Making all things new again

Louie,

I am presently about a third of the way through the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium.

In a previous post, I mentioned what appears to be a certain fascination with all things new that Pope Francis shares with his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. Even at this point in my reading of Evangelii Gaudium, this particular theme is unmistakeable.

With this in mind, I took a look at the footnotes to this 50,000+ word document, and lo and behold, of the 217 references, a grand total of 20 predate Vatican II.

Think about it. More than 90% of the footnotes in this document are anchored in a “rich inheritance” of just 50 years, in a Church that boasts nearly 2,000 years of sacred Tradition through which countless popes, Saints and Doctors of the Church transmit the immutable Faith that comes to us from the Apostles.

For comparison, I took a look at the first pre-conciliar encyclical that came to mind, Immortale Dei of Pope Leo XIII. The footnotes to this document overwhelmingly reference Sacred Scripture, with a number of references from Church Fathers and just one reference to the encyclical of his immediate predecessor, Pope Pius IX, Quanta Cura, a document for its part that is footnoted almost entirely to the Church Fathers.

Could it be that the sources cited in Evangelii Gaudium indicate the very “unchecked passion for novelty” (Pascendi 13) that Pope St. Pius X warned about?

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Comments (56)

  2. Apropos your observation that “…I took a look at the footnotes to this 50,000+ word document, and lo and behold, of the 217 references, a grand total of 20 predate Vatican II…” I am reminded that when the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia (renamed Democratic Kampuchea) and dictator Pol Pot reigned, he declared the Cambodian calendar and national history extant before the year 1975 purged in its entirety and the ‘Year Zero’ commenced.
    The pre-Vatican II Catholic Church seems to have undergone a similar fate.

  3. The documents of Vatican II, have become the “Newer Testament”. The 1940 years of tradition that brought us into the 1960s, is being replaced by the new tradition of the last 50 years. And the bishops of the Catholic Church fell silent before the Spirit of Vatican II.

  4. I anticapted the church will now go through a new period of rapid decline, a refreshed “1960s” so to speak. The first embers of a renewal of the liturgy, religious orders, priesthood, catholic schools and lay organization, which we saw in the last few years will amost certainly die out quickly now. Along with the prolife and profamily movements in the west. Maybe then when all the devatsing effects of the Spirit of VAtican II have taken hold, when the church is on the brink of extiniction within a generation (as the former of Archbishop of CAnterbury has said in refernce to his own dying but liberated “church”) maybe then there will be a change of course and a true renewal. But as for today a sad day.

  5. Gerard M: said”…..maybe then there will be a change of course and a true renewal.”

    Unfortunately, I don’t think that is the plan. I’m beginning to think that the “priesthood of the people of God” is what the end game is. They want to do to the Church what Scipio Africanus did to Carthage. To make sure that the Church never ever “grows again”.

  6. Mr. V.–please do not read the other two thirds. You’ll have a heart attack. And we love you.

  7. I remember reading in the 80s a very orthodox priest commentator replying to conservative critics of John Paul II. He urged granting the pontiff the benefit of the doubt and all of his good intnetions and the real good he did accomplish-Ecclesia Dei, promotion of the rosary and eucharistic devotion, the cathecism, Ex Cordia Ecclesia, etc etc. He ended the piece by saying that someday we might look back on those heady days as a golden age for the church (at least compared to what would follow) Sadly, I think this has now come true. We may now look back to the days of JP and Benedict the way our grandparents and greatgrandparents looked back to the days of Pius XI and XII. More so I imagine.

  8. I couldn’t even get past the first couple of pages I became so irritated. Joy and Happiness anyone???? There’s plenty to go around!

  9. I look forward to your commentary once you finish reading it, Mr. Verrecchio.

    It looks like, from the little I’ve been able to wade through thus far that it will need to be broken into parts to provide for any sort of rational analysis.

    It would also be very interesting if the topic of the level of authority of an Apostolic Exhortation, whether assent is mandatory, or not, etc, could be explored — given what I have been able to digest of the document so far this is a serious concern.

