Spain: scandal over priests who say “pray for the Pope to go to heaven as soon as possible”

Among the millions of priests who pray every day for Pope Francis, who was hospitalized for a few hours this week in Rome for a check-up, in Spain a few days ago, one said: “I pray a lot for the Pope, so that he can go to Heaven as soon as possible.”

This is the Spanish father Gabriel Calvo Zarraute and he did it during a meeting with other religious people on YouTube.

Calvo Zarraute is a member of the counter-revolutionary priestly group baptized as The Vendée Sacristy: a zoom open to the public in which a group of priests debate ecclesiastical topics every Thursday, at nine in the evening, Spanish time.

In history, the Vendée was the region where the Catholic insurrection occurred, during the French Revolution, peasants and nobles united who were repressed for defending the Catholic faith and the monarchy.

“Welcome to the humble trench of Christ the King. To the Hispanic counterrevolution in defense of the Catholic religion”, greeted Father Calvo Zarraute on Thursday 22 February, before confessing, in an ironic tone, the purpose of his prayers for Bergoglio.

“I also join in Father Gabriel’s prayers for the Holy Father,” added Charles Murr, an American priest and theologian whose latest book, Murder in the 33rd Degree, investigates Freemasonry in the Vatican.

“United also in prayer. “I’m at full speed.”Priest Juan Razo arrived from Mexico.

“There are many of us with this intention”, added Father Calvo Zarraute while the rest of the priests who participated in the zoom smiled.

“Well, let’s see if we pray harder.”concluded Father Francisco J. Delgado, moderator of the meeting that Thursday discussed the practice of giving Communion in the hand.

The conversation between the priests was followed by 4,640 people who were online at the time or who watched it later, on the La Sacristy de La Vendée YouTube channel.

“Deep rejection”

The intentions that the priests celebrated jokingly They caused a sensation in the Spanish Church. Especially in the archdiocese of Toledo, to which Delgado and Calvo Zarraute belong, two of the main voices of the conference.

“Given the news of the recent and public interventions of two priests of this archdiocese, the Archbishopric of Toledo expresses its profound rejection to any manifestation of disaffection towards the person and ministry of the Holy Father,” Archbishop Francisco Cerro Chaves announced in a statement.

“The Archbishopric of Toledo is not responsible in any way for the statements made on that YouTube channel, which in no way represents the line of communication of this particular Church. “We reiterate and ratify the calls for effective and affective communion with the successor of Peter”, adds the statement in which any sanctions are excluded to priests who joked about the intentions of their prayers.

In July last year, the archdiocese of Toledo removed Gabriel Calvo Zarraute as parish priest of the churches of Santiago Apóstol, Espinoso del Rey and San Miguel Arcángel, Torrecilla de la Jara and la Fresneda. Father Gabriel, who had been parish priest of those localities since 2018, had asked for permission “to continue his studies”.

A joke, according to the priests

The priests’ apologies were not long in coming. From the rally’s X (formerly Twitter) account they said: “Sorry for the unfortunate comment, said in a joking tone, on ‘praying for the Pope to go to heaven as soon as possible’. It is a comment in bad taste and, even if it does not express wishes for the Pope’s death, as some media have maliciously spread, we understand that it can be understood that way”, they argued.

“We reiterate our adherence to Pope Francis, in the same terms in which it was clearly expressed in the program of 15 February,” add the priests. “We reject attacks against the Pope and the unity of the Church and against those who deny the legitimacy of the Pope’s ministry.”

They insist that “it pains us to have been able to confuse the simple souls who find training and consolation in our program. Many credit us with an important role in their perseverance in the Catholic faith and We are concerned that we have caused confusion or scandal in their souls.”

And they counterattack: “We do not apologize, however, to those who hypocritically take advantage of our mistake to attack our entire message, even if it was we who gave them the opportunity to do so. May God forgive them.”

Monsignor Aguer has gone through the harvest of discord

A year ago, the Vendée Sacristy had as its guest the bishop emeritus of La Plata, Monsignor Héctor Aguer.

“On compulsory retirement”, Aguer introduced himself: “For 20 years I was bishop of La Plata,” he observed. When I turned 75, two days later I stopped being one.”

In connection with Argentina, Father Delgado and Father Calvo Zarraute interviewed him on what the meeting of that February 23, 2023 called “Cancel culture” of some priests by the religious authority.

“A sort of persecution that has also reached the Church”, they defined it.

“The erasure of priests is the triumph of progressivism,” Aguer said.

“The fact that there are canceled priests is a resulting crack in the Church created by progressivism – stated the bishop emeritus -. Progressivism is against tradition and then takes advantage of priests attached to tradition. Which is scandalous.”

“The absolute character that the pontifical monarchy acquires is something that doesn’t work”, underlined Monsignor Aguer in his conversation with the Spanish priests.

The bishop emeritus and Bergoglio have known each other for decades. In the 1980s Aguer was rector of the seminary while Bergoglio was provincial superior of the Jesuits in San Miguel. They were also auxiliary bishops of Cardinal Antonio Quarracino. It’s no secret that they weren’t in sync in many ways.

“I have known the Holy Father for 45 years and I have a cordial and familiar relationship with him,” Aguer said during the meeting of counterrevolutionary priests. If he finds out what I say, he will bear it.”