Pope Francis Latest – Brace Yourself…
Comment:
A very powerful video – I hope everyone will take twenty or so minutes to view it right to the end.
Not only is the letter of instruction to the world’s bishops, featured early in the video, a novel way of “preparing” the faithful for an Apostolic Exhortation, it is misleading in the extreme in its claim of the need to be “in communion with Pope Francis”… What?! All Catholics, including popes, must be in communion with the Catholic Faith, as it has been passed on to us from the apostles, so, only in the sense that a pontiff is in full communion with the Faith of our Fathers, might we speak of being in communion with the Pope – and nobody could accuse Pope Francis of such “rigidity”!
The minute any pope starts doing his own thing, inventing his own doctrine, he loses any right to the fidelity of the faithful. We must continue to acknowledge and revere the office of papacy just as we must denounce any false teaching – and it sounds like the forthcoming Exhortation is worthy of denunciation of similar strength to that which followed the publication of Amoris Laetitia.
This latest Exhortation is due to be published in the coming week, so this thread is by way of preparation – so that we may watch out for that recommended press conference in our own dioceses. Let’s see if our local bishops are “in full communion with Pope Francis”. That will be very interesting indeed – since, clearly, Archbishop Vigano, also featured in the Remnant video, is not!
My own favourite quote from Archbishop Vigano follows… words which ought to move every priest and bishop in good faith to follow his example:
“To bear witness to corruption in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was a painful decision for me and remains so. But I am an old man, one who knows he must soon given an accounting to the Judge for his actions and omissions, one who fears Him who can cast body and soul into hell. A Judge who, even in his infinite mercy, will render to every person salvation or damnation according to what he has deserved. Anticipating the dreadful question from that Judge – ‘How could you, who had knowledge of the truth, keep silent in the midst of falsehood and depravity?” – what answer could I give?” (Archbishop Vigano)
As Michael Matt says in the above video, Archbishop Vigano was a brilliant diplomat who realised that the time for diplomacy has come and gone.
Quote that to the next priest or bishop you meet who claims to be of a “traditional leaning” but is waiting for “the right time” to surface. Then simply repeat… “that time has come and gone…”
Comments (53)
Yes! “Thank God for Archbishop Vigano” and Thank God for Michael Matt and all the journalists in the world who write on in the same vein … we need you !!
Mary Anne,
So right – thank God for Archbishop Vigano. He’s a very brave soul, indeed.
I absolutely agree – Archbishop Vigano is Superman in a mitre LOL!
Yes Ed I seen this Last week and Watched it to the End . I also didn’t know of the Dreadful Accident Michael Matt’s Son was in . As he said he lost part of his Leg but thanks God that it was Below the Knee. As for the rest of The Video up until I seen it I never knew that Bernie Sanders was such a good Catholic ( or maybe I was missing something ) . All of these Audeinces that Francis can seem to give to Communists, Atheists, and people in general who not only dislike Catholicism they Hate us .
Yet a Faithful Catholic Cardinal not only cannot speak to him he has to go into hiding from him. As Michael Matt says we have to be prepared for this Bombshell that Francis is going to come out with but am sure that your like Me and nothing from Francis now will surprise us . It amazes me on so many levels that so many Catholics now even take this Man Seriously. To tell you the Truth av had enough of Him . Sorry but I can only now be TRUE to The Catholic Faith and Francis certainly doesn’t seem to be a Catholic as far as lots of us now are concerned.
Faith of our Fathers,
I wonder what sort of accident Michael Matt’s son was in – he said it was a “serious accident” but didn’t say whether it was a car crash or what. It must have been very serious to have his leg amputated below the knee. Such a lovely young man, and with an obviously strong faith to accept this cross and still soldier on in his dad’s apostolate. I will pray for him.
I agree with you about Pope Francis – I think we’ve all had enough of him. The trouble is, he doesn’t look like he’s going away any time soon!
Margaret Mary,
Even a short trip for a holiday in Argentina would give us all a break, LOL! Then again, I remember the first person I read online warning about the new pope was an Argentine lady who knew him, so maybe he won’t want to go back there even for a holiday!
FOOF,
Bernie Sanders is actually Jewish. He is also a millionaire, despite his continual rants against millionaires, and his platform is identical with the United Nations. The perfect leftist ally for a leftist Pope.
