Papal Scandals: Why Are Bishops Silent?
The scandals surrounding Pope Francis just keep on coming. Here’s two out of the many reported across the internet in recent days.
“Among those who persecuted and denounced Pentecostals, almost as if they were crazy people trying to ruin the race, there were also Catholics,” [Pope Francis] said. “I am the pastor of Catholics, and I ask your forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who didn’t know and were tempted by the devil.” Read more
So, the desire to prevent the spread of Evangelical Protestantism is a “temptation from the devil”?
Note: the banner headline in this week’s Catholic Herald reads: ‘I ask your forgiveness’: Francis seeks to end rift with Evangelicals”. Think of the young people who may walk past the paper stall in their local parish and read that shocker. The Pope, no less, apologising for Catholics refusing to help Protestants spread their false religion. It’s like a High Court Judge apologising for a rift with robbers. Then, if those young people read the editorial inside, they will be further confused because the Editor writes of “Bishop Tony Palmer” without any hint that he is no such thing, he is (or was before his sudden death recently) a Protestant pastor, beloved friend of Pope Francis but then name a heretic or schismatic who isn’t.
Anyway, battling for first place with the above scandal in the Golden Nugget category, is the following report – which I have yet to be convinced is NOT a spoof:
Pope Francis is reportedly preparing a major world statement about extraterrestrial life and its theological implications. Rosana Ubanell from Voxxi News today reported that due to advances in scientific detection methods for the discovery of extraterrestrial life, Pope Francis wants to be ready with a statement about “First Contact”. Ubanell reports that details have yet to be officially announced but that the Vatican’s interest in extraterrestrial life is well documented through recent astrobiology conferences the Vatican Observatory has sponsored or participated in. Father Guy Consolmagno, a Jesuit astronomer and one of the leading Catholic proponents for preparing for the scientific discovery of extraterrestrial life, on July 18, won the Carl Sagan science medal from the American Astronomical Society. Pope Francis, a fellow Jesuit, regularly consults with Consolmagno and other leading Vatican astronomers about scientific issues. It is likely that Pope Francis is preparing an “Urbi et Orbi” speech – Latin for “to the city [of Rome] and the world” – about First Contact with extraterrestrial life. Read more
It really does make you wonder what planet the pontiff inhabits, so to speak…
Key Question…
Why are the bishops not speaking out? Even those regarded as orthodox and traditional leaning appear to be enveloped in a bubble of silence. Why? Don’t they realise that one day, perhaps soon, they will be called to account for their complicit silence?
Comments (47)
I think now that Cardinal Muller has spoken out about the Synod in October, that other bishops might come forward, especially if there are proposals to allow adulterous couples to receive Holy Communion. I don’t see any of the UK bishops speaking out because they are as liberal as the Pope, so they will be quite happy with what he is saying.
The following excerpts from Pius XI’s Mortalium Animos of 1928 should suffice to demonstrate not only the great error of Pope Francis, but also of his immediate conciliar predecessors. Thank God we have the sound and consistent teaching of the pre-Vatican II Magisterium to keep our souls safe in this time of “diabolical disorientation” when even the Roman Pontiffs have succumbed to the error of false ecumenism so ably dissected and condemned by their own predecessors.
“…These pan-Christians who strive for the union of the churches would appear to pursue the noblest of ideals in promoting charity among all Christians. But how should charity tend to the detriment of faith? Everyone knows that John himself, the Apostle of love, who seems in his Gospel to have revealed the secrets of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and who never ceased to impress upon the memory of his disciples the new commandment “to love one another,” nevertheless strictly forbade any intercourse with those who professed a mutilated and corrupt form of Christ’s teaching: “If any man come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house, nor say to him, God speed you.” (2 John 1:10).
Therefore, since the foundation of charity is faith pure and inviolate, it is chiefly by the bond of one faith that the disciples of Christ are to be united. A federation of Christians, then, is inconceivable in which each member retains his own opinions and private judgment in matters of faith, even though they differ from the opinions of all the rest. How can men with opposite convictions belong to one and the same federation of the faithful: those who accept sacred Tradition as a source of revelation and those who reject it; those who recognise as divinely constituted the hierarchy of bishops, priests and ministers in the Church, and those who regard it as gradually introduced to suit the conditions of the time; those who adore Christ really present in the Most Holy Eucharist through that wonderful conversion of the bread and wine, Transubstantiation, and those who assert that the body of Christ is there only by faith or by the signification and virtue of the Sacrament; those who in the Eucharist recognise both Sacrament and Sacrifice, and those who say that it is nothing more than the memorial of the Lord’s Supper; those who think it right and useful to pray to the Saints reigning with Christ, especially to Mary the Mother of God, and to venerate their images, and those who refuse such veneration as derogatory to the honour due Jesus Christ, “the one mediator of God and men.” (1 Tim. 2:5).
