Benedict XVI’s Biographer: Previous Pontiff Felt Betrayed by Pope Francis Many Times: ‘He Was Stabbed in the Heart’

by Paul Serran Jan. 1, 2024

Late Pope Benedict XVI found ample reason to be disappointed with the actions of a pontiff who professed to admire him greatly but whose actions told a different story.

One year after Benedict XVI’s death, his biographer, Peter Seewald, has raised serious concerns about the way in which his successor, Pope Francis, is managing his legacy.

While it is true that Pope Francis has written ‘nice letters’ to his predecessor and also described him as a ‘great pope,’ in practice, he has ‘erased much of what was precious and dear to Ratzinger’, according to the biographer.

National Catholic Register reported:

“’Benedict trusted Francis. But he was bitterly disappointed several times’, Seewald said in an interview.

[…] ‘If you really speak of a ‘great pope’ out of conviction, shouldn’t you do everything you can to cultivate his legacy? Just as Benedict XVI did with regard to John Paul II? As we can see today, Pope Francis has, in fact, done very little to remain in continuity with his predecessors’, Seewald said.”

One example are the restrictions against the Traditional Latin Mass by Pope Francis, that reversed Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum, which acknowledged the right of all priests to say Mass using the Roman Missal of 1962, which is in Latin.

“’Ratzinger wanted to pacify the Church without questioning the validity of the Mass according to the 1969 Roman Missal’, Seewald said. ‘The way we treat the liturgy,’ he explained, ‘determines the destiny of the faith and the Church.’

[…] ‘What I find particularly shameful is that the pope emeritus was not even informed of this act but had to learn about it from the press. He has been stabbed in the heart’.”

The ‘purge’ of staff loyal to Benedict completed the picture, as was the case of Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who served as longtime secretary to Benedict.

“’It was an unprecedented event in the history of the Church that Archbishop Gänswein, the closest collaborator of a highly deserving pope, of the greatest theologian ever to sit on the Chair of Peter, was shamefully thrown out of the Vatican. He did not even receive a word of pro forma thanks for his work’.”

Gänswein was not an isolated case: ‘When a Ratzinger supporter like 75-year-old Cardinal [Raymond] Burke is stripped of his home and salary overnight without any explanation, it is difficult to recognize Christian brotherhood in all of this’.

Seewald was not the only one to mark Benedict’s first anniversary of death by criticizing Francis.

As the Vatican marked the first anniversary on Sunday of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, one of his closest aides said the pontiff ‘never would have approved a recent declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.’

Reuters reported:

“Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who was the Church’s doctrinal chief under Benedict, and Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, who was Benedict’s private secretary, both German, were two headliners at an event marking the anniversary and organised by the conservative U.S.-based Catholic television network EWTN.

‘It never would have happened (under Benedict) because it was so ambiguous’, Mueller said on the sidelines of the event when asked by Reuters about the landmark declaration issued on Dec. 18.

“While the December declaration says such blessings cannot resemble the sacrament of matrimony between a man and a woman and cannot be part of rituals or liturgies, some advocates of more inclusion of LGBT people saw it as a possible precursor of same-sex marriage in the Church.

‘There is no homosexual matrimony. It does not exist, it cannot exist, despite ideologies we have (today)’, said Mueller, whom Francis removed as head of the Vatican’s doctrinal department after Benedict resigned in 2013.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/01/benedict-xvis-biographer-previous-pontiff-felt-betrayed-pope/

“Nobody Asked You” — Ron DeSantis Gets Roasted After Saying He Has “Categorically Ruled Out” Being Donald Trump’s Vice President

by Jim Hᴏft Dec. 31, 2023

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis made headlines on the last day of 2023 after stating he had “categorically ruled out” the possibility of serving as Donald Trump’s vice president.

DeSantis shared his stance during an interview on ‘Your World with Neil Cavuto’ shortly after concluding a town hall event in Edgewood, Iowa.

In the interview, DeSantis further elaborated on his previous actions against corporations like Disney for their “woke” policies, expressing his commitment to protecting children’s innocence and parental rights. He boasted about the economic success of Florida under his governance, ranking first for new business formation and having paid down a significant portion of the state’s debt.

The interview took a turn when DeSantis outspokenly dismissed any notion of running as vice president with Trump. “I’ve categorically ruled out being VP,” DeSantis stated, suggesting Haley should be transparent about her intentions with regard to the same position.

