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| Are you on the panel to pick the "real" pope? Or is there no contestant at all? |
There used to be a couple of fun game shows on TV when I was a child. What's My Line? had a changing panel of celebrities who asked the guest of the night questions trying to determine what he did for a living. If it was someone famous, the panel was blindfolded. Another game show featuring a celebrity panel was To Tell the Truth. Three contestants, each claiming to be the "real" deal, answered questions. Two fabricated their answers and one "told the truth." Both of these game shows were fun and entertained viewers for years. The answers didn't make much of a difference to their lives.
I can't help thinking of these game shows whenever the argument about Pope Francis resurfaces. Is he the pope? Is he not the pope? How can a "real" pope do some of the things he's done. If he's not the pope, has the Lord left us orphaned in the desert without Peter? Who is the real, visible head of the Church on earth? And if the answer is NOBODY, then how long will we be wandering the desert without a Peter, a Moses or a Joshua to lead us?
One of the issues that brings about the most judgmental and vitriolic accusations on this blog is the question of whether Francis is the pope or whether the seat is vacant. Some believe there hasn't been a true pope since Pope Pius XII. Others claim the see became vacant when Benedict died, the true pope whose resignation was faulty.
Frankly, I have no idea who's right and I find it puzzling that those who are convinced they have the answer are willing to browbeat others until they yell "Uncle!" and attach themselves to their opinion.
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| Is Peter's chair empty? |
Why do they care whether I endorse their position?
I'm currently reading a book titled Bad Shepherds. There have been plenty of them in the history of the Church. The Bride of Christ has been a battered wife more than once and is certainly one today. Are times worse than the "disastrous" 14th century when the "Great Western Schism" occurred? There were multiple men claiming to be pope during that terrible century that also saw the Black Plague and the Hundred Years War.
Joan of Arc was too busy trying to expel the English invaders from France to worry about who the legitimate pope was. Did she deserve burning at the stake because she never told people who the "real pope" was?
And what about the peasants in the pews? Was it the duty of their state in life to sit in council and make proclamations designating who the "real pope" was? Did they teach their children using the old walnut shell game. "We're going to play find the pope today, Johnny. This pea is the pope. the red beads are the anti-popes. Keep your eye sharp as I move the walnuts around. Now...which walnut is hiding the "real" pope?"
I have no idea whether Jorge Bergoglio is the "real pope" or a pretender and I've said that often. I agree that he has done many monstrous things and continues to do them on an almost daily basis. Does that give me the authority to depose him? I have enough to do examining my own conscience and working on the virtues of humility and charity. I leave Jorge/Francis and his conscience to God.
To those who think they know the answer to all questions, good on ya! I'm happy for you. You are apparently swimming in clearer water than I am. For me, the water is too murky, so I try to keep my head above it and just keep my eye on the goal -- my own salvation and the salvation of my family. I'm not on the panel that's voting on which candidate is the real pope or whether there's no pope at all.
We will all have all the answers one day. Like other "disastrous" times in the Church, our Holy Mother will survive the current wrecking ball on the chair. Somehow, I don't think the first question on the Lord's lips at my personal judgment will be, "Did you do My will by declaring Jorge Bergoglio an anti-pope?" In the meantime, I will keep the Faith of the Fathers and follow the advice of Psalm 131:
LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes arrogant;
Nor do I [a]involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too [b]difficult for me.
2I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child resting [c]against his mother,
My soul [d]within me is like a weaned child.
3Israel, wait for the LORD
From this time on and forever.
May Jesus Christ be praised!
