I think the Pope and his fellow travellers on the Council of Nine have their own very fixed agenda. Nothing is to get in the road of implementing this. Nothing at all, abortion , Communist persecution, Islamic persecution, Birth Control, Financial Corruption, are far, far far down the list. Top of the list are things like, 'Gay Rights', 'Global Warming', 'Socialist Values'..and so on. In other words a very,very political Liberal Leftist Agenda. In other words these people are political rather than Spiritual in nature; in what drives them. Some of them believe in God...kinda....but not very much. I don;t think they care how popular they are or who complains and protests. They just want their won things done. Which is ironic since some kind of Democratic consent seems to be their watch word. Yet they are, in fact, the very opposite of Democratic.
Actually, the China deal fits in with the St. Gallen group's vision for the Church. The Catholic Church will be a loose confederation of autonomous national churches, reducing the papacy to a ceremonial role. I firmly believe that was why Pope Francis had no problem signing the deal. In years to come his name will be synonymous with backstabbing. The great Divider Pope has fulfilled the role for which he was elected. And he couldn't have done it without the help of a majority of Bishops who were present. What are the chances of the two Irish Bishops who were present being among the minority who opposed it? My guess would be slim to none. All in the spirit of Cardinal Martini. Pope Francis likes to refer to it as the Holy Spirit. The Masons would agree with him.
May God forgive me but when Caridnal Martini died I gave a sigh of relief. I thought we were all off the hook. I never dreamed they had a replacement wating in the wings. I always thought there was something very,very sinister indeed about that man. Sigh. Another Jesuit; what is it with the Jesuits?
In what is said in Amoris Laetitia regarding adultery, Pope Francis does not write at all that he defends those who live in adultery ! In the contrary, he writes that our conscience often tells us (with our without our consent) what is the Will of God, if we are enough sincere and honest. He also says that it is not fully the objective ideal (for example this might be the decision to separate from the person who push us into adultery) because the objective ideal would be : not only separate but also change radically the inclination to adultery in our heart and refuse sin. Do yo at least see in how many ways you can interpret the Pope's texts ? I have the impresssion that the Pope writes in this way in order to get the sinners back to the Church without giving them the impression that he condemns them as persons (although the Pope does condemn sinn). He is doing this in a very delicate way because he is thinking first of all of the soul that is SOOOOOOO precious to Jesus that He Himself said: "In order to win just one soul back to Me, I would accept that they crucify Me again (....), if this would be possible". So that is why the Pope himself is very PRUDENT when expressing himself towards those sinners. VERY PRUDENT in order not to loose one single one. As long as I do not see concrete steps (not texts from the Pope like the one above or meetings between the Pope and people who live in sin) that indicate obvious betrayal towards the Holy Scriptures, I will not speak or think evil of this Pope. Do not forget that Conchita of Garabandal met Vassula and that they are good friends. Moreover: Vassula has received the spiritual gift of discernment and wisdom...
Romans 8:13 Heirs with Christ 12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.… The Lord Jesus did not present the idea of not entering into adultery as an, 'Objective ideal' , Elisa. That is not my opinion , I am going by Scripture and the 2,000 year old Teachings of the Church. If restating the Teachings of the Church is to speak evil against the Pope..well the Truth is still the Truth. Many Catholic Martys died defending these Truths, Elisa. Luke 16:18 18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Matthew 19:9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery." IV. OFFENSES AGAINST THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE Adultery 2380 Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations - even transient ones - they commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire.171 The sixth commandment and the New Testament forbid adultery absolutely.172 The prophets denounce the gravity of adultery; they see it as an image of the sin of idolatry.173 2381 Adultery is an injustice. He who commits adultery fails in his commitment. He does injury to the sign of the covenant which the marriage bond is, transgresses the rights of the other spouse, and undermines the institution of marriage by breaking the contract on which it is based. He compromises the good of human generation and the welfare of children who need their parents' stable union. Divorce 2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.174 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.175 Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."176 2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.177 If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense. 2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery: If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another's husband to herself.178 2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society. 2386 It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.179
To even think of recieving our Lord Jesus Christ without being in a state of grace to me is blashemy. I dont care if vassula is best friends with St Francis of Assisi, to have a Pope who speaks of our Blessed Mother as a common woman when she is free of sin sickens me.
Many of the clergy today are given over to a reprobate spirit And so are many of the laity To save even one soul that is so precious the Pope needs to clarify his works and words, bring them in line with 2,000 years of the Magisterium and with Christ’s words in Scripture He also needs to answer the Dubia at once, and protect all faithful and orthodox priests and seminarians from the rising flood of sodomite filth He needs to address the needs of abuse victims He needs to break all political ties and concentrate on returning the Holy and Mystical to the Catholic Church Making it One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic once again He can start today!
You say that he is "very prudent" so as not to lose a single soul. Where is that prudence when he is insulting traditionalists?
