they silence. Thanks in large part to media, for the first time probably ever the laity is on to it before the fact, not after.
    We need divine intervention.

  31. Grumpy Beggar says:

    JesusFreak84 says:

    “99.999% sure that, in the US, this would be a FELONY” >.>

    In Canada too – (as long a Canada Post remains a crown corporation) – tampering with someone’s mail is a federal offense. I believe that is understood as hiding, keeping, opening someone else’s mail – without permission (it goes without saying that stealing someone’s mail would be w/o permission). One site was posting that this particular crime, committed here, can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00

    The bigger issue of course, is that anyone who stooped to committing such a deed, has surely missed their vocation in life. Sinning is one thing. . . deliberately sabotaging the holy Catholic faith from the inside though – really increases the ouch factor. I wonder if they got paid to do it. What’s the going rate these days ? . . . I guess the equivalent value of 30 pieces of silver ?

  32. Mike says:

    Dishonesty of this kind severely damages the credibility of the Synod and the Papacy.

    That’s putting it mildly. More accurate might be to say that it compounds the severe damage already done to both, possibly beyond repair (at least to this Synod and this Papacy).

    The Church is fortunate in the guarantee that the Holy Spirit will never abandon Her. Further chastisements from that Spirit, however, seem inevitable. May we ever grow in acceptance of God’s adorable Will and in docility to the grace of conversion!

  33. jparias.soto says:

    If anyone is interested in the Spanish Edition of the Five Cardinals Book, you can get it HERE (USA).

    [And if you are in SPAIN or EU…]
    spain remaining

  34. Pingback: Gangsters | The American Catholic

  35. Pingback: Meet The Papal Thieves | Mundabor's Blog

  36. Traductora says:

    Is it absolutely certain that this is true? [I am certain.] If it is, I think we have to admit that the game has moved to another level and in fact did so last fall.

    It’s hard to believe how this Pope and his cronies have done so much to destroy the Church and done it so fast. One almost has the feeling that they sabotaged BXVI and had a plan…

  37. Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick says:

    The Vatican is now officially a Third World country and a Failed State.

  38. Elizabeth D says:

    CatholicCulture.org has an article up about this based mainly on a Newsmax story by Edward Pentin, but the CatholicCulture article includes additional information from Fr Fessio of Ignatius Press : “Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, the editor of Ignatius Press, which published the American edition of the book, confirms that dozens of books were received by the Vatican City governorate, but never reached the prelates to whom they were addressed.”

  39. Mandy P. says:

    99.999% sure that, in the US, this would be a FELONY >.>

    ^^^^

    And you are 100% correct. Tampering with the mail and mail theft is a federal offense in the US. You go to prison for that mess.

  40. Pingback: Wednesday, February 25, 2015: First Week of Lent | The Quarterdeck

  41. Suburbanbanshee says:

    This is the kind of stuff that some kids with no good moral development do at college, where they think it’s very brave to trash fliers they don’t agree with, or throw away newspapers that are given out for free. Often they find out that the real world doesn’t agree that this is “harmless” or “justified.”

    But adult Catholic laypeople, or even more, adult Catholic clergy, are expected to know better. We need to pray for people like that, because they are not grownups in the faith.

  42. Bea says:

    Why am I not surprised?
    Of course, the Pope must have known. [No. Not, “of course”.]
    Their vision of Christ’s Church exists only in their heads. [“their”?] The heresy of modernism has spread its ugly cancer throughout the Church and even well-meaning prelates have drunk of the Kool-Aid.
    But God will not be mocked.
    I’m just waiting for the ax to fall, as lines are being drawn. [What is this, Tolkien?]
    At least the “pus” is coming out and we can see just who is infected and infecting the loss of Faith in our Beloved Church.

  43. Traductora says:

    OK. Well, I guess the question is what we do next.

