by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
Many Catholics, scholars and clergy among them, have urged me to write Archbishop Georg Gänswein since he telephoned me back in January 2020 A. D.. Having thought about this for a long time and prayed over this decision, I chose to write the Archbishop on the 105th Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima.
I did this because, after the revelations of the contents of his phone call to the brother of Father Gebhard, I could not help comparing it to the tone he used in the phone call to me (which I did not receive, but which ended up on my cellphone as a voice message, which I have archived for historical reference).
I had been persuaded by Andrea Cionci for a long time to consider the Archbishop an ally in the restoration of Pope Benedict XVI. But with the recent revelations, I have abandoned that position, and returned to my former conclusion, namely, that Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Gänswein have two different views of what happened on Feb. 11, 2013.
But, as Christ exhorts me, I have put aside any ill-will or feelings of hurt after his phone call message to me, which I reported on here, and decided to write him a letter for the love of God, for the love of the Mother of the Church, for the love of the Holy Father, and for the love of the salvation of souls, since the Faithful have the divine right to know with certitude who is the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ on earth.
Here is the text of my letter. I encourage all the faithful to write their own letters, in a charitable spirit and tone, to help the Archbishop see how grave is the damage being done to the Church by the confusion generated.
While I think the Holy Father was right to use subterfuge to protect the Church, I think the time for that has passed and now we need clarity.
I have published my letter today, because in it I make no request which requires a response. And because, if there is any good will to hearken to my plea, it was already put into action after these 12 days. If not, the publication of my letter will encourage that. (Please note that the original did not contain links) – Radio Rosa Mistica has read this letter in their own Spanish translation, here; however it characterizes my letter as if I am asking who is the true pope, which is what I am obviously not doing.
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105th Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, Fatima
October 13, 2022 A. D.
Msgr. Georg Gänswein
Archbishop of Urbs Salvia
Vatican City
Your Excellency,
Pax et Bonum!
I am writing you after a long pause, on account of my desire to think and pray over the message you left on my cellphone in January of 2020, as I lay sick in bed with a very bad cold.
Subsequently, I have not found any sound counsel from those whom I asked about how to respond to your request.
I have also been greatly scandalized by the claims made in the press, afterwards, that those who have wanted to write and meet with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI after his canonical election or in the last 9 years were, in their opinion, impeded by your intervention.
I too would like to write the Holy Father, but I first want to respond to your phone message, so that there might be peace between us.
Yes, I am a nobody. I am a layman, not in orders or under public vows. But as I have spent more than 12 years working on a critical English translation of St. Bonaventure’s Commentarian in Quatuor Libros Sententiarum Magistri Petri Lombardi, I know something about the need, in human communications, of using terms precisely, and I recognize that when ever two parties are communicating with brief phrases, it often happens that misunderstandings arise, since they often each have entirely different personal experiences and habits of linguistic expression.
This is all the more true when our native languages differ.
And for that reason, I have had many occasions to rethink what I was trying to communicate to the Holy Father in my Scholastic Question which I mailed him in the winter and spring of 2019, as well as in my letter in December of 2019, which you responded to by phone, when you attempted to speak with me in person.
Moreover, as I hold a B. A. in Cultural Anthropology, I have rethought my questions as a archeologist might do, by wiping away all my presuppositions and ignoring what others say about the events of Feb. 11, 2013 and thereafter and before. And I have tried to devote myself to a very careful study of the historical events, before I ask other questions.
I have come to understand, as do many, that the Holy Father never intended to renounce the petrine munus, but only the petrine ministerium, and that, yes, thus, it can be said that his renunciation is valid, even though, there cannot be found in the Codex Iuris Canonicis of 1983, a juridical or administrative act called renunciatio ministerii.
This is perplexing not to only myself but men of the highest character and learning. For that reason, there are many of us who would like to have the opportunity to sit down with the Holy Father and ask him whether he intended an ABDANKUNG or only a RUECKTRITT, because for those of us who have some fluency in Latin, we are desiring to understand what the Holy Father intended when he wrote declaro me ministerio renuntiare, namely, which of these German concepts he was proposing, or even whether he was intending to renounce the Petrine VERANTVORTUNG, which my investigations and study lead me to regard as the proper translation of the Latin, munus, in modern German.
I propose by this letter of mine, that the Holy Father in his paternal solicitude for the Flock of Christ, many of whom are deeply confused about which of the two popes, Benedict or Francis, hold the petrine munus, to grant an audience to answer in public such pertinent questions.
I understand that no one may consider me worthy to attend such a meeting, but I do realize that the Church has come to a point in Her history, when the Holy Father must before witnesses give an answer to such questions, and if not in private, at a Provincial Council called for this purpose by the Ordinaries of the Province of Rome, so that the entire Church in fully ecclesial and canonical act, can come to a common understanding of what the Holy Father has done, what it means, and how the faithful are to regard it.
I fear – and not only I, but thousands of the faithful – that if such a clarification is not given in the lifetime of the Holy Father, the Church will see worse days ahead and experience another Great Schism with lineages of popes who regard each other as illegitimate, since canon 40 and canon 41 give them the right to disagree about papal acts which are confusing in their interpretation.
And so I write to you this letter, because I believe that you are not only the only person in the crucial place to avert such a catastrophe, but that you possess all the personal virtues to understand in prayer how great a good this would be for all parties involved. You also hold a Doctorate in Canon Law, so I am certain the argument I have presented here is clear to you and easily understood.