How so great a variety of opinions can clear the way for the unity of the Church, We know not. That unity can arise from only one teaching authority, one law of belief and one faith of Christians. But we do know that from such a state of affairs it is but an easy step to the neglect of religion or “indifference,” and to the error of the modernists, who hold that dogmatic truth is not absolute but relative, that is, that it changes according to the varying necessities of time and place and the varying tendencies of the mind; that it is not contained in an immutable tradition, but can be altered to suit the needs of human life…
…Thus, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics. There is but one way in which the unity of Christians may be fostered, and that is by furthering the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it; for from that one true Church they have in the past fallen away. The one Church of Christ is visible to all, and will remain, according to the will of its Author, exactly the same as He instituted it. The Mystical Spouse of Christ has never in the course of the centuries been contaminated, nor in the future can she ever be, as Cyprian bears witness: “The Bride of Christ cannot become false to her Spouse; she in inviolate and pure. She knows but one dwelling, and chastely and modestly she guards the sanctity of the nuptial chamber.” The same holy martyr marvelled that anyone could believe that “this unity is built upon a divine foundation, knit together by heavenly Sacraments, could ever be rent asunder by the conflict of wills.” For since the Mystical Body of Christ, like His physical body, is one (1 Cor. 12:12), compacted and fitly joined together (Eph. 4:16), it were foolish to say that the Mystical Body is composed of disjointed and scattered members. Whosoever therefore is not united with the body is no member thereof, neither is he in communion with Christ its head…
…Let Our separated children, therefore, draw nigh to the Apostolic See, set up in the City which Peter and Paul, Princes of the Apostles, consecrated with their blood; to the See which is “the root and womb whence issues the Church of God”, and let them come, not with any intention or hope that “the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15) will cast aside the integrity of the faith and tolerate their errors, but to submit themselves to its teaching and government…”
It was Fr Blake who said that Pope Francis was a “puzzle inside a riddle wrapped in an enigma”.
So many serious, thinking, orthodox Catholics would now, to their great discomfort, agree with that.
I am of the generation which would normally never dream of criticising a reigning Pope. Yet with his “who am I to judge remark, his Scalfari interview, his remark about 2% of priests being perverts, and now his apologising to Pentecostal protestant heretics, I really am at a loss.
The Voris approach, that is, no direct criticism but to simply state the Catholic teaching on any issues that arise, is perhaps the answer.
But let me say that I do not apologise to anyone for something I did not do. Regret maybe, but apologise, no. So I disassociate myself from any apology made on behalf of Catholics, of whom I am one, to any Protestant body, including Pentecostals. And, I would not wish them well in their efforts to further evangelise my fellow Catholics away from the One True Church.
Were I to do so, I would consider myself complicit in encouraging heresy and would feel obliged to go to Confession. Now that is not just my view. It is the view of the Catholic Church.
I am reminded of the ruling by Pius XI on pre-Vatican II, on that false ecumenism which subsequently caused so much damage in post-Vat II thinking. It is expressed in Mortalium Animos, 1928. Ecumenism for a Catholic means evangelising non-Catholics to join the one true Faith. Those outside the Catholic Church are at a grave disadvantage in attaining Salvation and we have a duty to correct this.
This is an Encyclical, on a matter of Faith and Morals, addressed to the whole Church and is therefore binding, requiring assent.
Incidentally, that reminds me of another such document, on another topic, Quo Primum, by St Pius V. That determines the basic form of the Mass, “in perpetuity”. Therefore, the Mass of the Western Catholic Church is that of St Pius V, commonly known as the Tridentine.
Other Masses are allowed, of course. For instance the Ordinariate Mass, and the Pauline Mass.
Jacobi,
“The Voris approach, that is, no direct criticism but to simply state the Catholic teaching on any issues that arise, is perhaps the answer.”
