Are Some Catholics Fomenting Schism?

Some commenters on my blog insist that I take a position on whether Francis is or is not the pope. I've always replied that to make that decision is definitely "above my pay grade." In fact, it's above the pay grade of almost every Catholic on earth. And if it isn't, if someone is truly competent to come to that determination because of his ecclesial or scholarly position, he should bring his argument privately to those with the competence to act; that is, the college of cardinals. 

Whether Francis is a valid pope will soon be a moot point. He is clearly not going to live much longer. Then we will see the next conclave and, since Francis has nominated a majority of the current voting bishops, 78% in fact (Source), it is likely that the next pope will be cut from the same cloth. Hopefully, the cardinals are sick of the confusion and chaos of the past decade and will make a better choice. We need a holy, faithful pope. Will we get one? Let's pray for him and those with the electoral duty to protect the Church.

Is Francis a Valid Pope? Bishop Schneider Believes So.

See Bishop Schneider's website 

One of the voices in the Church that I trust the most is Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Below, I reprint his statement on the validity of a pope, not simply Francis, but any pope. Is Francis a valid pope? He has certainly been accepted as one by most of the cardinals and bishops of the world. Is he a good and holy pope? Stop laughing. 

Guest Post: What do you think? Do the Prophecies of St. Francis Explain It All?

Take a look at this and see what you think, but please don't be alarmed. Church history is filled with challenging periods when corrupt popes ruled and anti-popes added to the confusion. "Let not your hearts be troubled." Trust in God and pray. I don't know if we are living in the time prophesied by St. Francis or not. I do know that our response in all circumstances is to commit to the duties of our state in life and to work out our salvation in fear and trembling committing ourselves to the will of God.   Mary Ann

The Prophecy of St. Francis about a Future Pope

By David Martin

Shortly before his death, St. Francis of Assisi called together the friars of his Order and detailed a prophecy of what was to come upon the Church in the latter days. That this prophecy references the last times is evident by the prediction of events that would not be fulfilled until after Vatican II, and by its placing these events in the time frame of the Gospel prophecy concerning the great tribulations just before Christ's Second Coming. (Matthew 24) St. Francis relates the following concerning the future Church under siege.

Can the Pope Change Church Doctrine on Capital Punishment? Short Answer: NO!

We live in an era of papal confusion. Every time Pope Francis opens his mouth he throws a grenade at the faithful in the pews leaving chaos and flying shrapnel that obscures the teaching of the Church. On the one hand he will say something in conformity with Church doctrine; the next minute he acts in a way that contradicts what he just said. And then, refusing to clarify, he lets the confusion batter the faithful. One prudent friend said she just doesn't listen to him any more. What a situation for a Catholic where Peter, the chief teacher, bound to teach, govern, and sanctify has become a champion of confusion.  Pope Francis recently lobbed a grenade by saying that capital punishment is never admissible. That is a CHANGE in a perennial Church doctrine; not a development, not a clarification -- a break with past teaching. The papal posse on EWTN raises many troubling questions about the pope's actions in the video below. Raymond Arroyo observes that convicted murderers sometimes escape from prison killing more people in the process and gives examples of recent cases. How does that uphold the dignity and rights of their victims? It's a question that has always prevented me from jumping on the anti-death penalty wagon. How are prisoners and guards to be protected from homicidal psychopaths? Are their lives not worth protecting? How many murders does a criminal get before society can protect itself?

Sunday Meditation: Real Catholicism is This!

One of my readers left a link to a good sermon that outlines how we should respond to the pope. I found it personally challenging and a bit of a reprimand. The unnamed priest talks about "real Catholicism." He begins by making the distinction between the two ways the pope speaks, the first as the authoritative head of the Church expressing Catholic truth that is binding on the flock. 

Unity is Not the Preeminent Catholic Issue: False Unity Creates a Monster!

Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne 1678 (Detroit Museum of Art)

At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers – as He and the Father are one. “I pray that they may be one in us...I living in them, You living in me – that their unity may be complete.” (John 17:21-22) Earlier in the gospel John describes the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep including some who “do not belong to this fold.” But Jesus calls them too, “And they shall hear my voice. There shall be one flock then, one shepherd.” (John 10:16) 

Pope Francis and the Death Penalty: More Contradiction on Church Teaching

Hey Lord, I love abortionist Emma Bonino, but
can you please do something about those rigid
Catholics who support the "inhumane" death
penalty that "humiliates...human dignity?"