Mary Ann Kreitzer, President of Les Femmes, has a very good article on the Les Femmes blog, touching on this Exhortation…
https://lesfemmes-thetruth.blogspot.com/2020/02/understanding-crisis-in-church-homily.html
Editor,
That’s a very interesting blog – and the homily from Cardinal Muller contains this extract which was highlighted, for good reason:
“The crisis in the Church is man-made and has arisen because we have cozily adapted ourselves to the spirit of a life without God. This is why in our hearts so many things still are un-redeemed and, consequently, long for substitute gratification! Consumerism really is a virus that attacks the life of faith, as Pope Francis recently said; and there are other such viruses.
But the one who believes, needs no ideology. The one who hopes, will not reach for drugs. The one who loves, is not after the lust of this world, which will pass away – along with the world. The one who loves God and neighbor, finds happiness in the sacrifice of self-giving. We will be happy and free, when in the spirit of love we embrace the form of life to which God has called each one of us personally: in the sacrament of marriage, in celibate priesthood, or in religious life according to the three evangelical counsels of poverty, obedience and chastity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.”
That’s it in a nutshell – marriage vows, priestly celibacy and religious chastity are “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” – but when was the last time we heard that in a homily?
The Remnant video is very good indeed. It’s a welcome advance warning about the next bombshell document to come from this awful pope. It must be some bombshell when the bishops are being told to organise press conferences to explain it and tell us all we need to accept it if we want to remain in communion with Pope Francis. I wish I could be at one of the press conferences and shoult out “I DON’T want to be in communion with Pope Francis!” LOL! I’d be flung out!
What next? What can this new document from Pope Francis be about – surely it’s not actually priestly celibacy? If he is loosening that up for the Amazon, he’ll be sending the signal that it’s going for good. It was a mistake to allow married Anglicans into the priesthood because I know for a fact that it made dissident Catholic priests very angry (why them and not us?) So this would also be a mistake. I’m praying the forewarnings are not accurate.
Nicky,
What next, is the right question. It’s a constant barrage of one scandal after another with this Pope. The idea of the bishops conferences having to give press conferences to explain this new document is really quite funny. I do hope they televise some of them!
I shudder to think what is coming next week. It can’t just be environmentalism he’s writing about because when you read this from the Lepanto Foundation, he’s already streets ahead on committing the Church to the UN sustainable goals (population control and the rest)
https://www.lepantoin.org/pope-francis-promotes-goals-created-by-communists/
So, I’m more inclined to think that he’s planning on making drastic changes in the Church itself and I think celibacy will be top of the list. The man’s a total disgrace.
Lily,
That’s a sobering article from Lepanto.
There’s an article in Catholic World Report that caught my attention a while back, a Byzantine Rite priest giving the case for married priests. He refers to “Saint” Pope John Paul II and his Theology of the Body which put me off right up, and then I found this bit interesting when he is answering the question about how can a married priest give his all to both family and parishioners:
“Except when running errands, sick-calls, and so forth, the married priest is basically a “stay at home Dad.” Rectory life with the priest family is something akin to today’s homeschooling families. Furthermore, “Dad” can always take Mom and/or children along with him to some of “Dad’s” duties—a great way to foster vocations from the priest’s own family! In Eastern Christian parishes the wife and children often become in-house ‘staff,’ and are not a distraction to their priest-father’s ministry but rather share in his ministry and can act as a support system.”
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/08/21/married-priesthood-celibacy-and-the-amazon-synod-an-eastern-catholic-priests-perspective/
I don’t know if I’m just an old diehard, but I just cannot imagine going to Confession to a priest who has a wife and children waiting in the church porch to go to McDonald’s!
He also repeats the claim that for the first thousand years there were married priests, which makes liars of the evangelists who say in the Gospels that the first priests, the apostles, left everything to follow Christ.
“I don’t know if I’m just an old diehard, but I just cannot imagine going to Confession to a priest who has a wife and children waiting in the church porch to go to McDonald’s!”
I got news for you: My pastor is a married Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest. He’s been our pastor for 15+ years. He’s very traditional, good with children, very jovial, easy to get along with and very wise.
In fact, some years ago sedevacantist people would come to our parish priest for confession. They’d leave sedevacantist literature in the vestibule.
Finally, I talked to these people and told them that our priest was ordained after VII and that he prays for PF at every Liturgy. They stopped coming 🙏.
My late father (eternal memory!) was very happy when this priest became our pastor. Our parish always had celibate priests until he became our pastor in September 2004. Last year our parish celebrated its Golden Anniversary.
As I’ve posted ad nauseam on other blogs, if the Latin Church wants married priests, they should follow the discipline of the Eastern Catholic Churches in toto. Otherwise, DON’T DO IT!!!
In the Vatican it is no longer the testimony of the Faith nor the salvation of souls that preoccupy them, but the instrumentalization of the Church institution for exclusively political purposes.
