The End Of The Beginning

There can be no doubt that the Synod ended, in a way, in a completely different way from the one the Unholy Father had forecast. The New Gospel is, for the moment at least, in tatters. Thursday might well turn up to be what journalists love to call the “defining moment” of this pontificate. I prefer to call it, with J.R.R. Tolkien, (possibly) “the turning of the tide”.

On the other hand this is merely, to say it with Churchill, the end of the beginning. Francis “Operation Sea Lion” has failed, but the war now continues in the dioceses. Dissenters will be allowed to “discuss” what should be simply taboo. At least in the Western world, there will be no lack of conflict.

I have read concerns that it will be very easy for Francis to steer things in the right way: he would only need to invite different bishops next time, people already intentioned to push his agenda, and Bob's your uncle.

I can't imagine it would work, for the following reasons:

1. The most vocal opposition came from Cardinals. They based their main criticism (the doctrinal one) not on the fact that they were there, but on the fact that the Relatio was wrong. We live in a global village: being there is not so relevant.

2. The Church is more than the Vatican. The Polish bishops had, by way of their representative, refused to accept the document even before it was decided to remake it. There is no way in hell Francis can silence opposition just by ignoring it. You drive to the wall, you smash yourself into it.

3. Francis is, in fact, the proof of this reasoning. Bully as he is, if he had thought the voting of the wrong document would have silenced opposition in two days, or two weeks, or two months, he would have gone on with Operation Sea Lion, instructing Baldisseri to stay the course, not publishing the reports of the small groups, and concluding the Synod with another document issued under his supervision, without even informing the bishops. He did not do it, because he recognised that his credibility as Pope was on the line, and would not have survived such a provocation.

A Pope is not a Satrap. 2000 years of Church History and Deposit of Faith look at him continuously. He can muddle the message, downplay the more uncomfortable parts, even try to cover it under a mountain of fluffy nonsense; but to transform it in its opposite is a completely different cup of tea.

The next synod will be watched much more closely than this, because at this point not even his cat trusts Francis. Entire Continents will very obviously stay the course no matter what Francis machinations. He cannot silence thousands of bishops more than he could have silenced the 130 or 140 Synod Fathers. He is now swimming against a mighty current, and even some among the Liberal/Dissenting Press Acknowledge this uncomfortable reality.

Also reflect on this: that at this synod, modern-times taboos were broken. For the first time, a V II Pope was if not explicitly, certainly evidently questioned in his very doctrinal integrity or at least competence by many sources, his Cardinals not excluded. The floodgates are open. The age of the V II Pope who is believed to be remote-controlled by the Holy Spirit has ended. Countless Pollyannas have seen the Pope attacked not for his orthodoxy – this is an old sport by now – but for his lack of it, by his very people; by people, in fact, he has himself just made Cardinals, or called in the circle of his closest ally.

Is it all gone, then? Is the battle already won? By no means. Francis will now try to change the “global climate” in the matter. He will punish some bishops, appoint horrible ones, continue with his heresies and blasphemies. He will try to change the entire atmosphere around Catholic issues, thinking that he can still convert the Church to the New Gospel. But he has by now understood that he cannot force it on her and if he tries, he will be crushed. Not, of course, in its very role as Pope, but in the effectiveness of his action and his prestige and credibility as a person.

The more I think of it, the more I think the task before Francis is a very difficult one, perhaps even a desperate one. But he and his minions will go at it will all the populism, the arrogance,the hypocrisy and the hatred for Catholicism we have clearly seen at work since that stupid appearance on the balcony.

Operation Sea Lion has failed spectacularly thIs year. It is difficult for me to see how it can succeed next year. But crucially, the Wehrmacht is still there: admittedly stopped, battered in places, and with the Fuehrer's reputation damaged; but in the end with all the tanks and cannons in place. To be complacent in front of such a formidable army would be the worst of mistakes.