  10. This is not surprising. I’m sure that plenty of the sources of the other post-conciliar popes’ documents are weighted roughly the same way.

  13. It is a very large document and I doubt if Pope Franis actually “wrote” it. I have seen a suggestion elsewhere that it is a compendium of his sayings and writings which raises the question of who compiled it?
    and there are the questions concerning transaltion.

    I have quickly sketched through it and have the impression that it is of the “all things to all men” category.

    Now I am all for evangelisation and transmission of the Faith, but first of all we have to agree on what the Faith is!

  14. Clare, POPE is not infallible in his laws, nor in his commands, nor in his acts of state, nor in his administration, nor in his public policy……Catholics can often find it difficult to pray for the pope after all that has happened during these years of crisis… after all that has been said and done to confuse the faithful and favor the Church’s enemies.
    Our duty is clearly expressed in these words of Blessed Jacinta to her companions: “Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him!”

    We have been warned by holy Popes or Church Fathers, from the days long gone………

    “They knew only too well the intimate bond that unites faith with worship, the law of belief with the law of prayer,
    and so, under the pretext of restoring the order of the liturgy to its primitive form, they corrupted it in many respects
    to adapt it to the errors of the Innovators.”
    Pope Leo XIII, Apostolicae Curae

    St. Vincent of Lerins +450
    “The Church of Christ, zealous and cautious guardian of the dogmas deposited with it, never changes any phase of them. It does not diminish them or add to them; it neither trims what seems necessary, nor grafts things superfluous; it neither gives up its own nor usurps what does not belong to it. But it devotes all its diligence to one aim: to treat tradition faithfully and wisely; to nurse and polish what from old times may have remained unshaped and unfinished; to consolidate and to strengthen what already was clear · and plain; and to guard what already was confirmed and defined. After all, what have the councils brought forth in their decrees but that what’ before was believed plainly and simply might from now on be believed more diligently; that what before was preached rather unconcernedly might be preached from now on more eagerly.”
    O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust (I Tim. 6:20)

    Lord, give us a holy Pope!
    Lord, give us many holy priests!
    Lord, give us many religious vocations!

  15. The first characteristic of the anti-liturgical heresy is hatred of tradition as found in the formulas used in divine worship. One cannot fail to note this special characteristic in all heretics, from Vigilantus to Calvin, and the reason for it is easy to explain.

    Every sectarian who wishes to introduce a new doctrine finds himself, unfailingly, face to face with the Liturgy, which is Tradition at its strongest and best, and he cannot rest until he has silenced this voice, until he has torn up these pages which recall the faith of past centuries.

    As a matter of fact, how could Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism establish themselves and maintain their influence over the masses? All they had to do was substitute new books and new formulas in place of the ancient books and formulas, and their work was done. There was nothing that still bothered the new teachers; they could just go on preaching as they wished: the faith of the people was henceforth without defense.

    Luther understood this doctrine with a shrewdness worthy of the Jansenists….

    The second principle of the anti-liturgical sect: to substitute for formulas of the Ecclesiastical teachings readings from the Holy Scripture.

    This involves two advantages: first, to silence the voice of Tradition of which sectarians are always afraid. Then, there is the advantage of propagating and supporting their dogmas by means of affirmation and negation. By way of negation, in passing over in silence, through cunning, the texts which express doctrine opposed to errors they wish to propagate; by way of affirmation, by emphasizing truncated passages which show only one side of the truth, hide the other the eyes of the unlearned.

    http://arsorandi.blogspot.com/p/principles-of-anti-liturgical-heresy-by.html.

  16. I read it…wow…what a colossal waste of time. Basically a repetition of what we’ve been hearing for the last fifty years. More Vatican II drivel…nothing more, nothing less.

  17. Hello Louie. I refuse to read this latest document without an orthodox commentary to be able to make sense of it. Therefore I wait for your commentary.

    One hint for you. I am convinced that the name “Evangelii Gaudium” is a reference to “Evangelii Nuntiandi” by Paul VI (1975) which is considered to be the beginning of the “new evangelization”.

