Wednesday, September 16, 2015

KIKO AND CARMEN - THE REAL STORY - 9/15/15

This is the latest installment from Frenchie on "The incredible adventures of Carmen and Kiko." The full version with all the installments can be found here

When we last left Carmen and  Francisco, they had snuck into a very nice parish in Rome: Chiesa de Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi. 



This newer Church was a perfect target for our intrepid duo. It had, and still has, a large following of young and eager Catholics and was quiet wealthy. 

While it was run by priests from the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. (S.S.S), Carmen thought that since the Congregation encouraged the creation of communities within the parish, they would be able to perhaps start one of their own.

Carmen was particularly interested in poaching some of the affluent middle class young people attending Nostra Signora, and using their connections to further their network.

This was nice in theory, but faced by the arrogant attitude of Kiko and the caustic nature of Carmen, the pastor of the Church got a little impatient with the pair of Spaniards, who were supposed to help the poor in the Borghetto Latino, but were more interested in his parish, and benefitting from the hard work his congregation had done since the building of the Parish in 1955. 

He made sure that Cardinal Dell'Acqua knew about this. The Vicar General of Rome, a close confident of Pope Paul VI, was starting to get concerned about the two pesky proteges of Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo Gonzales (Archbishop of Madrid).

When Dell'Acqua was approached by them to get the authorization for the creation of a community under their care within the Church of Nostra Signora, he was less than enthusiastic. The authorization was not forthcoming, and Dell'Acqua used every delaying tactics in the book.

Dell'Acqua was well aware of Carmen's family and its very powerful connections in Spain, but also inside the Curia. He chose to use delaying tactics in the hope that maybe the young duo would tire and change their mind. By the same token, he was buying himself time to clarify a strategy to control the problem as best as he could.

He did not take into consideration that Carmen as the daughter of a powerful family was used to get her way, as she always had in the past. Soon, she contacted her clan in Spain and started to put in motion the wheels of destiny that would bring us the Neocatechumenal movement.

We saw (earlier in this story) that Cardinal Roy was the most influential member of the Canadian Church, and that he also was the Cardinal-Priest of the Church of Nostra Signora. We also highlighted that Roy's godfather and best friend of his dad had been a strong supporter of the Franquist movement in Spain. Actually his godfather had become a good friend of the former foreign minister of Spain, Ramon Serrano Suner.

Serrano Suner had retired from politics in 1947 to go back to his successful Law practice, but he had remained an influential member of Spanish society due to his strong network. Mr. Serrano Suner is little known outside of Spain, but is nonetheless one of the most influential European politician of the first part of the 20th century.

Born in 1901 in Cartagena (southern Spain), to a prominent family, Suner's mother died when he was a teenager. Deeply conservative, he joined with Primo de Rivera Falangist movement before the civil war. Following the 1936 red terror, he and his two brothers were arrested. He managed to escape and rally his brother-in-law's lines, but his two brothers were assassinated. As the husband of Zita Polo, the youngest sister of Francisco Franco, he was one of the most influential person in the Franco organization.

After the death of Primo de Rivera, and the arrest of many of the falangist cadre, Suner rose to be the head of the Falange, then he became Minister of the Interior (and as such, one of the most feared men in Spain) 1938-1940. Then he became Foreign Minister 1940-1942. 

As such he was in charge of the negotiations with the Axis power of Germany and Italy. In doing so he became friend with some of the most influential characters of these governments: Von Ribbentrop, Benitto Mussolini, Marshal Badaglio, Heinrich Himmler, and had very good relation with Philippe Petain when he was ambassador of France to Spain.

Despite that, Suner kept cordial relationship with the allies, and kept the channels opened with the USA, specially for the supply of petroleum to Spain. He also had direct access to Winston Churchill and to the Roosevelt administration.

In 1943 Franco got tired of his brother-in-law's disagreements with his policies and what he perceived as Suner's friendly relationship with the Axis countries. The Caudillo sidelined his brother-in-law, and after the war Serrano Suner retired from politics, to concentrate on opportunities the reconstruction of Spain had opened to people with the right connections. 

A prolific writer and excellent linguist he published several notable books in French and in Spanish. He kept in touch with former OSS agent and future creator of the CIA, Allen Dulles, and is thought to have been a key player in the opening of American air bases in Spain.

Suner founded Radio Intercontinental in 1948, and help set up many of his business connection including the Arnaz familly and the Hernandez Carrera family.

Later in the 60s and 70s he helped sheltered several of his former Nazi and Facist connections, but also some of his allies in the CIA sphere of influence: i.e. The French generals of the 1961 Coup D'etat against de Gaulle, and many agents of friendly south American governments. He was influential in helping many officers of the French OAS to become feared technical advisors of the rightist regimes in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile.