To what extent is this hierarchy legitimate when it has turned its back on infallible previous decisions? But if we have been deceived for more than twenty centuries, how can we trust leaders who claim to be of a Church that in fact they have repudiated?
I think it needs to be said, first of all, that anyone who is in “communion” with Pope Francis, the man and Marxist demagogue, is in communion with Lucifer.
It is truly frightening to behold the fury of God’s wrath and chastisement as expressed through this wolf in wolf’s clothing and his cabal of wolves, but at the same time, I think this is also a time of God’s extraordinary mercy, because this seems to be a preview of “Rome will become the seat of the anti-Christ.” Francis is obviously not the anti-Christ, but he operates according to that same spirit. We should warn our children well of what to look for when that awful time comes, which will probably be during their lifetimes.
Meanwhile, regarding Cardinal Sarah, I think that, sadly, he is about 55 years behind the 8-ball regarding the attack on priestly celibacy as the “opening of a breach” in the Church. It was Vatican II that opened the breach; this latest scandal of Francis is merely driving the spear deeper into a wound that was already open. Why does the clock have to strike one minute before midnight before these people wake up?
As for Cdl. Hummes’ nakedly tyrannical dictates, I have to wonder how the boot-licking bishops of Scotland will respond to the requirement of having an indigenous presence at their “press conferences.” Will they hire Mel Gibson to dress up once again as Braveheart? How about having people dressed up as the Loch Ness monster?
RCA Victor,
I agree with you about not wanting to be “in communion” with Pope Francis. Far from it. Who, in their right mind, would!
I also agree about Cardinal Sarah and others (Johnny-come-lately types) being “about 55 years behind” in saying that the attacks on celibacy are opening a breach, whereas those attacks on celibacy have been gaining momentum since the 60’s.
Your suggestions for the bishops’ press conference made me LOL, especially the idea of people dressing up as the Loch Ness Monster. I can imagine Editor volunteering to do that just to get into the press conference to ask some pointed questions, LOL!
Laura,
I should have been clearer in my sarcasm about Mel Gibson. In other words, if your bishops have an indigenous Braveheart at their press conferences, it would be so they could betray him, as he was betrayed in history.
Oh, and perhaps they could also feature a bowl of haggis at their conference, in honor of the bowls of dirt that were passed around the Vatican during the Sham-a-Zon Synod, in honor of fertility goddesses.
Speaking of Editor dressing up for a press conference, I think she should call one herself when this scandalous document actually comes out – to denounce it in the strongest possible terms, and to call Francis to repentance.
RCA Victor,
I understand the sarcasm now, LOL!
A Catholic Truth press conference would be great! I’m up for that!
I forgot to say that it is very intriguing, to say the least, that Abp. Vigano has a “plan” to deal with this apostate monster disgracing the Chair of Peter. If I could identify as a fly on the wall at the Abp’s location, I would certainly do it!
Speaking of dreams and Don Bosco, I had a very strange dream about 11 months ago about Pope Francis. I dreamt that he had committed suicide by shooting himself in the diaphragm, and as he lay bleeding on the floor, he uttered a prophecy, but I don’t remember what the prophecy was.
I hope that was just a “bit of undigested beef”….
Rorate Caeli claims that journalist Bruno Volpe has said that the document will be released on Feb 12th and, based on a leaked copy, does not contain anything to do with ordaining married men.
Previously, a different journalist said the leaked copy did contain provision for ordaining married men.
We will obviously need to wait and see.
But 2 polar opposite interpretations of the same document sounds like classical Francis.
I would not be surprised if Francis uses some typically underhand means to push it through, such as one of his infamous footnotes, or allowing the Protestant Germans to “break the ice” using their own synod – so as to avoid any controversy swirling around his own person.
Further to my post above, Rorate now posts a short article from Bruno Volpe:
Bruno Volpe
La Fede Quotidiana
February 2, 2020
La Fede Quotidiana has learned of an important fact relating to the coming papal document on the subject of the Amazon. And this fact, unless modified at the last moment, contradicts what has been recently reported concerning a text in which ‘a yes’ is given to viri probati and the married priesthood. Those who saw this text two days ago (it will almost certainly be presented on February 12) said that the two hotly debated categories are not mentioned in the document and thus there is no official opening up [to them].
Paragraph 3 of the text is worth particular attention, with regard to the “ironic” preterition: the pope says he does not wish to make reference to the Post-Synod text. It is very evident that this is however a text which has undergone difficulties that upset various and multiple sensibilities from one part or the other in the progressive and traditional camps.
