As I wrote last week, the central point of Francis’ Christmas Address to the Roman Curia was nothing less than a stern warning to those who may dare to speak ill of, much less oppose, his agenda; specifically, Big Humble is watching.
Today, I’d like to highlight some other noteworthy portions of the address, starting with Francis’ Christmas wish:
May this Christmas open our eyes so that we can abandon what is superfluous, false, malicious and sham, and to see what is essential, true, good and authentic. My best wishes indeed!
OK, let’s play along.
Francis treated those in attendance to a lesson in Bergoglian ecclesiology, saying:
God … establishes the Church to be in the world but not of the world, and to be an instrument of salvation and service.
In this, those who have had their eyes opened cannot fail to see the deceptive hand of the Evil One at work; he whose modus operandi is to commingle the truth (the Church is in the world but not of the world) with a lie (the Church is simply one instrument of salvation among many).
Then there is the notion that the Church is in the “service” business (e.g., earthbound service to the poor, the elderly, the earth itself, etc.) separate and apart from the work of salvation.
But that’s not the only superfluous, false, malicious sham Francis perpetrated that day.
He went on to speak of the important role played by the Curia in the work of “ecumenical dialogue,” saying:
It involves a journey, yet, as was also stated by my predecessors, it is an irreversible journey and not a going back.
Here, the Devil shows his hand yet again by claiming continuity with the teaching of previous popes, while at one and the same time renouncing what previous popes had taught.
Francis appears to be taking aim specifically at the teaching made clear by Pope Pius XI in Mortalium Animos; namely, that the “journey” toward Christian unity is precisely a matter of heretics and schismatics “going back” to Holy Mother Church:
For the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it.(Mortalium Animos 10)
Francis then expanded upon his notion of the “journey” toward Christian unity:
All the theological and ecclesiological differences that still divide Christians will only be surmounted along this path, although today we do not know how and when, but that it will happen according to what the Holy Spirit will suggest for the good of the Church.
We don’t know how Christian unity will happen?
Let me guess, the “God of Surprises” will point the way!
Francis is providing a text book example of precisely the error Pope Pius XI condemned:
For authors who favor this view are accustomed, times almost without number, to bring forward these words of Christ: “That they all may be one…. And there shall be one fold and one shepherd,” with this signification however: that Christ Jesus merely expressed a desire and prayer, which still lacks its fulfillment. (Mortalium Animos 7)
All of that having been said, there is a substantial degree of continuity between Francis and the likes of Popes Paul the Pathetic, John Paul the Great Ecumenist, and Benedict the Abdicator, as each of them would agree with everything he said.
Francis dished out yet another superfluous, false, malicious sham as it concerns the Church’s relationship with Judaism, Islam and other false religions.
On this note, he said:
…dialogue, [is] an authentic expression of our humanity, [it] is not a strategy for achieving specific goals.
Of what specific goal does he speak?
C’mon, we all know the answer:
Baptizing the nations and teaching them everything whatsoever that Our Lord commanded.
In conclusion, there is one other thing that Francis said that merits comment:
Here let me allude to another danger: those who betray the trust put in them and profiteer from the Church’s motherhood. I am speaking of persons carefully selected to give a greater vigour to the body and to the reform, but – failing to understand the lofty nature of their responsibility – let themselves be corrupted by ambition or vainglory. Then, when they are quietly sidelined, they wrongly declare themselves martyrs of the system, of a “Pope kept in the dark”, of the “old guard”…, rather than reciting a mea culpa.
My first thought when I read this last week was that he’s not, as many likely assume, speaking about Cardinal Maradiaga. (We now know that this is very likely true given today’s news from the Vatican.)
So, who then is he talking about?
Two men come to mind; Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal Gerhard Muller, both of whom have indeed been “sidelined.” And did you notice? Francis thinks they owe him an apology.
Francis then went on to say:
Alongside these, there are others who are still working there, to whom all the time in the world is given to get back on the right track, in the hope that they find in the Church’s patience an opportunity for conversion and not for personal advantage.
In other words, Francis is letting it be known that he is merciful and slow to anger. Don’t laugh. I think he’s serious, and why not? He’s already anointed himself the “God of Surprises.”
As usual, Francis ended his superfluous, false, malicious sham of an address saying, “Please, pray for me.”
Yes, let us indulge him by praying for his conversion to the Holy Catholic faith.
We can make an ad-libs book of all the vague Vatican II preachy wordiness.
“(Insert favourite sin here) an authentic expression of our humanity.”
So ‘Dialogue’ is in the same good company as ‘violence.’
Is it not?
Violence, war, subjugation, theft, lust, perversion etc. are all authentic expressions of our humanity too!
So what?
It seems for Francis, that only ‘good’ things are attributable to humanity, just like ‘peacefulness’ is for him the only authentic form of Islam.
Just because he declares it so… not matter how divorced from Truth and reality.
Like other liberals, Francis, expects the mere fact that words have escaped from his lips resembling a sentence alluding to profound ideas beyond his grasp, ought to be taken seriously and sincerely.
But I can come up with profound notions too!
I call this behaviour – ‘The Idolatry of the Tongue.’
And I follow a ‘God of consistency.’
And I like to ‘talk sense’ and not ‘dialogue’ which more often I believe is actually a winky codeword referring to a different kind of ‘oral intercourse’ that many VII priests and bishops these days prefer to engage in.
I think your analysis is spot on. He is surely talking about Burke et al here.
It is not sufficient for this man to terrorize all Cardinals and Bishops. Not enough for him to exert full tyrannical control over communications and to instill fear of retribution throughout the Vatican. He has his full power, it’s at it’s zenith, clearly he is in full control of all he surveys. But he’s got to dig out the minor dissenters, it comes up like bile in his mouth, eats at him like a cancer, he must publicly flog those dissenters, how DARE they defy him in any way. He will remind all and sundry that he KNOWS they are there and they have not escaped his eye nor his attention. They will be an example of his ultimate power and authority, they will PAY.
I wonder if he believes he is the Second Coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. It does not seem enough to merely identify, rightfully so, his megalomaniacal levels of hubris and arrogance, and his venom seems limitless. Those prior thoughts on him seem wholly insufficient as just personality defects, such as his nauseating pretensions of humility. Does he believe he really is the Messiah?
The NO Conciliar Church is akin to one of those ouroborus things that populate all of their graphics. It is always devouring its other end. Fortunately, faithful Catholics can simply walk away from the Conciliar mess if they choose. But most do not. Its like an accident, we cant avert our eyes. We are looking for the details and the gore. I do wish the trad sites would stop their coverage of Bergolio’s Circus and get on with the work of restoring the Church. Step 1: Elect a Pope.
I think the better move, step 1, politically speaking, is to go back to Benedict, at least while that possibility still exists.
That may be a practical solution and easier for many to accept. However, Benedict himself is guilty of many of the same heresies as Bergolio.
“All of that having been said, there is a substantial degree of continuity between Francis and the likes of Popes Paul the Pathetic, John Paul the Great Ecumenist, and Benedict the Abdicator, as each of them would agree with everything he said.”
All professed and universally taught the Vatican II, non-Catholic Faith. They are/were always the problem. Never the solution.