I suspect there's a lot more to the story. So do many others. So check out the scenario described in the article below and scratch your head. If the pope was "forced out," my understanding is that he is still the pope. And the fact that he continues to wear the papal white has always been confusing. Where in history have we had a "pope emeritus?" Anti-popes, yes; three men claiming to be pope at one time, yes; but never a "pope emeritus."
Democrat Fingers in the Vatican Pie: Did Obama Force Benedict’s Abdication?
Especially note this from the article:
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Our Lady, Mother of the Church, intercede for us.
St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.
All you pope saints and martyrs, and all the heavenly host, pray for us.
According to Laporta, Milone [supervisor of Vatican’s finances] was nosing around in the ambiguous maneuvers alleged to have brought about an approximately $1-million donation to Hillary Clinton’s electoral campaign, taken from Peter’s Pence. Rumors about it were already circulating in February 2016, when Laporta gathered leaks by a secret source, ironically called “Pretino” (“Little Priest”), who declared that the Vatican was providing Clinton with financial aid but that Trump would win the election thanks to an FBI investigation against Clinton. According to Laporta, it is not by chance that at the same time as Milone resigned, Cardinal George Pell was being investigated on allegations of sexual abuse for events that had occurred forty years ago. Someone was trying to divert attention from the Peter’s Pence story, and at the same time was indirectly reassuring all subjects potentially involved in the scandal that silence would be maintained.And here's an excerpt from another article on OnePeter5 by its founder Steve Skojec (where the article above originated). It would be well to reflect on its message:
I had a conversation with someone the other day who told me a story. He said that when he was young, he went to confession, and for some reason he asked his confessor the question, “What would happen if we had a bad pope who was really damaging the Church? What would we do?”
“I couldn’t have imagined it would ever happen,” he said to me. “I don’t know why I asked, but I did.”
The wise old confessor said to him, “What do you think people did in the middle ages when popes were accusing popes and fighting over the throne and there were antipopes rivaling real popes? They put their heads down, they prayed, they studied, they taught their children, they lived their faith, and they protected those who would become the next generation of priests, bishops, and cardinals.”
“Until very recently, I kept thinking we needed to form some kind of organized resistance,” my friend said to me. “But now, I realize this is what we must do.”
This same person told me another story, about a wise bishop who was faced with great challenges in his diocese. Loss of faith, disinterested people, parishes a mess…just a range of seemingly unsolvable problems.
“What can you do?” My friend asked.
“Focus on becoming a saint,” the bishop replied. “Taking action can only accomplish so much, but one saint can convert an entire country.”So I guess we have our marching orders: BECOME A SAINT! Pray hard! Sacrifice for Holy Mother Church. Don't jump ship. And never, ever give up. Hope and fortitude are the virtues we especially need in these challenging times.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Our Lady, Mother of the Church, intercede for us.
St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.
All you pope saints and martyrs, and all the heavenly host, pray for us.
Wow, what a great article, Mary Ann. Praying, fasting, sacrificing and keeping the faith are really the only things we can do. This is the first time I've heard the idea that Hillary Clinton's campagin could have been the receiptiant of a million dollars from Peter's Pence. I hope it's not true but I wouldn't be surprised with what is going on in the Vatican today. Prayers, prayers and more prayers.
ReplyDeleteOur Lady of Mt. Carmel, spread your protective mantle upon your son's Church and keep Satan from doing more harm. Amen.
Pope Benedict xvi was forced out under a threat of being murdered just as John Paul I was and it was discussed by Benedict, his brother and another priest who was a friend of Benedict on the Christmas before his resignation, therefore he is still Pope,also the Fatima/Garabandal prediction of two Pope's reigning at the same time. Benedict resigned at the very hour, minute and second as was predicted one year previous by Maria Divine Mercy right to the second and then the lightening struck the Vatican dome of St Peters, what does that tell you.JPI was killed with a colourless liquid called Aqua Terrano look it up, it's a mixture of sticnine and arsenic from what I can remember and is virtually undetectable, of course they cremated him, the only Pope in the history of the Catholic church to be cremated,they didn't want it to be discovered that the corpse was black around the mouth which is a distinctive mark of poisoning by AquaTerrano, the director of the movie/film Angels and Demons, the second in the Divinci code films showed the corpse of the Pope in that film murdered by the use of Aqua Terrano ( proper spelling acqua terrano as in Italian) all to elect their man Jorge Bergiglio now Pope Francis, although a distinctive mark of his papacy is he refers to himself as Bishop of Rome, and not by the title Pope Francis, rather strange don't you think - he knows Benedict is still Pope.
DeleteAnd while we're all out there endeavoring to become saints by giving witness to Christ let us remember:
ReplyDelete"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Matthew 10:16
The entire passage is very worthwhile reading at this time. Matthew 10:5-34
I have always suspected that it was a coup arranged by the New World Order crowd.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Great article. God bless.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous in California. I did receive your comments and I will be praying for you while I'm on retreat.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the safest option concerning the validity of the roman catholic papacy?
