Francis, The Orthodox Jew

Total commitment to religious Indifferentism.

Another man who has been pretty much everywhere in the news since March is Mister Skorka, the pro-homo Rabbi who is the best buddy of our own Bishop of Rome.

Skorka clearly enjoys his popularity, because he can’t stay away from journalists. His friend shines, and he will have some of the limelight for himself. That’s another “modest” and “unassuming” man, then. Dio li fa e poi li accoppia, says the Italian (“God makes them, and then He puts them together”).

Every time Skorka talks to journalists, he stresses how un-Catholic Francis is. Thinking, poor deluded man, that in so doing he makes him a service, but in reality giving a disquieting portrait of the Bishop of Rome; the more so because coming from his infidel Best Male Friend  – after the death of the adulterous concubine of a Bishop, the female role must probably go the Chaouqui woman -; this must be very alarming for every sound thinking Catholic.

The last interview I came across is here. It contains several pearls of stupidity, which let us think the man will soon be asked by his buddy Jorge to have the kindness to shut up, at least when journalists are around.

Let us see some of them:

When Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, he and Skorka co-wrote a book of dialogues on Judaism and Roman Catholicism titled, “On Heaven and Earth,” had a similarly themed TV show called “Bible, A Dialogue for Today,” and offered prayers from each other’s pulpits.

Fantastic. Not only the two wrote a book together meant to confuse Catholics, but even made a TV show for those with no intention of reading the book. To make it more confusing, they had the rabbi preaching from the pulpit, and the Archbishop from the Synagogue. This is pure Indifferentism. If this is evangelisation, I am a Rabbi. The real Rabbi is very proud. He can’t see the problem.

“There is overall a very deep respect for the other,” Skorka said. “His commitment with the Jewish people is total.”

I agree. His commitment with the Jewish people is total. His commitment to Jesus and to the conversion of Jews is, on the other hand, exactly zero. One can imagine Francis in Jesus’ time, “fully committed” to the Pharisees and expecting to be made an apostle (fat chance: there was Jesus around, not V II). I am sure he does not see the contradiction. Hey, he is “building bridges”. That man on the cross is so narrow-minded, with his message of universal conversion. He should not be so “obsessed” with conversion, eh? no? “Go ye therefore, and confuse all nations, making a TV show in the name of the Rabbi, the Archbishop and the Dialogue”.

More of this stuff:

Skorka said the pope is so comfortable with Jewish culture that as he vetted meals at the Vatican hotel to make sure the rabbi was given only kosher food, Francis joked he was the rabbi’s personal “mashgiach,” the Hebrew word for a supervisor in a restaurant or other business who oversees compliance with Jewish dietary laws.

Good Lord.

Someone should tell Francis that Jewish dietary rules are not meant to keep the cholesterol level low, but are religious ones. If he helps Jews to follow them, he helps them to remain Jewish, and reinforces in them the opinion that this is right so.

I am OK. You are OK. Never mind Jesus.

The reference to the “mashgiach” is truly alarming: Skorka is saying that Francis is a real expert in kosher food. Not bad for one who doesn’t even know that atheists who die in their unbelief go to hell, and thinks individual conscience is the metre of right and wrong. If Francis should ever resign as Pope, “mashgiac” might be a good next step.

“When he speaks about evangelization, the idea is to evangelize Christians or Catholics,” to reach “higher dimensions of faith” and a deepened commitment to social justice, Skorka said. “This is the idea of evangelization that Bergoglio is stressing – not to evangelize Jews. This he told me, on several opportunities.”

More obscenities. Bergoglio makes clear to his circumcised friend that he has no intention whatever to convert him or any of his. Remember “Rehab”? Let’s refresh Francis’ words:

“Do you need to convince the other to become Catholic? No, no, no! Go out and meet him, he is your brother. This is enough. Go out and help him and Jesus will do the rest”.

Jesus can do everything, but Francis certainly doesn’t help him when a Rabbi (and, by extension, every non-Catholic) is encouraged not to convert by the very Pope. Actually, it is fair to say Francis positively and actively works against Jesus. At least if the word “evangelisation” is to have any sense; as in “lead people to believe in the One True Faith” rather than, as Francis clearly believes, “meet other people and let Jesus do the rest”.

Some people say with Francis more people are going to church. If it turned out to be true, methinks they do so safe in the certainty that no one will ask them to become Catholic.

Now let me see: how does the Catholic Encyclopedia describes religious indifferentism?

“The term given, in general, to all those theories, which, for one reason or another, deny that it is the duty of man to worship God by believing and practicing the one true religion.”

One has the impression the line was written just after reading the latest interview of Rabbi Skorka, or the “no, no, no!” exploit of the present Bishop of Rome. 

It goes on.

A book has arrived. It is from… Hans Kueng!

One of the books had been sent and inscribed by the dissident theologian Hans Kung. “Both of us stood one very close to the other trying to read the German dedication,” Skorka said. “Something like, ‘You already did a lot, but the world expects from you to continue doing very important things.'”

You can picture the two, excited like two children on the morning of Christmas’ day (or should I say Hanukkah?) whilst unwrapping the gifts. “A book! Hans Kueng has sent us a book! What does the dedication say, Jorge? Eh? Eh?”. “He says I must continue to do very important things! Oh joyous day!”.

I’d have given them both a Baltimore catechism. But that one is the Pope, I’d have given it to both of them on the head first.

The rabbi said the pope is aware that some religious conservatives, inside and outside the church, are unsettled by his approach. Francis has said Catholic leaders have been driving people away by talking too much about divisive social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. The pope has dropped some of the more regal trappings of the papacy. He uses a Ford Focus instead of fancier cars in the Vatican fleet and wears only the most basic clothes.

Well if even he is aware, it means the noise is rather strong. Good. Note how the man considers the defence of life “divisive”, but finds so good that one uses a Ford Focus. A genius he ain’t, this one.

“He is receiving very, very harsh criticism from people who don’t like a pope without red shoes, and a pope who speaks to people in a very simple and direct language, and a pope who will transmit to people that he is close to them, that he in some way hugs them through jokes and through simple words and through simple expressions,” Skorka said. “The criticism he is suffering from is not new for him. He already had this kind of pressures and other kind of pressures during his serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires, so he knows exactly how to handle these pressures. He’s a very strong man and he will go ahead.”

Well, I must correct myself. Rabbi Skorka is a nincompoop. There is no other adjective for one that after seven months of heresies and assorted scandal, some of them just repeated by himself, thinks that “religious conservatives” have targeted Francis with “very harsh criticism” because of his lack of red shoes, or the like. This Skorka man may be a Jew, but if he opens his mouth he must know what he is talking about, or should keep it shut. He obviously doesn’t do either. To him, the fact that the Pope does not want to convert him is a good thing and makes of him a good Pope.

Go figure.

I think Skorka might be slightly confused. Perhaps what he wants to say is that Francis would be a good Rabbi.

Very fit on Jewish dietary rules. No intention of letting anyone defect to the followers of that narrow-minded Christ. Total commitment to the Jewish people.

Enjoy Francis, the Jesuit Pope.

Mundabor