Probably, but this is a mere hypothesis that must be verified, the recent book published by Cardinal Robert Sarah with the contribution of the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI ”From the Depths of Our Hearts” , which stirred up so much controversy, must have created some problems and also some embarrassment. We shall see. As matters stand, from what we have understood in the document, the hotly debated two categories are not mentioned. Unless there are further modifications and changes.
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2020/02/exclusive-francisis-not-opening-up-to.html
This reaffirms the original info, that the document is supposed to come out on Feb 12th and there is no opening to married priests.
However, the cynic in me notes that Volpe repeatedly states “unless there is no modification” and so he has grabbed the headlines here, while ensuring he is covered no matter what the document says.
This doesn’t belong on this thread but I just want to ask everyone to pray for the repose of my dad’s soul. He passed away of a heart attack on Jan. 12th. He was 58. He had a lot of problems for a long time, a decade. Started with a rotator tear in his neck, had an undiagnosed gallbladder for years that he got removed a few years ago, kidney stones, apparently heart issues. I could write a book. Literally. He woke up screaming (somehow I slept through that) Sunday morning. I woke up to what sounded like choking/suffocating. I thought he was just sick so I didn’t get up immediately. I did after like 10 mins & he was already gone. I tried CPR. EMS tried. If it was his time to go he should’ve just gone in his sleep cause I have to live with that horror for the rest of my life. I just thank God I had to grow up a long time ago so I can face this. I’m only 22 & can never see my dad again…
Gave him a Requiem Mass & had the navy out to the Cemetary to play taps since he was a veteran (navy). He grew up Catholic, lost his way, hated the Church & we just found out last year why. He was molested by a priest when he was a child. He came back when I was received into the Church at 12 yrs old but 2 years ago, he lost his way, didn’t go to Mass anymore, too much reading and theorizing about different Catholic positions, but my pastor, Fr. Luke DeMayer was very gracious & gave him a Catholic funeral & for that I’m grateful. And the past 10 years, it’s as if all the physical pain I watched him endure, he was being tortured for something & I can’t come to terms with any of this. So much tortures my mind daily, all the unknowns, what ifs & whys. I haven’t known my dad my entire life.
He was a great man & did the best he could in life. I know a man who is alive today, is sober & has his life back together & he credits it to God through one man & that’s my dad. He was one of his pallbearers
.
Anyway, sorry for the book. I wanted to share it with you all because you all have been so supportive of me & my blog & I thank you, especially Editor. It’s also the end of the road for my blog. I’ve just lost all passion & enthusiasm for it & it’s time for me to move on, revamp my life & attempt to be a young person again. The blog will stay online for reference. If any of you want & are on facebook, you can friend me – the name is Hannah Newchurch.
God bless,
Hannah
Hannah,
Please don’t apologise for “the book” – I know I speak for everyone here when I say that we are truly honoured that you have shared your sorrow with us – from all those miles across the “pond”. Thank you for your humble trust. Be assured of my prayers for your father’s soul, and for your own intentions and comfort, as well.
My heart breaks for you. I fully understand how terrible this has been for you to lose your dad when he was only 58. I miss my mother and think of her every day – and she was 92 when she passed away! So, believe me, you have my total sympathy.
Please don’t blame yourself for not being there when he died. I say that because, in somewhat different circumstances, I do the same in respect of both my parents. I was living in England throughout the final year of my father’s life, when, looking back, I was really needed at home, and then, the day before my mother’s death I had been sick myself, so, with nothing more than a touch of food poisoning, at most, I sat with her in the living room (she was in a hospital bed and had grown weaker and weaker over the previous six months) but there was I, bemoaning my upset tummy! Although I knew she was dying, I thought she would be with us for at least a few more weeks. I sat with her but hardly spoke, feeling sorry for myself with this bug or whatever it was I had picked up. Eventually, I rang my sister to come and see to mother since I was feeling unwell. Poor me (!)
My sister came after work, and at around 9.30pm I said I would have to go to bed; I wasn’t at all well, I moaned, and gave my mother a peck on the cheek – never thinking that I wouldn’t see her alive again. My sister was with her when she took a turn for the worse during the night, but didn’t wake me out of consideration; she left for a few minutes to make herself a cup of tea, and returned to find our mother gone. I know, therefore, the temptation to blame yourself for not responding to your dad at the time; I still feel dreadful that I hardly spoke to my mother all day the day before she died and then went to bed early, all so sorry for myself. It’s a terrible thing, regret. I marvel when I hear people say that they regret nothing in their lives, would change nothing. It’s astonishing. I regret loads, would change just about everything, but nothing so much as that day, 20th February, 2015, my mother’s last day on this earth. In a blatant case of the pot calling the kettle black, I urge you, though, to leave that suffering at Our Lady’s feet and have confidence that your father is now spiritually safe.
