Francis: A Totally UN-Papal Pope…
In the video clip below, Pope Francis clearly doesn’t want anyone to kiss the papal ring. Even such a small token of traditionalism causes him to flinch. Remember, on a human level, the reason for Our Lord’s first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana was to spare the bride & groom embarrassment: who knows how embarrassed these poor pilgrims must feel at the Pope’s apparently rude behaviour…
Comment:
Pope Francis has made various remarks to indicate that he really hasn’t a clue about the papal office. Heck, he hasn’t a clue about the Catholic religion, never mind the papal office. The above refusal to allow the faithful to kiss the papal ring is just one more example of his ignorance – not to mention his bad manners. I don’t like the idea of popes resigning/abdicating – but I am willing to sacrifice my principles and make an exception in his case. I’d really like him to go – what about thee? Or, perhaps you can think of a justifiable excuse for his apparent rudeness in the above video clip. If so, let’s hear it!
Comments (49)
Francis is an ignorant boor. We’ve always known it: this clip is just another proof.
Sarto2010,
I agree, 100%. I’ll never look at him without remembering his nastiness towards those good people, none of whom showed the hurt they must have felt at his ignorant behaviour.
I’ve read reports on this now where there are excuses being made for him, e.g. there were a line of people before the ones we saw in the video and he didn’t do that (I’d need to see that before I’d believe it) but even so, if he was fed up or tired he should have asked for a break rather than show nasty ill manners towards the people in the clip.
A similar thing happened to me years ago. I went to kiss Cardinal Hume’s ring and he refused.
CBucket,
Yet the same churchmen would think nothing of granting the traditional signs of deference to the Queen, by, in the case of men, bowing deeply as they greet her gloved hand.
Seems the Pope thinks they want to kiss the Fisherman’s ring to honour him and his “humility” can’t abide the gesture. He has no idea that it’s the Petrine Office they wish to honour.
It is either the hieght of ignorance that makes Francis act this way or the height of pride, thinking himself the object of the ring kissing exercise. Whatever the reason, it’s pathetic to watch the papal office being degraded by this man.
CBUCKET
Your experience with Cardinal Hume reminds me of the humorous tale about the late Cardinal Thomas Winning, how during a bed visit to sick elderly patients in a Glasgow hospital ward he kept putting down the old souls who called him Eminence and tried to kiss his ring. “Call me Tam”, he would say with his hand held out for a handshake. But when he came to the last bed at the door, a skeletal hand grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him down towards the bed while a faint voice from under the blankets said: “That’s what I like about you Tam, ye have nae dignity”!
How true it is that these Churchmen who rubbish the ring of office, as they do, always embarrassed of the divine dignity it represents, are men without real Catholic Faith. Sometimes I wonder if they even despise the ring of office and their actions are more sinister source than just personal pride and material heresy.
Athanasius,
I also read about a priest who, on his first meeting with Cardinal Winning after he received his red hat, called him “Your Eminence” and was slapped down with a “Do I LOOK eminent?”
As you say, it shows, at the very least, a total failure to understand the distinction between the man and the position. Imagine a High Court Judge rebuking a lawyer who addressed him as My Lord, or Your Honour or whichever title of respect is used in that particular court.
Like everything else that is going on in the Church these days, this latest pseudo-humility reveals a confusing (possible) mixture of ignorance, heresy, personal and spiritual pride, any of the above, or some new ingredient not yet revealed to us lesser mortals! Whatever, it did not make the Pope look the part of the merciful, charitable, “everyman” that he apparently seeks to portray.
More evidence that he needs our prayers. Like, yesterday…
Editor
So very true. If ever a Popes needed prayers, it’s this one.
Couldn’t agree more with you and have already had an argument with a Catholic who came up with Francis usual Humility Garbage which was how he didn’t want the Fishermans Ring Kissed . I to said to him was he not aware of the Significance of this Ring and that it had really Nothing to do with Francis the Person ,but of the Papacy going right back to Saint Peter and ultimately Our Lord Jesus Christ. Am sure all of us as Catholics are completely fed up with this Man and his false Humility. If he hasn’t the respect for the Papal Office which it is obvious that he has not we of course wish he would leave.
