Those who Uphold the Doctrine of the Church are now the Dissenters?

Did the wind of the Holy Spirit blow off the pope's zucchetto?

I never expected to live to see those who uphold the two-millennial unchanging doctrine of the Church labeled as dissenters. But is it really surprising? The modus operandi of liberals is name-calling. If you can't answer an argument, attack its source. And then tell them how worried you are about the state of their souls for being rigid and unmerciful and how they must have psychological problems if they love the Latin Mass (and the truth)!

 But what I find disconcerting and distressing is that people I thought were faithful Catholics are so starry-eyed over this pope (I think popolatry is a an accurate term) and so enamored of his faux compassion and faux mercy that they are willing to attack anyone who even asks a question -- like the four cardinals who requested clarification of Amoris Laetitia. Asking questions is now dissent?


Funny, but some of these same people have been critical in the past of anyone who challenged the actions of a cardinal of the Church or criticized him, e.g., Cardinal Dolan over the Al Smith dinner or his participating in the newly-gayed St. Patrick's Day Parade. So it's not okay to criticize someone like Dolan, but going after Cardinal Burke and company is peachy. It makes my head swim.

Now Austen Ivereigh, a past editor of The Tablet, who is himself a liberal of the first stripe, has raised the invective to astral levels. But, happily, his extremism is spotlighting the madness and bringing out intelligent responses from respected voices in the Church.

Ivereigh says that those who question Pope Francis "reject the validity of the Holy Spirit's action."

What?

Is everything a pope says or does now to be blamed on the Holy Spirit?

Pope John XII (Dec. 16, 955 - May 14, 964), was so evil the Lateran Palace was considered a brothel during his pontificate and the "moral corruption" was a source of general condemnation in Rome. (Omigosh, all those dissenters criticizing a pope!) According to Ivereigh, perhaps the phrase, "The devil made me do it!", should morph into "The Holy Spirit made me do it!" Please! Have we really become so stupid that a man, even if he is the pope, can be raised to the level of  God Himself?

The lie that there was consensus at the Synod over the disputed paragraphs is being promulgated everywhere. It didn't happen, folks! The Synod Fathers were NOT in favor of expanding Communion to those living in objectively adulterous situations. It did NOT give individual priests the right to dissolve the bonds of matrimony in a kind of internal forum marriage tribunal. Blogger Thomas Peters, son of respected canon lawyer Ed Peters, put it well when he pointed out the ramifications of claiming that every situation (situation ethics/moral relativism) can be judged independently. Here is a bit from the article at LifeSiteNews:

Every case of IVF is different?” Peters quizzed Ivereigh on Twitter. “Every case of abortion? Every case of euthanasia? @austeni either it applies here too or nowhere. Right?” 

Peters also responded to Ivereigh’s tweet that his article provoked passion and recriminations. 

“No wonder,” Peters replied, “it is a transparent attempt to head off further debate, smear those attempting to understand the level/kind of pope's teaching. If @austeni was more secure in his position, he wouldn't desperately be attempting to end the debate ("the train has left the station").”

Another of Ivereigh's critics was also quoted in the article:

English scholar and blogger Father John Hunwicke wrote in apparent response that the tendency to assimilate the pope to part of the Holy Trinity was “arguably blasphemous and idolatrous or at least heretical,” and contrary to the Tradition of the Church. 

“When, in more recent times, Roman Pontiffs have defined dogma ex cathedra, they have prayed for the guidance of the Holy Spirit before doing so,” Father Hunwicke said, “but they have not boldly claimed to be mouthpieces of the Holy Spirit or to speak upon His inspiration.” 

“Believe me,” he continued, “we do not need some new and horrible dogma that the voice of Bergoglio is the voice of the Holy Spirit.”

Amen. Is there anything more to say?