A Catholic News Agency article says that well-known, and highly regarded, Italian journalist Anotnio Socci is reporting that “Pope Francis was aware that his reported words in an Oct. 1 interview [with atheist Eugenio Scalfari] published in La Repubblica could be misunderstood, and took measures concerning this.”
What measures?
According to Socci, Pope Francis “regretted” the publication of the interview in “L’Osservatore Romano” and “complained of it to the director, Gian Maria Vian, in Assisi on Oct. 4.”
The dust up, according to Socci, primarily concerns that part of the interview where the pope said:
“Each one of us has his own vision of the Good and also of Evil. We have to urge it [the vision] to move towards what one perceives as the Good.”
Upon being asked a follow-up question and given an opportunity to clarify, Pope Francis said:
And now I repeat it. Everyone has his own idea of Good and Evil and he has to choose to follow the Good and to fight Evil as he understands it. This would be enough to improve the world.”
According to CNA:
The Pope’s knowledge that he could be misunderstood is why – according to Socci – Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, was “told to maintain that the text of the interview had not been revised by Pope Francis and that it was penned by Scalfari after an informal chat.”
Let’s rewind.
According to John Allen, who reported on Fr. Lombardi’s press conference:
Pressed by reporters on the reliability of the direct quotations, Lombardi said during an Oct. 2 briefing that the text accurately captured the “sense” of what the pope had said, and that if Francis felt his thought had been “gravely misrepresented,” he would have said so.
Even so, Socci, according to CNA, said hat “critics of Pope Francis for his view on conscience are double-dealing.”
“Would you really believe Pope Francis thinks that everybody can have his own idea of good and evil and thus justify what he does?” he asked. “Is it really possible Pope Francis has an idea that would make being Christians, or believing in God, into nonsense?”
I have a different set of questions.
If the pope is so darned concerned, why is the interview still published on the website of the Holy See? Why didn’t the pope issue a clarification? Why did Fr. Lombardi confirm that the pope was not misrepresented? Why in the hell are we still talking about this?
Enough questions; here are some answers. This pathetic attempt at damage control has the stench of political posturing. Let’s not deny what was said and upset the humanists who celebrated the interview; rather, let’s cast just enough doubt on what was reported to placate those rigid restorationists who still care about Catholic doctrine.
I have a better idea: How about letting your “yes” mean yes and your “no” mean no, Holy Father.
Is that too much to ask? After all, anything more than this comes from evil.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fake%20hustle
“Would you really believe Pope Francis thinks that everybody can have his own idea of good and evil and thus justify what he does?” he [Socci] asked. “Is it really possible Pope Francis has an idea that would make being Christians, or believing in God, into nonsense?”
Well, yeah, that’s why people are discerning that the emperor left his kit in his closet and hiding their faces in shame.
I agree Louie if this were actually true why is it just being reported on now weeks after it happened. It appears to be like you say damage control and now we suddenly have him facing East and celebrating in Latin at the same time he has a new staff that is very ugly a questionnaire about how to be pastoral to same sex couples who adopt children, possible female Cardinals and on it goes. I think these cute news items like the little boy upstaging him last week and other liturgical stuff is a distraction to keep Catholics away from these continual confusion and division.
“Why didn’t the pope issue a clarification?”
Perhaps this 2006 commentary from Buenos-Aires newspaper Pagina/12 is relevant in this context.
The following is only a Google translation of a passage from the commentary, so I cannot attempt a paraphrase, but I would appreciate if any Spanish-speakers could comment on the accuracy (of the translation):
“Unhappiness
On September 27, Bergoglio dismissed as ‘unhappy’ quote used by Ratzinger in Regensburg lecture angering a section of Islam. He did it through his spokesman, the priest Guillermo Marco, in an article published in News-week / XXIII. He added that he was not represented by the words of the Pontiff that could destroy in twenty seconds the approach to Islam that John Paul II ‘built in twenty years.’ The subsequent clarification that the spokesman ruled in personal could only have an impact in Argentina, where the use of the word to cover up the thought or avoid responsibility for their own actions has become a cherished craft.”