Of course he won’t he enjoys the Power to much . And Especially that now
established seat at the useless Socialist United Nations.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi0tLSm0J_hAhVw2OAKHdxdCE4QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5363435%2FScantily-clad-acrobat-kneels-overjoyed-Pope-Francis.html&psig=AOvVaw3Hp0b0YlBWCU6dMZUny4Re&ust=1553683523780165
Sent to me this morning: compare and contrast
One English blogger emailed to say he can’t see the video in the introduction. In case others have the same problem, I am posting it here…
Editor
I see this video has made Sky News with one commentator reminding everyone that the people are attempting to show deference to the the Fisherman’s ring, not Francis. He described the Pope’s repsonse as embarrassing, like “clown time” or a “Bruce Lee” movie.
This Pope is a disgrace to the papacy, he is bringing the Church into such disrepute. To embarrass people in so public a way is just incredible. The hierarchy really needs to have this Communist Pope step down before he does any more damage.
Athanasius,
I saw that on Sky News. They reported that the Vatican had issued a statement but I couldn’t quite catch it as she said it quickly and I wasn’t expecting that. So, I went to Google it but can’t find it. I did find a BBC report on it, though, where they played it down. Then they finished with this, which I think just underlines the issue of a pope who doesn’t really want to be a pope! The BBC report said:-
“The current Pope is extremely aware of the significance of the gesture.
It may be that he prefers to deploy it the other way round.
During a joint visit to Jerusalem in May 2014, Francis made great efforts to kiss the hand of the leader of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I, as a sign of reconciliation between their branches of Christianity.
The patriarch tried to resist, ending in a friendly tussle won by the Pope.
On the same trip, at Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, Francis was invited to shake hands with Holocaust survivors.
To their surprise, he bowed down and kissed their hands – a gesture which is remembered years later.”
It’s beyond belief that he doesn’t get the significance of the people kissing the Fisherman’s ring knowing that he sees it as a way of showing respect and reverence towards others. Seeing the difference between a man and his office is such a fundamental thing. Was he never taught that?
Laura
What you write just proves that Francis knows well the significance of kissing the Fisherman’s ring yet has chosen to bring that sacred custom into disrepute. He shows deference to all the representatives of the false religions while doing as much damage as he can to the true religion.
It is getting harder and harder to justify this Pope’s scandalous words and actions as those of a misguided man of upright intent.
Athanasius,
I know you will disapprove of what I’m going to say, but I am going to say it anyway because I’ve watched that video over and over and seeing those well-meaning people smiling at him, being so deferential towards his office and seeing him not just refusing to let them kiss the papal ring (not his ring) but pushing them away and hurrying them on, i don’t just think he is not a “misguided man of upright intent”, I think he’s a nasty piece of work. A really nasty man.
Archbishop Lefebvre saw it coming! I couldn’t see your General part of the blog and I thought your readers might appreciate this story so I hope you don’t mind me posting it here.
I do not attend an SSPX chapel regularly mainly because it is not that close but I do attend the traditional Mass exclusively. I don’t know very much about the Archbishop but enough to be grateful to him for what he did because otherwise it is very unlikely that we would still have the Tridentine Mass.
Yesterday, on the feast of the Annunciation I went to pray with a group from the 40 days for life outside a hospital which I have been doing once a week through Lent. When they pray the luminous mysteries I quietly and discreetly leave the group and return when they have finished. Yesterday someone asked my why I did this. I explained my reasons, the principle one being that this was not part of the traditional rosary given to us by Our Lady. ‘But it was given to us by a saintly Pope’ was the response. I then explained why I didn’t think JP2 was a saintly Pope, one of the reasons being that he excommunicated Archbishop Lefebvre (although I know now that he didn’t actually excommunicate him, but that the penalty was deemed to have been automatically applied because of the Archbishop’s consecration of Bishops). The invective that this person (who regularly attends the diocesan traditional Mass) then hurled against Archbishop Lefebvre took me by surprise. They called him disobedient and a schismatic and said that JP2 hadn’t been able to discipline other bishops subsequently because he had had his fingers burned by Archbishop Lefebvre (never heard that one before).
