The St Gallen Mafia

In the mid-1990s, a clandestine group of high-ranking churchmen began gathering in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Opposed to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the circle plotted a revolution in stealth. By 2015, their secret ached to be told. Before an audience, Cardinal Godfried Danneels joked of being a part of a "mafia." But as explosive as Danneels's confession was, a thick cloud of mystery still enshrouds the St. Gallen mafia. In this compelling book, Julia Meloni pieces together the eerie trail of confessional evidence about the St. Gallen group. Copiously researched and grippingly narrated, The St. Gallen Mafia sheds light on the following: The mysteries of the 2005 conclave, where mafia members grew divided over a plan to back Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope. The war against Benedict XVI by the mafia's Cardinal Achille Silvestrini - and the mysterious "confessions" believed to be linked to him. The enigmatic, complicated relationship between the mafia's Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini and Benedict XVI. The mafia writings that presaged a new Francis - and the 2013 conclave that elected him. Martini's enduring role as an "ante-pope" - a "precursor" for Pope Francis.

Marcantonio Colonna's The Dictator Pope has rocked Rome and the entire Catholic Church with its portrait of an authoritarian, manipulative, and politically partisan pontiff. Occupying a privileged perch in Rome during the tumultuous first years of Francis’s pontificate, Colonna was privy to the shock, dismay, and even panic that the reckless new pope engendered in the Church’s most loyal and judicious leaders. The Dictator Pope discloses that Father Mario Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis) was so unsuited for ecclesiastical leadership that the head of his own Jesuit order tried to prevent his appointment as a bishop in Argentina. Behind the benign smile of the "people's pope" Colonna reveals a ruthless autocrat aggressively asserting the powers of the papacy in pursuit of a radical agenda.

“To restore the beauty of holiness to the face of the Bride of Christ, which is terribly disfigured by so many abominable crimes, and if we truly want to free the Church from the fetid swamp into which she has fallen, we must have the courage to tear down the culture of secrecy and publicly confess the truths we have kept hidden.” These bold words from the pen of an archbishop in exile—part of a bombshell exposé published in August 2018 concerning Theodore McCarrick and his circle—catapulted the ecclesiastical diplomat Carlo Maria Viganò to international prominence. In a steady stream of interventions from that time onward, Archbishop Viganò has not only supplied further incriminating details on the current Vatican regime but has extended his critique to the neo-modernism and worldly accommodation that officially entered the Church through the Second Vatican Council. He argues, moreover, that just as there is a “deep state” of wealthy and powerful international elites who exercise enormous sway over political affairs and cultural vectors, so too there is a “deep church” that retains for its advantage the external trappings of religion while pursuing an agenda of error and moral corruption. These pseudo-sovereignties closely collaborate as they work for the same goals, which are, at this point, an open secret. A Voice in the Wilderness collects for the first time all the major writings of Archbishop Viganò from August 2018 to January 2021, with explanatory introductions and notes by Brian M. McCall. Finally available in one place to allow for easy access, assimilation, and debate, it is the definitive edition of an extraordinary body of pronouncements that have stirred up vehement controversy on all sides. Regardless where one stands in its regard, Viganò’s arresting message cannot be ignored. Ultimately, it is one of conversion to Christ the King, the Truth in person, who sets us free from the accumulating slaveries of our time.

Introduction : understanding the rule of bosses -- Backdrops -- The rookie / Ashraf Hoque -- The bluffer / Nicolas Martin -- The henchman / David Picherit -- The adjudicators / Paul Rollier -- Lady Dabang / Lucia Michelutti -- The godfather / Arild Engelsen Ruud -- The legend / Clarinda Still -- Conclusion : "the art of bossing.

Faithful Catholics are beginning to realize it’s not their imagination. Pope Francis has led them on a journey from joy to unease to alarm and even a sense of betrayal. They can no longer pretend that he represents merely a change of emphasis in papal teaching. Assessing the confusion sown by this pontificate, Lost Shepherd explains what’s at stake, what’s not at stake, and how loyal believers should respond.

A biography of Pope Francis that describes how this revolutionary thinker will use the power of his position to challenge and redirect one of the world's most formidable religions An expansive and deeply contextual work, at its heart The Great Reformer is about the intersection of faith and politics--the tension between the pope's innovative vision for the Church and the obstacles he faces in an institution still strongly defined by its conservative past. Based on extensive interviews in Argentina and years of study of the Catholic Church, Ivereigh tells the story not only of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the remarkable man whose background and total commitment to the discernment of God's will transformed him into Pope Francis--but the story of why the Catholic Church chose him as their leader. With the Francis Revolution just beginning, this biography will provide never-before-explained context on how one man's ambitious program began--and how it will likely end--through an investigation of Francis's youth growing up in Buenos Aires and the dramatic events during the Perón era that shaped his beliefs; his ongoing conflicts and disillusionment with the ensuing doctrines of an authoritarian and militaristic government in the 1970s; how his Jesuit training in Argentina and Chile gave him a unique understanding and advocacy for a "Church of the Poor"; and his rise from Cardinal to the papacy.