    I think, incidentally, that there are many good but perhaps lesser-known bishops, especially in a big country like the US, who mean well but are themselves very confused and intimidated by what is happening. There are some true lions – and it might interest people here to know that many Europeans, especially in the Romance language areas, regard the US bishops as the standard bearers of orthodoxy – but many more who are not bad and would even have been very good under BXVI and are now simply confused and intimidated. If we ned to pray for anybody, it should be for our bishops.

    The bishop is the teacher of his diocese, and I honestly don’t think they know what they will be asked to teach next.

  44. jameeka says:

    Were there any rules against sending the book electronically to the Synod members? That is how I think a lot of us got it before the Synod… [Easier said than done. How do you get their email addresses? Do they all actually look at email?]

  45. CharlesG says:

    I can’t read German, so don’t know if Kathnet presents any evidence for its statement that Cardinal Baldisseri was involved. If there is evidence, I don’t think this is a light matter that should be dropped. Personnally, I don’t understand why there is not more outrage over the fact that Cardinal Baldisseri’s instructions regarding the upcoming Synod state that responses should not attempt to apply Catholic doctrine. To try to insulate discussion of Catholic “pastoral” ministry from Catholic doctrine is utterly beyond the pale in my view, and should be denounced from the rooftops.

  46. cajunpower says:

    The Synod was supposed to be a time for freewheeling discussion without “taboos.” I don’t really understand why the Synod would rehash settled doctrine, but whatever.

    That being said, it’s been clear – and this story confirms – that there are indeed taboos in the minds of some who pull strings at the Synod, namely Catholic doctrine.

    If Baldisseri is behind this theft/mail fraud, then hopefully the cause of orthodoxy will be boosted. Between he and Kasper (to paraphrase: ‘the Africans should not tell us what to do’), the fruits of the heterodox camp sure seem rotten.

  47. Gentillylace says:

    (Almost) $14 for an ebook? The sample is excellent, but the price is too rich for my budget. If the ebook’s cost was under $5, I would buy it in an instant.

    [I’ll make sure they get feedback about that price and see if I can, through channels, get them to lower it.]

  48. Gregory DiPippo says:

    I propose a new book project: “Remaining in the Truth of Moses”, to address modern re-interpretations of the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  49. Nicolas Bellord says:

    I am not particularly surprised and I am afraid this kind of behaviour is nothing new. In 2007 I had occasion to make a request for penal action under Canon 1417.1. As one of the defendants was a Cardinal it had to go straight to Cardinal Bertone. I took advice from a Canon lawyer. One piece of advice was that I should bind the supporting documentary so as to make it difficult to just drop in the shredder. I duly mailed it but never heard anything more other than somebody telling me on the grapevine that someone in the clergy back in England had dismissed it as scurrilous. Evidently the judicial system in the Vatican is about what one might expect from some South American banana republic.

  50. Deacon Augustine says:

    This gives a whole new slant to the term “Robber Synod”!!

    I would love to know how come everybody seems so certain that the good, honest, truthful school of Baldisseri, Forte, Kasper et al. were behind this. Do they have form for lying, cheating and misrepresentation? Surely, this is not a gang of common, thieving, reprobate criminals we are dealing with, is it?

    I’m sure the Holy Father would not have sanctioned such criminal conduct, but the fact that the Vatican is starting to resemble the princely court of the Borgia Pope reflects very badly on this papacy. Let us all write to him asking that Baldisseri be removed from the Synod secretariat in order that he has a chance to re-establish some credibility.

  51. James says:

    What Legisperitus & Mike said.

    This stuff is regrettable, but compared to some of what’s happened in the past it’s (fairly) minor. The Cadaver Synod of 897 was bad enough, but it would have been a lot worse if it had been recorded on video & posted on YouTube. Somehow the past seems less scandalous if it’s very remote. Still, the fact that this can happen in what is supposedly the Church of Christ does suggest that all is very far well from well – but to whom is that news ?