When I got home I felt so indignant at the unjust attack on Archbishop Lefebvre and so grateful to him for the Mass, that I printed off a photograph of him, stuck it in a frame, placed it beneath my statue of Our Lady and prayed for him.
This morning I discovered that yesterday, the Feast of the Annunciation 2019, was the 28th anniversary of his death.
PerpetuaFelicitas
The General Discussion is really meant as a last resort thread – I encourage bloggers to search first for a thread which may be appropriate, albeit sometimes a bit tenuous, before going to the GD. You are, therefore, spot on in choosing this thread. Your comment is eminently appropriate here so thank you for it.
PerpetuaFelicitas
You are absolutely right, it was the Archbishop’s 28th anniversary yesterday. He died on March 25, 1991, the day traditionally held to be the day Our Lord died on the Cross, as well as the Feast of the Annunciation. Bishop de Castro Meyer, his brother in persecution, died one month later on April 25th, and his Sister, Mother Gabrielle, head of a Traditional order of nuns, died one month before on February 25th. For me there is something providential in these three deaths occurring on the same day of three consecutive months, the Archbishop’s being the most significant of all.
As for John Paul II’s actions, It has since been revealed that he revered Marcial Maciel, refusing to believe mounting reports of his sexual deviancy, even when then Cardinal Ratzinger warned him of the scandal. He was eventually obliged by +Ratzinger to open his eyes and accept the truth, at which point he banished Maciel to a monastery.
I think it fair to state that a pervert religious faired better under John Paul II than a faithful Traditional prelate. This speaks volumes on its own about John Paul II, and we need say nothing about his scandalous syncretist gatherings at Assisi.
It is clear that most Catholics today are like the people of the world, they just believe the propaganda because it makes their life easier. It’s like Chesterton said “dead fish flow with the current”.
Athanasius, That is wonderful to be reminded that it was also traditionally the day Our Lord died on the Cross. I thought it providential that I prayed for him on the anniversary of his death without even knowing that’s what the date was.
PerpetualFelicitas
Just shows how Our Lord graces His faithful. It was no accident that you found yourself honouring the Archbishop on March 25, though I would suggest you pray to him rather than for him. There is no question in my mind that Archbishop Lefebvre will one day be canonised, as may other members of the highly blessed Lefebvre family.
Yes I agree that he will one day be canonised, but can we make a personal judgement that someone is in Heaven, which is what we would be doing if we prayed to him?
PerpetualFelicitas
All we need do is deduce from a person’s life that they are very unlikely to be in Hell and that gives us sufficient freedom to pray to them. We pray to the holy souls in Purgatory for help and they’re not yet in heaven, so we are not forbiddden by the Church to pray only to the officially canonised.
PerpetuaFelicitas,
I was coming in to say more or less what Athanasius has now explained. I refreshed the page and note that he’s beaten me to it. Cheek!
We were always taught to pray for the uncanonised, assuming they had merited the great grace of Purgatory, and knowing that if they were now in Heaven, those prayers would go to another soul in Purgatory; it is far from charitable to fail to pray for the deceased in that way, which is why the majority, if not all, of the homilies at novus ordo funerals reveal a great lack of charity towards the soul possibly suffering in Purgatory. That, together with the knowledge that the souls in Purgatory, although they cannot pray for themselves can pray for us, is a great motivator to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
When my own mother died in 2015, she had lived such an apparently holy life – easily the most charitable person I’ve ever met – and her death was so striking (I’ll say no more than that) that I was and remain convinced that she is in Heaven. Yet, I stick to what I was taught in my youth (what a memory!) I pray for her every day, aware that she may be in Purgatory – we do not know how God judges and we should take nothing for granted – but convinced that she is in Heaven. Hence, when I’m struggling with my (pathetic) cooking I ask for her help 😀 and in any matters of personal or family concern (saying nothing about Brexit!) I ask her to use whatever influence she has up there to help me/us out. Thus, as Athanasius points out, we can “hedge our bets” 😀
As for Archbishop Lefebvre – I would go further than Athanasius and suggest that not only will he be canonised some day (when sanity is restored) but he will be declared a Doctor of the Church for his contribution to distinguishing true from false obedience during a time of immense crisis of faith and authority in the Church. The final words in his Open Letter to Confused Catholics (which is linked on our website, Links page) are haunting (and should haunt modernist bishops who are going along with the destruction of the Faith, rather than speaking up to correct the errors and heresies around us.)
