Storm clouds on the horizon bode problems ahead as a clash of cultures is inevitable with Benedict's right-hand man - erh, woman - raising many eyebrows as the first ever woman to hold such a powerful non-elected position in the Vatican. Can you say Hillary?

"First of all, Catherine of Siena was a great mystic who was inspired and guided by the Holy Ghost to lead the Church toward Christ and away from schism. She steered the Church toward its proper, traditional, and divine purpose and mission and away from those who would twist that mission and purpose toward secular, modernist, and radical directions. Conversely, the pattern today and especially among many if not most lay advocates of "Church reform" is away from traditional, divinely inspired paths and toward modernist, secular, radical, feminist, and sodomite agendas. Despite the twisted logic and arguments of liberals and Church modernists, the advocacy of married and female clergy and a greater openness to sodomite and feminist agendas is not an advocacy toward Christ and away from schism but rather quite the opposite, pushing the Church toward a pluralistic, relativistic, proportionlistic morality that stands exactly against what Christ stood for. Such an agenda is obviously pushing the Church toward schism and not away from it. In short, what Stampa and Burke stand for is exactly the opposite of what Catherine of Siena stood for. She wanted to preserve and protect the true faith while they want to overturn, redefine, and usurp the status quo given their background and associations. It is a blasphemy to compare that great saint to these two women, and only adds fuel to the contention that all of this comes from the depths of hell!"

    The recent election of Joseph Ratzinger as Benedict XVI has had the expected share of "storylines" regarding his supposed conservative bent and hard-nosed, rigid tenacity toward tradition. Anyone with even a whisper of knowledge regarding the Vatican hierarchy and the false fruits of Vatican II knows that this supposed conservatism and traditional leaning is vastly overblown and quite inaccurate for the new Pope's alleged leanings are not conservative when compared to pure tradition and truth and, besides, we have evidence already discussed in other pieces by other writers that Benedict is not likely going to remind anyone of Pius XII anytime soon. As if this overblown conservatism was not enough to warrant caution as this new papacy begins to churn, we now have a new concern. It has been well reported that Benedict's most trusted advisor is Ingrid Stampa, the 55 year-old-German laywoman and academic, who has been at his side since 1991. She has been extensively touted as his powerful counsel, support, and "brain trust". While I do not want to pre-judge unjustly, there is something about this woman's background and her powerful influence over the new pope that inspires concern and invites caution.

Ingredients of an Omninous Brew

    It is easy for many to ignore or downplay individual ingredients as insignificant or overplayed, but one must consider each ingredient individually and then consider the entire interplay and combination of such factors in developing one's perception of a situation or person. In the interest of brevity and clarity, I have decided to present these ingredients in bullet form.

• Stampa is lay affiliate of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, yet another one of those lay participation groups that promotes and supports greater lay participation in Church affairs. Sister Isabelle Naumann, a theologian with that group, has stated that it is unfair to "box" and "label" Benedict XVI as a "traditionalist" or one who is "inflexible" considering that he is a "person of dialogue who works continually for what Vatican II stands for". It is safe to say that this group thinks that being a "traditionalist" is a negative thing because it is not conducive to having an open mind about reform. Illinois Appeals Court Judge Anne Burke, who until recently was the Chair of The US Conference of Catholic Bishops' National Lay Review Board, has often expressed similar desires to have greater lay participation in Church affairs. Burke recently spoke at a Call to Action event held April 5, 2005 which was billed as a call to increase female and lay participation in the Church including promoting an end to male-only priesthood and priestly celibacy. Without necessarily labeling all such lay groups as being dissident, radical, and schismatic, common experience has shown that most such groups begin by seeking "reform" and end up demanding female and married priests, embracing sodomites, and other modernist and secular "innovations". Anyone who doubts this should consult the aforementioned Call to Action and add Voice of The Faithful plus The Sisters of Loreto. As a lay affiliate of such a group, Stampa is likely to favor such "reforms" in some way, and hence is a dangerous influence in that regard. Call to Action leaders describe their radical agenda as "non-defiant defiance" and brush off lay Catholics who do not support their agenda as lacking "theological maturity". Given Stampa's lay status and her influence plus background, doesn't it seem reasonable that groups such as Voice of The Faithful, Call to Action, and The Sisters of Loreto would be thrilled to have her at the ear of Benedict?

• Stampa is a scholar being a former Professor at the Conservatory in Hamburg. She speaks at least 3 languages and has an advanced degree in ancient music. Certainly there is nothing wrong with being intelligent and well-educated, but common experience shows that many, if not most, scholars tend to be more liberal, reformist, secular, modernist, and pluralistic in their thinking and philosophy. Anyone doubting this observation need only ask Mel Gibson who some of his greatest critics were.

• Stampa is on record as having ghostwritten and translated for Benedict XVI and is generally regarded as his personal spokesperson. She is considered the first person of his inner circle and has a tremendous amount of influence on him. She has been called the "Karen Hughes to Benedict's Bush" and is widely seen as his "right hand woman". She is the first laywoman in Vatican history to enjoy a Pope's daily confidences with a strong voice over his schedule and activities. In short, she has great if not complete control over who sees the Pope and whose ideas influence him. Most observers see the combination of her background and her influence to be a signal of greater rank-in-file Catholic involvement in daily Church life and administration. Many of these observers have added that such changes ring more Voice of The Faithful than conservative, let alone any kind of Traditional leanings.

• Although there is also nothing wrong with being unmarried and 55 years of age for someone who is a religious, the fact that Stampa is not a religious and yet is unmarried and therefore has no family adds fuel to the concern as to what her views on marriage, traditional family structures, and the role of women in the Church are. Besides that, what about the proper decorum Catholic clergy have always been expected to observe? It only creates rumors and scandal when one hears that an unmarried woman lives in the same household as a cleric. In this case being the pope, it makes it all the more scandalous. There have been rumors from the past, but nothing to substantiate and so we leave it at that. Nevertheless, the scent of an unmarried woman can only be a temptation to one who leads a celibate life.

Gabriel's Clarion
June 13, 2005
Volume 16, no. 164