  52. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    What avenues are there for pursuing a criminal investigation? In some countries, for some (alleged) crimes, the (alleged) victim has to file a report or complaint or whatever. Presumably it would not hurt if all Synod participants were encouraged each to file such a report to the effect that ‘it appears that a copy of Remaining in the Truth of Christ in an individually addressed and franked envelope was stolen from my mailbox’. It would also be interesting to encourage all participants actually doing so to publicly state they had done (reports can ‘get lost’ or ‘misfiled’ at the Police Department…).

  53. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    Edward Pentin reports, “The synod secretariat nevertheless claims they were mailed ‘irregularly,’ without going through the Vatican post office, and so had a right to intercept them.

    “The book’s mailers strongly refute this, saying they were legitimately mailed. Some copies were successfully delivered.”

    http://www.newsmax.com/EdwardPentin/Pope-Francis-Cardinal-Walter-Kasper-Cardinal-Gerhard-Muller-Vatican/2015/02/25/id/626811/

    Presumably, if the “synod secretariat […] claims” that, there must be a paper- or e-mail-trail of some sort: where and when was this claimed, in exactly what words, and in what context?

    [The books were mailed, as I indicated through the Italian postal service. From an Italian post office. There was nothing odd about how they were sent.]

  54. Mariana2 says:

    It says on Kath.net that Baldisseri was furious that two or three books had in fact been delivered and ‘politely’ had asked the governor (‘Gouverneur’) of the Vatican to sack the postmaster. As Father Z is convinced of the truth of the report, this makes the whole thing even more astounding.

  55. cpttom says:

    Simon Dodd.

    I hesitate to jump to that conclusion as I have no information to substantiate that. It isn’t a far jump, but one that I cannot make at this point.

    That said, this is why in the Army when I was an Officer we were told to avoid scandal, and even the appearance of scandal by you or your subordinates. Reason for that is that it all comes back to you. Either you did it, knew about it, or should have known about it. If you did it, stop it. If you know about it, stop it and make it right. And if you should have known about it stop and correct it, and accept the repercussions for your actions. I guess they don’t teach high level prelates this kind of thing in the Catholic Church?

    SimonDodd says:
    25 February 2015 at 3:20 pm

    If it was done, I don’t know why one might think that it was not done with Francis’ full knowledge and assent. I have seen nothing that makes me think that Card. Baldisseri does anything on his own but rather does just what the Pope who chose him commands him to do (cf. Jn 12:49).

  56. cpttom says:

    After thinking about it, Card. Baldisseri Should be resigning on his own….if he had any honor or decency. Then again he ordered this crime, so yet, forget that. He should still do this on his own and be posted somewhere nice, like, I don’t know Western Ukraine, the Aleutian Islands, or an nice monastery in North Scotland.

  57. Aquinas Gal says:

    You won’t hear anything about this in the mainstream media.
    But imagine the outcry if Cardinal Kasper’s book had been mailed and stolen!

  58. Pingback: Must Read! Cardinal Baldisseri orders postal theft of Faithful Book sent to Synod Participants! | Biblical False Prophet

  59. acardnal says:

    Cardinal Raymond Burke spoke about this book – one in which he contributed material – in a recent video. He also spoke about what he is doing now and about the upcoming Synod.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afN14iDRaqE&feature=youtu.be

  60. govmatt says:

    Does it say something about the sad state of affairs when this doesn’t surprise me in the least?

  61. chantgirl says:

    Pope Francis, rightfully, has some harsh words for the Italian mafia. However, the ecclesiastical hit jobs (FFI and Burke), the theft (books), the lies and manipulation (synod documents), the strong-arm threatening of bloggers (vox cantoris) and reporters (Pentin) coming out of the Vatican seem pretty mafia-esque.

    I am envisioning a “Miracle on 34th Street” scene with bags and bags of “Remaining in the Truth of Christ” books being delivered to St. Peter’s Square. Is that possible….