“…If my work is of God, He will guard it and use it for the good of the Church. Our Lord has promised us, the gates of Hell shall not prevail against her. This is why I persist, and if you wish to know the real reason for my persistence, it is this. At the hour of my death, when Our Lord asks me: ‘What have you done with your episcopate, what have you done with your episcopal and priestly grace?’ I do not want to hear from His lips the terrible words ‘You have helped to destroy the Church along with the rest of them.”
PerpetualFelicitas
The compromise is to pray for him and to him, hedging your bets so to speak!
Thank you both for your informative and helpful replies. I will pray for him and to him, and for his canonisation!
PerpetuaFelicitas,
Perfect !
What a rude character!
Why did not he refuse to assume the job, since he did not like it?…
His way of behaving is revolting!
Lionel
I agree entirely. If he did not want to act like a Pope then he should not have accepted the papacy.
But this is what Modernists do, they take the office because they know they can further the revolution by means of its authority. As a Jesuit he should never have accepted the papacy to begin with because it is forbidden by the rule of St. Ignatius himself, still in force.
I was hugely embarrassed by this Pope today when his rudeness was shown and mocked on Sky News. He doesn’t even seem to care about the disgrace he’s bringing on the Church. Absolutely appalling!
Comment deleted.
See # 6 in our House Rules section.
LifeSite report this scandal and conclude as follows:
“In comments to LifeSite after seeing the video, a source close to the Vatican said: “He doesn’t get that it’s not about him. It’s about the office.” Another observer noted that while Pope Francis is uncomfortable with the faithful kissing his ring, he has repeatedly welcomed expressions of personal esteem and affection though selfies and hugs. (emphasis added by moi)
LifeSite asked Vatican spokesman, Alessandro Gisotti, why the Pope did not want the faithful to kiss his ring during his visit to the Holy House of Loreto but has not yet received a response.”
Lifesite also remind readers about how the Pope tried to force an altar boy’s joined hands apart and they posted a link to the video of this outrageous behaviour: Just imagine being that altar boy, trained to understand why his hands must be joined, pointing heaven-wards throughout Mass and then the POPE comes along and ridicules him, saying something about them seeming to be “stuck”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QgP0YaOLT4
It’s well worth reading the whole Lifesite report – and they post the entire video at the end.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/disturbing-video-pope-francis
It is amazing, that after several years of this Pontificate, Francis can still come up with new and varied ways to act the goat, denigrate the papacy and offend the faithful.
Marie Collins, formerly of the pontifical commission for the protection of minors, claimed that over enthusiastic people were being rough with the Pope (!?) and so it’s “possible that his hand was hurt” because “elderly people bruise easily” and this is why he was “pulling away”.
Personally, I think that is clutching at straws – certainly the video she claims vindicates this point of view shows Francis being awkward and wooden with people from almost the first person in line to meet him.
Even if her theory had any merit – as if you would put on such a ridiculous display of continually pulling your hand away, as if electrocuted, rather than just ask (via an aide) people to curb their enthusiasm.
I think it is far more probably that Francis has again made the event all about himself, rather than his Office and so saw an opportunity to be filmed while demonstrating his ‘great humility’. Were he genuinely humble, they he would have tolerated any personal discomfort while allowing people to demonstrate their respect for, and submission to, the reigning Pontiff.