ReplyDeleteNobody seriously doubts the validity of Pope Benedicts actual election to the office.
Very serious and very credible doubts surround almost every aspect of the alleged Bergoglian papacy.
From the questionable resignation of Benedict, to the questionable conclave that followed to the conduct, writing and public statements of Bergoglio and many of his followers.
I have no doubt but the catholic church is now in schism over these issues initially caused by Benedicts strange actions.
Nothing historically new here of course but it is deeply worrying to most catholics who care about their church.
Therefore what is there to be done?
My own safety first solution is to continue deem Benedicts xv1 as the only legitimate pope.
While Benedict XVI's decorum while holding the keys was more befitting the Papal Office I see no reason to believe that the Church would necessarily be in a better state had Benedict remained (or for that matter if he returned). Perhaps there would be less of a circus atmosphere, but the state of the Church (both inside the Vatican and worldwide) would be little different. Francis inherited a decaying Church from JPII/Benedict XVI and as a committed Conciliar Churchman Francis is merely taking Vatican II to its logical conclusion.
ReplyDeleteBenedict XVI was a key player in making the Conciliar Church what it is today. While in negotiations with Abh Lefebvre for the regularization of SSPX the only demands from Ratzinger/JPII were that Lefebvre admit the validity of the Vatican II Constitutions and the Novus Ordo Mass--the two things which have plunged the Conciliar Church into decay. Ratzinger was occasionally duplicitous; he had no intention of sweeping away the Novus Ordo but paid lip service to the concerns of traditionalists. I see nothing noble or courageous in that.
Lastly, where is the clear and convincing evidence that Benedict XVI's resignation was coerced? This duet at the Papal Office doesn't not serve the Church well and either Ratzinger or Francis could put a stop to it----they haven't. As a result I see no reason whatsoever to pine for one over the other.
I would argue that the *implementation* of Vatican II (via unfaithful bishops and priests), rather than the constitutions and Novos Ordo Mass themselves, plunged the Church into decay. To ascribe such decay to Benedict XVI (i.e., that he was a "key player" and "occasionally duplicitous") is rather unfair. One only need read his book "Spirit of the Liturgy" (Ratzinger, 2000) while he was still a Cardinal, to understand that Benedict was/is not in favor of liturgical innovation for its own sake, but rather a re-focus onto true Eucharistic centered worship.
DeleteHowever, as much as I miss Benedict, I am still greatly disappointed that he "resigned" from the Papacy, especially in the face of the physical suffering which John Paul II endured with Parkinson's disease -- even unto the very end. THAT example seems to be the one for Popes to follow.
Which is why we would do well to follow the actions of other Catholics when faced with this confusion: cling to doctrine and to the faith as taught by the Church Fathers, teach our children the authentic faith, pray and fast and "don't worry." The Church has been in a mess many times in history and the Holy Spirit doesn't abandon us. But, as a priest once said to me, historically the laity always bring the Church back. So we need to become as holy as we can doing our duty to God and neighbor and fighting for the faith where God puts us.
ReplyDeleteI used to tell my children not to trust someone just because he's wearing a Roman collar. Yes, always be respectful, but if someone is telling you a falsehood about the faith, don't listen!
Benedict failed us. He spoke of fearing the wolves on day one of his papacy and he did. Maybe he was blackmailed. Maybe as some people think, his brother was threatened. Maybe as another theory I've read has it, the Vatican bank was threatened and he was afraid of orphanages, shelters, and hospitals having to close all over the world. But you know what? If Benedict had gone on camera and said, "I am facing a coup," Catholics all over the world would have come to his defense.
ReplyDelete@Unknown,
ReplyDelete"Catholics all over the world would have come to his defense." And done what precisely? Cut off Malchus' ear? (John 18:10)
Never before in my life as a Catholic have I experienced such anxiousness as I have since Francis became Pope. Sometimes I have to take a break from reading "the latest Vatican news" and focus on prayer more. I truly believe God will never abandon his church and that many Catholics over the centuries have felt what I feel. Becoming a saint is the goal.
ReplyDeleteTo ask whether we should commit ourselves to becoming saints, or to combating the stupifying evils of the Bergoglian onslaught, is to post a false dichotomy. There is no right answer to the question because it is the wrong question. To become the saint we were created to be, we must confront the obstacles Divine Providence places, or permits to be placed, in our path. And for every one of us alive at this moment, Amoris Laetitia is such an obstacle. Could the hypothetical medieval peasant have gone about his own business without being perturbed by the irregularities of the pope(s) of the day? Perhaps. But personal immorality and political intrigue are not of the same order as promoting ideas inimical to Catholicism under the guise of Synods and exhortations, so the comparison doesn't hold. This is our fight, like it or not. Jorge Bergoglio and Company may have started it, but it is up to anyone who loves Jesus Christ to finish it. There is no alternative.