    Also I note that according to Wikipedia an apostolic exhortation “does not define Church doctrine” and “it is considered lower in formal authority than a papal encyclical”.

    Is this is how the pope intends to avoid falling into “formal heresy”? By issuing a document that “does not define Church doctrine” and then injecting “papal teachings” that contradict Church doctrine?

    I wait for your commentary.

    God bless you,
    Michael

  18. One of the “lowlights” from the document for me is Evangelii gaudium 253. “…authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to EVERY form of violence.” (!!!!!!!)

    Are we beholding here Bergoglio the imam for him to make such a bold interpretation of Islam???

    Trust me, I have dealt with muslims for YEARS and Islam is NOT a religion of peace. Even most moderate muslims hold christianity with a certain disdain and most hope for the establishment of a moderate versión of islamic law within their countries. Most importantly – ISLAM IS NOT A TOLERANT RELIGION. I REPEAT, IT IS NOT A TOLERANT RELIGION, BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION. Anyone who thinks otherwise has not treated closely in person with an infidel for a prolonged period of time.

    No doubt part of the reason why JP II, B XVI and Bergoglio utter such absurdity about Islam is because they DO NOT know Islam. How can they when they have no doubt not held close contact with them (and that obviously does not include phony “interreligious dialogue” boloney).

    Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

  19. …..excellent observation of Evangelii Gaudium, on the Jews — by John Vennari;

    The document is guided by the new orientation of Vatican II, though it bears the personal stamp of Francis. For now, we will focus on one section of the Exhortation that deals today’s religion of Judaism.

    Within the context of exhorting Catholics ever deeper into the ecumenical program, Pope Francis says: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for ‘the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29). The Church, which shares with Jews an important part of the Sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity (cf. Rom 11:16-18). As Christians, we cannot consider Judaism as a foreign religion; nor do we include the Jews among those called to turn from idols and to serve the true God (cf. 1 Thes 1:9). With them, we believe in the one God who acts in history, and with them we accept his revealed word.”

    There is no mention of any need for conversion to Christ and His Church.

    Pope Francis effectively continues the program initiative by the Council, and brought to fruition by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI that the Old Covenant has not been superseded by the New. This is a novel concept that runs contrary to Sacred Scripture and to the perennial magisterium of the Church.

    Our Lord Jesus Christ told the Jews of his day: “If you do not believe that I am He [the Messiah], you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24) Elsewhere He said to the Jews, “You search the Scripture because in them you think you have life everlasting. And it is they that bear witness to Me, yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40)
    Likewise, when Pope Benedict visited the synagogue in Rome, Rabbi David Rosen, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Interreligious Affairs was ecstatic, and understood better than many Catholics the true revolutionary nature of such acts.

    “With the visit to the synagogue Pope Benedict is institutionalizing revolutions,” said Rabbi Rosen. “By visiting the Roman synagogue, Pope Benedict is making it difficult for a subsequent Pope not to pay such a visit. John Paul’s [1986] visit could have been a one-off, but now with Benedict XVI’s visit, there is a sense of continuity.”

    Pope Francis is likewise a man of Nostra Aetate. He effectively denounces the infallible truth that the Old Covenant was superseded and made obsolete by the New. In this, as in other areas, he accepts that there can be “some transformation of the dogmatic message of the Church” over time, which is Msgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton’s succinct definition of Modernism.
    Under Pope Francis the Modernist orientation continues………

  20. This must be one of the most dangerous papal documents of all time. It is so loaded with ambiguity and modernist style tactics of orthodox here and liberal there. I consider this to be the official charter that Francis sets out for his leadership and I think from now on the crisis will really accelerate. This is a frightful document which will bring a sense of abandonment to many faithful Catholics. It is part of the desensitising process which aims to slowly blunt the Catholic sense in order that a different form of Church might come to be and that things alien to the Catholic Faith may initially be tolerated, then accepted, and finally embraced.