Here we go again. Pope Francis has come out in an address October 11th to members of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization saying, that treatment of the death penalty now requires, “leav[ing] out positions in defense of arguments which now appear decisively contrary to the new understanding of Christian truth. ... It is necessary to reiterate that, no matter how serious the crime committed, the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attempt against the inviolability and dignity of the person.” [Read articles here and here.]

Wow! 

Pope Francis is adamant in his condemnation saying:

Does a Heretical Pope Lose His Office?

Despite his many material heresies, the cardinal said in an interview last year that Francis
 has not committed formal heresy and that, even if his election was flawed,
acceptance of Francis as pope has made up for it. 

There's been quite the disagreement about whether or not Pope Francis is really pope. Lots of people say he's not for varying reasons, especially the sedevacantists. Here are some of those reasons:

• His election was invalid.
• He's made some heretical statements.
• St. Robert Bellarmine says a heretic can't be the pope and he's a heretic.
• He pals around with those who embrace intrinsic moral evils.
• He's mean and nasty.
• Whatever.....

Thoughts on Schism -- Is it Immanent?

Is it time for the schism yet? Let me check my watch.

A sensible analysis from One Mad Mom 

Schism for Dummies -- Mad Mom brings up the German situation in passing while she tells us what is NOT schism (in case you were worried that being alarmed about the pope makes you schismatic).

Does This Make Heresy Official? Pope Francis Raises Buenos Aires Affirmation of Adultery to Status of "Authentic Magisterium"

You too can be Henry VIII and
annul your own marriage!

Pope Francis has raised his letter to the Buenos Aires bishops affirming their interpretation of the Amoris Laetitia, along with their original letter, to the status of an Apostolic Letter. He also stated this is part of the "authentic Magisterium" of the Church. The pope did this in the form of a papal rescript. Rorate Caeli explained what that is and followed with a question:
troubling document

"Rescripts are responses of the pope or a Sacred Congregation, in writing, to queries or petitions of individuals. Some rescripts concern the granting of favours; others the administration of justice, e.g. the interpretation of a law, the appointment of a judge." Rescipts generally have the force of particular law, however, as in this case, only "when they interpret or promulgate a general law, are they of universal application." Since papal rescripts answer an inquiry - could this rescript be a direct reply to the dubia of the Four Cardinals?

Rorate goes on:

Fathers, You Are "Obliged to Resist" Traditionis Custodes and the Responsa ad Dubia

‘Sitting on the fence is not an option’: It is our duty to resist suppression of the traditional rites according to Dr. Peter Kwasniewski.

Okay, folks, we're not in Kansas anymore! The shockwaves of the atomic bombs of Traditionis Custodes and the Responsa Ad Dubia have thrust us head over heels into the land of Oz where the white-robed warlock of the west rules with a wooden stang given to him by Ozian youth in the name of Ozma during a synod for young people....

Well, enough of that nonsense!

"A Liturgy from Hell"? Traditionis Custodes Cannot Suppress the Traditional Latin Mass

As regular readers know, I'm a big fan of Chronicles Magazine. The February issue included an article by George Kendall an octagenerian who grew up with the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), but "for much of his life...has been a conservative Novus Ordo (NO) Catholic." Kendall's article, A Liturgy from Hell, illustrates his return to tradition and the realization that the liturgical chaos after Vatican II decimated Holy Mother Church. He laments the fact that "...our hierarchy was foolish enough, all those years ago, to twist a great parable, selling the pearl of great price in order to buy a truckload of trash chosen by committee."

Whoa! Let me pause here to emphasize that the NO, although seriously deficient and more Protestant than Catholic, is a valid Mass. I hesitate to call it a "truckload of trash."

Will Pope Leo Lead Us Away from the Path of Confusion?

I pray so. It's no fun to be lost, not to know which way to turn, even to wonder whether up is down and down is up. How many pilots have crashed over that kind of spatial confusion?

It’s not an uncommon occurrence for pilots, especially in poor visibility, and it’s incredibly dangerous. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, between 5 percent and 10 percent of all aviation accidents are caused by spatial disorientation, and of those crashes, 90 percent are fatal.

