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Friday, August 19, 2022

Cognitive Dissonance: the Francis Effect and Desiderio Desideravi

An early case of cognitive dissonance

I once experienced a severe case of vertigo. Not only could I not stand up without holding onto something, my stomach was in turmoil, and the only relief came from lying down. It's something I hope never to go through again. My body was not in conformity with the world. 

Every time I read one of Pope Francis's documents I get that same sense of dizzy confusion, a sort of spiritual vertigo with the world moving unsteadily and no firm place to stand. Psychologically, the most appropriate term to describe the Francis effect is cognitive dissonance.

The American Heritage Dictionary describes cognitive dissonance as:

The psychological tension that occurs when one holds mutually exclusive beliefs or attitudes and that often motivates people to modify their thoughts or behaviors in order to reduce the tension.

One of the examples given in a search is the Aesop's fable of the Fox and the Grapes. The fox tries and tries to get the grapes, but can't reach them. He finally gives up and walks away muttering that they were probably sour and he didn't want them anyway. He altered his views in order to reach a state of relative equilibrium.  

Let's apply this to the pope's latest missive, DESIDERIO DESIDERAVI (ON THE LITURGICAL FORMATION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD). It did nothing to alleviate the sense of cognitive dissonance inflicted on the Church. In fact, the pope increased it.

For me, paragraph 5 was the first explosion of dissonance:

The world still does not know it, but everyone is invited to the supper of the wedding of the Lamb (Re 19:9).... We must not allow ourselves even a moment of rest, knowing that still not everyone has received an invitation to this Supper.... This is what I spoke of when I said, “I dream of a ‘missionary option’, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.” (Evangelii gaudium, n. 27). I want this so that all can be seated at the Supper of the sacrifice of the Lamb and live from Him.

Wait just one minute!

Is this the same man who appointed Bishop Erwin Kräutler, as one of the main authors of the prep documents for the Amazon Synod? Remember Bishop Krautler? He bragged that "in thirty years working in the Amazon region [he] never baptized an indigenous person." Hey, the final document made it clear how spiritual the pagans are and how much we can learn from them. Those Catholic missionaries, like the North American martyrs, were colonizers and exploiters who didn't respect the natives. They deserved to be tortured, axed, and have their hearts cut out and eaten by the "spiritual" pagans. And then, of course, we have the veneration of Pachama and the pope's participation in the "sacred circle of spirits" led by a shaman instructing the pope and the bishops to put their hands over their hearts which they did. So who are the real missionaries from whom we should learn?

Oh...and don't forget the Abu Dhabi statement where the pope said that the "diversity of religions" is "willed by God." Bishop Athanasius Schneider called on the pope to correct this heretical statement which makes Jesus a liar when he gave the Apostles the great commission to go out and baptize the whole world. The pope claimed privately that he was talking about the "permissive will of God," but never publicly corrected the statement, one more act causing cognitive dissonance.

Then, of course, we have the Assisi meetings begun by John Paul II and continued by his successors which confuse people into believing that all religions are the same and all paths lead to God. Who needs the Eucharist when you can get basically the same thing at the local synagogue, mosque, or Buddhist temple? Archbishop Lefebvre, that great missionary of Africa, was right when he heard about the first Assisi meeting, bent his head in sorrow, and lamented, "It's the death of the missions."

All of this confusing double-speak, the Francis effect, leads to cognitive dissonance in the faithful. My episode of vertigo represents the current state in Francis church. The best remedy is to study Church doctrine and the lives of the saints and to pray for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in order to distinguish between truth and error. Unlike the "sour grapes" the fox couldn't reach, the truth is accessible to all who seek it. In the meantime, read anything Francis writes with a critical mind. He has proved himself to have a forked tongue.

To be continued....

4 comments:

  1. “To be continued …”

    I shouldn’t joke, it’s a serious topic, yet I have to say it must be like the great 19th century European authors (like Dickens) who wrote books in serial format for a public who waited the arrival of the latest chapter of the book like we (others, not me) wait the latest episode of popular sitcoms.

    The topic is so important in keeping our bearings in the storm. Thank you for posting this and future additions.

    It be also reminds of the words of Justice Clarence Thomas (paraphrase) - “"You can be in the middle of a hurricane or you can be on a calm day. North is still north. You can be in a thunderstorm. North is still north. People can yell at you. North is still north. It doesn't change fundamental things. And, in this business, right is still right even if you stand by yourself."

    I live by that.

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  2. And btw, "North" = Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Incarnate of the sinless Woman, Mary, Full Of Grace, died on the Cross to pay the penalty for my sins, and rose again from the dead in redemption of my sins, so that I, too, can live (either in this life or via Purgatory in the next) holy and spotless, fit for Beatitude forever within the Vision of God in union with all His Angels and Saints in choir forever.

    *NON ONE* can ever take that away from me. THAT is my "North", from which all subordinate compass headings derive.

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  3. i cannot believe his words: 'Rather than her -self preservation ' How could the Pope talk like this???? He doesn't care about 'preserving' the Church?????

    Could you please activate my subscription? I have no idea how I've been left out.
    T hank you!

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  4. I honestly do not understand how anyone that does read the patristic fathers and the history of the church can avoid seeing what happened between Pope Pius X and his Code of Canon Law of 1917, which, if you read it (I have) makes nearly 2000 years of Church dogma make perfect and beautiful sense; which it would since some 26,000 documents of the Church were vetted to ensure no contradiction existed, and the abominations that took place after the death of Pius XII.
    From Roncalli to today’s Beegoglio, there have been no valid Popes. And if you studied the Canon Law of 1917 this would be obvious.
    The fact is that the Church was infiltrated by Masons for at least a good 200 years, for which there is plenty of proof.
    And it is also a fact that the real Church is now but a remnant, and despite the slander thrown at them, sedevacantists remain as the last Catholics who actually follow the Magisterium of the Church. See Reclaiming the Catholic Church by Filotto on Amazon. There has not been a rebuttal to it and every “argument” against sedevacantism is covered in detail.
    That all said, please keep shining light on the darkness as you will.

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