  21. Dear Fr Mann,

    Excellent observations, although I think that the “different form of Church” has already come to be in many parts of former Christendom – from my own personal experience the Church is practically obliterated in the USA except for a few orthodox priests here and there (here I’m not even referring to SSPX, FSSP etc). Michael Voris of churchmilitant.tv has famously (and somewhat humorously) dubbed this “different form of church” in his own native country the “Church of Nice”. Other people from the US have dubbed it the “false church” etc And all this from Catholics loyal to the American hierarchy. Go figure.

  22. I would have to concur with Fr. Mann’s assessment as well. This document dangerous and the man whose name it bears is as well. This is what the modernists have been waiting and working for for the past fifty years…a new Church made in their own image. Now everything will be out in the open and once the governance of the Church is meted out to episcopal synods or conferences…what do you think will happen? It’s going to be all out schism. In Germany, France, Austria and even here in the USA…watch and wait!

  23. This must be one of the most dangerous papal documents of all time.
    Fr. Robert Mann SCJ
    .
    Thank you Fr. Mann for your courage in again saying what must be said. You are in my regular intentions.
    .
    Your assessment is my fear thus far in my working through Evangelii Gaudium. And the danger of the mixture of the revolutionary with the orthodox can’t be over emphasized. A pure glass of milk after the addition of a drop of poison will kill the unsuspecting child. The danger to the simple faithful is frightening.
    .
    I agree with Halina as far as Mr. Vennari’s analysis of the document in relation to the Old Covenant — it is so far the best analysis of any portion of the document.
    .
    There is much that must be dealt with here. We the faithful have a tremendous need for sound guidance to get through the immediate impact and the potentially even worse long term repercussions.
    .
    This situation presents a minefield.
    .
    We must pray for each other.

  25. From Evangelii Gaudium:
    Two sections from the new exhortation and my comment:

    95. “…In some people we see an ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy, for doctrine and for the Church’s prestige, but without any concern that the Gospel have a real impact on God’s faithful people and the concrete needs of the present time.”

    I was under the impression that holding the doctrines of the Church is vital to our salvation. May I ask: How are the ‘concrete needs of the present time”
    different from the concrete needs of people in any other era? Isn’t the salvation of souls the Church’s main mission and the true reason for Her existence?

    94. “This worldliness can be fuelled in two deeply interrelated ways. …The other is the self-absorbed promethean neopelagianism of those who ultimately trust only in their own powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style from the past. A supposed soundness of doctrine or discipline leads instead to a
    narcissistic and authoritarian elitism, whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying. In neither case is one really concerned about Jesus Christ or others. These are manifestations of an anthropocentric immanentism.”

    No comment — the above comment makes me ill.

  27. Let us go forth therefore to him without the camp, bearing his reproach.- Hebrews 13:13

    I think we need to prepare for finding ourselves vilified and perhaps even excommunicated in some manner if we do not approve the ongoing innovations. Most of us have been experiencing some of this for years and I think it was to prepare us for this. Let us pray for one another and for all priests.

  28. Noting an article from freerepublic.com concerning the Marxist nature of Pope Francis, it shows that Pope Francis is clearly man-centered and not God Centered. This is clearly the Jesuit training of Liberation Theology from the 60’s and 70’s. Being man centered first and God centered second, I believe a sad and long pontificate is ours.

    RUSH LIMBAUGH SCORCHES POPE FRANCIS
    WorldNetDaily ^ | 11/27/2013 | KATHY SHAIDLE
    Posted on Wed 27 Nov 2013 09:05:43 PM CST by SeekAndFind
    Radio giant Rush Limbaugh is scorching the leader of the Roman Catholic Church for criticizing unfettered capitalism, saying, “This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope.”
    “You know the pope, Pope Francis has issued an official papal proclamation, and it’s sad,” Limbaugh said on his national broadcast Wednesday. “It’s actually unbelievable. It’s sad because this pope makes it very clear he doesn’t know what he’s talking about when it comes to capitalism and socialism and so forth.”
    “I’m not Catholic,” Limbaugh added, “but up until this I admired the man.”
    In the 84-page document titled “Evangelii Gaudium,” which was released Tuesday, Pope Francis called upon politicians to provide “dignified work, education and health care” to all citizens.
    “The commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life,” wrote the pope. “Today we also have to say ‘thou shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.”
    Noting that he had visited the Vatican “numerous times,” Limbaugh observed wryly: “Believe me, it wouldn’t exist without tons of money. Somebody has either written this for [the pope] or gotten to him. This is pure Marxism.”

