Walt failed to wish Pope Francis a happy birthday, and many more, on the 17th. It wasn't forgetfulness. I just can't bring myself to write something which I manifestly don't mean. Like many traditionalist and conservative Catholics -- yes, there is a difference -- I hope the Pontiff's 80th year will be his last, at least in the Petrine office.
It must be said that Pope Bergoglio remains enormously popular among most rank-and-file, jump-through-the-hoop-yes-Father Catholics (Hello, Jeff Mirus!), the number of those who hold to the Faith of Our Fathers, who disapprove of the Pope's radical agenda, grows every day, especially now that his priorities are out in the open for all to see. (Except for those who will not see, that is. Hello again, Jeff Mirus!)
When you look at the recent Synod on the Family, the Pope's environmental alarmism, and his statement last week that Jews don't have to convert to Christianity to be saved, there's plenty to criticize. Here's some calm and well-reasoned crticism from Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant, and Christopher Ferrara.
A few days ago, The Remnant published an open letter arguing that Francis's papacy is causing grave harm to the Church, and begging him to resign. If you sign the petition at the end of the letter, your name and e-mail address will NOT be published. Walt hopes you will join him in doing so.
Returning to the point about many Catholics hoping this will be the Pope's last year... In an interview with La Stampa, Francesca Chaouqui, appointed by Francis himself as a Vatican PR person, said "Many people in the Vatican want Francis dead."
Ms Chaoqui explained that the Pontiff's in-house reforms and nominations have emboldened his enemies, many of whom were in the Vatican when Francis was archbishop of Buenos Aires and had a less-than-pleasant relationship with Rome. Some of these Cardinals and bishops are openly resisting his reforms, she said, while others inside and out of the Vatican are simply waiting out his pontificate under the argument that popes come and go but the Curia remains.
Tomorrow we will see just how far the Pope is willing to push the envelope when he gathers the Curia for his traditional Christmas greeting. A year ago, Francis threw a very wet blanket over the usually jovial affair by issuing a blistering public dressing-down of the Cardinals and bishops, accusing them of using their careers to grab power and wealth, of living "hypocritical double lives" and of forgetting, due to "spiritual Alzheimer's" that they’re supposed to be joyful men of God. The Pope's remarks were not well received.
Sandro Magister, a senior Vaticanista often quoted in WWW, wrote: "Since then, the murmuring of criticism of Jorge Mario Bergoglio has grown, always though anonymously given the the pope's reaction to anyone who criticizes or irritates him. Many are wondering what he’ll say this time."
In fact, many wonder what the Pope says a great deal of the time! Canon lawyer Edward Condon, one of Francis's supporters, writes in the Catholic Herald that the Pope’s casual and free way of speaking has nevertheless led to confusion among the faithful about where he stands on certain key issues.
"[Pope Francis's] interventions, when they come," Mr. Condon writes, "seem to have an almost impatient tone at the inability of the rest of us to get with the programme, whatever it might be. So, if the Pope isn’t trying to leave himself open to constant contradictory interpretations, what is going on? The most obvious answer seems to be that he is simply unaware of the turmoil carrying on outside the Vatican walls."
Speaking of the Vatican walls, consider what transpired there on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The feast day (and Holy Day of Obligation) also marked the beginning of Pope Francis's Holy Year of Mercy. To mark the occasion, St. Peter's Archbasilica was pimped out -- there's no more apt term -- with a light-show promoting "climate change". Politically-slanted images of overcrowded city centres, depictions of pollution, and negative portrayals of industry, were projected onto the facade of St. Peter's, one of the holiest shrines in Catholicism.
The profane, even sacrilegious show had nothing to do with religion or mercy, but was a shameless copy of Barack Hussein Obama's rainbow projection onto the White House after the Supreme Court approved "gay marriage". Even the Pope's own followers denounced him for turning "this most sacred space into a backdrop" for political propaganda. You can see some of the horrors of the light-show in the video.
Bad enough that he should do so at any time, but truly sacrilegious in that he ordered it done on one of the most important Marian feastdays, the Immaculate Conception, when Catholics celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary being conceived in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, without the stain of original sin.
Criticism among conservatives on both sides of the Atlantic was swift and severe. Catholic leaders from around the world said they were flabbergasted that Pope Bergoglio would allow St. Peter's Archbasilica to be used as a backdrop for promoting the political "climate change" agenda. On his Facebook page, noted Catholic author Antonio Socci wrote, "The sense that St. Peter’s Basilica has been profaned is strong. The holy place par excellence, the heart of Christianity transformed on a maxi-screen for the show of the ‘New World Power Ideology’ -- and the Nativity crib was left in darkness."
Dear Catholic reader, if you're confused about Pope Francis's beliefs and intentions, think about the implications of the sacrilege of December 8th, and be confused no longer. As Chris Ferrara says in the video, you couldn't have a more perfect representation of what has gone wrong in the Church since Vatican II. Please click on the link above to sign the petition!
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