I would beg you therefore, for the love of God, for the love of the Mother of the Church, for the love of the Holy Father, and for the love of the salvation of souls, to heed my request.
Sincerely in Saint Francis,
Br. Alexis Bugnolo
A logical, respectful, and reasonable letter.
It deserves an answer, whether you get one or not.
Thank you for writing, and then for sharing it.
It does not surprise me that you suffered much trouble and mental anguish at the shrine in Spain, nor that you continue to have legal and money troubles which are ultimately caused by the Devil, who hates all your attempts to aid the Church and the Papacy, and to alert people to the truth of what is going on in the Church and in the world in this Apocalyptic era.
It is only to be expected that you will have misery and opposition in this life, but you will be greatly rewarded in the next. God bless you dear Brother Alexis.
I even understood it, and I’m not Catholic.
Good job, Brother.
This is one of the astounding (and revealing) things to me! Non-Catholics all around me GET IT. They easily point out all the things being said and done by francis and shake their heads saying “that man is not even Catholic”! He is NOT your Pope!
Beautiful letter.
God Bless you, Br. Bugnolo
With one caveat: I could use a little clarification on the German words and the reason you chose them, rather than English or Italian.
Veranvortung has to do with responsibility, which relates to menus. I get that. But abda.kung and reucktritt both seem to mean the same thing, to wit: retirement or withdrawal. Are there connotations getting lost in the translation?
Abdakung, is to abdicate. Reucktritt is to resign. Veranvortung means the obligation to fulfill a debt or duty.
Thank you for having the courage to write this, Brother! Hopefully, Apb. Gänswein will have the courage to positively respond. Please GOD, may this happen as soon as possible … We’re running out of time before chaos is completely unleashed.
Since you acknowledge yourself as a layman in the letter but sign ” Sincerely in St.Francis, Br. Alexis Bugnolo”, could you please provide a clarification for those of us who a) dont really care but need to explain it to those who are quick to dismiss our concerns and have little time for familiarity with them and b) those who might read this for the first time and have no one to explain the seeming inconsistency?
As I understand you consider yourself a Brother because of your simple vows and an implicit approval of B16.
Repetitio mater studiorum.
I am a layman because I am not a priest. I am a brother because I am a consecrated person.
Why do we need to care about intentions?
Did he validly resign? Yes or no? Whatever the intentions might be that can be resolved later. The pope is under canon law. Did he validly resign under the corresponding canon law? Yes or no? Are you backtracking in your position? IMO they are all a bunch of wicked people. But we need to respect the will of God that is reflected on the canon law. Did the pope respected the will of his Boss or not? If you sign to give your life for the sheep then do it when the times require. This is a masterplan to destroy the church I cannot see the utility to consider “intentions”. It will add to the confusion and to the scandal, did he resign yes or no. That is it.
Because, intentions confirm the signification of exterior speech.
I apologize for my rushed judgement. sometimes I do feel like Ivan trying to get information from the devil, like the video posted below. With the devil I mean this whole situation which is ambiguous and confusing, and at the same time important.
Thank you for what you do, brother.
I think Archbishop Ganswein is nothing but a guard for our imprisoned Holy Father Benedict. Either Benedict intended to resign only the
Ministerium or he is in an impeded See as you have said. I believe Benedict is an incredibly intelligent man. If he intended to resign the Munus, he certainly did not in his Declaratio. Canon Law means what it says. Benedict is not stupid. He is preserving the papacy under duress. So many irregularities and violations of Universi Dominici Gregis regarding the 2013 Conclave and Bergoglio’s rise prove the conclave is invalid. Pope Benedict does not give any indication that he is not the pope. It seems that nearly all of the prelates in the Church have zero credibility regarding Canon Law. I believe that many of these prelates remain members of the Freemasons and continue in their sins of sodomy.
May God bless Pope Benedict!
I agree, Pope Benedict isn’t stupid and it was obvious from the time of his elevation to Pope that he is most certainly surrounded by incredible evil. A man alone. We are Blessed that he is still alive. God Bless Our Holy Father and May The Blessed Mother Watch Over Him. Amen
Brother : I’m a bit perplexed as to the timing of your writing this letter. That you chose to write it only two days after it was reported that Pope Benedict XVI sent Archbishop Ganswein to relay the message of his impediment / imprisonment, where he dutifully obeyed as his personal secretary, and explicitly told us where he personally stands: “Before I came here, I prayed with Pope Benedict – as every Catholic priest does” (see your own excellent commentary of this historical event): https://www.fromrome.info/2022/10/11/pope-benedict-xvi-declares-the-apostolic-see-impeded/ …
and so many then understood that the way Ganswein has been unjustly portrayed as being unfaithful to Pope Benedict (accused even of being his personal “jailer” – BXVI’s body language never indicated he is fearful of him)… now your letter here would appear to reverse any positive attribution that may be rightly owed to Ganswein for his fidelity to Benedict. What more could Ganswein have done to prove this?
As for the unnerving phone message that Ganswein left you in 2020, which of course caused you to believe the worst about him, is it possible that he acted out of fear for Pope Benedict, since too much was being revealed too quickly; perhaps before the “appointed time” that God willed it to be?
My position is that the Archbishop does what the Holy Father asks him to do, but does not understand always why He asks it.
There is not a german word like Veranvortung. That should be Verantwortung.
There is not a german word like Abdakung. That should be Abdankung.
Abdakung, is no where to be found. But yes, in cutting and pasting, the T fell out. Thank you.