“I know Nikki Haley will not rule out being vice president because she spends a lot of money attacking me. So, is she trying to defeat former President Trump, or is she trying to be his vice president? She will not rule that out. You know, she’s gotten a lot of support from these never-Trumpers. They’re viewing her as like the darling of never-Trump, yet she’s positioning herself to potentially be in the running for that. I’ve categorically ruled out being VP. I think she should do that. So her supporters know where she stands,” DeSantis said.

The remarks swiftly ignited a firestorm of commentary on social media, with users lambasting DeSantis. Popular Twitter personalityCatturd succinctly remarked, “Nobody asked you.”

Others joined in with quips about DeSantis’s perceived delusion about his standing with Trump and the GOP base, implying that his declaration was more a foregone conclusion than a bold political stance.

One Twitter user mocked, “Poor lil Rob still has no idea that his place at the adult table is gone forever. He will forever reside at the kids table now,” while another quipped, “Easy to say that when he knows that Trump is never going to ask him!”

Another wrote, “Ron DeSantis is the last person on planet earth Trump would choose as his VP.”

Some even theorized about DeSantis’s acknowledgment of Trump as the likely GOP nominee, saying, “At least he’s recognizing Trump is going to be the GOP nominee. He’s in the anger stage of grief.”

Another said, “So now he’s just lost 2 jobs. President and Vice President.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/nobody-asked-you-ron-desantis-gets-roasted-after/

EXCLUSIVE: Open.Ink Project Releases Their Latest Production — “J6: A True Timeline” on the Real Story Behind the J6 Protests that They Won’t Tell You

by Jim Hᴏft Dec. 31, 20231/3Open.Ink project presents…

J6: a True Timeline

The Open.Ink Project is set to release its latest documentary, “J6: A True Timeline,” on January 1, 2024. This film aims to provide a thorough investigation into the events of January 6.

The Gateway Pundit posted the trailer for this important film here.

** Please go to Open.Ink to see this film without ads or trackers. (https://open.ink/collections/j6

J6: A True Timeline gives the audience a never-before-seen timestamped blueprint for the events of January 6, 2021, as they unfolded in real-time. No other film to date fills the gaps or tells the story chronologically the way this film does.

The film is also different from anything produced to date because a small group of protestors, some who are J6 defendants, have been the ones to collect hours of footage to help contextualize the events of the day. The film was funded and produced entirely through small donations and tens of thousands of volunteer man hours. The hope is that the film will provoke all Americans to be more curious about the true timeline of January 6.

The creator and producer of the documentary is AJ Fischer of InvestigateJ6. AJ is a J6 defendant who knows more than most about what transpired on the West side of the Capitol; circumstances that led to the declared riot and Capitol building entry. In January 2023, Fischer began to make the film a reality. He lined up funding for the project and hired professional producer Jason Rink to help. Rink is the Executive Producer for the project. Paul Escandon is both director and editor.

Fischer’s Less Lethal timeline was featured in an article written by Journalist Wendi Strauch Mahoney with UncoverDC.

“I then followed the facts, reviewed evidence from hundreds of J6 trials, as well as evidence from bodycam footage, radio communications, and police officer testimony. It became definitively clear the police disregarded protestor safety and well-established DC protest crowd clearing laws, said Fischer. “Law enforcement failed to give proper, required warnings prior to launching munitions. In some cases, police are heard admitting they were hurting and inciting innocent people.”

“It became even more clear that there have been disparities between the way Congress investigated these illegal police actions when BLM protestors were involved,” Fischer continued. “Those same illegal police actions have been ignored or buried when J6 protestors were targeted by police. In fact, the objective observer will tell you the J6 Select Committee ignored the facts to push a certain political narrative.”

“J6 A True Timeline is a result of hours of investigation into the facts of J6. The purpose of this film is to set the record straight without favor to one side or another. January 6 is a dark day in American history, but not in the way it has been portrayed. The American people deserve the whole, uncut truth of what transpired minute by minute. In reality, J6 was a complex human event; one where a peaceful, joyous morning of First Amendment assembly became a riot for reasons that are much more nuanced than most want you to believe.”

