Pope Francis, The SSPX, Pope Emeritus Benedict, And The Others.

Around midnight now, and still trying to digest the new Pope.

Whilst I do so, I’d like to share some reflections with you, on which I might expand in the next days. 

1) Many have asked the SSPX to accept the “preambolo” no matter how bad. It is now evident this would have been a very bad move not only in itself, but in light of a Pope clearly hostile (at least up to now) to the Traditional Mass.  Also, an agreement that might have been changed or recused only months later isn’t the smart thing to do in any case. The SSPX has decided to do things only when they can be done properly, and this is very good. Let them wait for any hostile initiative of the new Pope, if he dares. More prestige, publicity, and followers for them.

2) Too many conservative Catholics play “loyal Catholic” at the expense of the SSPX. It will be interesting to see where they stand if Francis starts to demolish Summorum Pontificum, and force the likes of the FSSP to celebrate the New Mass, perhaps the new Mass exclusively. I expect from them that they all obey without a moment’s hesitation; it would serve them right, too…

3)  The same applies to the Pontiff Emeritus, who might well pay a terrible price for his indecisiveness. He initiated a reform (Summorum Pontificum) he never had the guts to enforce. He might now see how the only notable achievement of his pontificate is demolished under his very eyes. It would serve him right, too: if he had demanded that Summorum Pontificum (and himself) are taken seriously, and had appointed more conservative cardinals (both liturgically and otherwise), we might have lived a very different day. Live by Vatican II, die by Vatican II. 

I wish everyone a good night. Though the dreams might not be so sweet.

Mundabor

Pope Francis On Same-Sex Marriage (Liberals Can Click Away Now).

From Pope Francis, then Cardinal Archbishop Bergoglio, letter to the Carmelitans concerning the Argentinian so-called “same sex marriage” legislation: 

The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother, and children. The life of so many children who will be discriminated beforehand due to the lack of human maturity that God willed them to have with a father and a mother is in jeopardy. A clear rejection of the law of God, engraved in our hearts, is in jeopardy.

I recall words of Saint Thérèse when she speaks of the infirmity of her childhood. She says that the envy of the Devil tried to extort her family after her older sister joined the Carmel. Here, the envy of the Devil, through which sin entered the world, is also present, and deceitfully intends to destroy the image of God: man and woman, who receive the mandate to grow, multiply, and conquer the earth. Let us not be naive: it is not a simple political struggle; it is an intention [which is] destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a “move” of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God.

One seldom reads the like from a contemporary Archbishop.

Again, if you read here and follow the link you will read words you would believe belonging to a different time.

Let us make no mistake here, and let us not lull ourselves in dangerous illusions: much of this Pope promises to be bad or very bad for us friends of traditional Catholicism. But this seems to be one who doesn’t talk through the flowers, and can get a thing or two very right.

He has asked us to pray God that He (God) may bless him (Francis).

Fair enough, say I. He is the Pope.

Mundabor

Pope Francis: Reflections After The Shock

Pope Francis

Firstly, let me say that I have prayed, and will pray, sincerely that the new Holy Father may be a good Pope, able to at least start the process of real renewal (that is, well: restoration) we were all hoping for.

Secondly, please do not expect from me the usual “ohh this is the maaaan the Holy Ghoooost has given ussss” rubbish. If you think so, you are probably in the wrong blog.

Thirdly, allow me to say this is a shock and, very probably, not good news at all. But again, we do not know so much, and at times the Pope acts differently than the Cardinal used to do.

—————-

Like probably everyone of you, I am trying to understand; understand who Pope Francis is, and why he was made Pope. There will be a long time for reflections, so today I will list what I know up to now and, at some point, try to sleep. There will be no bottle of Brunello, for sure. Hopefully not too much grappa, either…

So, what do we know about Pope Francis?

He is known for his “social engagement”; which, coming from Argentina, is ominous indeed. Bad.

He used to be the Jesuit provincial in Argentina. Bad.

He was considered “conservative” (as far as Jesuits go). Good.(Jesuits are not all bad after all, though very many are; and I mean really, really bad; this is, when they aren’t closeted homos, or deny Christ).

He was then sent to lead a seminary. Can’t imagine the seminary produced many Jesuits, and many of them good Christians. Bad.

He has ties with the rather right-wing (but V II right-wing, not Mundabor right-wing) Comunione e Liberazione, aka ciellini. Now not what they used to be, but certainly no socialist sissies. Good.  

The usual Allen describes him as “unwaveringly orthodox on matters of sexual morality, staunchly opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception”. Unfortunately, coming from Allen this ain’t worth much, so we will have to wait and see. Half good.

He is certainly orthodox in matters of sexual perversion. Google and Wikipedia him, you’ll be surprised. Good. (The “gay mafia” within the Vatican might be facing very hard times).  