It is not the “restorationists” who are being placated, it is the denialists and apologists in search of the next crutch, the further loophole, because they cannot face the truth.
What was printed by Scalfari, in direct quotations of the Holy Father, was heresy.
If Pope Francis rejects these heresies – promulgated in his name to the corners of the Earth – then, in the name of Christ’s sheep whom he is sworn to protect, let him denounce every word.
Q: “Would you really believe Pope Francis thinks that everybody can have his own idea of good and evil and thus justify what he does?” he asked. “Is it really possible Pope Francis has an idea that would make being Christians, or believing in God, into nonsense?”
A: YES. With respect to Bergoglio’s collective utterances to date, it can not be otherwise.
“If the pope is so darned concerned, why is the interview still published on the website of the Holy See?”
And published under the category “speeches”!!!
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/october/documents/papa-francesco_20131002_intervista-scalfari_en.html
Pope St. Pius X, said that it was the essence of any Catholic to stick to the past.
Let us not have any illusions…….it is ‘crystal clear’ the only solution is to stick to what was always taught, what the martyrs died for, we must keep it in our hearts, treasure that must be passed on to future generations………NOT even pope Francis and the eight cardinals he chose – who think like him, who were chosen to help pope Francis to ‘reform’ the Church……they cannot take it away. THIS PEARL, the most beautiful PEARL is GOD given our holy FAITH!
Pope Francis said to the Catholic Youth……the future Soldiers of Christ, that they ought to be…….. MAKE A MESS! No Pope EVER spoke like that, speaking the language of the ‘popular’……. in the whole history of the holy Church! There’s no mistake about what the Pope is thinking……he is the very ‘creation’ of post Vatican II ‘REVOLUTION’! Their ‘victory’ is only temporary (foolishness to GOD)…….their victory is their ‘CURSE’!
Miserere, Domine!
In the meantime, we are in a ‘great battle’……fighting for our souls, helping other souls………. we are our brother’s KEEPERS!
What we are experiencing is the Secret of FATIMA!
These times are very grave……..the loss of souls…..massive………We have to be very serious about our salvation……We are deprived of the support of the ‘Church’ authorities. Simply put it……TRAGEDY!
Pope Francis and the whole establishment of the ‘ new church’……..cannot give, what they no longer believe ……….
THEIR FAITH IS NOT WHAT YOU AND I BELIEVE………. OUR HOLY FAITH, THE MOST PRECIOUS STONE (ROCK), WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US FROM JESUS CHRIST, FROM THE APOSTLES!
JESUS, OUR GOOD SHEPHERD HAS NOT ABANDONED HIS SHEEP, HE IS CLOSER TO US NOW, THEN EVER!
KEEP THE FAITH!
Instaurare Omnia in Christo!
Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
Viva Cristo Rey!
The Secret of Fatima indeed !…Sister Lucia spoke of the diabolical disorientation and we`re experiencing it at its` zenith. Sister Lucia also spoke of not waiting for a mandate from Rome…that we must take the initiative. Many mystics of the Church clearly saw these times…Bl Anne Catherine Emmerich.(.as was mentioned by a commenter in a previous post ) as well as Bl Anna Maria Tiagi..the list could go on. This isn`t some other End Times, this is now…right now and we must not deviate in any way from Church teaching. Our Lady has promised Her Victory …we will obey Her and pray Her Rosary, pray for Pope Francis conversion to Orthodoxy and Tradition and pray for holy priests to rise up and speak the Truth .
“Who am I to judge?”
Dear Antonio Socci has lost his some of his sharpness in thinking and discerning. This has been evident over the last couple of years in many of his articles and could be well connected to a heavy cross that he and his family are carrying.
In fact he has now joined the band-wagon of ‘bashing the trads’ along with other Italian Catholic writers, radio broadcarers and Vatican reporters (apart from Magister -for the time being).
It’s a shame I used to love his articles – now , in my view, he has fallen into the papalotry trap – questioning the Pope is considered a very un-Catholic thing to do – even when we have been subjected to religious ambiguities in abundance from the mouth of the Pope himself over the last 7 months…..