Questions keep arising about what really happened in 2013 with the surprising "resignation" of Benedict XVI, his decision to remain on as "pope emeritus," and thus the presence of two popes living side-by-side. In this compelling work, Socci investigates the mysterious mission to which Benedict XVI has felt called in service of the Church.

Former Prefect of the Papal Household Archbishop Georg Ganswein presents a stirring defense of Catholic theology, Church tradition, and the primacy of the Catholic Faith in his much-anticipated American book debut, How the Catholic Church Can Restore Our Culture. As one of the most distinguished figures in the Catholic Church and the only man to have been in daily interaction with two popes simultaneously, Archbishop Ganswein presents an array of profound observations about the state of the Church and its likely future in an increasingly secular society. He offers a vigorous and convincing argument for the indispensability of the Catholic Church as a civilizing force in culture, and how she alone can, and must, serve as a bulwark against the growing cultural totalitarianism seizing the West. Ganswein also interprets what the “expanded papacy” means for the Church and explains how Pope Benedict’s resignation has played a critical and necessary role in demythologizing the office of the papacy. Finally, he offers a framework for spiritual renewal, beginning with the personal reform of priests and bishops. To save the Church, the archbishop explains, we need clerics who prioritize and epitomize the proclamation of God’s Word in their own lives and work. The “pastoral approach” of today is important, but only if it recaptures its original, evangelical dimension.

A New York Times columnist and one of America’s leading conservative thinkers considers Pope Francis’s efforts to change the church he governs in a book that is “must reading for every Christian who cares about the fate of the West and the future of global Christianity” (Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option). Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, today Pope Francis is the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis’s stewardship of the Church, while perceived as a revelation by many, has provoked division throughout the world. “If a conclave were to be held today,” one Roman source told The New Yorker, “Francis would be lucky to get ten votes.” In his “concise, rhetorically agile…adroit, perceptive, gripping account (The New York Times Book Review), Ross Douthat explains why the particular debate Francis has opened—over communion for the divorced and the remarried—is so dangerous: How it cuts to the heart of the larger argument over how Christianity should respond to the sexual revolution and modernity itself, how it promises or threatens to separate the church from its own deep past, and how it divides Catholicism along geographical and cultural lines. Douthat argues that the Francis era is a crucial experiment for all of Western civilization, which is facing resurgent external enemies (from ISIS to Putin) even as it struggles with its own internal divisions, its decadence, and self-doubt. Whether Francis or his critics are right won’t just determine whether he ends up as a hero or a tragic figure for Catholics. It will determine whether he’s a hero, or a gambler who’s betraying both his church and his civilization into the hands of its enemies. “A balanced look at the struggle for the future of Catholicism…To Change the Church is a fascinating look at the church under Pope Francis” (Kirkus Reviews). Engaging and provocative, this is “a pot-boiler of a history that examines a growing ecclesial crisis” (Washington Independent Review of Books).

The Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita is a document, originally published in Italian in the 19th century, purportedly produced by the highest lodge of the Italian Carbonari and written by "Piccolo Tigre," codename for Giuseppe Mazzini. The document details an alleged Masonic plan to infiltrate the Catholic Church and spread liberal ideas within it. The Carbonari had strong similarities to Freemasonry and so the document is seen by some as a Masonic document. In the 19th century, Pope Pius IX[3] and Pope Leo XIII both asked for it to be published.

The Cold War has ended. With a scope and daring not possible until now, an unlikely international alliance of top-level political, financial, and religious interests sees the way clear at last to its ultimate goal: the establishment of a single global society. Utopia. These are men with nothing in common but immense power and a towering ambition for still more. With world unity and prosperity as their slogan--and with betrayal, scandal, and murder as their ready weapons--they have the means and the will to capture as their own the perfect global machinery for their plans: the oldest, wiliest, and most stable political chancery in the world--the Vatican. At the vortex of this lethal struggle stands the embattled Pope, a geopolitical genius whose elimination is the short-term solution to a long-term goal, and two American brothers, Paul and Christian Gladstone, one a lawyer and the other a priest, who appear to be the perfect pawns. One falls prey to the sharp teeth of greed for power. The other will become one of the Slavic Pontiff's closest allies...and will discover the darkest secrets at the very heart of papal Rome. From America to Europe to Russia, in broad landscapes and clandestine corridors, a rich and varied cast--presidents and politicos, simple saints and savvy sinners, popes and pope-makers--clash with one another amid dramatic and sometimes bloody events that will affect the destiny of every person alive today.