  29. Just finished it. My comment is as follows:
    “The unintelligible ramblings of a very ignorant man.” Nothing more, nothing less.

    Furthermore, a very prescient observation by “Lake Eire”:

    “May I ask: How are the ‘concrete needs of the present time”
    different from the concrete needs of people in any other era? Isn’t the salvation of souls the Church’s main mission and the true reason for Her existence?”

    And there it is. The real problem within the Church is that the God centered Church that Christ created is being transformed into the man centered church of Vatican II. And it is this contradiction that is the root cause of the demolition that we have witnessed over the last 50 years.

    As for the conciliar transformation, I would draw the readers attention to a comment by Michael Leon who made an excellent point:

    “Also I note that according to Wikipedia an apostolic exhortation “does not define Church doctrine” and “it is considered lower in formal authority than a papal encyclical”. Is this is how the pope intends to avoid falling into “formal heresy”? By issuing a document that “does not define Church doctrine” and then injecting “papal teachings” that contradict Church doctrine?”

    Looks like the modernist forces of Francis are at the banks of the Rubicon, but are hesitant to cross it. The reconnaissance in force, i.e. Evangelii Gaudium, however, is definitely on the other side. And it looks like it’s just those (un) damned Pelagians that are standing in his way. Reading EG95., the hatred for the Depositum Fidei as given by Christ to the Apostles and passed on through the generations and of those Faithful, is real and present. One can almost taste it.

    This is obviously the work of a twisted mind.

    St. Michael Archangle, ora pro nobis.

  30. Drip. Drip. Drip. It never stops with this pope. Francis has undermined my faith. It’s not this wading into economics that bothers me so much. It’s everything else, especially EG 94 and 95. He creates a straw man where “[in] some people we see an ostentatious preoccupation for the liturgy, for doctrine and for the Church’s prestige.” That a pope would write this is heartbreaking. That a love for the Mass, for Christ’s doctrines, for the beauty and majesty of the Church could ever lead one astray is unfathomable to me. This is not Catholic. This is straight from hell.
    .
    A decade ago a wave carried me to the shores of the Catholic Church. In March it abruptly halted, and the tide of indifferentism and apathy that pulled and then kept me away for 20 years has returned. If what this pope has been teaching the past 9 months is true, then all the painstaking hours I’ve spent, re-learning the faith and trying to live it out is false. Pope Francis wanted to make mess: well, He has in this Catholic’s life. After 10 years of certainty, I again question whether the Church is the one true faith – or, more correctly, that a ‘one true faith’ even exists. Either Francis is right and the Church is not what I thought it was, or He is wrong and…. the Church is not what I thought it was. I am stuck. Fatherless, Motherless, rudderless, confused… I thought I had rediscovered the pearl of great price… now, I don’t know what it is. This doubt and questioning could not have come personally at a worse time. I am desperately afraid.
    .
    I ask for your prayers, please.