So it is not surprising that when the Secretary of Cardinal Roy got a call from the office of Serrano Suner, he made sure that Cardinal Roy received that call.

That same Secretary was quite impressed when right after that call, Cardinal Roy asked him to compose a letter to the Vicar General of Rome, Cardinal Dell'Acqua, requesting his assistance to create a new community in his Parish of Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi.

A few weeks later Cardinal Dell'Acqua agreed to Cardinal Roy's request.

That being said, Dell'Acqua, the Vicar General of Rome and the Pastor of Nostra Signora laid out a plan to keep a close eye on that Spanish duo, and keep them on a short leash. At least this is what they thought they had done.

Little did they know that their intuition was right: they had just let the wolves into the sheep's pen.

In the following five years Carmen and Kiko would use this opening to expand their venture, recruit key players to their camp, formulate their theories and articulate their theologian approach, which until then had been quite spotty.

During these years, Kiko would also find his "inspiration" for "his' art.

In our next segment we will go in more details in that key period of the NCW, and will show how it ties in with the work of Chuck White and others in Italy and Spain

13 comments:

  1. Frenchie, merci pour votre bonne recherche et d'étude!

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    1. Frenchie, have you ever run across any connections while doing your research between Kiko and the French-American philosopher Rene Girard? I've found many Neocatechumenal seminary professors and perhaps at least one Gennarini who rely upon Girard heavily, especially thought from Girard's 1978 "Des Choses cachees depuis la fondation du monde". Read more. Thanks!

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    2. Hi Chuck, I will address this issue in an upcoming expose. In particular I shall go over how Carmen's theological background has influenced the movement from the beginning.
      In a special expose: " Carmen's Tote Bag" or plagiarism, poaching, distortion of the History of the Church, the reform movement and Judaism.
      This current story will help the reader understand why and how they used that launching pad to finalize their whole modus operandi, and articulate their theology.
      Even if this last one seems to be an ever changing concept.
      Another thing will be, how the trail shows that the brain behind NCW's theories are mostly coming from Carmen, while Kiko is propped forward as the "leader" of the NCW, and why they chose to go that way.

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  2. Replies
    1. Part II

      4. You have many days in which to consider these questions in depth. I would like to suggest two critical areas in which authentic liturgical renewal in the twenty-first century can be furthered. The first is by being utterly clear what Catholic liturgy is: it is the worship of Almighty God, the place where mankind encounters God alive and at work in His Church today. Please—never underestimate the importance of this. The liturgy is not some social occasion or meeting where we come first, where what is most important is that we express our identity. No: God comes first. As Cardinal Ratzinger wrote in 2004:

      If the Liturgy appears first of all as the workshop for our activity, then what is essential is being forgotten: God. For the Liturgy is not about us, but about God. Forgetting about God is the most imminent danger of our age. As against this, the Liturgy should be setting up a sign of God’s presence. (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Collected Works: The Theology of the Liturgy, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2015, p. 593).

      The Church’s liturgy is given to us in tradition—it is not for us to make up the rites we celebrate or to change them to suit ourselves or our own ideas beyond the legitimate options permitted by the liturgical books. That is why we must celebrate the Sacred Liturgy faithfully, with that reverence and awe of which I spoke earlier.

      5. The second area in which I ask you to give of your time and expertise is in the promotion of sound liturgical formation. The Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy went so far as to say that “it would be futile to entertain any hopes of realizing” the liturgical renewal it desired “unless the pastors themselves, in the first place, become thoroughly imbued with the spirit and power of the liturgy, and undertake to give instruction about it” (n. 14). We cannot truly participate in the Sacred Liturgy, we cannot drink deeply from the source of the Christian life, if we have not been formed in the spirit and power of the liturgy. As our Holy Father, Pope Francis, said last year:

      Much remains to be done for a correct and complete assimilation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy on the part of the baptized and by ecclesial communities. I refer in particular to a strong and organic invitation and liturgical formation of the lay faithful as well as the clergy and consecrated persons (Message to the participants of the Roman symposium on Sacrosanctum Concilium, 18 February 2014)

      I hope and I pray that the different initiatives of Sacra Liturgia can do much to meet this urgent and crucial need.




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    2. Note to the Neocatechumenal Way:

      "The Church’s liturgy is given to us in tradition—it is not for us to make up the rites we celebrate or to change them to suit ourselves or our own ideas beyond the legitimate options permitted by the liturgical books."

      Your way of worshipping is NOT "permitted by the liturgical books" NOR the exceptions in your Statute. READ IT.