In The Jesuits, Malachi Martin reveals for the first time the harrowing behind-the-scenes story of the "new" worldwide Society of Jesus. The leaders and the dupes; the blood and the pathos; the politics, the betrayals and the humiliations; the unheard-of alliances and compromises. The Jesuits tells a true story of today that is already changing the face of all our tomorrows.

Jack McCreesh is a high school student who feels a powerful calling to be a priest. He realizes the church is in decline and he has a desire to take bold action and become a defender of the true faith. He could see the areas where the church was failing but did not understand how deeply entrenched the wickedness was.Due to family circumstances, he decides to take time for discernment and join the military. Years as a Navy corpsman and working with the United States Marines has toughened Jack, but it may not be enough. He enters the seminary to begin his battle with dark forces and the Lavender Mafia. He quickly encounters a powerful cabal that is in direct opposition to everything he believes. He is in the minority. The narrow path can be difficult, but he finds some allies in the seminary. Jack is focused on graduating so he can fight back as an ordained priest. He's determined to stay loyal to the teachings of Christ and oppose the covert, subversive network that is undermining the faith. The future of the Catholic Church is at stake. Jack McCreesh, and other faithful men like him, are needed to turn the tide and ensure the gates of Hell do not prevail.

An anthology of 70 essays and articles by prelates and pastors, theologians and canonists, philosophers and cultural figures-including: Cardinal Walter Brandmüller • Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke • Cardinal Gerhard Müller • Cardinal Robert Sarah • Cardinal Joseph Zen • Archbishop Thomas Gullickson • Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò • Bishop Rob Mutsaerts • Bishop Athanasius Schneider • Msgr. Charles Pope • Dom Alcuin Reid • Abbé Claude Barthe • Fr. John Hunwicke • Michael Brendan Dougherty • Ross Douthat • Edward Feser • Michael Fiedrowicz • Peter A. Kwasniewski • Phil Lawler • Martin Mosebach • George Neumayr • Joseph Shaw • and many others Already on July 16, 2021, the reactions to Pope Francis's severe restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass in Traditionis Custodes were like a river in full flood: articles, essays, interviews, podcasts-everywhere and from every point of view. An emotional, spiritual, intellectual dam had broken and the waters of discourse poured forth across the world. The sheer volume of writing occasioned by Traditionis Custodes is unlike anything seen in the history of papal documents-testimony to a neuralgic subject on which arguments proliferate and passions run high. The two-month period following the release of the motu proprio gave proof that the traditionalist movement was no fringe phenomenon, but something that had gained significant strength and sympathy during the relatively peaceful years from 2007 to 2021 (the "Pax Benedictina" to which the book's title refers). The purpose of this volume is to gather in one convenient place some of the finest and most appreciated essays and articles published in the period from mid-July through September of this fateful year, 2021-not only from America and England (although these predominate), but also from other nations: France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Poland, Kazakhstan, and China. This book is not, and makes no pretense of being, a presentation of "both sides of the argument." It offers a variety of critiques of this profoundly unwise and unpastoral decree, which suffers from incoherent doctrinal foundations, grave moral and juridical defects, and impossible ecclesiological implications.

Using inside sources and extensive field reporting about the secretive, high-stakes world of international diplomacy, Vatican reporter Victor Gaetan takes readers to the Holy See to explicate Pope Francis's diplomacy, show why it works, and to offer readers a startling contrast to the dangerous inadequacies of recent U.S. international decisions.

Plainchant is the oldest substantial body of music that has been preserved in any shape or form. It was first written down in Western Europe in the eighth to ninth centuries. Many thousands of chants have been sung at different times or places in a multitude of forms and styles, responding to the differing needs of the church through the ages. This book provides a clear and concise introduction, designed both for those to whom the subject is new and those who require a reference work for advanced study. It begins with an explanation of the liturgies that plainchant was designed to serve. It describes all the chief genres of chant, different types of liturgical book, and plainchant notations. After an exposition of early medieval theoretical writing on plainchant, Hiley provides a historical survey that traces the constantly changing nature of the repertory. He also discusses important musicians and centers of composition. Copiously illustrated with over 200 musical examples, this book highlights the diversity of practice and richness of the chant repertory in the Middle Ages. It will be an indispensable introduction and reference source on this important music for many years to come.