These are the people who now propose to censor Traditional Catholic websites by withholding their worthless certificate (of infidelity to Church teaching, presumably). https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-bishop-malones-assistant-became-a-whistleblower-60-minutes/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-bishop-malones-assistant-became-a-whistleblower-60-minutes/
If we assume that all you say accurately reflects Pope Francis' outlook and intentions, someone should tell him that he will not succeed in getting the 'fallen away' back by 'bending the rules' and downplaying the truth. The Anglicans have tried this 'flexible' approach and it is in freefall especially in the US. PF has been Pope for 5 years, do you see that the queues for confession have grown? Do you see more young people at Mass? Do you see any improvement at all? I don't and I don't know anyone who has, in fact it's still getting worse. So what is the point? People respond to a call for discipline in religious duties (e.g. the Muslims - prayer 5 times a day, 2% of income to charity etc.) and not a 'let's make it easy for you' approach which even many of those it is intended for despise as weakness and a desperate gesture to get them to show up at Church and contribute funds. With regard to Vassula Ryden, the Church officially regards 'automatic writing' as 'beyond the pale' and spiritually suspect. VR says that her 'messages' come, in a different hand, but as she is aware of her surroundings and that her hand is being used by her 'guardian angel', that this is not a case of 'automatic writing'. Of course it is and God would hardly choose a method of communication that is specifically banned by the Church many years before she began to allow her hands to be used in this way.
When referring to our conscience, wouldn't that require that the conscience be formed so as to make a proper decision? The Pope knows as well as we do this is not the case everywhere. He is the Pope for ALL Catholics and is trying to pastor all of us in light of that. This is why he is more in my prayers than any pope in my lifetime. Elisa, I also agree with you, I am sure he presents in the way he does, in hopes to encourage those who have been away, to reconsider. I know of 2 people who returned to the sacraments largely because of him. They are now in the right place for further correct formation. That being said, I DO AGREE, I have great concerns in spite of say that.
Yes the Truth is the Turth. People and times and cultures may change but the Truth remains forever. So Jesus said, 'I am the Way , the Truth and the Life'. It is a bit like a light house in s storm; the winds may blow, the waves may pound, but the Light House stays the course. It's once you decide to move the Light House to suit the storm that the problems start. The Truth never varies, never changes, Scripture is inerrant and so are the Teachings of the Church.
Dear Fr Mark is posting again. What a wonderful young priest; it's hard believe he's only turned to this subject matter quite recently, but he's firing away with all four pistons; bless him. Prayers for his protection.
In my experience, I have see confessional lines grow and people return. The group for RCIA this Sunday was quite large! There are many younger people in my choir and in church. My former church is predominately younger families. It is also the largest parish in my diocese. I love our young priest as well as our Pastor. The young priest went with the reference to Melchizedek and spoke on the imperative value of Holy Orders and righteous Holy priests. In fact, I made note of some of his comments in writing. I whispered to my choir friend next to me, love this man! Yes, there are things to be joyous about!! These things tell me our prayers ARE being answered. We also need to keep praying for the continued purging of the Bride of Christ.
It is not a good thing that one can see how many ways one can interpret Pope Francis' texts. This only licences people to make their own truths. Haven't we heard this somewhere before? Yes, it's Protestantism, whereby one lives by one's own private interpretation of the Gospel. The duty of the Pope, the only real papal duty, is to ensure the preservation of the Truths that have been passed down from his predecessors. This is how the Faith has survived essentially as the same set of beliefs that the Apostles professed. You can't preserve the truth by diluting it to everyone's tastes. Let people convert to Catholicism, not Catholicism convert to the people. If certain individuals aren't prepared to accept the teachings of the Catholic Church, there are tens of thousands of Protestant sects, many of which should offer what they desire.
If Pope Francis is causing a return to the Church, it is in a counter-intuitive manner. The more he condemns the traditional and the 'rigid', the more seem to embrace it.
I do agree with you DeGaulle. I also appreciate there might be some additional good that comes for those who have spent much of their lives in some of those Protestant sects but now returning. There are other details that also make me quite angry about his light-weight texts, but I don't have time right now to talk about them.
Elisa, In regard to your statement above, Glenn commented on this in the past and has stated that they are not friends at all. See this post #18 in which he states, "May 2, 2014 . I spoke to Conchita today about Vassula Ryden. Since they were pictured together many years ago, I asked if they were friends, she said “ NO”. They had been introduced at a friends house ( Gladys Dominguez ) and the person with Vassula asked for a picture of them together. Conchita NOT knowing who she was ,graciously agreed anyway. That was the only time they met, and they did not talk."
Thank you to those many members who brought this to my attention. OK, LET ME MAKE THIS POINT CRYSTAL CLEAR, AND THIS IS NOT MY OPINION, BUT FACT,FROM CONCHITA HERSELF ! NOTE FROM May 2, 2014 . I spoke to Conchita today about Vassula Ryden. Since they were pictured together many years ago, I asked if they were friends, she said “ NO !”. They had been introduced at a friends house ( Gladys Dominguez ) and the person with Vassula asked for a picture of them together. Conchita NOT knowing who she was ,graciously agreed anyway. That was the only time they met, and they did not talk then, and not talked since.