His reason for falling away from the Faith is very understandable but note, he had the grace to return when you became a Catholic. Your example has obviously been the inspiration used by God to encourage his return. The fact that he lapsed again, during this time of horrendous crisis, is not surprising, especially added to his childhood trauma, but, given the physical suffering which led to his death as you describe it, and the fact of God’s complete justice, and how He longs for the salvation of every soul, I think we can be confident that your beloved father has been saved. I remember saying to my mother (who had terrible suffering at the end of her life) that she was surely serving her Purgatory through this, and she replied: “O, I hope so!” I would wager that your father has likewise served a good deal of, if not all, of his Purgatory on this earth, so let’s pray hard for him, assuming that, through the mercy of God he has been welcomed into eternal happiness even if he has to make a stop on the way to Heaven! The pallbearer who credits your father under God, with the turnaround in his own life, speaks volumes and offers a glimpse into your father’s goodness. So, please don’t torture yourself; you did what you could for your dad and I’m sure you will be aware of the fact that the devil will take full advantage of your distress. Beware of giving him an inch, because he is clever enough to take the proverbial mile.
About “not knowing your dad your entire life”… Well, oddly enough, members of my extended family have been asking me all sorts of questions about my parents and their parents (my grandparents) in the past week or two, and I keep having to admit that I don’t know the answers. I now wish I’d asked more questions of them myself and taken more of an interest in family history / matters. Another regret!
In any case, in more general terms, I don’t think anyone EVER really knows anyone else. I’ve never forgotten an incident in one of my lessons some years ago when I was walking round the room during a simple task which was set for the Year 7 (first year) pupils. They had to write a little paragraph about their family and friends, but not to list any more than three friends (past experience had taught that they would fill the page with names, real or fictitious if they could get away with it.) However, one little boy was stuck.
He was staring into space and, thinking he was wasting time, I called over to him to get a move on, only a few minutes left. To my astonishment, he replied that he couldn’t complete the bit about friends because he didn’t have any. Seeing that he was being serious and not the classic disrupter, I went over and quietly tried to encourage him to think of the people he knew where he lives, classmates etc. He was adamant. He said, yes, he knew people, but there was nobody he would call a friend. I took the opportunity to explore, with the class, what we considered to be the attributes of a good friend and it turned out to be a very fruitful conversation. It soon became clear that pupils could see that when we loosely use the term “friend(s)” we don’t really mean someone we totally trust, feel affection for etc. A consensus emerged to acknowledge that, often we are really meaning “acquaintances” because a true friend is, indeed, a rarity. That first year pupil in a comprehensive secondary school in the north-east of England had learned something important, very early in life – and I told him so…
Finally, Hannah, I want to reinforce the words of the old hymn (one of my favourites for the Holy Souls) that, however natural, and however tempting, we shouldn’t waste any time in what the composer describes as “selfish weeping” but “speeding our prayers to Heaven… pray!” I tried to find it on YouTube just now with no luck, but I found this one (see below), another favourite of mine, which I always find comforting and I hope you will as well. I’ll finish with this, but not before I say that, while I fully appreciate your thinking about your own blog, which is lovely and which I feel very bad about not visiting more often (if it’s any consolation I seldom visit any other sites, and don’t contribute to any of them when I do – at least when I visit yours, I post a comment) but take your time before finalising that decision. I have no doubt that your blog does a power of good, but if you do feel that it’s time to close to comments (I’m glad you will be keeping it open for reference, at least) please know that you will always be welcome here, where your contributions are greatly valued. I’d be slow to finalise that decision though – you DO want to be able to post a blog on that glorious day when the Pope consecrates Russia to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, don’t you?
Here’s the hymn which, I hope, will console you and remind you of God’s infinite mercy and justice towards those who love Him – and there can be no doubt that your father did love God – that Pallbearer is unlikely to have been the only person who benefited from your dad’s charity…
God bless you, Hannah – please don’t lose heart, and do keep in touch with us; if you want to email, you are more than welcome to contact me on editor@catholictruthscotland.com
I wish to thank you dear Editor for the Hymn. I have not heard it for many years now but I love it too. It really tugs at my heartstrings. I sang along with it when I ran it through just now.
John Rayner,
I love that hymn as well. It really tugs the heartstrings, as you say. If only they would sing these old hymns at the end of Mass, as we used to do, but I think those days and customs are long gone, unlikely to return, more’s the pity.
