We participated in a silent demonstration, either individually, or as representatives of our associations and journalistic groups, united by love for the Church, Her doctrine and Her institutions. We gathered for an event under the name of Acies Ordinata, a title which the Tradition of the Church reserves for the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who gathers together the army of Her faithful ones and scatters Her enemies: terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata (Song of Songs 6:3,9).
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| Front line, Acies ordinata, Piazza San Silvestro, Rome, February 19, 2019, photo by Diane Montagna/LifeSiteNews |
The Church of San Silvestro in Capite, in the piazza in which we gathered for our demonstration, contains the relic of the head of Saint John the Baptist. The Percursor of the Messiah was reduced to silence by Herod, but his mute tongue continues to speak to our hearts. We stood, in a respectful and ordered manner, to express symbolically the resistance of those who do not give in before silence. We held in our hands the Holy Rosary, and we read texts of the Catholic Tradition, because we fortify our resistance with prayer and study, convinced that only by recollection can one be prepared for action.
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| 100 Catholic laity assembly in Piazza San Silvestro, Rome on February 19, 2019. |
The summit of the presidents of the Bishops' Conferences of the world, which opens on Thursday, 21st February, in the presence of the Holy Father, is an historic occasion to confront not only the theme of the sexual abuse of minors but also the theme of moral corruption, which includes every violation of Divine and natural law, beginning with the widespread incidence and acceptance and promotion, by leading church officials, of homosexual relationships, including their promotion in Catholic schools with the encouragement of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales.
On the subject of homosexuality, Learning to Love, An Introduction to Catholic relationship and sex education (RSE) for Catholic Educators, published by the Department of Education and Formation
We are appealing to the silent bishops, asking that some of them may have the courage to break their silence. Will there be any Pastor who will by inspired by the example of St Peter Damian whose feast day is celebrated,Providentially, on 21st February in the liturgical calendar of the Church and on 23rd February in the traditional Catholic calendar?
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| The Book of Gomorah, St. Peter Damien, Piazza San Silvestro, Rome, February 19, 2019, photo by Diane Montagna/LifeSiteNews |
Pope Benedict XVI, in his September 9, 2009 general audience, noted that the Benedictine monk, cardinal, and Doctor of the Church, St. Peter Damian (1007-72), was 'one of the most significant figures of the 11th century … a monk, a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform, initiated by the Popes of the time.'Will there be any Pastor who will dare to speak the truth to the Holy Father, Pope Francis?
Between 1049 and 1054, he composed the powerful book Liber Gomorrhianus, or “Book of Gomorrah”, addressing it to the new pope, Leo IX, who himself would eventually be canonized.
[Matthew Cullinan Hoffman said:] 'The Book of Gomorrah is a letter written to Pope St. Leo IX around the year 1049 in response to an epidemic of sodomy among the priests of Italy, which Peter Damian feared would bring down the wrath of God upon the Church. This plague of sexual perversion was part of a larger crisis of moral laxity in the priesthood, including widespread sexual incontinency and illicit marriages, the simoniacal purchasing of clerical ordination, and the prevalence of a worldly and carnal mentality among the clergy. The laity were outraged by such behavior and were even beginning to rebel against the Church hierarchy in some places, such as Florence and Milan.'
The Church does not fear the Truth, because the Church announces to the world the Truth of her Head and Founder, Jesus Christ. And it is above all to Him that we addressed our symbolic action outside the Church of San Silvestro in Capite. We are asking Jesus Christ, that in these calamitous times, He may come to the aid of our weakness and with one single Word save the Church.
Domine ne sileas (Ps 34:22) O Lord, do not be silent!
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| A father and son participate in Acies ordinata demonstration. Piazza San Silvestro, Rome, February 19, 2019, photo by DianeMontagna/LifeSiteNews |
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