He travels with the bus, cooks his meals alone, doesn’t want to live in the archbishop’s palace. He has simply no respect for his role and the role of the Church. Bad.

He has chosen the name Francis, which might be hinting at a wave of populism like the Church has never seen. Bad.

He has been accused of complicity or silence during the Argentinian dictatorship. Well, at least not a dyed-in-the-wool revolutionary. Good.

He has obviously instructed Cardinal Tauran to cut the multi-language rubbish of Benedict’s election (“Liebe Brueder und Schwestern; Dear Brothers and Sisters…”) before the announcement and go directly to the “Annuntio vobis…”. Good. 

He has spoken of the Church as “presiding over the other churches”. No guts to say there is only one Church, and the usual V II wishy-washy words. Bad.

I had read days ago he has made a very good impression talking about the problems of the Curia. He is certainly seen as a good and effective administrator. Good.

He has been considered fit not by the absolute majority, but by two third of the Cardinals. Good (you see, I am clutching at straws now…).

He has given the impression of being extremely youthful for his 77 years (the way he talked, moved, gesticulated…). Good if he is good, bad if he is bad…

All in all, I have to say the new Holy Father exudes more than an unpleasant whiff of Vatican II. Bad. 

Dulcis in fundo, if you search “Bergoglio” on this blog you will find a single blog post, but a very complimentary one.  Once again, Bergoglio’s uncompromising stance on homosexuality is the trait which seems to be most evident. I am curious to see how the liberal press will salute a “friend of the poor” of this caliber…  

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Those who have voted for Bergoglio will have to answer to God before all too long for what they have done; as I assume most of them do believe in God and know they will have to answer to Him, there might be some hope. I want to think a Pope elected with a high majority (apparently higher than Ratzinger’s) must have given elements of reassurance also to rather conservative elements among the cardinals, and given guarantees to be a safe pair of hands to tackle the problems of the Church. The Cardinal must have known better than us what they are going to get, and they did like it.

As to what has happened, we will probably know more in due time, but what I imagine now is that it was clear from the start there were not one, but two strong candidates: one almost certainly Scola, the other possibly Scherer. These candidates must have been both strong and clearly destined to neutralise each other, because the quest for a credible outsider started, and was concluded, so soon.

Bergoglio was probably seen as a surrogate Italian (100% Italian blood); a surrogate conservative (ties with C&L; strong on homos); a surrogate liberal (a Jesuit, for crying out loud! And a “let’s travel with the bus”, “oh look how modest he is” type); not a man of the Curia; a man who speaks Italian and knows Italians; actually, one who is culturally one of them; a man who at 77 gives perhaps more guarantees – or so his electors thought – of toning down “social justice” bollocks; a man who, by his strong dislike for homos, can clean up the Vatican all right, and no risk of picking the wrong one in this.

I have not read anything about him being in favour of “collegiality”, but I mistrust whomever is defined as “pastoral”, which to me reads “heretical” and “accommodating”. Schoenborn, whose mother will be pleased, is always described as “pastoral”.

If you ask me, Sandri and Schoenborn would have been much worse, Ouellet probably better (for us), Scola even better, others like Bagnasco probably never had a chance.

It would be interesting to know whether the Austro-German heretic Sturmtruppen pushed his candidature. By the Pontiff’s stance on homos, I very much doubt. He does look very un-German from here, at least for now.

And what about the SSPX? Frankly, I am relaxed about them. Pope Francis certainly does not seem a liturgical friend of theirs; but again in the end – and after all the posturing, the rhetoric, and the lies – neither was Ratzinger. If the new Pope wants to “play Mueller” on them, he’ll discover the SSPX men are tougher than Argentinian generals, and can destroy his credibility as a decent Pope. I doubt he would relish the experience, and I think he’ll be rather more prudent than opening a front he certainly doesn’t need.

As always, yours truly tries to be an optimist; which today is, admittedly, not entirely easy. Still, a vast number of Cardinals thought cardinal Bergoglio the right one. Unless they only did so in order for them to be left free to do whatever they please at home, there might be hope.

In the end, the much-vaunted Pope Benedict has given us Summorum Pontificum (good), a shameless charade on the SSPX (bad), an impressive series of wrong or disastrous episcopal appointments (bad), a rampaging homosexuality within the Vatican (bad), and in general the perfect portrait of roi fainéant (bad).

For this pontificate to be worse than the last one it will take some doing.

Mundabor

Habemus Papam!

 

I know, it’s banal…

I just can’t wait to know who he is..

Oh Lord, please the right one!

Mundabor

Sister Act

If you peruse the National Schismatic Reporter today – we all do it every now and then; it keeps you informed about Satan's latest moves – you'll find a piece about the conclave from a female called Maureen Fiedler. Her bio says a lot of fluffy things about her (radio work, “social justice” activism, “gender equality” activism, “peace” activism, PhD in Applied Idiocy (or “Government”; one of the two) and it also informs us that, lesbian or not, she is supposed to be nun (though from the photo you'd never imagine it, of course).

