Some great observations by Janet Baker has in her reply to Thom Peter's objections to Catholics expressing concerns about the Pope's confusing statements.
...especially to Thom's question below.
"If Pope Francis sees dissenting Catholics living more active lives of charity, showing more passion in their desire to fix the problems of the world, and being more vocal in the great debates of our time, what happens then?"
I'm trying to understand this concept.
Pope Francis is aware that people who dissent from Church teaching are people who are selfishly enticing and baiting others into committing offenses against God that rob them of their salvation.
Was Thom trying to suggest it is possible that the Pope is so theologically shallow that in spite of this, he could perceive public statements about wanting to fix the problems of the world as living more active lives of charity?
Does this hanging question imply Pope Francis would reconstruct the deposit of faith upon the same old crackpot attempt at charity tried by Judas 2000 years ago?
What happens then?
I think I can answer that one.
Then, charitably...we announce he is daft. We step up the campaign to keep Catholics on the ship. Instruct them on how to ride out the storm. Remind them that while we are obliged to accept what is written into a Catechism under his watch - we ought not to to participate in the behavior ourselves, and anything contradictory which he expresses outside of the Catechism is anathema.
Come on Thom!!!! The possibility that the Pope is this shallow is way below zero.
There is one thing everyone can take to the bank:
The Catholics who have the spinal fortitude to express what every well-educated, well-formed and catechized Catholic knows or should know about the circus in Rome for the last eight months have zero interest in competing in a popularity contest for the Pope's affections. We don't give a rat's patoot whether he likes us or he doesn't like us. Our focus - every scintilla of our energy and being - is on the salvation of souls.
If he's going to spend the rest of his pontificate making a mockery out of our religion and undermining the moral compasses of our children, it's going to get ugly.
Also - check out this post-Is this the Martini Pope?
..and Fr. Ray Blake's post on the disconcerting situation in Rome.
If these people weren't running every chancery in the United States we wouldn't be so concerned. But they are and they have robbed two generations of Catholics of their religion. Those of us who somehow made it through are done with it. Completely done. Over and out done. Restructuring the Inheritance of Christ after it will result in quite a donnybrook in the public square.
That's what happens then!
3 comments:
"Was Thom trying to suggest it is possible that the Pope is so theologically shallow that in spite of this, he could perceive public statements about wanting to fix the problems of the world as living more active lives of charity?"
Why not? The Catholic hierarchy as a whole has been heading toward both directions (theological superficiality and a fundamentally materialist solution to poverty) for decades. Just read "Caritas in Veritae," Pope Benedict's encyclical that advocates an "authority" with "real teeth" (quotes from encyclical) that would manage international finance to promote disarmament, economic and environmental security "for the common good" -- and effectively hold greater power than individual national governments.
"Does this hanging question imply Pope Francis would reconstruct the deposit of faith upon the same old crackpot attempt at charity tried by Judas 2000 years ago?"
That is an excellent observation, and one that someone aligned with either the Antichrist or the False Prophet would attempt.
I'm not saying that Pope Francis is either the Antichrist or the False Prophet. But he could well be a precursor to the latter -- just like Pres. Obama isn't the Antichrist but a minor-league harbinger of what he would be like.
Nobody really knows how the antichrist will manifest himself but I've often thought of its uprising as a spiritual force that affects the masses - some more than others depending upon the state of their soul.
The devil is definitely unchained - though I have friends that will tell me we ain't seen nothing yet and they are probably right given our ending described in the Book of Revelation.
I am not worried that the Pope will be knocked far off of his trajectory. IMO has been too far away from the ground game in the parish and home to understand how uncatechized the masses are, and given this ignorance, in his innocence and naivete - he is speaking the wrong language and the devil is using it.
We need to sit tight, pray for him, but this is definitely not the time for silence. Our Holy Father is not caught up in the clericalism of the past.
Remember that Our Lady of Fatima told us of the Pope in white? He belongs to her. IMO, the possibility exists that Pope Francis could be that Pope.
We are not sorcerers. We can only make judgments from what is being said and what is being said leaves any reasonable and logical person to make a judgment that the possibility exists that there very serious risk to the salvation of souls under this papacy, as is the structure of the Roman Catholic Church.
Those are the facts and they are as plain as the nose on our face.
Post a Comment