by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
This year many of us have the first occasion in 4 years to celebrate the Holy Season of Easter in public without any restrictions and with the liberty to travel to be with family. Normalcy in this sense has returned, though the uneasy sense of what might come in years ahead remains.
I wish to thank all of my readers who have helped me in the last 3 years of nightmare and have remained supporters of my apostolic works during those dark days. Thank God they have ended and we have the freedom in most countries which we had before.
Looking Back
Last month I had the consolation to meet the Most. Rev. Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi, the 2nd oldest Bishop in the Catholic Church. We talked about the awful decline in the Church in his lifetime and the failure of the proposed reforms of Vatican II, the scandals in the Church, and of how many clergy have betrayed their duties to Christ.
However, it was a consolation to meet and speak freely with a Bishop, for the first time in my life, since unlike so many, he is just as catholic in private as he is in public. We both recognized the importance of Consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart, while we steel ourselves for the persecutions which seem about to come from all sides.
Looking Forward
The recent moves by the Italian government to profile citizens and their continued insistence in their authority to violate the Nuremberg Code at any time, at will, remains a troubling legal reality here in Italy. For that reason, though I am still bound by a rental agreement for the Hermitage until the end of September, I have not decided what to do or where to go after that.
As you know, my defense of all Catholic truth in matters of canon law, questions of medical ethics, doctrine and morals has garnered me enemies in all parts of the world. As a Franciscan brother who lives by begging, this makes it more difficult for me to find the support I need or which I could use to engage in other apostolates. But I am thankful for your past help, trusting that the Good Lord will provide, in due time, what is necessary.
Many ask what are the normal monthly expenses, at the Hermitage here in Italy, and so I give this breakdown, in Euros: 1300 for rent, 75 for electricity, 35 water, and in Wintertime 550 monthly for heat, and 250 for food and supplies.
I wish to thank my readers for their continued support, and extend my gratitude to the few of them who now carry the bulk of my personal expenses.
If you would like to help me, in this way, use this donation button and a debit/credit card. You do not have to have a PayPal account.
In advance I offer my gratitude and prayers to all who read this article, regardless of whether they can or cannot help me this month.
CREDITS: The featured photography shows Br. Bugnolo standing before a poster of Pope Benedict XVI, which hangs in the home of his relatives in the United States. Brother is currently visiting and returns to the Hermitage of the Holy Cross after Easter.