Editor and Hannah,
I’ve prayed for the repose of your father’s soul, but your post, and Editor’s response, reminded me of two things:
One, I hardly knew my father either, having been separated from him at age 5, and not one word of reference to him in my mother’s re-married household. 17 years later, when I graduated from college, we were re-united thanks to my aunt and uncle, but I had no feeling that he was my father, just a good guy with some wisdom. But even that wisdom gave out, as it turned out he wanted nothing to do with the Church in which he had been raised, and teased me when I returned to the Church in 1999.
Two, when Editor’s sister returned to find their mother gone, it brought to mind something that happened at my own mother’s death. I kept vigil with her all night in the hospital after she had already lost consciousness, but around 7:30 in the morning the nurses came to change her sheets, etc., so I waited in a room down the hall. After a few minutes one of the nurses came running for me and said to come quickly, mother’s breathing had changed drastically.
When I got there she was already down to 1-2 breaths/minute, and soon stopped altogether. In other words, her soul had already departed….as soon as I left the room.
When I related this to a friend, she said that it was fairly common that parents don’t want to die with their children present! So rest easier, Editor, your mother’s wish, like mine, was apparently granted.
Dear Hannah,
I am so very sorry to hear of your Dad’s death. Please be assured of my prayers for him, for you and all your family.
Bereavement is such a heavy blow and most especially when we are young. Often, we do not find solace in the comfort others try to give, but we find solace in our faith and time is a great healer, as we gradually come to terms with the shock and initial sadness.
From your description, it is clear what you went through that morning has been very traumatic and for that I am sorry. 58 is no age for a man to die, and 22 is no age to suffer such loss.
To read of your Dad’s health problems over time, it is clear that you have had a lot to deal with as a young adult. Our youth should be a part of our life which is relatively carefree, but sometimes family circumstances can dictate otherwise. However, I am confident that in dealing with the health situation, you would have been more of a support to your father than you could have ever imagined – and you will ultimately be rewarded for this great love and patience.
What a dreadful shock it must have been to learn of what your Dad had suffered at the hands of that wicked priest. No individual or family should ever have such a crime inflicted upon them.
Please do not worry that this shock means you did not really know him. It is very natural for people who have been victim to such a crime not to share it with others. Perhaps out of a misplaced sense of shame, or because they do not want to upset their loved ones.
I am sure that from every stage of life – as an infant, young girl, adolescent and a young women – you can think of special memories of your Dad. Times you laughed together, had fun together or did something special together. Great things and even small things, like a simple glance or smile. You knew your dad and you got the best of him, which is preserved in your heart for ever. That wicked man’s crime did not steal your father from you and do not be troubled by any worry over it.
Your Dad’s reaction to this bad experience is only natural – who could have blamed him for feeling like he hated the Church at times? But God would never have hated him, only loved him.
God’s love for your dad is surely evident, when one considers what a loving daughter you were to your dad, how compassionate Fr DeMayer has been and how the Navy have honoured him in death. And look how God worked through your Father in life: to have raised such a confident young woman, to have wrought such positive change in the life of his friend and doubtless many other instances.
Even from a just few examples, it seems that God has been close to your father throughout his life – even if perhaps it did not always seem like it. Are you familiar with the “footprints in the sand” poem?
It is about a man who life of faith could be traced as two sets of footprints along a beach, one set were his and the other Our Lord’s, walking together through life. But, looking back, the man was troubled to note only one set of footprints were present at the saddest and lowest points of his life. He mistakenly believes he was walking alone at these hard times and, feeling that he was abandoned, rebukes Our Lord for this. But Our Lord answers with great love that He would never abandon the man and that, when he can see only one set or prints, it was then Our Lord was carrying him.
Perhaps there is something in this poem which is applicable to your Dad’s life? A great and generous man, who had suffered a terrible crime.
It is natural to worry about our loved ones, if they fall away from the Church – but God knows what is in a person’s heart and why. I believe God has a special love and compassion for those who have been hurt or wronged by clergymen.
You have always struck me as a very intelligent and level headed young woman and I have felt that again as I read your post. Your are right that you need to take time and space to come to terms what has happened, to heal personally, and to support family.
It is the right decision to let go of your blog and do not burden yourself with any other “non essentials” right now either. For what its worth, I was always very impressed with the blog and your contributions here. It is a great idea to leave it online as a resource. It will continue to inform and help others.
Who knows, maybe sometime in future you may feel like reactivating it again? Maybe it could become a tribute to your dad and/or a way to share how you are feeling. But these are decisions for the future, of course.