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  3. Part I
    Nice to see Cardinal Burke still in the picture. And, Cardinal Sarah is to "continue the good work started by Pope Benedict XVI re the liturgy!
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    Msg of Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Cong. for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments "Sacra Liturgia June 2015"

    1. It is my pleasure to greet all of you, gathered in New York City, for the inaugural conference of Sacra Liturgia in the United State of America. In particular, I greet His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, and thank him for his interest in and support of this event underlining the essential role of liturgical formation and celebration in the life and mission of the Church.

    I was very pleased to be present at the launch of the Italian and English editions of the proceedings of Sacra Liturgia 2013 in Rome last November, and congratulate Bishop Dominique Rey and all who work with him on making this happy initiative a reality, now also in the United Stales of America.

    I greet His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, who will present the keynote address. And I greet all the bishops, priests and religious and learned lay men and women who will make presentations as well as those who will celebrate the Sacred Liturgy and preach in the coming days. Your apostolate in promoting the Sacred Liturgy is a most important one in our time: I thank you for all that you do.

    2. Because the Sacred Liturgy is truly the font from which all the Church's power flows, as the Second Vatican Council insists (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10), we must do everything we can to put the Sacred Liturgy back at the very heart of the relationship between God and man, recognizing the primacy of Almighty God in this privileged and unique forum in which we, individually and ecclesially, encounter God at work in our world. One cannot encounter God, my brothers and sisters, without trembling, without awe, without profound respect and holy fear. This is why we must rank what Cardinal Ratzinger called "the right way of celebrating the Liturgy, inwardly and outwardly” first amongst our concerns (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, Ignatius Press, San Francisco 2000, p. 9).

    3. When The Holy Father, Pope Francis, asked me to accept the ministry of Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, I asked: "Your Holiness, how do you want me to exercise this ministry? What do you want me to do as Prefect of this Congregation?" The Holy Father's reply was clear. “I want you to continue to implement the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council,” he said, “and I want you to continue the good work in the liturgy begun by Pope Benedict XVI.”

    My friends, I want you to help me in this task. I ask you to continue to work towards achieving the liturgical aims of the Second Vatican Council (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, I) and to work to continue the liturgical renewal promoted by Pope Benedict XVI, especially through the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacrosanctum Caritatis of 22 February 2007 and the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of 7 July 2007. I ask you to be wise like the householder in St Matthew's Gospel, who knows when to bring out of his treasure things both new and old (cf. Mtt 13:52), so that the Sacred Liturgy as it is celebrated and lived today may lose nothing of the estimable riches of the Church's liturgical tradition, whilst always being open to legitimate development (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 23).






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  4. to Anon @ 8.37 and 8.39:
    Thank you for sharing this communication from Cardinal Sarah.
    This issue has been going on for years. It is indeed interesting.
    My question to you is as follow: how does this impact our debate here?
    Most of our issues, outside of the ethical ones touching the leaders of the Archdiocese, are actually in regards to the NCW not following the actual liturgy, and making their own as they go.

    When we usually get this sort of communication on junglewatch, it is often with the intent to confuse and distort certain liturgical issues, and give them a definite partisan spin.
    Basically the usual: " see ! Rome approves of what we say and do".

    Some of us with a little more understanding of the inner workings of our Church, appreciate in a scholastic way, what this ongoing debate is doing. Yet what is being done with it, is of course of great concern, for all of us a Catholic community.
    I have known and worked with Archbishop Rey for several years. Actually I facilitated as early as this summer his bringing over of Marion Marechal Le Pen, to his yearly Saint Baume Catholic Summer Congress.
    His work over the last three years on the liturgy, will be extremely helpful for the Synod of Bishops to make the proper recommendations to the Holy Father.
    I pray that your contribution will be positive, to the solving of our small issues here.

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    1. I believe it was meant to be positive.

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    2. Hi Tim, I believe you are most likely right.
      As I mentioned before, I am a cynic to the core. So while I always pray for the best, I also know the worse can show up unannounced under many disguise, at any time.
      Put it, in the column of Jesuit Education, for always asking,why?
      Of late I have poured over long, boring and exhausting writing about our two "heroes", and I can bear witness that one does not do this without coming out of it with a great sense of dread and frustration.
      By the time I usually finish with this, I have to take a long hot shower, almost as a need to cleanse myself, from this goolygook. But since it is not enough, I usually end up with the Rosary, to regain composure.
      The more I do that research, the stronger is my feeling that we are facing evil pure and simple.

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    3. Yes. The abomination in the temple. Which can be driven out only by the real Liturgy, which is why Kiko clings to his impostor one.

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  5. Bravo, Monsieur Francais, c'est magnifique! Encore!!!

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