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The Wanderer, a conservative Catholic newspaper in the United States, said the revelations about Fernandez’s book were cause for alarm and confirmed the direction of Francis’ 10-year pontificate.

“If this is not grounds for immediate removal of Cardinal Fernandez from his post at the Doctrine of the Faith and the repeal of the the document Fiducia Supplicans — this pontificate along with our church will be heading further into the abyss,” wrote Joseph Matt, the newspaper president, in an online editorial.

The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, didn’t respond when asked if Francis still had confidence in Fernandez to lead the doctrine office, whether he knew about “The Mystical Passion” and why it wasn’t included in the list of publications provided by the Vatican when Fernandez was appointed on July 1.

[ebb tide]

Fernández was appointed rector of the Pontifical University of Argentina in 2009. Bergoglio, then archbishop of Buenos Aires, pushed for this appointment against the will of the Vatican. Cardinal Gerhard Müller confirmed that there was a dossier on the Argentine theologian in the competent departments: there was concern about reports arriving on his writings. Before the book on the mystical orgasm, in the Catholic world there were already doubts about Fernández for the book entitled «Sàname con tu boca. The art of basing».