When we are bereaved it is so hard to imagine how we might ever feel joy or happiness again, or how we might ever laugh again. But you will, I promise. You are a young woman with the world at your feet. You will always miss your dad, of course, but you will come through this stronger than you were before.
Pray for your dad every day, and pray that you may be reunited with him one day. Such a time may be many years away, in our terms, but when it comes it will seem only as the blink of an eye amidst eternity. Until then, his memory lives on in your heart and mind, places he will never leave.
Sadly, I am not on facebook, but I do hope you will not be a stranger to us here. Of course you will have other priorities, but you will always be very welcome here and I am sure I speak for us all when I say I hope you will pop in often to chat, contribute or even just say “hey”.
Take care for now 🙂
Thank you, Editor & Gabriel for all your kind words. I appreciate it. Much love to you both.
Damsel of the Faith,
I’m very sad for your loss, and pray for the repose of your father’s soul, RIP.
Dear Hannah,
I’m very sorry to learn of the death of your father, may he rest in peace, and of your own personal suffering. I will pray for you in my daily rosary.
Please don’t lose heart. Lots of saints wrote about their experience of feeling the faith obscured through suffering but they understood it was a trial and they would come out of it the stronger. That’s my prayer for you, dear Hannah.
As I just posted on the PETA thread, here’s a new article claiming that the Pope is a Freemason:
https://fromrome.info/2020/02/05/vatican-intelligence-officer-i-am-a-freemason-and-so-is-bergoglio/
However, what is suspicious about this is that this video is from November of 2017. So it took over 2 years for anyone to notice this program? Right.
RCA Victor, is that report credible, do you think? Who are these people called “From Rome”?
Crofterlady,
I don’t know anything about them, but this is another of a steady trickle of reports that the Pope is a Freemason. I was skeptical because of the 2-year delay in surfacing this news. Not to mention the fact that I couldn’t verify anything because no habla Espanol….
As for the website, it appears to be a part of something called the Ordo Militaris Catholicus (i.e. a Catholic Military Order), formed in the wake of the murder of the French priest by Islamic terrorists not long ago (2016).
They have a website: https://www.ordo-militaris.us/
Now you know everything I know!
RCA Victor,
You are right to be sceptical (sceptical !) about these claims that the Pope is a Freemason. Even the Freemasons are on record as saying that they want to destroy the Church from within but realise they won’t get a Pope visiting their lodges. All they want is a Pope who will walk under their banner, hold to their beliefs etc and – bingo! – they must be thinking that all their Christmases have come at once.
Thanks. but do they accept ladies? Joan of Arc springs springs to mind! Levities aside, I have great admiration for her and other female saints such as St. Catherine of Sienna and the great St. Teresa of Avila.
Further to the Bruno Volpe information above:
“Pope Francis told a group of U.S. bishops that people focused on the possibility of ordaining some married men and women deacons for service in the Amazon will be disappointed in his apostolic exhortation”.
https://cnstopstories.com/2020/02/10/u-s-bishops-ask-pope-about-amazon-synod-discuss-range-of-issues/
Of course let us not count our chickens, before seeing the document – which I believe is to be issued today.
Well, the document is now out.
Rorate Caeli says:
“Notes: Regarding the priesthood and the Eucharist, we call your attention in particular to Paragraphs 82-98.
No opening whatsoever was made for the ordination of married men/viri probati to the Priesthood. On the contrary, in the spirit of making clear clericalism is not central, there is an emphasis on the lay ministry as “distinctively lay” (cf. paragraph 94).
The paragraphs on women (99-103) also do not have any revolutionary content.
Paragraphs 104-105 make clear that the path forward should not be an either/or, but solutions beyond conflicts of the past.
One particular good point is the one of Paragraph 18, with extensive historical references in footnote 17, making clear the permanent solicitude of the Church, through various pontificates, and since the earliest days of Christian presence in the New World, for the welfare of the indigenous peoples. Specific reference is made even to the Laws of the Indies (Leyes de las Indias), promulgated by the Spanish Crown with specific protections for the indigenous populations. The 1909 text of one of the first bishops of Amazonas (Manaus), Brazil, Frederico Benicio, named by Saint Pius X to that extensive territory, is expressly quoted.
Despite all problems (the downsides are numerous), we can rightly say that this is the best possible document we could have hoped for in the current pontificate and in the current age. It is not the best document (that would be impossible in the current moment in time), but it is, in a Leibnizian way, the best possible text…”
https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2020/02/apostolic-exhortation-querida-amazonia.html
The link contains the document’s full text also.