I do not think our Argentinian Hitler will win this war. I actually think this Synod marks the end of his triumphal march, and his papacy is now fairly near to becoming damaged goods. But this Hitler here is not the one to stop the fight and content himself with wearing red noses and embracing wheelchairs. He has hated Catholicism all his life. Those who have stopped him last week are exactly the people he has been insulting since the start of his Pontificate. He will continue the fight in the only way he knows: shameless hypocrisy on one side, reckless bullying on the other.

We must be more vigilant than ever. We must (finally) become more aggressive in our criticism of the Pope. We must raise loud calls of Heresy – Homoheresy, or any other heresy – whenever the man and his minions try to steer the discussion in the wrong direction. We must denounce him by every wrong appointment. We must follow every word he says, dissect it for heresy and blasphemy, and denounce it very loud.

We must call a heretic a heretic, and a clown a clown.

As we reach the End of the Beginning, it is very telling that Cardinals very near to the Pope dared to say what most blogs of laymen and priest did not have the courage to say.

The continuation of this war also goes through a review of our troops.

M

Choose Your Blogs Carefully

 

The historical events of the last days are also, in the most brutal manner, the demonstration of the utter uselessness or outright help for the Devil of many blogs written by people who have the guts to call themselves “Catholics”.

As the Relatio post disceptationem was made public, the usual suspects were running to explain to a stunned Catholicism that it was business as usual, and there was, really, nothing to be worried about; just the usual nutcases screaming, because that’s what they do.

Pick your “c”atholics blog/publication and go read – if it’s still there – what was written on it on the 13 and 14 October. Weigel insisted in telling us nothing has happened, as the bishops all over the world were terrified and extremely angry – but he didn’t know that yet, you see -. The “Gluttoness” ‘ main concern was whether the “gays” will not be offended (yes: they, the “gays”) at the language used in the text. The “Catholic Herald” explained to us, in a true spirit of prostitution, that Francis’ reform still had a long way to go before being completed; the same outlet, on the same day, dared to publish the infamous “God’s Laws are now obsolete” homily report in which the Pope’s blasphemy, without precedent in the history of Christianity, is reported as if it were a piece of news from the Congress of the Labour Party; nor have I seen a single word of criticism of the Unholy Blasphemer afterwards.

Interestingly, after the mess had happened the unCatholic Herald has an article of a priest, lamenting… the English translation! Lord, give me strength!

I did not havevthevtime to read some of the other usual suspects, but I can’t imagine those I have missed, – the likes of Akin and Shea – were above their usual, obscenely low standard.

In short: whilst Rome was in great danger of burning, “institutional” Catholic sites were telling us fire is very modern, or what the church always had anyway, or awfully overrated as a danger.

These are, my friends, the best allies of Satan; because whilst obvious enemies of Catholics are heavily discounted by everyone who cares, these people deceive – to a point, of course – those who, at least in principle, care for their Salvation.

Last week has shown that there is no amount of blasphemy or heresy from the Pope that these people would not sell as what the Church has always said, business as usual, some kind of strange but ultimately harmless choice of words, or something to celebrate altogether. Unless, it is, for the fact that the “gays” might feel offended (they; the “gays”) at the wording.

In a rather striking contrast, let me mention the blogs which – besides your humble correspondent – I have seen with immense consolation shooting from all cannons before the extent of the bishop’s rebellion was known: in no particular order John Smeaton, Rorate Caeli, the “Remnant”, “Harvesting the Fruit of the V II”, and the Traditionalist Catholic Priest were shooting like it’s The Alamo with no regard whatsoever for what the world was saying, how the media would have reacted, whether the bishops would have caved in to Pope Allende, and whether we would have woken up the day after a planet of happy heretics.

What a joy, to see these brave men and women of God running to the ramparts without knowing or caring how many Uruk-Hai are below, and without knowing whether reinforcement would ever arrive; ready ten thousand times to be called bigots by a stupid world, than sellouts by Christ.