It is most definitely NOT the answer. Voris is effectively lying to his viewers by failing to state clearly where the buck stops. He is illogical in that he thinks it’s OK to criticise bishops and cardinals but the minute one of those cardinals becomes pope, all criticism stops. And, with respect, you are being similarly illogical by supporting his stance because elsewhere in your post, on the subject of the need to evangelise Protestants, spread the Catholic Faith, you rightly reject the Pope’s apology to Pentecostalists and say:
“Now that is not just my view. It is the view of the Catholic Church.”
But it is also the “view of the Catholic Church” that we – where necessary – criticise popes. If you read the Church expert on this topic, St Robert Bellarmine, you will see that teaching clearly spelt out. No-one on earth can “sack” a pope, we cannot remove him from office or challenge his election, but we sure can – and must – speak out to reject any false teaching. That is an obligation. All the more so today with communication systems in place to report his every word 24/7. We cannot remain silent, because if we do, we share in his guilt.
It’s such a pity that Voris has gone down this silly route. I had been quite a fan of Michael Voris, fairly frequently posting his videos on the website and blog – now he’s a major part of the problem.
The trouble is, Editor, I, and I suspect Voris, are such “nice”, oh dear better not use that word, such tactful people. We can’t help it. Its just the way we were born!
But we do live in very, very interesting times, do we not?
Hi Jacobi! “Thomas Babbit” aka Benedict Carter here. Glad you have found this blog. Here my posts don’t get deleted as they often are by the Catholic Herald.
Voris blathers and yells to some good effect but has in the end chosen the path of cowardice. I no longer listen to his stuff and unsubscribed from his Youtube channel.
Hola!, Thomas, can’t call you ” Inquisitor”, makes me feel a bit jumpy, but good to see you again. Have found your comments elsewhere somewhat vigorous but essentially sound.
Mine might get deleted here as the Editor thinks I’m a a wimp. She’s not the only one. My better half, Herself, does. (Old Lancashire Catholic stream who have kept their heads down for nineteen hundred years (apart from the Pilgrimage of Grace) and thinks we fuss too much).
But that raises a serious point. The Church is in a mess. Things were improving under Benedict, but he ducked out. Those of us who still worry about the state of the Mystical Body of Christ on Earth, the Catholic Church, and we are not many, have a dilemma. Is blogging just an excuse for eccentrics to beef amongst themselves, or are we keeping alive, in a world of increasing Relativism, Catholic Truth??
Trouble with Francis is that although he is an enigma, he is the keeper of the Keys, just as were the other five popes who have conceivably been accused of heresy. What think you??
Jacobi,
I don’t think you are a wimp. Not at all. I wonder what makes you think that, but whatever, it’s not true. Honest 😀
Ta.
After the very recent rosary campaign: over 5 million rosaries prayed by the SSPX faithful, perhaps it’s time to do the same for Pope Francis. Seriously. His stuff is so far out there that he needs our prayers more than most. I think we can all be convinced of the fact that the shockers from his early period of office, rather than being blunders of a novice, were just the tip of the iceberg. If he was the compromise choice of the cardinals for Pope, then goodness gracious, who on earth was the liberal choice?
Summa,
” If he was the compromise choice of the cardinals for Pope, then goodness gracious, who on earth was the liberal choice?”
Priceless! Who, indeed!
The man is [a bad pope]. Vatican II in human form. That’s the “best” that can be said. I myself do not detect a trace of Catholicism in the man. This was clear immediately he was elected. Remember the entrance to the loggia: unsmiling, cold, distant, going through the motions with which he evidently despised. I had a horrible cold feeling at that moment (like many others) and it has not left me.
The first apostate Pope in history?
And comfortable with it.
Editor: personal remark removed. Check our About Us page. Absolutely no such personal remarks permitted.
Well, whether he realises it or not, this Pope is certainly doing great harm to the Catholic Faith, no less by the rank liberals he is appointing to senior office as by his own incredible statements. I find it hard to believe that the Cardinals in conclave did not know who they were electing to the See of Peter. One thing is certain, neither they nor Francis are stupid men. They are exceptionally clever people and that’s what makes their words and actions so difficult to excuse.
It is reported in the Fatima Crusader, pages 15-16, that: –
“Pope Francis began his pontificate by twice personally requesting that the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo, consecrate his entire pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima. That consecration took place on May 13, 2013, exactly two months after his election as Pope”.
Cardinal Policarpo died in March 2014.
http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr109/cr109.pdf
Now this is at odds with the incredible statements Pope Francis has made. Athanasius, I agree with you on what you say in your 4.07pm post.