Other than Collins, the only person I have seen defending him is Austin Ivereigh, which says it all really.
I was horrified by this.
I found this perspective today:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47708978
Petrus,
This is the clue from your BBC report, about what needs to happen now: No one appeared to offer any instruction on how to greet him”
Instead of letting this terrible pope do away with every Catholic tradition under the sun, one of his aides needs to give instructions to people on how to greet him without annoying him since he hasn’t got basic good manners, never mind being virtuous enough to put up with something he doesn’t like.
There’s another four-letter K word that I would like to give Pope Francis if I ever met him and it’s not KISS !
I hope this hasn’t been posted! I’ve been busy with sick family and haven’t the time to check.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/27/kiss-pope-francis-ring-viral-video-catholics
Crofterlady,
that’s a typical leftie take on the Vatican (old men in charge, not enough women) and shows no understanding of the key issue, just do away with the ring if he doesn’t want it kissed, LOL!
The mystery has been solved. Pope Francis explained his dislike of having the ring kissed:
““It was a simple question of hygiene…”
This was explained by Alessandro Gisotto, Director of the Holy See Press Office, who after receiving an avalanche of inquiries about the Pope withdrawing his hand repeatedly from a long queue of individuals who bowed and tried to kiss the ring on Monday, May 25, in the Italian town of Loreto on the Adriatic Sea, decided to ask the Pontiff himself his reasoning behind it.
Preventing the spread of germs, Pope Francis clarified to Gisotti, especially when there are so many people, arriving one right after the other, is the Pontiff’s goal. He noted how the Pope normally allows the kissing of the ring when we are speaking about single individuals or smaller groups.
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-has-told-alessandro-gisotti-why-he-withdrew-hand-repeatedly-from-the-line-trying-to-kiss-his-ring/
LOL!
I think he’s at it! It confirms what I’ve always believed – he’s a slippery character who cannot be trusted!
Did he wash his hands after each touch, then? It’s hard to know which is the more contemptible; the Pope’s behaviour or the “reason” for it.
He doesn’t seem to have any problem kissing the feet of various people, including Muslims, at the Maundy Thursday washing of the feet.
He’s already made it clear he doesn’t want to be pope so why not just come out and say straight that he doesn’t like the customs and traditions associated with the Petrine office?
Here’s more proof that he’s not a bit concerned with hygiene
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/world/europe/pope-francis-south-sudan.html
Why can’t he just tell the truth – he despises the papal office and doesn’t want to be pope, he prefers hobnobbing with other religions and travelling the world (in planes, causing pollution and then lecturing the rest of us on climate change, LOL!)
Laura,
That’s nailed the “hygiene” lie. LOL!
Margaret Mary, hear hear, you’ve nailed it!
I found this interview with Ben Shapiro, on the subject of media complicity in the matter of Pope Francis’ response to child abuse scandals very interesting indeed, to say the least. It is dated 29 August, 2018 or I’d be tempted to launch it as a separate thread. Fits on here, though, so I hope everyone finds it as enjoyable as I did – watching a young Jews, like Ben Shapiro, spotting the truth about Pope Francis and the Church in a way that the majority of the Catholic population just do not, is astonishing.
Ben is on the button as usual. It’s incredible that it takes a Jew to say it how it is – if only we had some priests with his clear mind and courage to speak out. A great interview.
‘Conversion is not your mission’, pope tells Catholics in Morocco
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/ca/idUSKCN1RC0EI?
Nothing surprises me about this Pope.
Petrus, or me.
https://www.pop.org/transgender-people-are-suffering-and-indulging-their-delusions-will-not-help-them/
And how about this…..?
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/widow-details-betrayal-and-cover-up-by-one-of-pope-francis-chief-advisors-in-explosive-new-book?
Or this?
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gay-priest-says-hes-on-a-mission-from-pope-francis-to-reach-out-to-homosexuals?
Pat McKay,
That’s absolutely disgraceful, if true.
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