There are many things I love about Pope Francis. But there are issues that concern me too...especially his off the cuff remarks. It always makes me thing of the wartime slogan, "Loose lips sink ships." Is the barque of Peter in trouble? Well, it certainly can't sink since the Holy Spirit is its captain. But there's no question the Church is in stormy waters and is likely to go under in some places. As Fr. John Hardon often said, the Lord promised that hell would never prevail against the Church, he never promised that the Church in a specific place would not disappear. And then he would predict that entire dioceses would lose the faith. Certainly where unfaithful bishops undermine the truth, that has already happened. Some parishes in the Richmond Diocese are almost unrecognizable as Catholic! And we've attended Mass at some of them.
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St. Paul didn't hesitate to correct our first pope, St. Peter, when he was wrong, so I was glad to see Cardinal Brandmüller correct the pope's reported statements on priestly celibacy.
Francis Speaks, Scalfari Transcribes, Brandmüller Shreds
There are two paragraphs in the Cardinal's article below that I found particularly telling:
It is interesting to note that the contestation of the precept of celibacy has always coincided with signs of decadence in the Church, while in times of renewed faith and cultural blossoming one has noted a strengthened observance of celibacy.
And it is certainly not difficult to draw historical parallels with the current crisis from these observations.
One can hardly argue that there are "signs of decadence" in our Church today. It's absolutely imperative that we pray for the bride of Christ and her spouse, Pope Francis.
WE PRIESTS, CELIBATE LIKE CHRIST
by Walter Brandmüller