The seeds of this documentary were planted as far back as January 2021, with Dave Sumrall and Daniel Goodwyn of StopHate.com, who provided much of the research for the film. Goodwyn, the archival producer of J6 A True Timeline, played a major role in researching and archiving media. Sumrall was J6 A True Timeline’s consulting producer, helping with production and key research.

According to J6 A True Timeline Executive Producer, Jason Rink,

“The small group of collaborators have collected one of the largest repositories of J6 footage in private hands. When the government continued to drag its feet on the release of footage, this group decided to take matters into their own hands. They went about the task of laying out every angle of body cam footage, security footage and footage filmed by citizens, and compiled it in a timeline using metadata and timecode. The result is a view of January 6 from almost every angle, simultaneously, providing a much different story than previously known. Over the past year the filmmakers worked to edit the footage into a concise but accurate documentary which allows people to see the events of the day as they unfolded.”…

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/exclusive-open-ink-project-releases-their-latest-production/

>>20166484

2/3

The creators hope the film will provoke all Americans to ask questions based on what they see and hear.

How did these protestors die and why?

How is the government misrepresenting “restricted area” to convict Americans?

How many protestors really knew they were entering restricted areas on the Capitol grounds?

Do Americans know the flexible fencing was placed on the Capitol grounds for the purpose of constructing the inaugural stage?

Do Americans know the Capitol police were told prior to Jan. 6 not to use munitions on the crowds.

Why was there so much chaos? Why did people riot?

Were the police prepared to handle the crowds that day? Why didn’t the police arrest individuals before the violence escalated?

What really happened at the “tunnel” on Jan. 6. and how did Roseanne Boyland die?

Why did Officer Byrd shoot Ashli Babbitt when she was flanked from behind by Metro police?

What were the communications between Mayor Bowser, members of Congress, Chief Sund, and Yogananda Pittman?

Why are police heard saying they were “set up?”

Why does former Capitol Police officer Tarik Johnson continue to say that former Assistant Chief of USCP Intelligence Yogananda Pittman is largely responsiblefor the chaos on Jan. 6, not former President Donald J. Trump.

These and many other questions remain unanswered and should provoke Americans to think more critically about why the day unfolded the way it did.

The goal of this film was not to editorialize but to chronologically recount the significant events of the day as they unfolded. Viewers will also see events in synchrony throughout the film. The creators also wanted to highlight the circumstances of the protestors who lost their lives. The Jan. 6 deaths have either been minimized, manipulated, misunderstood, or entirely overlooked by our government, the judicial system, and the mainstream media.

The mainstream media and our government have shown almost zero interest in truthful, unbiased reporting of Jan. 6, to the detriment of so many. Sumrall says that he and the other creators “have brought more evidence to light than the government or media ever did.” He has personally testified on behalf of Jers even while under threat of imprisonment. He, like many J6 defendants, has also been visited multiple times at his home where he has been interrogated by the FBI. He and others have invested thousands of dollars in expenses for research, travel, publicity, and awareness on behalf of J6 defendants, many of whom have already been sentenced to years in Federal prison.

Daniel Goodwyn, J6 A True Timeline archival producer, has worked tirelessly to document the events of the day. His and Sumrall’s work will be featured on Open.Ink in hopes of preserving their years of dedication to getting the truth of J6 to the American public. Goodwyn worked behind the scenes over a period of three years compiling original information, data, and footage for the StopHate website. Goodwyn is on the autistic spectrum. His superpower is his ability to research and collate massive amounts of data accurately. Goodwyn’s work is one of the main reasons such a large collection of video and audio has been compiled in the first place.

As with so many J6 defendants, Goodwyn was targeted unfairly by the Department of Justice. Goodwyn walked in an open door in the Capitol for under 40 seconds and walked back out. He never stole, broke, or touched a single object in the Capitol nor did he hurt anyone. For that, the government wanted 20-plus years in federal prison. He was sentenced to 60 days in federal prison but his jail time was applied to some of his prison sentence. Still on supervised release, Goodwyn is not able to move freely. He is also regularly submitted to drug testing.

Fischer, also a defendant who has lost everything and who also potentially faces years in federal prison, speaks to why this film needed to be made. He is the defendant whose UncoverDC news story went viral because his infant son was placed on the Quiet Skies suspected terrorist watchlist:

“The idea for the film was simple. Those of us with our own unique perspective as eyewitnesses, investigators and as observers of the trials and the congressional j6 committee knew that the American public had been purposefully misled about the timeline of events on January 6th.”