. . . the four books comprising the series would certainly be a valuable addition to any entrepreneurship library. However, each book also stands alone as an individual purchase. Lorraine Warren, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research The book delivers what it promises: a map of the uses of narrative methods in entrepreneurship studies. It is both an interesting contribution to the field and an important methodological handbook for all entrepreneurship researchers who are thinking of adopting qualitative methods in their inquiries. However, it may also be read with advantage by other researchers using ethnography as their main methodological approach to social studies. . . The aim of the book is to show how narratives can enrich entrepreneurship studies, a goal that in my opinion is aptly fulfilled. Monika Kostera, Scandinavian Journal of Management . . . the contributors in this text breathe fresh and imaginative linguistic resources and narrative/discursive frames of reference into the inquiry of entrepreneurial activities. The anecdote, the narrative, the metaphorical, the discursive and the dramaturgical are significant therefore, not only because they bring to the surface voices, emotions, processes and the relationality of (everyday) entrepreneurial activity that have possibly been previously silenced. But also, to paraphrase Steyaert, these approaches highlight the controversial and interactive aspects of the research process. . . The text is welcome because it treats narrative in a serious and scholarly way. Denise Fletcher, International Small Business Journal In their edited book Narrative and Discursive Approaches in Entrepreneurship, Daniel Hjorth and Chris Steyaert provide a fascinating glimpse into a perspective on entrepreneurship that will be enlightening for many readers. Entrepreneurship authors typically talk about theory, methods, and data as if a straight-forward linear process united them all, and making sense of entrepreneurship was simply a matter of knowing how to interpret one s findings . By contrast, the authors in this volume propose narrative and discursive approaches in which the contributing authors emphasize rich description, reflexive conceptualization, and interpretations offered as part of the story itself. They draw upon an international set of cases, including Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Venezuela, and North America. The cases themselves make for fascinating reading, quite apart from what we learn about the difficulties of imposing a particular interpretation on a given story. For example, taxi drivers in Caracas, management consultants in Denmark, and women entrepreneurs in northern Norway all make for fascinating narratives from which to understand the entrepreneurial process. Unlike many edited books which have no plot , the editors have included opening and closing sections that link the chapters, offer alternative readings of them, and propose new and expansive ways of thinking about entrepreneurship. Howard Aldrich, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US Daniel Hjorth and Chris Steyaert set out to advance the study of entrepreneurship by refocusing the lens of discovery from economics, management and marketing to other paradigmatic stances in social sciences and humanities like anthropology and literary studies. The result is a provocative collection of chapters that inspire the reader to consider and explore new ideas and research practice that incorporate both the context and place of entrepreneurship. From the perceptive insights of the editors to the rigorous and provocative discourse of the chapters and thoughtful responses in the conclusion emerges a story, in the best of storytelling tradition, about how a linguistic turn can rouse new insights. The editors ask, how do these texts move you? they entice, provoke, challenge, stimulate and guide. Their implications should be far reaching and required reading for any student of t

Why Your Children Won't Get To Heaven tackles the widespread fear among today's Catholics that our children and grandchildren may not be on a clear path to heaven. The fear is rational, considering what those in the next generation are doing and saying about religion these days. This book provides context for our concerns - and offers actions parents can take to assure themselves they've done all they can to help their children.

"Can priests miss Mass? This little book light-heartedly depicts ten Holy Masses nearly missed by priests due to some opposition from within Holy Church, not from without. From Kilimanjaro to Loch Ness, from Burma to Paris and more, the ten humorous short stories describe hindrances to the celebration of Holy Mass inflicted on innocent priests by sacristans, shrine rectors or even bishops. Those failed to recognise that, given a suitable time frame and with permission requested in Christian courtesy, Holy Mass offered in conformity with the rubrics takes precedence over any other activity and any other consideration. Hindering the celebration of Holy Mass affects: 1) God, whose extrinsic glory increases each time the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered; 2) souls, deprived of the temporal application of Christ's saving merits that Holy Mass effectuates; 3) priests, whose ontological raison d'être is to offer the divine Victim. This short book pleasantly illustrates these truths through fiction, not through theological arguments. The depictions are based on actual events."

"What does it mean to be loyal to the Pope, if we do not consider ourselves obliged to know who the true Pope is?" "For the purpose of knowing who the true Pope is." This is what Benedict XVI: Pope "Emeritus"?, by the Master in Law of the University of Medellin, Estefanía Acosta, helps to answer, by addressing, in light of divine and ecclesiastical law, the still current (and greatest) impasse suffered by the Papacy at the gates of its bimillenial existence. A basilar and indispensable instrument for understanding Benedict XVI's declaration of resignation and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio's election, as well as their later developments, this work, the most complete study of canon law on the subject, has as one of its great merits that of helping so that, with Saint John Bosco, the cry Long live the Pope! may resound. Certainly, a hot topic, like our times, especially for all those who in spirit and truth are interested in God, the Church and the Papacy.