  62. JesusFreak84 says:

    I propose a new book project: “Remaining in the Truth of Moses”, to address modern re-interpretations of the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

    You, sir, just won at The Internet XD

  63. Grumpy Beggar says:

    Let’s not get too hasty on any other book titles concerning Moses just yet guys – might get caught on a technicality : If we recall, in Moses’ day, it was permissible to divorce one’s wife. And the best “reinterpretation” of that particular, um law/permission , are the words of our Blessed Lord Jesus , who basically cited that law as a type of preamble to His testimony to the indissolubility of marriage:

    Matthew 19:7-9 [NAB]

    They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?”
    He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
    I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.”

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  65. PA mom says:

    This quote from Catholic World News should win some sort of prize.

    “(the point is) to view it in a new context and with new understanding. Otherwise, what’s theology doing but repeating what was said in the last century or 20 centuries ago?”

    So, newness outranks accuracy in his viewpoint, it would appear.

    I really nearly cannot believe people were so afraid of A BOOK as to steal it…

  66. Widukind says:

    Calling upon P. Francis to take some action on this, it seems to me will be met with deaf ears. It is not that justice is blind, but that it is deaf. Surely, will not our meek and humble, pope of unrelenting mercy and exaggerated kindness, simply shake his head in dismay and say to the cardinal in sin, “Aww, shucks, buddy, you shouldn’t have done that.” As Francis is the best pope ever and surely the most loving ever, the expectation will be nothing harsh will ever come to the cardinal. After all, Francis must uphold himself as the icon of mercy and understanding, as the prodigal father with open arms. I will be surprised if he does do something about this.

  67. tpodonnell says:

    Legisperitus suggests a collection for mailing the book to all of the synod participants, and Rekpoterack claims to have already done so for some bishops. Wow! Is there any way to coordinate this effort more? Duplicates never hurt anyone but it would certainly be impressive to send them to the dioceses over the next month or so and I am sure many people would love to help.

    Gentillylace comments that the price for the e-book is too high. Certainly $5 and it would fly off of the digital shelves. It’s already climbing the ranks of Amazon’s sales. I have seen it go from a rank of #4,000-something yesterday to 2,000-something today (and it is approaching 1,000-something by the end of today EST). The paperback has never been less than $18 but maybe could drop to $15 for the sake of more sales. Additionally more reviews might help: it only has 33.

    For the record:
    5 Cardinals’ book is at #2,251
    Cardinal Kasper’s book (“Mercy”) is at #20,966
    Cardinal Kasper’s book (“The Gospel of the Family) is at #31,408
    Cardinal Mueller (“The Hope of the Family”) is at #309,898
    and Pérez-Soba / Kampowski (“The Gospel of the Family”) is at #414,796

    Interestingly, the 5 Cardinals are placed in the same category as Bibles and Devotional works while Cardinal Kasper’s “Mercy” is in a different sales category altogether of Theology.

  68. benedetta says:

    Yes, but that doesn’t make Baldisseri and his and other hacks fascists? Oh, wait…

  69. Grumpy Beggar says:

    tpodonnell says:

    “. . . Cardinal Kasper’s “Mercy” is in a different sales category altogether of Theology.”

    Though, one could surmise that if the sentiments expressed in “Mercy” are in line with most of the Cardinal’s public musings of late , the book perhaps might even better be classified under the category of “Fiction” . . . ?

  70. HeatherPA says:

    This only brings in even sharper focus to me what our dear Holy Father Benedict XVI must have endured and the crosses he has carried and continues to in his years in Vatican City.

    Talk about true, lasting humility. It brings me to tears even thinking of it. Praying even more for him this Lent. Thanks be to God for him.

  71. Suburbanbanshee says:

    The sad thing here is that, if you wanted to be passive-aggressive and bureaucratic, the obvious thing would have been to box up the books and send them back to Ignatius Press. If you really wanted to be annoying, you send them back the slowest way possible.

    But no, the books had to be disappeared.

  72. The Masked Chicken says:

    While I can understand the anger at this clock-and-dagger affair and I am not going to write almost any of the replies I could if I unleashed my inner hen, I think you all are missing a golden opportunity, here.

