September 6, 2017 (Steven O’Reilly) – Sad news out of Italy. LifeSite News and others are reporting that Cardinal Caffarra, one of the Dubia cardinals, has died. May God rest his soul. He is the second of two Dubia cardinals to have passed away in the last two months. After the first died, I penned a blog entitled “…and then there were three.” That title was a play on the Agatha Christie murder mystery “And Then there were None.” With the passing of Cardinal Caffara we must sadly say: “And then there were two.” The two remaining ones are Cardinal Burke (69) and Cardinal Walter Brandmuller (88). Good Heavens – I hope I never need to entitle a blog “And then there were none!”
Yikes. It seems that being a “Dubia Cardinal” is quite hazardous to one’s health. I am not suggesting anything, but a fifty percent mortality rate in under a year raises an eyebrow – just a bit. Just saying. Let’s just say if I were a dubia cardinal, from here on out I’d hire some professional food testers to check my meals in the Roman ristoranti, inclusive of sipping cappucinos and the aqua – either “con o senza gas”! Just saying. I might also leave a copy of the as-yet-to-be-released “formal correction” in a locker at the train station – to be opened and released in the event of my untimely demise. Just saying.
I do wonder what sort of bench strength the Dubia cardinals have, if any. It would be nice for some fill-ins to step forward – the team is getting a bit thin. If there are reinforcements – now would be a good time. What I said following the death of the first Dubia cardinal still holds:
“As the dubia cardinals gather together next time, there will be one less person at that conference table. Before their numbers dwindle still further, and the composition of the College of Cardinal shifts even more against them than it has already, the dubia cardinals (as well as any silent partners they have) need to act – in my humble opinion – with greater urgency and boldness. I recently, again, outlined my suggestion for the next course of action (see here). I am not saying it is the best plan, but whatever might be out there as alternatives – I hope the dubia cardinals have one; and that their plan doesn’t include too much time as a variable. The time to act is now. . .before we run out of dubia cardinals. Fortune favors the bold. Who dares, wins.” (Emphasis added!)
Our remaining pair of Dubia cardinals, I hope, act quickly and decisively with regard to a formal correction, which – based on what they have said – might look something like what I suggest in one of my articles (see High Noon: Musings on a Formal Correction of a Pope). Who knows, but they should not waste any time in getting it out to the public. Fr. Luca Brasi might come one night for a visit. Just saying. Rules to live by: don’t sleep with the fishes.
Steven O’Reilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He lives near Atlanta with his wife Margaret. He has four children. He has written apologetic articles and is working on a historical-adventure trilogy, set during the time of the Arian crisis. He can be contacted at StevenOReilly@AOL.com.
Roma Locuta Est 
I agree. It is highly suspicious that two of the four ‘dubia’ cardinals have already died in just over two months of each other. Although it was reported that Card. Caffarra had been suffering from a “long illness”, his sudden death was certainly unexpected. As was Card. Meisner’s strange and sudden death.
It has been prophesied by Our Lady in many Church-approved apparition sites (and at Garabandal) that Satan and his minions would be “walking the corridors of the Vatican” in our times. And are we not seeing that today without the faintest shadow of a doubt?
These four faithful and courageous cardinals were a thorn in the side of the Modernists, Masons, Marxists and ‘lavender Mafia’ that have infiltrated the Holy Bride of Christ and are putting into motion their evil plans foran a New World Order where man becomes ‘g’od. Getting the cardinals popped off one by one would remove their biggest ‘obstacle’. It is a terrifying scenario!
We must pray as never before to holy St Joseph and St Michael to protect our Holy Catholic Church.
(BTW, Cardinal Raymond Burke is 69, not 79. He was born in 1948.)
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Kathleen, thanks for the comments! Cardinal Caffarra was a great man. What a loss for the Church – and at this time of crisis. Quite a loss. Though the article was intended (to some extent!) tongue-in-cheek; I do hope our remaining dubia cardinals are watchful. If the Cardinal’s passing was ‘coincidence’ – we cannot afford too many more of these ‘coincidences’! Just saying. As to Cardinal Burke’s age being 69, and not 79 as I originally inserted; thanks! The change has been made – and it’s good news that Cardinal Burke became 10 years younger. Hopefully, God willing, he is with us a long time to come. We need him to see through the “formal correction”.
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