They have been so shocked they are speechless! I really should write to the head of Opus Dei and ask. I would probably get my marching orders though!!!
To be honest, I think the majority of bishops are probably delighted that Pope Francis is being so openly Modern.
Petrus
I fear you are right. The fact is that most of them don’t perceive this as a problem..
Here ,for example, is Card. Lehmann of Mainz bemoaning the increasingly rapid rate at which Germans are leaving the Church. He blames this on ‘scandals and vexations involving clergy’. The rate of attrition has shot up since Francis became pope but there can’t be any connection, can there?
He, and many like him, seems unable to understand that the real problem is Francis himself and his unending torrent of verbal diarhhoea – most of which is at best incoherent and at worst actually heretical.
I am convinced Pope Francis is attempting to sanitise the Catholic Church of Catholicism. Hang me if you will, but I think he is doing this consciously, determinedly, zealously in order to realise some kind of cosy christian collective with no dogma or tradition but some kind of religion where anything goes: God will forgive in his Mercy.
A heretic? Absolutely, no question otherwise.
But he is our Pope and we must pray for him and condemn his actions simultaneously.
Summa
I quite agree, with one proviso. God will only forgive if He is asked to.
I agree with Inquisitor. When I saw him come to the loggia to bless the crowd, I was worried. My first question was ‘where is the mozzetta?’ Question 2 was ‘why isn’t he wearing it?’ Question 3 ‘who is he?’ I looked Bergoglio up, and as you can imagine, due to his antics in Buenos Aires, such as praying in synagogues, receiving ‘blessings’ from Pentecostals and denouncing Benedict XVI for the Ordinariat, I grew even more alarmed.
But since his election, he has obviously obtained greater air time. There was ‘who am I to judge?’ If you don’t feel in need of God’s mercy don’t go to Mass, atheists can go to Heaven, I would baptise an alien, I don’t believe in a Catholic God and finally this debacle by apologising for hindering the ‘efforts’ of Pentecostals, to name a few.
[I think he is a bad pope] with no regard for the teachings and doctrines of the Church. He’s already shown his contempt for the traditional Mass, by referring to it’s popularity among the young as a ‘fashion’. All of the Priest Saints said the ‘Old Mass’. Have any Priest Saints said the Novus Ordo?? ‘By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorn or figs of thistles?’ We have already seen the fruits of Vatican II by the collapse in vocations and Mass attendance etc, but I suspect in my heart that the bitter fruits and insipid nectars of this pontificate will be far more deadly than Vatican II. He is diabolical disorientation in action. As Ciappi said, ‘it is foretold in the 3rd secret that the great heresy will begin at the top’. We’ve had heresy since 1962, but Francis is the culmination of this.
A problem of Novus Ordo Catholics is obedience. They have inherited the obedience of old order Catholics, from the time when Catholics could trust their prelates and clergy and could thus afford to be obedient. We cannot be obedient now. As Archbishop Lefebvre said, ‘they have sown disobedience through obedience’.
Say no more.
Editor: personal remarks removed from this post. Do NOT call anyone names, do not make personal remarks. Note: I am now having to delete all the comments below which focus on your personal remarks. Personal remarks divert from the topic. DO NOT MAKE PERSONAL REMARKS ON THIS BLOG. .
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On the arrival of our new Holy Father I was very concerned to read that as Arch-bishop he had people doing tango dances on the sanctuary???? He would have caused me such distress if he had been my arch=bishop and now he is the Pope!
The prelates are clearly men of little faith. Pope Francis reminds me of an elderly parish priest in a very wealthy parish who blethers on about very little and dines with the oh so sophisticated members of the parish. The priest loves all things new and detests his past and that of his parents. These types are not sophisticated at all, but rather – all too see through.
Graeme Taylor,
True, the tango was danced in the Cathedral where Mass was said by Pope Francis while still Archbishop in Argentina. It was sad to see the tango danced within the Sanctuary, one of many such novelties carried out in various countries throughout the world.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi – As you pray so you believe.
http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/news/cardinal-jorge-bergoglio-celebrates-tango-dance-mass-in-front-of-the-altar/
Such an action in the past is continued with the scandalous statements made now as Pope. Another, who will likely say “Crisis? What crisis is there in the Catholic Church?”
