Is Anyone at the Vatican a Truth Teller? More on the Benedict Letter and Pope Francis' Theology

The gates of hell will never
prevail against the Church!

Omigoodness! The plot gets thicker and thicker. Those Vatican communicators really know how to lay it on so thick you need a sharp knife to cut through it.

Sandro Magister has the latest on what was left out by Msgr. Vigano when he quoted Benedict's letter declining to comment on the eleven volumes about the theology of Pope Francis. You can read the entire article here, but if you just want the quick and dirty version here it is:

The reason adopted by Benedict XVI in the final lines of his letter - we are told by an incontrovertible source - is the presence among the authors of those eleven booklets of two German theologians, and one in particular, Peter Hünermann, who was an implacable critic both of John Paul II and of Joseph Ratzinger himself as theologian and as pope.

The other German theologian is Jürgen Werbick. About Hünermann, a professor at the university of Tubingen, it may be recalled that he is the author of, among other things, a commentary on Vatican Council II that is the polar opposite of the Ratzingerian interpretation. The booklets on the the theology of Pope Francis written by these two are respectively entitled: “God’s weakness for man” and “Men according to Christ today.”

It is therefore clear that, given what Benedict XVI writes in the second half of his letter, the first half also takes on a new significance, entirely different from the one that Viganò wanted to attribute to it in his mangled and biased press release.

Well, considering the state of the German church is it any wonder that some of her theologians are off-base? But then Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI also came out of that problematic German Church and was among the liberal faction at Vatican II. Of course, people can change, thanks be to God, or we'd all be in big eternal trouble as I can attest from personal experience. Thank God for Confession!

Napoleon arrests Pope Pius VII in 1809.

The internal crisis in Holy Mother Church is not new. It started shortly after Pentecost and continues to this day. There is a story from the Napoleonic period that puts things in perspective. During Napoleon's continuous war with the Church during the papal reign of Pius VII, this event took place:

At one point, the dictator launched into another tirade, telling Pius’ adept, seen-it-all Secretary of State, Ercole Cardinal Consalvi, that he would “crush” the Roman Catholic Church.

The cardinal sighed and shook his head over the emperor’s naivete. "If in 1,800 years we clergy have failed to destroy the Church, do you really think that you'll be able to do it?" he answered. (Source)

Like the Book of Ecclesiastes tells us, "There is nothing new under the sun." Which should give discouraged Catholics hope. The gates of hell will never prevail against the Church.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

St. Joseph, guardian and protector of the Universal Church, pray for us.

St. Patrick, defender against paganism, on your feast day pray for us.