  31. Dear Mr. Archer,
    .
    You have my prayers. I also was lost the first 2 to 2 1/2 decades of my adult life after having been a cradle Catholic (born in the month VII started, Lord Have Mercy).
    .
    Our Holy Mother Church though remains spotless.
    .
    It is her children that sin.
    .
    I suspect it is because of trials like this that the time will have to be shortened or “even the elect be lost.”
    .
    We must all work on our salvation in fear and trembling. I have a far deeper understanding of that now after these last months.
    .
    I am clinging with all my might as well, I think we all are, you are not alone.
    .
    What has helped of late…
    .
    The rosary — daily, striving to pray it well, without fail.
    .
    Diligent work on doing my duty and eliminating sin.
    .
    Starting over on both asap every time I fail.
    .
    St. John Bosco’s vision was a pretty clear message to us that we must cling to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and to Our Blessed Mother (and her Rosary and Brown Scapular) during this trial.
    .
    Also the ancient and eternal Holy Sacrifice of the Mass among the many gems had two just when I needed them lately. The Mass Propers for the 20th and 21st Sundays after Pentecost. Read and meditate on them in order — they were a tremendous help to me.
    .
    20th Sunday: http://www.scribd.com/doc/172928850/Twentieth-Sunday-After-Pentecost
    .
    21st Sunday: http://www.scribd.com/doc/175222624/Twenty-First-Sunday-After-Pentecost

  32. Dear Jack Archer,
    You are not alone. We love you.
    You are in the One True Faith. Fear not. You have the communion of saints. Pray to St. John of the Cross. Express to Our Blessed Lord all your despair. Hang on. Sometimes we Catholics simply have to hang on. We are children and cannot see the big picture.

    Obtain an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It does not have to be expensive. It can come from a Catholic advertisement or anything. Then tape it up in your home. If you have a priest that you can ask, request that he enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in your home.

    When I came out of homelessness, I thought a person had to have a nice house in order to have an Enthronement. But then a good holy priest told me this is not so. So I am still in the same tiny 2 room place in a very violent area but the little shrine I made to the Sacred Heart dominates my home and my life.

    Also, make the total Consecration to Our Lord through True Devotion to Mary of St. Louis DeMonfort. It is very, very simple. If an ignorant person like me can follow and do it, you surely can. If you need help with doing any of this, you have come to the right place.

    You and all of us Traditionalists are Catholic. That means within our heart, as yours, we have a fervent desire to see brethren unharmed by the world, false teaching or flounder.

    Stay where you are among friends, here. Again, you are not alone. If you are strong enough, try to say 3 Hail Mary-s when you rise and when you go to sleep. Keep in touch. God love you. Praised be Jesus and Mary.

  33. Dear Brother in Christ,
    When doubt invades your heart……go to Gethsemane and speak to Jesus. He saw it ALL till the ‘end of time’…….every blasphemy, every heresy, every ‘cold heart’ of men made in the ‘image of God’. When doubt and fear is tempting you, do not forget that this is …..when our Dear Lord is the closest to you. Go into the ‘desert’……..read Psalms, and He will speak to your tormented heart. You are NOT alone! All of Heaven is with you (with all faithful)…… The Most Blessed Trinity, our dearest Mother Mary, St. Joseph, St. Michael the Archangel, your Guardian Angel, all choirs of Angels, Saints, Martyrs………Soldiers of Christ in the Church Militant. ‘Do not fear, I have overcome the world!’
    Every faithful Catholic is called to ‘heroic’ faith. This is what the Knights who took the ‘cross’ understood, as they were going to fight the enemy…….and the brutal death that could await them.
    Do not forget who in every century paved the road for Catholics! Turn your fear into ‘fearless faith’…….do not let the devil tell you that the One Holy Apostolic Roman Catholic Church is not the Church Of Jesus Christ……GOD FORBID!

    And who says that history of the holy Church, of the world is boring! Knowing and understanding history of all ages, will give us better understanding, confidence of ……….WHEN? WHY? HOW?
    The Catholic Church herself is occupied by Progressivism, Modernism, an evil enemy that is a thousand times worse than Islamism, that the crusaders fought and died for. In our time, we should have a great Crusade to re-conquer the Holy Church from her enemies. Let us ask Our Lady to give us a grace similar to that which she gave to the first crusaders, so that we will forget our own interests and care only about the liberation and glorious restoration of the Roman Catholic Church.

    Omnia Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
    Viva Cristo Rey!

  35. Hi S.Armaticus. I have elaborated on the point regarding “formal heresy” on my blog in case you are interested:
    http://publicvigil.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-new-and-improved-new-evangelization.html

    I’ve included a talk by Father Gregory Hesse, a theologian, regarding “formal heresy” which is the basis of my previous comment. Vatican II never claimed to proclaim new Church doctrine in the same way that previous councils had, so I suppose that technically it cannot fall into “formal heresy” either — even if it does promote some heretical ideas.