Today, sister reinvents Christianity for the exclusive benefit of her more or less enlightened readers from the Liberal madhouse.

We are, first, informed the Church is not democratic. This shocking revelation, of which she was possibly not aware when she tools her vows of fidelity to… social justice, pacifism and sexual perversion, clearly forces all of us to confront Jesus' shocking lack of democratic sensitivity. It would have been so easy to let the Five Thousand democratically elect their own representatives; but no, Jesus had to decide all by himself, appointing twelve leaders without even the shred of a public consultation. I mean, really? Who does He thinks he is, God?

The Chap (He can't have been God, after all; God is democratic; everyone knows that…) even gave a shameless display of atrocious sex discrimination, appointing – would you believe that – only males for the office! Not even a lesbian among them, let alone a real woman! Really, what was He thinking?!

It gets worse than this. I mean, we can understand Jesus might have wanted to pander to His Roman Masters, who in those times didn't “do” democracy anymore; he might have been afraid (we knew he was often afraid, particularly when he saw “sister's” female ancestors walking around) of the Jewish establishment and thus timorous to appoint lesbians (or even real women) to his Board Of Directresses… But seriously, not even a mention that His Church was supposed to have democratic elections, Wymyn quota and at least one good dozen LGBT members among the Cardinalettes? Seriously? What an amateur…

Thankfully, we are now in 2013, and Sister got it right. We are therefore going to eliminate the construction faults of the Catholic edifice by inserting democracy, pacifism, socialism and sexual perversion into the structure of an obsolete behemoth not even really improved by Vatican II.

Then, and only then, Catholicism will be really authentic, as shown by the champions of Catholic authenticity, those from whom “Sister” says we should learn.

To wit: The Protestants.

Mundabor

 

Good News From The Seminary

In a very interesting post on Father Z's blog, a seminarist describes how the conclave will be dealt with: the bell will ring, every activity will cease, and everyone will go in front of the TV to follow the event live. After that, all will go to pray Te Deum and Christus Vincit. Like Father Z, I was very pleasantly surprised particularly at the last detail. It is as if the Fifties had come back for a moment.

Perhaps the Fifties are coming back, though, in a more permanent way. Perhaps by the next Conclave seminarians singing Te Deum and Christus Vincit (the London Oratorians sing a wonderful rendition of the latter every year on the Feast of Christ the King; unfortunately I do not know the composer) will not even be considered worthy of a blog post. Perhaps thinking is already changing from the roots, just as we observe with pain that the mighty branches are ill and at risk of decay.

Thank God, the Church has self-healing energies helping her, time and again, to recover after every period of crisis. The beautiful image of the seminarians singing as if we were in the Fifties will accompany me when the white smoke appears, and in the hours spent digesting the historical announcement of the new Pontiff.

May God bless them and help them to become the kind of priests – and, one day, bishops and perhaps cardinals – we so desperately need in our besieged West.

Mundabor

 

Vatican Scaffolds

Monsignor Scicluna has either given a sort of informal interview, or either imprudently spoken in front of a microphone he thought was switched off (there's a delightful episode of “Yes, Prime Minister” concerning such events; but Gordon Brown's “bigoted woman” incident also comes to mind), and has said thePontiff Emeritus chose to decapitate himself in order to get rid in one fell swoop of the many who also needed to be, erm, decapitated.

Monsignor's utterances are clearly evocative of glorious episodes of the past: the battle of Alesia, where Caesar's soldiers recurred to the unusual step of committing collective suicide, thus destroying Gaul rebels twenty times their number; or the battle of Lepanto, where the audacious decision to scuttle the Christian fleet inflicted a mortal blow to the Ottomans. The unforgettable self-decapitation of St. Pius the Tenth in order to uproot the terrible heresy of Modernism is, I am sure, also in every reader's mind.

In this case, though, there appears to be a small problem Monsignor Scicluna might not have, in his spontaneous utterances, adequately considered: the Pontiff Emeritus neglected to say who are those meant to be decapitated with him. This might have the unintended consequence that not one of them finds his head permanently separated from his neck, of course with the exception of the Pontiff. In fact, the audacious move leaves the Cardinals in the unusual position of not knowing who should be picked as executioner, with the concrete risk they pick one of those who should be executed instead. Boldly, the Pontiff Emeritus chose to get rid of himself, without getting rid of those he meant to have executed.

Truly, what a difference with Alesia, Lepanto, and St. Pius X!

Mundabor

Solidarity

The old mother of Cardinal Schoenborn (92 years old, God bless her…) has expressed her fear her son might be elected Pope, an event which would obviously cut the Cardinal's “family time”.

I am sure I express the opinion of all readers when I say we will fervently pray that she can continue to see her son as much as she likes.

Mundabor