Who Is Pope Leo? Where Does He Stand on Grave Issues of the Faith?

Who Is Pope Leo?

I wrote yesterday that I would share a timeline today about my concerns with Pope Leo's actions since occupying the chair of Peter on May 8th. This list is hardly exhaustive. I could have written much more: about the danger of ecumenism and syncretism under Leo, the LGBTQ pilgrimage and soft-peddling of Church teaching on sexuality, welcoming heterodox spokesmen, calling the migration invasion a "sacrament of hope," playing footsie with Communist China, etc. Consider this list as the tip of the iceberg. I suspect there will be more to come. 

Actually, I pray that all the optimists telling people like me to shut up are right. I pray that Pope Leo will turn out to really be walking in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII, but I can't see it at present. What I see, I've outlined in the list of his actions below. Read it and see what you think. I'd be happy to hear you disagree and present actions, not words, that contradict my opinion. I know about the parish in San Angelo, TX, St. Margaret of Scotland, granted a two-year extension from Traditionis Custodes last May about three weeks after Leo was elected. The TLM will continue there for now. Are there others? 

Actions Speak Louder than Words

The TLM - Since Pope Leo took office the TLM has taken a number of hits with no reaction or correction from Rome. The silence from Pope Leo speaks volumes. And it isn't happening only in the U.S. The suppression of the TLM is going on globally. 

• In July Bishop Michael Martin delivered a nuclear bomb to the diocese of Charlotte banning the TLM in the four parishes where it was allowed that were thriving. After tremendous backlash, he postponed implementation until October 2nd which is fast approaching. I blogged about it in June. We'll see what happens this week in that sad diocese. I will give the optimists points if the TLM ban is lifted. Here is the video produced about the situation in Charlotte, Bread Not Stones. 

• Also in July Archbishop Edward Weisenburger of the Archdiocese of Detroit eliminated the TLM from 17 parishes leaving only four options for faithful. The local community appealed to Rome. I don't know if they received a reply. In fact Weisenburger in July fired three prominent and long-serving theologians from the faculty at Sacred Heart Major Seminary: 

  Those dismissed were Dr. Ralph Martin, a professor of theology and director of graduate programs in the new evangelization who had been at the seminary for 23 years; Dr. Eduardo Echeverria, a professor of philosophy and systematic theology since 2003; and Dr. Edward Peters, a renowned canon lawyer who had held the Edmund C. Szoka Chair since 2005. [Source]

  Weisenburger is obviously not only and enemy of the TLM, but of all tradition. The faculty members were given no reason for their dismissal, but all have been courageous critics expressing their concern for the ambiguity and confusion created by Francis. It's highly likely that vocations in Detroit will dry up.

• In September Monterey Bishop Daniel Garcia ended the TLM at Sacred Heart in Hollister calling it an act to build unity. The hypocrisy of that statement speaks for itself, but it's in line with the dishonest theme Francis took when he lied about the bishops' survey results. The lies continue to be disseminated under Leo. Garcia is moving to Austin where he is likely to go after the TLM there.

• Yesterday after Mass at St. Cecilia's in Brooklyn, it was announced that Bishop Robert Brennan would be eliminating the weekly TLM there on October 12th as further implementation of Traditionis Custodes. [Source]

Environmentalism - The sanctification of the environment appears to be continuing under Pope Leo. He is continuing the Laudato Si agenda of Francis. In September Leo held a convocation "Raising Hope for Climate Justice." Good stewardship is certainly a moral obligation for Catholics but making it a primary issue even above the life issues is shocking. What's particularly troubling is the silence about polluting our waters with contraceptive drugs and the blood of aborted babies which are causing male fish to produce eggs. But I have yet to see those in Church dialogue despite scientific evidence of their destructive impact.

Clergy Appointments - Leo's clergy appointments have been scandalous continuing the Francis practice of elevating enemies of the faith. Thanks to Chris Jackson at Hireath in Exile for this list of clerical promotions: 

• Fr. Beat Grögli, confirmed as bishop of St. Gallen, advocates women’s ordination and same-sex blessings.

• Bishop Shane Mackinlay, promoted to Archbishop of Brisbane, once installed a Hindu goddess in his cathedral. 

• Bishop José Antonio Satué, supporter of Fiducia Supplicans, raised to Málaga. 

• Fr. Thomas Hennen, drafter of LGBT guidelines in Davenport, made bishop of Baker, Oregon. 

• Raúl Martín of Paraná, scourge of kneeling and ad orientem worship, confirmed in Argentina. 

• Edward Weisenburger, destroyer of the Latin Mass in Detroit, rewarded with a pallium in Rome.

• Cardinal Robert McElroy, rainbow liturgist of San Diego, honored in St. Peter’s as a model of “communion.”

Other appointments: 

• Shortly after his election in May, Leo named Msgr. Renzo Pegoraro as head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, an organization now run by the death peddlers and loaded with members who support intrinsic moral evil condemned by the Church. Pegoraro supports contraception in some cases (another camel's nose strategy like abortion for the life of the mother). He also supports the use of cannibal vaccines developed with aborted baby tissue something Bishop Athanasius Schneider has described as gravely evil and morally indefensible. An article at LifeSiteNews goes into his beliefs with regard to AI which he sees as the coming global government. As an ethicist he seems to have deep-sixed Catholic teaching in favor of what he considers akin to the Industrial Revolution. 

Sr. Tiziana Merletti -
Yes, she's a nun.

• Also in May, Leo named Sister Tiziana Merletti as Secretary for the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. That makes her second in command to Prefect Sr. Simon Brambilla. The organization responsible for oversight of both male and female congregations is now run entirely by women. The 1917 Code of Canon Law forbade this. Even after the revision of the code in 1983 the tradition remained that governance positions in the Roman curia were reserved for ordained men. It took Francis, and now Leo to feminize the Vatican. Pope Leo XIII must be rolling over in his grave at the action his namesake has taken. He taught that governing the Church was the role of the ministerial priesthood. Leo is certainly walking in the footsteps of Francis!  

• And then there's the new appointment in early September of Roman museum director Cristiana Perrella as head of The Pontifical Academy for Fine Arts and Letters. Her appointment is more than shocking; it's horrifying. Perrella featured a homoerotic and sadomasochistic exhibit which she described as poetic and elegant. What is elegant about a nude man urinating on another? What does it take to disqualify someone from consideration for a high Vatican post? 

Well that's enough for now. I'll end with the Prayerful Posse's take on some of these issues. Fr. Murray particularly points out some of the problems with Pope Leo's words. So even those are troubling. The video is also well worth listening to.

Sadly, we are likely to see a lot more problematic events if my take on the Leo pontificate is correct. I pray I'm wrong, but I see very little to celebrate in the five months since Leo occupied Peter's chair. The crisis continues. The Francis agenda is still front and center. 

God save the Church!