What a strange thing from such an intelligent man ….too much reality perhaps has blinded him…
Those screaming obscenities at us as we pray outside a local abortion mill for the poor slaughtered babies being deprived of the Beatific Vision and the poor sinners responsible for their murders are entirely convinced that they are “following the good.”
Louie, it seems to me that Francis is using the psychological technique of “cognitive dissonance”. This creates an internal tension in the audience between opposing ideas, morals, beliefs. And the public is left to resolve this internal conflict. In this case the overwhelming majority of Catholics resolve the conflict by saying internally “the Pope is right”… even when they know he is saying something wrong. The danger for Francis if he pushes this cognitive dissonance too far is that Catholics will begin to conclude that “the Pope is wrong”.
So it becomes necessary to “cast just enough doubt” so that Catholics don’t conclude absolutely that “the Pope is wrong”. Instead they conclude that maybe “the Pope is wrong” but he isn’t “really” wrong if when he said it he was thinking something different….
This is really just creating more “dissonance” and eventually a person must resolve this internal dissonance. And again the “safest” way to resolve this is simply to conclude that “the Pope is right” regardless of the consequences. But the consequences are that this undermines the Catholic faith in many, many of the baptized.
And what are the consequences of concluding that “the Pope is wrong”…. it is for most Catholics unbearably “unthinkable”. Therefore the it must be true that “the Pope is right” — always.
It also occurs to me that Francis is exploiting a Catholic “taboo” which is that the Pope cannot be wrong. For non-believers this is not a problem because they have always insisted that the Pope is wrong.
Hmmm, Socci’s reactions to Bergoglio’s WORDS is rather interesting… It seems Socci has this gift of reading into other people’s MINDS… Wow, I guess we should all take Socci’s words for granted, like he were some angel from heaven (lol but even then we have St Paul’s warning from Galatians)… Maybe Bergoglio didn’t REALLY mean what he said… After all, Bergoglio hasn’t refuted a SINGLE proposition from his recent interviews RIGHT???
Sarcasm aside, I guess we shouldn’t be all that surprised at Socci’s bogus propositions considering that Socci is a well known Mudjugorje devotee (apparitions which Benedict disapproved most strongly). Come to think of it – didn’t Bergoglio welcome into his diocese one of those Medjugorje charlatans shortly before his election to the papacy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAgYTzzCwPA
Surely THAT couldn’t have anything to do with Socci’s apparent fascination with Bergoglio RIGHT???
Dear dumb_ox,
The translation you posted from the argentinian newspaper seems just fine.
God Bless.
MJ Cronin is exactly right. The “professional Catholics” cannot be permitted to take off their blinders, at least not yet. The interview was a mis-step only in going into modernism too blatantly, and waking up more of those that might have been lulled to sleep with soothing words. Never mind that the modernist typically slaughters the ordinary meanings of those same words.
Theresa,
You are spot on! I agree with you. This is the diabolic disorientation. Look at the confusion of the Faithful in the past 9 months alone.
The Devil is in a fierce battle against the Church.
Michael Leon said: the pope is using the ‘psychological technique of “cognitive dissonance”’
Is he the Pope or the Svengali of the Christ’s Holy Bride? – which of course could never be. God rules Holy Mother Church, and God has permitted the raising to the seat of Peter, Francis I (heaven help us if this is what the Church deserves because of its secularism, corruption and apostasy) – if it were so that Pope Francis were playing mind-games with the Faithful and unfaithful alike then we need only get out of his play pen and pray God gives us a Pope we don’t deserve – that is a Holy, clear-speaking, clear-teaching, guardian of the Church of Christ and His Saints – whose only aim is to faithfully guide all seeking souls to the Sacred Heart of the Truth in the manner of an Apostle of Christ.
Hegelian double-speak is revolutionist-speak, Marxist-speak, humanist-speak, culture-of-death-speak, satanist-speak, in short.
Thanks, Edu.