Theresa Rose, my last Arch-bishop, Card. O’Brien changed the entrance to the cathedral so it was shared with the entrance to a bistro bar. He used the very large gifts of money to put in a new organ and at the same time had the choir dress in new anglican look a likey outfits and stand behind the alter in an arc throughout the Mass.
++ Cushley has moved that choir off the sanctuary (thank you, YG)….but we still have the entrance to the cathedral shared with a bistro bar.
The bishops need our prayers our support and our serious concerns so that repentance is effective in the diocese.
I found a Facebook page for Pope Francis and I posted on it asking him to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Maybe we should all do the same as he is bound to read it at some stage. Simply Google “Facebook Pope Francis” and it should come up. Apologies if someone has already suggested this elsewhere.
Here’s a few heart-breaking photos and an article by Michael Matt, Editor of The Remnant, which comments on Pope Francis latest (at time of writing) act of “humility”.
Michael Matt writes:
I don’t mean to be disrespectful. Before God I wish I could see all of this as everyone else does—genuine demonstrations of Francis’s well-documented humility. But to me it seems more like an incessant media campaign designed to put distance between this pope and his predecessors. They’re trying to fashion Francis into the pope who finally got it right, better than all the rest, and I don’t see humility in that. I see a rather transparent putdown of all the Roman pontiffs back to Peter himself, in fact, and I wonder: Why are they doing this to our Church, to our Holy Father? Is it because they have uncrowned our King that they now feel compelled to uncrown His vicar?
As a lifelong cradle Catholic it breaks my heart. Read entire article here
The article is a model of restraint, which – nevertheless – communicates that Pope Francis is a real problem pope.
The photos alone would break the heart of any Catholic worthy of the name. Reminds me of a wedding I attended years ago when the bride and groom – like the rest of us – went up, tray in hand, to the self-service counter. Hardly appropriate for a wedding and even less appropriate for a pontiff. In my opinion – I dare say some disagree, perhaps will be greatly impressed by the pontiff’s “humility”. Disoriented times. Diabolically so.
Editor
I have the latest edition – 31st July – on my lap as we speak. Not only do we have that one but a great article on the approaching Synod by Christopher Ferrara. I recommend that everyone takes out a very affordable e-edition of the Remnant to help support such a valuable voice in such desperate times.
Summa,
I don’t like the way these American publications charge money. I think they should be apostolates, not money making enterprises.
Well I suppose it would be difficult to organise a fortnightly print and digital quality newspaper with indepth research articles, without having a reliable income stream from paid subscriptions.
All of those who buy the Remnant, myself included, have do so voluntarily.
I do not condemn anyone for making an honest days wage. In fact if it is to promote the greater glory of God, blessings upon them!
Is anyone else awaiting the dissemination of photographs of Pope Francis donning a hi-viz vest complete with hard hat, perhaps shovelling some aggregate into a concrete mixer on a building site? Or perhaps a picture or two of Pope Francis being escorted around a newly built Mosque?
Well, you might think I’m joking, but in all seriousness, I do not think these two examples are beyond the realms of what we can expect in the months and years to come.
I have been also thinking about the Synod: I fear the worst. However, for me it won’t change much. If Catholics are allowed to live in adulterous or unnatural relationships and receive the blessed sacrament of holy communion, then it will just be one further confirmation that the choice of holding fast to tradition through the Society of Saint Pius X, was the correct choice.
It will for some groups who reverted to ‘full communion’ with the Church, an awkward moment.
Summa,
Well said. The Synod will definitely be a decisive moment, a “sheep and goats” moment – definitely.
http://m.newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2014/08/04/gma-hosts-thrilled-popes-fantastic-call-not-proselytize-ignore-context
DominieMary,
Many thanks – I saw that online earlier in the week. Shocking but not surprising, if you get my drift. If the Pope tells folk he doesn’t want Catholics “recruiting” for the Faith, a Faith known for preaching the “narrow way” of the Gospel, of course the media and every atheist/agnostic and non-Catholic in the world will be delighted. It’s like if an economics guru said he didn’t want bank managers demanding the repayment of loans – WOW! Would he be a popular guy!
Things just get crazier and crazier. Someone told me about this latest papal scandal after Mass this morning.
I’d like to state plainly here that, while I insist on enforcing our “no personal remarks” rule, even/especially with regards to Pope Francis, that doesn’t mean I don’t understand – fully, absolutely fully – the temptation to MAKE such personal remarks. Believe me, that temptation I know only too well.