Gabriel Syme,
Many thanks for that – it is reported, also, on the BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-51474009
So, a sigh of relief all round – for now! there’s obviously someone in the Vatican holding him in check – Deo gratias!
The LifeSite News article has a more troubling take on this:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-pope-releases-new-exhortation-on-amazon-synod
“He advocates an “inculturated liturgy” incorporating Amazonian dance and rituals, and mentions in a footnote the idea of establishing an Amazonian liturgical rite.
He recommends granting lay people formal authority of Amazonian parishes, and mentions their ability to “celebrate certain sacraments” (excluding specifically the Eucharist and Confession).
He says women should be given formal positions in the community that include a “commission from the bishop”.
He applies the Amoris Laetitia approach to sacraments in the Amazon context, saying there is no “room … for a discipline that excludes and turns people away.”
And he seems to defend the veneration of the Pachamama statue at the Synod.”
RCA Victor,
I thought it was too good to be true when I read the first reports on what the Pope had “ruled”.
Further on the new Exhortation:
“Asked if the Pope’s new exhortation on the Amazon Synod closed the door on women deacons and married priests, a Cardinal at the Vatican press conference presenting the exhortation said that “the Holy Father has not resolved” the questions and that “they will continue to be debated, discussed, discerned, prayed over, and when mature presented to the appropriate authority for decisions.”
This, of course, from a Jesuit….and not just any Jesuit…
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-at-vatican-presser-question-on-women-deacons-married-priests-not-resolved
RCA Victor,
Didn’t Pope John Paul forbid all discussion and debate about ending celibacy?
Margaret Mary,
You know how that goes in the Conciliar Church: forbid it in writing, do nothing about it in disciplinary practice. Besides, there is no past in the current apostate pontificate: there is only an ever-evolving future.
(Evolving, that is, towards Hell).
RCA Victor,
You took the words right out of my mouth. Any “strong statement” or even reasonably strong document, from the Vatican these days is a joke, as in a real laugh-a-minute…
Gabriel Syme,
RC’s conclusion strikes me as equivalent to saying that legalized abortion of 6-week old babies is the best possible law we could hope for in the current climate of feminist infanticide of abortion up to birth.
RC seems to stake its claim in the camp of “conservatives,” not counter-revolutionaries.
I think this comment below one of the LifeSiteNews articles on the new Exhortation is very accurate:
“Francis’s endorsement of the final synod document [emphasis mine] means that it is added to his magisterium, as per the Apostolic Constitution Epicopalis Communio. The relevant portion reads:
—
Art. 18
Delivery of the Final Document to the Roman Pontiff
§1. Once the approval of the members has been obtained, the Final Document of the Assembly is presented to the Roman Pontiff, who decides on its publication.
If it is expressly approved by the Roman Pontiff, the Final Document participates in the ordinary Magisterium of the Successor of Peter.
—
Francis has performed a subtle canonical maneuver that will calm Catholic tempers while advancing the revolution. Francis said it himself, he prioritizes time over space. He’s only doing what he’s always done.”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/major-setback-to-female-deacons-married-priests-or-back-door-to-change-amazon-exhortation-reactions
RCA Victor,
What a scoundrel, no question about it. There can be no doubt, though, that his cunning manoeuvres will haunt him at his Judgement.
RCAVictor,
I saw something about that, but it seems the claim has been clarified quickly.
Cardinals and the Vatican Press Office emphasised that the formal exhortation is a magisterial document, but the final synod document is not.
https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2020/02/12/vatican-officials-querida-amazonia-is-magisterium-amazon-synods-final-doc-is-not/
I think some had tried to claim that Francis had approved the synod document, making it magisterial, however Cardinals in the link explain he did not “approve” the document, only “presented” it.
The likes of Austen ivereigh etc have been trying to find loopholes, but Massimo Faggoli is more honest about the defeat:
“People are starting to adjust their expectations,” said Massimo Faggioli, a church historian at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. “The major reforms they were expecting of him may never come.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/12/world/pope-married-priests-amazon/index.html
Gabriel Syme,
Thanks for that clarification, but in view of the deceitful track record of this hierarchy of mealy-mouthed apostates, I’d wager it won’t be long before some convoluted gibberish appears which refers to the “spirit of the final synod document” and which then proceeds to implement – on a trial basis, of course – exactly what the “progressives” are lusting for.
(And I use the word “lust” deliberately.)
https://www.complicitclergy.com/2020/08/18/pope-francis-praises-nun-for-opening-trans-home-for-men-claiming-to-be-women-calls-them-girls/?fbclid=IwAR21JZ9-fzEaTV22-oPWqVzWL8V9viRIwbEhENKu7j8Q
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