Are Francis and Leo the "Two Worm Ridden Popes"

The other day when I was doing bee hive inspections I was disturbed to pull out a frame filled with small white worms. They looked like wax moth larvae. That's no joke in a beehive. Wax moth can turn a hive into a horror movie scene pretty quickly. Only once have we had a serious infestation and we had to burn everything in that hive except the box which we treated with bleach. So when I hear the term "two worm-ridden popes" it's no joke!

Watch Out for More Pederasty in the Priesthood and More Sex Abuse on the Horizon!

St. James: a sword for Santiago's bishop?

In view of the previous post about the Bishop of Santiago, Spain ordaining a homosexual couple to the priesthood (Can these possibly be valid ordinations?), a July open letter from sociologist Richard Sipe to Bishop Robert McElroy seems timely. Here are two important paragraphs from Sipe's letter:

The number of priests and bishops having sex with minors was not the primary or central focus of the study [A Secret World; Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy]. But my calculation of 6% (six percent) clergy abusers as a base line has held up very well. [ the most recent validation is between 6 ½ and 9% in the U.S. Some dioceses have registered 23%. Some religious houses have recorded 25%.] Sexual violation within the RC clergy is systemic. I say that on the basis of observation and scientific conclusion. And I say that with empathy and concern.

Now that aspect of the sexual crisis is well known around the world. The crisis behind the scandal will be the next phase of reality with which to come to terms: Namely: the broad range and frequency of sexual behaviors registered in the clerical system. “At any one time no more than 50% of priests are practicing celibacy.”  [emphasis by author]

Chinese Water Torture: Topsy and Tuptim Discuss Chapter VI of Fratelli Tutti

Topsy and Tuptim pack a lunch and snacks and meet at the playground with seven of their grandchildren who immediately disperse on the playground. The bigger kids grab the soccer ball and run out on the field. 

Topsy: I love this playground and it's so healthy to get the kids away from all the electronics and outside. They can climb all over the equipment or run up and down the field and everyone's in plain sight. [Calling to the eleven year old...] Keep an eye on your little brothers, honey. Send them to me if you have any problems. [ Her granddaughter waves and takes the boys to the swings.]

Paradigm Shift Chapter Five "Religious Indifferentism, Philosophical Relativism, Theological Evolutionism"

(This is a continuation of an ongoing review of each chapter in the book by Jose Antonio Ureta, "Pope Francis's Paradigm Shift, Continuity or Rupture in the Church")

One of my favorite go to sources is Papal Encyclicals Online.  It allows you to search by Pope or by subject discovering the most wonderful things about our past together as generation upon generation of Roman Catholics.  In just a couple of clicks I found the following quote so pertinent to the subject of this chapter of Paradigm Shift.  It comes from the Letter, Mirari Vos, On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism, by Pope Gregory XVI, 1832, addressed to “All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World.

Topsy and Tuptim Take Fratelli Tutti for a Ride on Skyline Drive - Part II

(See part 1 -- Topsy and Tuptim meet at IHOP to Discuss the Latest Papal Document and Other Things)

Topsy and Tuptim take advantage of a glorious fall afternoon to pack their backpacks with Fratelli Tutti and  some snacks for a ride on the Skyline Drive. They begin at the Front Royal Entrance and make their first stop at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center.

Tuptim: This was such a great idea, Topsy, if I do say so myself. 

Paradigm Shift, Chapter Four, "Favorable to Islam and Migration, but Reluctant to Speak Out for Persecuted Middle Eastern Christians"

Ureta opens Chapter Four with this statement:

“…..according to Francis, opening the West to migrants seems to be a non-negotiable principle.”  Added to this is a policy of dialogue with Islam, whatever the cost.  The pope pursues this goal by minimizing Islam’s terrorism matrix while showing extreme caution in denouncing the religious nature of the persecution of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. 

Earth to Pope Francis: "Woe to Those Who Call Good Evil and Evil Good."

Get this straight you stinky sheep: If you're married, you're
not really married;  but if you're living together you're married
and have all the graces of the sacrament you rejected. Got it?

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)

Let's see if I've got this right. Pope Francis said the other day during a Q & A session that the "great part of our sacramental marriages are null.”  On the other hand, he declared himself "sure that cohabitating couples are in a true marriage having the grace of marriage.”

So...to sum up...most of those who marry in the Church aren't really married after all; but those who live together without benefit of marriage are the one's who are really married. Huh? All I can say, is that sure sounds like a modernist Jesuit -- one who is busy as a termite undermining the faith.