Assisi glooms ahead.

In connection with the unevitable date of 27 October I would like to express my opinion on the next meeting in Assisi. It is a significant event above all because of two reasons. Firstly, it is another great disaster in the history of the Church since 1962. Secondly, it reveals very disquieting vision of the pope and papacy of the XXI century.

The news on this controvertial decision of pope Benedict spread throughout the world when countless throng tried to get rid of hangover - 1 January of the current year. Immediatly many opinions and comments appeared. The modernists were contented, I suppose. It is the continuation of the pontificate of the Great Ecumenist, after all. "The traditionalists" were probably shocked, that during this conservative pontificate such nuisance appeared. This state has not lasted long, though. 4 months later it turned out, that Benedict XVI... is not the initiator of this blasphemous meeting! It stems from the list of His Holiness to prof. Peter Beyerhaus, who with the permission of the pope made the content of the document public (more on this issue may be read on Rorate Caeli). Many people had the sigh of relief - the pope is not an ecumenist! Unfortunately, I cannot join to this group, because this information provides an insight into the real ambit of the papal power.

If we assumed, that the pope is the originator of the Assisi '11, then it would mean, that he is not at home with the Tradition. It would be a hit for all catholics indentifying themselves with the hermeneutic of continuity or worse - a signal to organise ecumenical/interreligious meetings, because the creator of the conception does so. Whereas, for the "traditionalists" it would be quite a dissapointment, looking at the previous steps of the Vicar of Christ. On the other hand, it would mean that the pope still has a real authority. However, if His Holiness is not the initiator of this show, it means something far much worse. If the pope does not want this meeting to take place and He cannot cancel it, may we still speak about his power as full and direct? No. It means that Benedict XVI has a very little influence on the events, which take place in the Vatican. Colegialism, despite of the promises of Paul VI, undermined the foundations of the Church, what becomes more and more apparent and destructive.

To conclude, the case of Assisi revealed how enormous the crisis caused by Vaticanum II is. Today, the pope has power no larger than the queen of the United Kingdom and it is not likely to change in the nearest future. We may only have hope, that more and more bishops loyal to their Shepherd, whom they owe allegiance in the issues of the faith, will be appointed. It is so important because the revival of the Church, and so the authority of the pope, is possible only through the revival of the catholic priesthood.