The Three Facets Of Pope Francis?

 

Pope Francis.

Slowly but surely, from the landslide of molasses currently invading the Press some useful details begin to emerge.

I have written yesterday, after the first shock of the appointment, my small observations as they came to my mind and emerged from a short perusal of the sources. Today, I would like to order the information available into three parts, representing three key aspects of the new Pontificate. My impressions up to now are as follows:

1. General “faith and morals” issues.

I refer here to the major controversies of our times: abortion, contraception, perversion, adoption by perverts, and the like. From what I read around we have a very vocal Pope, one even accustomed to express himself with a frankness and, at times, brutality very rare in a contemporary Cardinal. If The Holy Father will continue with the same frankness, his action will be a major shift in the cultural life of the West. This requires, though, that tough acts follow the tough words (exclusion from communion for heretical politicians, effective punishment of his Jesuit heretical former colleagues, and the like).

2. Theology and general Weltanschauung.

It seems fair to say unless something big happens on the Pontiff’s personal road to Damascus this Papacy will be a disappointment to say the least. From the implicit recognition of other “churches” stated yesterday, to his alleged opposition to the capital punishment, to the predictable third-worldist and social justice rhetoric, there’s nothing to allow us to hope in a post-Vatican II stance. Whilst I do not know how infected by Neo-Modernist thinking the Pontiff might be, what I have written above and his clearly populist stance reek of Vatican II to the sky.

3. Traditional Catholicism and SSPX.

The Pontiff’s track record on this appears poor to abysmal, but this does not mean the Pope will necessarily behave as the Cardinal did. He is certainly, at least judging from his history, less open to the Traditional Mass, the traditionalist Catholics and the SSPX than Benedict was, or said it was. But as Benedict was always too weak to walk the walk, and doubts are justified whether he ever intended to achieve a reconciliation with the Society in the first place, this will not trouble my sleep at least for now. I personally prefer a Pope who doesn’t like Traditionalism in the open to one feigning a sympathy he can only bestow if it does not cost him more than a modicum of controversy. I’ll write more about his.

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Summa Summarum, I think the prophets of doom can start to relax. Yesterday wasn’t a good day, but it does not seem probable it will go down in Church history as a day of infamy and shame.

Just an example to close: I have read the Pontiff will today either assist to, or else celebrate, a Latin Mass, which might be a Traditional Mass. If the first is the case, it might well be a good sign (it would be easy for the Pope to say “tonight’s Mass in Italian, please”). If the second is the case, it will be a very good sign. If he even were to celebrate (today or in the near future) a Traditional Mass himself, he would have celebrated more Traditional Masses in weeks than Pope Benedict in almost eight years. Either way, I can’t see why Pope Francis should not “evolve” in this matter.

We shall see. Please stop the tears.

It’s not as if Schoenborn had been elected.

Mundabor