“A narrative was created that pieced together events throughout the day to manufacture an explanation for the day that placed the blame directly at Trump’s feet that was not based in fact at all. It was clear that they cherry-picked footage and evidence to explain the story they wanted to tell and lay the groundwork for the prosecution and removal of President Trump from presidential contention.”…

>>20166493

3/3

“We knew that the peaceful protest outside the Capitol was incited into a riot long before a single protestor entered the building,” Fischer continues. “We knew there was more to the 4 protester deaths than had been previously told. And we knew the American people knew none of these things.”

While not involved in the production or content of the film, Catherine Engelbrecht and Gregg Phillips, made it possible to showcase the film on Open.Ink as a part of its J6 Collection. Open.Ink will feature other historical collections that have been heavily censored by the mainstream media and the American government. The idea is to preserve important historical events in perpetuity. The creators of the film will continue to investigate J6 to help with legal defense and to ensure the American public knows the truth about January 6.

Open.Ink is a revolutionary platform designed to bring you the most comprehensive and curated information from open records, research, and archival writings.

Our mission is to provide an unparalleled experience for readers, writers, researchers; preserving important historical information that you may not find anywhere else.

Open.Ink‘s powerful indexed search engine is specifically trained to help you access curated content from diverse sources.

Our aim is to shed light on people and events of historical significance, ensuring the authenticity and relevance of the information presented.

(https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/exclusive-open-ink-project-releases-their-latest-production/

This is truly interesting!

‘El Jefe’: is Karina Milei the power behind Argentina’s presidential throne?

Javier Milei swept aside an anti-nepotism law to appoint his sister to a high-ranking position – but who is she?

Josefina Salomón in Buenos Aires

Sun 31 Dec 2023 06.30 EST

When Javier Milei first walked into Argentina’s presidential palace earlier this month, the radical libertarian leader was not accompanied by his vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, nor his partner, the actor Fátima Flórez.

Milei’s escort at this key political moment was a woman who many analysts describe as the true power behind his throne: his sister, Karina.

Throughout the months of electoral campaigning, “El Jefe” – the male boss, as Karina is known – would precede her brother on stage to announce him to the crowd.

But she is reportedly much more than Milei’s master of ceremonies: according to El Loco, a recent unauthorized biography of the new president by Juan Luis González, she manages his diary, deciding who has access to the leader and even how he dresses.

The most private member of the new administration is also said to be the brain behind one of the most unexpected political phenomena in Argentina’s recent history. She was instrumental in building the movement that harnessed nearly 56% of the total votes in the election.

Kari, as her brother calls her, came up with some of the ideas that made him popular, including raffling his salary as member of parliament after he was first elected in 2021.

In a TV interview the following year, Milei reached for a biblical parallel to explain the relationship. “Moses was a great leader, but he wasn’t a great communicator, so God sent him Aaron,” he said, breaking into tears as he continued:“Kari is Moses, and I’m her spokesman.”

Argentina has a long tradition of couples who dominated presidential politics. Juan Domingo Perón and Eva “Evita” Perón built a populist movement that has defined politics in the country for many decades as well as introducing paid holidays and the right to vote for women.

More recently, Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner held the presidency in turns between 2003 and 2015, with a Peronist agenda.

The fact that this time it is two single and child-free siblings is seen by some as just a reflection of the disruptive politics the Milei family is bringing to crisis-stricken Argentina.

Karina does not make any public comments and instead organises everything in private, so there isn’t much she can be confronted with

Melisa Tatiana Slep of Queen Mary University

“Karina Milei’s power goes way beyond any political position,” said Carolina Barry, a political science researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Conicet) and the National University of Tres de Febrero. “She controls many aspects of Milei’s life from checking the lighting on stage so you can’t see his double chin, to helping him lose weight and ensuring he meets with the right businesspeople. Putting all the many, great differences aside, she sort of reminds me of a figure of Eva Perón. She was a figure that was above the [political] structure and had more power than the ministers and even the governors.”

But unlike Eva Perón – who assumed the role as the voice of Argentina’s marginalized and became a public face of the Peronist project – Karina Milei has given only a few interviews. She graduated with a degree in public relations from the Argentina Business University and had a couple of relatively successful businesses, including a cake shop, before she started organizing her brother’s public agenda and launched his career in public life about a decade ago.