There were, certainly, many more blogs who had these kind of reaction, though I cannot read or even mention them all. But certainly what could be noticed is that the simple laymen, the “one man and one laptop” efforts were, together with the established voices of Tradition, light years in front of the cowardly commercial, “allegedly-middle-of-the-way”, “look-how-cool-Catholicism-is” blogs a la “Patheos”, and utterly prostituted outlets a la “Catholic Herald”.

Speaking of which, I wonder whether heads will now roll over there; probably not as long as TMAHICH is Pope. Still, those who run that miserable rag must get in hot water as long as Francis is gone, as they have showed to the entire Catholic world that they are not better than those who run the “Tablet”; in fact, they merely have different target readers.

As to “Patheos”, it would be easy to say that everyone who goes there for spiritual nourishment is beyond repair anyway; but perhaps some of them are not beyond repair, they just know not what they are doing. For them, this truly is the time to open their big blue eyes and look at the ugly truth straight in the eyes: even if Francis declared that he is the False Prophet, the “Patheos” sites would be his first and more vocal supporters.

I have been struggling, these last days, to decide who was worst than the “Gluttoness”. I am afraid the biscuit goes to a brand new Patheos blog, written by a nun of sort, who proceeded to explain to us that she lined for communion when she was an atheist, isn’t sure how exactly bad this is, but if she has been told she cannot receive she would have been oh so offended that she would have gone away for good, evidently not becoming the wonderful religious sister she now is.

These are the sisters, the bloggers, and the alleged Catholics you find on Patheos.

Choose your blogs carefully. Your immortal soul may well be at stake.

M

 

 

 

 

Baldrick And The Synod

Baldrick loved to comment on Catholic sites.

 

I have already written that, if you browse around, Pollyanna has become rather silent. The number of those now wondering at the cruelty of the wolves, keeping the Most Holy Father away from the Internet, has decreased sharply.

Still, there are some hard-liners who do not really want to get it. As we say in Italy, the mother of the idiot is always pregnant. This here is, though, extreme Pollyann-ing, because almost twenty months of papal Subversion make the job harder and harder. To still believe in the “good Holy Father who has a cunning plan” you need, actually, Baldrick levels of stupidity. 

The two most Baldrick-like readings of the events are the following:

1. The Pope has put the wrong people in charge of the Synod; he has allowed them to run everything; he has allowed them to publish a document without even informing the bishops; he has, in fact, possibly drafted some parts of it himself, and has certainly approved them; he has, finally, made astonishingly blasphemous statements on the same day the notorious report was issued. 

Why did he do all that? 

Simples, says Baldrick: in order to allow the bad wolves to get out in the open, and know who they are!

How can anyone be so stupid and be allowed to vote, to buy financial products, to make debts, even to drive? 

How many people have you ever heard saying “Hitler organised the Holocaust in order to expose the anti-semites among the Nazis”? Or “Stalin made purges in order to expose the fanatical commies in his party’s ranks?” Seriously: can anyone be as thick as that, and be allowed to buy a car, or take out a mortgage? 

2. On the same vein, but with a vaster geo-political breadth, is the other brilliant affirmation: Benedict resigned in order for the wolves to reveal themselves, and be exposed by the world. 

Interesting reflection. “I am the Pope”, says Benedict. “It is obvious the Church is full of perverts, communists, and heretics. How can I neutralise them? Appointing good bishops and Cardinals? Taking care of sound teaching and that there are no homos in the seminaries? Promoting the Mass of the Ages? Making enquiries as to who the perverts are, and getting rid of them in various ways? In a word, being a sound Pope? 

Pah! This is sooo outdated! I will resign instead! The homosexual and modernist Cardinals will elect an heretic Pope, and he and them together will plunge the Church in the worst chaos in 2000 years! People will be confused, doctrine will be questioned, nothing will seem sacred, or even permanent anymore! This will take care of them! What a cunning plan!”

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It truly is beyond belief. As the Internet has allowed ideas to go around freely, it has also allowed every moron who can spell to get a nickname and write nonsense in comment boxes. 

On the Internet, nobody knows you’re the village idiot. 

Mundabor