    As for this pope, he is either a “very ignorant man” as you say or he is clever as a fox. Personally, I think “there’s a method to his madness”. I could be wrong, but I have concluded that he is deliberately using “cognitive dissonance” to change the beliefs of Catholics. His teachings are full of “dissonance” — what you refer to as “unintelligible ramblings”.

    He juxtaposes a completely orthodox statement with a totally heterodox statement. We are left with the task of resolving this “dissonance”. Many will conclude that since the orthodox statement is true and the following heterodox statement is coming directly from the pope, that both statements must be true. And this is how they will resolve the dissonance. And so the average Catholic will conclude that they must accept everything in Evangelii Gaudium, and change their own personal beliefs to align with those expressed by the pope if necessary. (This is a psychological warfare technique by the way.)

    But this is exactly what Pope St. Pius X warned about in his encyclical “PASCENDI DOMINICI GREGIS — ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE MODERNISTS” in 1907.

    To Jack Archer, we are all struggling with how to come to grips with this pope. Let us pray for each other and for the whole Church.

  36. Dear Linda, Helina, and Michael,
    .
    Thank you for taking the time to share your words of encouragement. That’s all I can think to say right now. Thank you. I needed to read your words and know that I’m not alone, particularly right at this moment. God bless you all, I will remember you in my prayers, dry as they so lately have been. Please remember me in yours.

  37. Jack-

    Look back in Church History…a Pope does not make up the Catholic Church. We have had several Popes who were very evil men. What makes up the Catholic Church is the deposit of faith and those who adhere to it. So if we have a loon for a Pope? So what. The Catholic Church is the truth no matter who the Pope is. Follow the Shepherd who is Christ, not the fallible vicar of His Church. We are here with you experiencing the same desire and desperation to be led like the sheep we are…but this Pope has failed us…but Christ never will. God bless~

  38. I agree with Jack that while Pope Francis continues to confuse by his actions and words, the focus has to be on Jesus Christ not on the Pope. If Vatican II is not from God He himself will put a stop to it himself. I read John Bosco’s vision of the two columns which he witnessed in 1862. It concerns the future of the Church after a great struggle. Secondly we have the Prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success that took place in the 1600’s to a Franciscan Nun Mother Marianna de Jesus Torres. Either way these all predict a restoration of the Church which will overthrown progressives and Modernists and will also bring peace to the whole world. Pope Leo’s exorcism prayer was for this reason.

  39. “Lord! what fools these mortals be!………..

    Fenelon, the great French preacher, once said:
    ‘The crosses which we make for ourselves by a restless anxiety as to the future are not crosses which come from God. We show want of faith in Him by our false wisdom wishing to forestall His arrangements, and struggling to supplement His providence by our own providence. The future is not yet ours; perhaps it never will be. If it comes, it may come wholly different from what we have foreseen. Let us shut our eyes, then, to that which God hides from us, and keeps in reserve in the treasure of His deep counsels. Let us worship without seeing; let us be silent; let us abide in peace.’

    It pays to be concerned about the right things but not to worry about them.
    The grand maxims of St. Teresa of Avila:

    Let nothing trouble thee.
    Let nothing frighten thee.
    All things pass away.
    God never changes.
    Patience obtains all things.
    Nothing is wanting to him who possesses God.
    God alone suffices.

  40. Jeremiah

    For the shepherds are stupid, and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered…“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, says the Lord.

    If a Pope or a Priest won’t shepherd, God will gives us one, eventually, who will.

  43. The above radio piece explains how the ‘liberty of conscience’ of which Pope Francis is an advocate – leads to indifferentism. Also how so many of the Pope’s quotes are heresy because of issues the theological terms potentiality and actuality. Further, Pope Francis’ attack on traditionalists makes ever more sense – if the Pope is appalled at traditionalists he is no friend of the Church which is the Tradition worked by the Holy Spirit through the servants of the Word of God though history.