Javier Milei’s speeches and flamboyant TV appearances, in which he espoused libertarian economic ideas, struck a chord as Argentina was experiencing one of its most devastating economic crises.His sister has not left his side since then….

https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2023%2Fdec%2F31%2Fkarina-javier-milei-argentina-president-power

>>20166603

2/2

Among his first decisions as president, Milei did away with a ban that prevented government officials from appointing relatives to government positions.Karina is now general secretary of the presidency, a position with the same ranking as a minister, and will be in charge of tasks including developing public policy, writing speeches and managing relations with civil society. Some are already calling her co-president.

“I think Karina’s decision to keep a low public profile was a well-thought-out decision,” said Melisa Tatiana Slep, political analyst and PhD candidate at the Queen Mary University, who pointed out that Karina was part of the cast in her brother’s 2019 stage show Milei’s Consulting Room.

“This is not an issue of being shy or not wanting to speak in public,” she said. “Karina does not make any public comments and instead organises everything in private, so there isn’t much she can be confronted with. It’s very strategic to do everything behind the scenes.”

Karina Milei is one of a group of women in key areas of the Milei administration.

The vice-president, Victoria Villarruel, who has defended military officials accused of human rights abuses during Argentina’s military dictatorship, will lead the senate and have an oversight of security and defence.

Patricia Bullrich, who came third in the presidential election and was formerly a bitter rival of Milei, has been sworn as the country’s minister of security for the second time, and economist Diana Mondino will lead the foreign ministry. Sandra Pettovello, a conservative journalist, will be in charge of a new ministry that will lead on issues including education, labour and development.

“Rightwing women who are on the opposite side from [progressive] intersectional feminism are taking powerful roles in politics,” said Slep.

The question on everybody’s mind is how dynamics will play out between Karina Milei and the various ministers. Villarruel, for example, who was seen as instrumental to Milei winning the presidency, has now taken a less prominent role.

Barry said that part of the Mileis’ power comes from the fact that they have broken the mould of what is expected from a president in a country that is still largely conservative.

“[Milei’s coalition] Liberty Advances is a very mixed bag with many different visions and approaches. There’s the disruptive sector and a more conservative, traditional sector that would oppose these disruptive ideas about family and other matters,” Barry said.

“Predicting what will happen is very difficult. The government will have to take extreme measures, which could generate so much suffering that we don’t really know what could happen in the coming months.”

Oops

1 Jan, 2024 21:50

Explosion destroys museum honoring Nazi collaborator in Ukraine

The site dedicated to Roman Shukhevich was destroyed in Lviv

Two sites associated with WW2-era Nazi collaborators who have been hailed in present-day Ukraine as national heroes were damaged in the western city of Lviv overnight on January 1st. The development was confirmed on Monday by the city’s mayor, Andrey Sadoviy, whoattributed the damage to Ukraine’s “national heritage sites” to Russian drone strikes.

A major explosion rocked the house-museum dedicated to Roman Shukhevich. An early leader within the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Shukhevich participated in terrorist activities and assassinations when Lviv was part of Poland during the interwar years.

He went on to serve with the Nazi SS and later on led the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which has been accused of extensive ethnic cleansing targeting the region’s Jewish and Polish populations. He died in 1950 during a shootout with Soviet counterintelligence.

Footage shared online by Sadoviy shows that the museum was entirely destroyed, with only a memorial plaque and a damaged statue of Shukhevich left standing at the site.

The main building of the Lviv National Agrarian University was also damaged overnight; an explosion blew off its roof off and set the historic structure on fire. The university is known as the alma-mater of Stepan Bandera, another Ukrainian nationalist leader and WW2-era Nazi collaborator who is commemorated with a statue in front of the now-damaged building.

Thus far, the Russian military has remained silent on the damage to the Ukrainian “national heritage” sites. It remains unclear whether they were attacked deliberately or were hit by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses, which have become notorious for causing collateral damage on the ground.

Thedamage to the sites came on Bandera’s birthday, which is commemorated every year by the most hardline Ukrainian nationalists with torch-lit marches in Kiev as well as other locations.

https://www.rt.com/russia/590013-ukraine-explosion-museum-destroyed/