MESSAGE of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
Former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America
to the
Founding Congress
of the International Movement of Russophiles (MIR)

Moscow, March 14, 2023

Dear Friends, it gives me great joy to be able to address a brief message to you on the occasion of the establishment of the International Movement of Russophiles. The Manifesto of this association begins with a word that seems to have disappeared from Western vocabulary: friendship. In this case, it is friendship for the Russian people, shared by so many people throughout the world, and the friendship of the Russian people towards other peoples, in that spirit of brotherhood which finds its foundation in recognizing ourselves as children of the one Eternal Father and as brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some clarifications to restore the truth about the situation of the Monastery “Maria Tempio dello Spirito Santo” of Pienza

Part II

Canonical Provisions

This second part of my intervention in defense of the Nuns of Pienza, after the first part dedicated to the sequence of events (here) and a third part (soon to be published) regarding the initiatives that ought to be undertaken, addresses the canonical measures adopted by the Holy See with the collaboration of the Diocese of Chiusi-Pienza-Montepulciano and the Picena Federation of the Benedictine Order. These observations are based on the official documents delivered to the Nuns and on those of third parties of which they have become aware, as well as on the unanimous testimonies of the Sisters and the evidence they have preserved (such as informal communications on WhatsApp).

Some clarifications to restore the truth about the situation of the Monastery “Maria Tempio dello Spirito Santo” of Pienza:

Part One

The sequence of events

After the disclosure of conflicting and contradictory news relating to the recent events that have involved the cloistered community of the Benedictine Monastery of Pienza, I consider it my duty as a Pastor to intervene to re-establish the truth of the facts, as they are verifiable to those who are not prejudiced and care both about the fate of these religious women as well as highlighting the attitude of open hostility towards them on the part of ecclesiastical Authority. This first contribution of mine comes from my direct and personal knowledge of the Abbess and the Nuns, on whose behalf I intend to speak. In this first part I will analyze the sequence of events. A second essay will consider the content of the Holy See’s measures, framing them in the broader context of Bergoglio’s demolishing action. A third essay will propose some initiatives to be undertaken.

IN CINERE ET CILICIO

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus,
here Ninivitis, in cinere et cilicio pænitentibus,
indulgentiæ tuæ remedia præstitisti:
grants propitius; ut sic eos imitemur habitu,
quatenus veniæ prosequamur obtentu.

Or. IV in benedictione Cinerum

There is only one thing that moves the Lord to compassion before the multitude of our sins: penance. A penance that is sincere, that exteriorly confirms true repentance for sins committed, the intention not to do them again, the will to repair them, and above all pain for having offended the divine Majesty by them. In cinere et cilicio, with ashes and hairshirt, that is, with that shaggy and pungent cloth that originally hails from Cilicia, woven of goat's hair or horsehair, which was used as a garment by Roman soldiers, and which represents the spiritual and material dress of the penitent.

ET DORMIUNT MULTI

Ideo inter vos multi infirmi et imbecilles, et dormiunt multi.
Therefore, there are many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep. - I Cor 11:30

It forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave,
to be given a stamped image on their right hand or forehead.
No one could buy or sell except for those who had the stamped image,
that is, the name of the beast or the number that corresponds to his name. - Rev 13:16-17

In an interesting interview on Fox News titled The Church of Environmentalism (here), journalist Tucker Carlson has brought to light a contradiction that may have escaped the notice of many people but which I consider extremely revealing.

VIRTUS IN INFIRMITATE PERFICITUR

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of men was on the earth and that every inner desire of their hearts was always nothing but evil.  - Gen 6:5

On Sexagesima Sunday we are drawing near to the time of penance and fasting in preparation for Easter. Already for a week the Alleluia has been silent in the liturgy, replaced in the Mass by the Tract. And on this Sunday that is quasi-penitential the Church – with the Readings of Matins – accompanies us in the consideration of sin which leads God to destroy the rebellious human race with the Flood, saving only the family of Noah.

LUMEN AD REVELATIONEM

Tu es qui restitues hæreditatem meam mihi.
It is you who will restore my inheritance to me.  - Ps 15: 5

My Eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of every people.  With these words, the aged Simeon praises the Lord for having granted him the privilege of being able to witness the fulfillment of the Prophecies, being able to hold in his arms the Infant Messiah, brought to the Temple to be offered to the Lord according to the prescriptions of the Old Law. That short but profound canticle is repeated every night at Compline, because the prayer that the Church recites at the end of each day prepares us for the end of our earthly exile with our faces turned towards Our Lord.

VAS ELECTIONIS EST MIHI ISTE

O distinguished Doctor Paul, teach the law,
and draw our spirits with you to heaven,
until the obscured Faith is like noonday
and Charity alone reigns like the sun.

The Conversion of Saint Paul is a conquest of Saint Stephen, and it is no coincidence that the Divine Liturgy places this feast a few days after that of the Protomartyr, whom the Jew Saul, loyal to the Old Law and faithful executor of the will of the High Priests, saw martyred before his eyes and perhaps he himself martyred, believing that he was performing an action in conformity with the precepts observed by every orthodox Jew. Abbot Guéranger comments: To complete the court of our great King, it was right that the two powerful pillars of the Church, the Apostle of the Jews and the Apostle of the Gentiles, should be raised on either side of the manger: Peter with the keys and Paul with the sword. Thus Saul, from being an observant Jew and persecutor of Christians, becomes Paul, conqueror of the pagans to the Gospel.

A response to Reid, Cavadini, Healy, and Weinandy

And arms shall stand on his part,
and they shall defile the sanctuary of strength,
and they shall take away the continual sacrifice:
and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation. -Dan 11: 31

I have followed with interest the ongoing debate about Traditionis Custodes and Father Reid’ comment (here) in which he refutes Cavadini, Healy, and Weinandy, without however reaching a solution to the problems identified. With this contribution, I would like to indicate a possible way out of the present crisis.