So, when you read this post and visit the link say a prayer for this Pope because he appears to be in great spiritual danger.
Editor
First Francis tells Tony Palmer not to convert, then insists on him having a Catholic funeral with pontifical honours! Are we living in some previously undiscovered chapter of Alice in Wonderland?
The most absurd thing in all this is that the late Mr Palmer was a schismatic even by Anglican standards. The outfit that ordained him – the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches – are not in communion with the Arch-Impostor of Canterbury! (Can’t help wondering if Dr Welby would have allowed him an Anglican funeral?)
CD,
“Are we living in some previously undiscovered chapter of Alice in Wonderland?”
I could not have put it better myself, not in a million years. You sum up our predicament perfectly, CD. Perfectly. Absolute, total craziness. That Palmer was even in schism from the Anglicans, is something Pope Francis seems to have forgotten. Along with 99 per cent of his Catechism.
We used to sing “God bless our Pope” a lot in our parish when I was growing up. That should now read/sing: “God HELP our Pope”! Big time!
This Pope is a serious concern. Perhaps he is unwell? The Cardinals need to go speak with him and get him to a doctor quick. Maybe he could go into retirement too.
Please Almighty God.
Graeme,
Unless you are being facetious – understandable and brings a smile – I have to say your comment leaves me open-mouthed. This pontiff has a proven track record, well before he became pontiff, of being an outright Modernist. He should never have been elected and if ever we needed proof that the Holy Spirit is not guaranteed during conclaves, Pope Francis is that proof.
He has, for years, downplayed the role of the Catholic Church in God’s plan of salvation. Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t think God HAS a plan of salvation and is just waiting there at the pearly gates to welcome us all in, no matter what we’ve done, who we are etc.
It’s all been foretold, Graeme, both at Quito (17th century) and Fatima (20th century). And at Quito Our Lady promised that a “prelate” would be sent (by Our Lord) “to restore the priesthood” in the 20th century.
That prelate was Archbishop Lefebvre, so if you wish to really send a message to your priest, bishop and Pope Francis that you’ve had enough of the counterfeit Catholicism on offer, you will get yourself to an SSPX chapel without delay. That’s what, happily, more and more Catholics are doing. Don’t get left behind!
Editor,
I do not have that blessing. My parish is in the Scottish Borders and to travel to Edinburgh to Mass would mean a hundred plus mile round trip.I have not got that kind of money. When I have been in Edinburgh I have been to Mass in St Leonards. I have often asked Our Lady for the gift of an SSPX missionary priest here in the Borders, but alas, so far she has deigned that I attend my local parish, which is led by an earnest young priest but who has got his priorities all wrong.
The lack of faith in prelates astounds me, God’s mercy is so needed in this day and faithful missionary priests are what we need.
Graeme,
You do, indeed, have my genuine sympathy. Our Lady will somehow see that your prayer is answered in some way. In the meantime, hang on in there.
If you think your priest would be receptive, you could point him in the direction of some solid reading. Maybe Michael Davies’ books on the “liturgical revolution” – someone kindly sent me Volume Three – Pope Paul’s New Mass and it is a treasure trove of factual data. It’s hard to see how any sincere priest could read that and continue with the revolution. Published by Angelus Press. He can order it online. Worth a try, if you can engineer a friendly conversation with him. Or encourage him to read the Mass and Priesthood pages on our website. Anything is worth a try, to open his eyes.
Sadly I think many (most?) Bishops are gutless “yes men”.
I think many can be counted on to gush praise over whatever Francis opines – even if he suggested introducing “The Birdy Dance” as part of the liturgy (and I would not be surprised).
But I think precious few have the spine to “resist him to his face” / publicly criticise him.
Most of them it seems have little appetite for hard truths or confrontation – this has long been clear through the abysmal standard of teaching / catechesis, where difficult topics are simply ignored.
Most Bishops seem to understand themselves mainly as a kind of social worker, everybodys pal, not as a successor of the Apostles.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any crazier the Abp of Vienna, Cardinal Schönborn has come out with the extraordinary statement that Pope Francis is “mehr Prophet als Revolutionär” – more prophet than revolutionary 😯 (English summary here)
That this wretched Synod is fast approaching is of course a complete coincidence!
Confitebor Domino,
I don’t think anyone here will be surprised at that as Cardinal Schonborn has been discussed here many times as a well known dissenter. He also supports the Medjugorje people and had the so called seers in his cathedral, at his invitation.
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