    In WWII, it really was hard if you were in Germany and a supporter of the Allies. You couldn’t speak out against the Regime for fear of reprisals, so they resorted to what has become known as. “Whisper Humor,” which has been studied by my humor colleague, the sociologist, Christie Davies. If you were going to the toilet, you would say something like, “I’m going to phone, Hitler,” for instance.

    Now, I suggest the best thing we can do instead of getting mad is to make the thing a subject of ridicule. So, the next time you are having a bad day and feel like the world is against you and you need to go off somewhere and cry, if someone asks you where you are going, just tell them, “I’m going to mail some books to the Vatican.”

    If this phrase became an international phenomenon, then the stealing of books would stop, overnight.

    Seriously, though, Ignatius Press should really have read Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Sending the books, TO THE VATICAN, just before the Synod was like sending artillery meant for your troops to a post office behind enemy lines. They should have taken off the dust jackets of the Five Cardinal’s book and replaced them with the dust jackets to, Fifty Shades of Grey. No one would have ever been the wiser…

    Too, Col. Jack O’Neill?*

    The Chicken

    *[That’s a Stargate SG-1 reference, for you non-geeks. Col. Jack O’Neill was known for his snarky answers and put-downs]

  73. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    Fr. Z underscores, “There was nothing odd about how they were sent.” The fact that “Some copies were successfully delivered” evidently testifies to this: there were no practical, or obvious formal impediments to delivering them. Yet quite brazenly in the face of this it seems “The synod secretariat nevertheless claims they were mailed ‘irregularly,’ ” and so escalates to Cardinal Baldisseri ‘finding himself compelled to complain, and politely to request the dismissal of the Director of the Vatican Postal service’ as Mariana2 notes Kath.net reporting, in fact passing this on from their linked source, the post by Manfred Ferrari (whose words I translate, a bit freely). It aeems that properly allowing the system to function as it should must be effectively criminalized in an attempt to lend credibility to the first defensive misrepresentation. Again, there must be some kind of producible evidence of Cardinal Baldisseri’s apparent malfeasance. Alas, I suppose Vatican State does not have its own version of the Freedom of Information Act: nonetheless, may the relevant documents be revealed!

  74. BobP says:

    How is Vatican’s focus on the poor and homeless coming along?

  75. Latin Mass Type says:

    I would like to see some security camera footage of the theft. [Ha. Perhaps you imagine the area where the post boxes are as if it were a UPS Store.]

  76. RJHighland says:

    This Cardinal Baldisseri was hand picked by Pope Francis, does anybody really think Cardinal Baldisseri this with-out Pope Francis’ knowledge [Yes, I can very well imagine it. I can imagine it to have been an on the spot decision, without consulting the reigning Pontiff. Whether the Pontiff was informed afterwards is another matter.] especially after Pope Francis put everything back in the finally documents that had been removed by the Cardinals. The German bishops are fundimentally breaking communion with Rome, Pope Francis crushed the Friars of the Immaculate. Yeah this Pontificate is going really well.

  77. The Masked Chicken says:

    I would like to apologize for my last comment. I think the points made were made at the expense of charity and thoughtfulness.

    The Chicken

  78. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    RJHighland writes, “Pope Francis crushed the Friars of the Immaculate” – that is not the experience of some evidently orthodox, thoughtful Friars of the Immaculate.

  79. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    I see Hilary White added yesterday, “today none of the book’s authors or editors were willing to speak with LifeSiteNews ‘on the record’ to confirm what had happened, and attempts to reach the Synod office went unanswered” and “One Vatican source told LifeSiteNews today that a first attempt had been made to stop the books being sent by the Vatican Post Office, but that the postal workers had refused to cooperate, saying that it would be ‘unethical’ to tamper with the mail.”

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  82. Derek Brown says:

    It’s nice that Postmaster Baldisseri can take the time out of his busy mail route to help out at the synod and foment dissent. However I hope that at the upcoming synod, he just focuses on being Postmaster. As we saw this last time, when you try to do too many jobs, you end up doing NONE of them well.

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