ReplyDeleteHow would you see us "finish the fight", Justina? We can certainly address the errors coming out of the Vatican -- which is what many blogs and online magazines are doing. As Bishop Athanasius Schneider has said, we have no obligation to blind obedience to the pope. We can spread his words and those of other true shepherds. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishop-schneider-catholics-are-not-called-to-blind-obedience-to-the-pope
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is a serious danger to Catholics, however, is to become so wrapped around a pole about these things, so consumed with worry, that we are in danger of losing the faith and jumping ship because we lose our peace of soul. It would be better to withdraw from the field fight and become warriors in prayer than to endanger our souls by becoming bitter and angry about what is happening.
Prayer is the vehicle where we find God's will for us whether it is to actively fight error or fight it through prayer or to have a mixed call to both active and contemplative warfare. And all of this depends very much on a person's state in life. A home schooling mother of several children certainly has little time to be fighting on the front lines of the culture wars. Part of our discernment involves praying and meditating on the duties of our state in life and putting that first before we go out to save the world (or the Church).
"It would be better to withdraw from the field fight and become warriors in prayer than to endanger our souls by becoming bitter and angry about what is happening."
ReplyDeleteI took this to heart earlier this year, Mary Ann. (in January)
I was teaching junior/senior CCD and, because of the things I was hearing... um, from the Vatican, I resigned my teaching position. I just could not help but think what I was teaching the kids, in many situations, was just the *opposite* of what was coming from Rome.
Some would say I was not fulfilling my vocation as a Catechist, but I would argue, as Mary Ann puts it at 9:02 last evening, it was better for me to "withdraw from the field" for the sake of my sanity (and soul) and family.
I just couldn't take it anymore.
Catechist Kev
The last several years I have become more cautious about giving to certain second collections. In fact, the only one I remember giving to last year was to the Archdiocese for the Military Services.
ReplyDeleteI will have to research Peters Pence a little more. Currently, I avoid three second collections on purpose, and respond with a short handwritten brief note in the collection box saying that these charities support causes that contradict Catholic teaching. These three are:
Catholic Relief Services
Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Catholic Charities
I do give regularly to pro life groups, vocational support for diocesan seminarians, solid religious orders such as the Fathers of Mercy, and my old Catholic Student Center.
By the way, the Archdiocese for the Military Services does NOT receive any government funds.
Cathechist Kev,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear that you have withdrawn from teaching our true religion to the children of your parish. It is now that we need you more than ever before to keep the faith and teach the children what is right. To withdraw, leaves them in the hands of someone who might not be as faithful as you. I was a Cathechist myself and I only withdrew because of health reasons. I wish I could still teach. I would be contridicting what is going on in the church right now. I would not be silenced. I would preach the good news according to Jesus Christ and no other. I do understand your frustration and depression over Pope Francis and his followers and all the confusion they are causing in OUR church - the Church of Jesus Christ. I feel it very strongly myself. As Jesus said, you don't put the light under a bushell basket; you put it on top of the table to shine it's light to everyone. God give you the strenth to stay the course and go back to teaching. May Our Blessed Mother drape you in her mantle of protection.
Dear Roe,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind reply.
Another reason I decided to pull out from teaching was the lack of attendance. We started out with 10-12 kids (we are in a rural area) then by the time Thanksgiving came around we would have maybe 3 or so (including one of our sons).
It was just better for me to be at home with my family than to make an effort to teach two kids other than my son.
For that reason, coupled with the confusion coming from Rome, I decided to drop out. (Believe me, after consulting my wife and being so... well, depressed about every other Pope Francis sound bite, I needed to simply pray more - if nothing else for my own sanity).
God bless you, Roe. =)
Tairic, Maria Divine Mercy is a fraud and a false visionary. Those who promote this are misleading people. There are plenty of legitimate ways to question what Pope Francis is doing, but promoting a false visionary is not one of them. I urge readers not to fall for these visionaries running around stirring the pot. Check out the websites exposing this Irish woman, Mary Carberry, a PR person, who is behind this nonsense.
ReplyDeletehttps://midwaystreet.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/outing-of-mary-carberry-010615.pdf
"MDMers have turned into a cult-like mass of passionate believers
who generate plenty of formal reaction from Catholic hierarchy,
religious commentators, and theologians. They have reached deep
into congregations world-wide. In less than four years, seven bishops
and a conference of bishops have issued written public documents
condemning the messages."
Please, readers, don't be taken in by these apocalyptic messages from a person claiming to be "psychic." You endanger your soul to do so. The devil is a deceiver who wants to draw you away from Christ in whatever way he can. Promoting false seers and prophets is one of them. And remember Jesus' warning that many false prophets would arise. Mary Carberry is one of them.
@Mary Ann Kreitzer,
ReplyDeleteI live in Ireland and I assure you that you rightly say to Tairic, Maria Divine Mercy is a false visionary and urge all to flee from any association with her and her visions!
Thanks Liam. I appreciate your input.
ReplyDeleteEven those possessed by the Evil One can work faux miracles, a fact worth remembering in these times.
ReplyDelete"So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao, and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.
And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians: and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner.
And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents: but Aaron's rod devoured their rods." Exodus 7:10-12