    Some important prophecies:

    Pope Pius X: Indeed the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators, they are traditionalists. Notre Charge Apostolique August 15 1910

    Prophecy of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich 1774-1824: The Church is in great danger…I see that in Rome the Catholic Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there will hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for destruction, even the clergy. The great devastation is now at hand…when I saw the Church of St Peter in ruins and the manner in which so many of the clergy were themselves busy at this work of destruction – none of them wishing to do it openly in front of others – I was in such distreess that I cried out to Jesus with all my might, imploring His mercy. Then, I saw before me the Heavenly Spouse…He said, among other things, that this transslation of the Church from one place to another meant that she would seem to be in complete decline. But she would rise again; even if there remain but one Catholic, the Church would conquer again because she does not rest on human counsels and intelligence. It was also shown to me that there were almost no Christians left in the old acceptation of the word. When the Church had been for the most part destroyed (by the secret sect), and when only the sanctuary and the altar were still standing, I saw the wreckers (the secret sect) enter the Church with the Beast. We must pray above all for the Church of Darkness to leave Rome…I hear that Lucifer will be freed again for a while fifty or sixty years before the year 2000AD.

    St Bridget of Sweden 1303 1373: ‘Forty years before the year 2000, the devil will be let loose for a period to tempt men. When all will seem lost, God Hmsef with suddenly bring all evil to an end. The sign of when these events will occur will be when priests have discarded their holy habits and dress themselves in lay clothes and when women will dress like men and men will dress like women.

    St John Bosco 1862: There will be an ecumenical council in the next century, after which there will be chaos in the Church.

    St Anthony of the Desert 4th Century: A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, “You are mad, you are not like us…men will surrender to the spirit of the age, They will say if they had lived in our day faith would be easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and be made meaningful to today’s problems. When the CHurch and the world art one, know then that those days art at hand. Because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His things and the things of this world.’

  44. Dear Jack Archer,
    Thank you for coming here and showing us poor souls what a saint does and is. You are obviously a saint. Only a saint can persevere in times of discouragement and dryness. You are also a man of courage. So because you continue to pray, you help us to do likewise.

    Here , If I may be so bold, may I please ask you and all here to pray for my oldest son.

    A former seminarian with the most traditional order, he left the Faith well over a decade ago. He has never lost his love for the priesthood and the Faith though, and my life is embued with a constant dialogue with St. Monica over him.

    This heightening of a lengthy church crisis currently exhibited via nonsense spewing out of the mouth of the current Pontiff has had a startling affect on my son. I see that he is becoming more and more invested in defending orthodoxy in Catholicism. I can see and hear a defense of Truth rising in him. He is becoming livid and more and more vocal in this holy defense.

    I beg your prayers that through this struggle of Holy Mother Church, the need to defend Her is going to be the thing that will bring my son back into Her bosom.

    Lastly, my dear brother in Christ, may I suggest three talks for this Church season of Advent ? They are pertinent to what you {we,} are experiencing and even more, give sound direction, what we trads are desperate for, especially now. Here is the link:
    http://www.audiosancto.org/pages/AdventRecollection.php

    The last second and third one particularly address what you describe Jack Archer.

    Again, my gratitude to you for showing us what a saintly man of courage does in a crisis–persevere in prayer and reach out to the communion of saints. Peace be to you.

  45. As Halina quotes above, Evangelii Gaudium includes the following statement on Judaism (#247):
    “With [Judaists], we believe in the one God who acts in history, and with them we accept his revealed word.”
    There is only one revealed word, of which Francis writes this in Lumen Fidei (#15):
    “All the threads of the Old Testament converge on Christ”.
    Judaists do not accept this with Christians. 
    Francis is contradicting his own encyclical.

  46. I’m still working my way through the document, but I’ve read enough to see that the criticism “He doesn’t cite Scripture enough” isn’t a valid critique. There are a great number of references to Scripture, but the citation is included in the body of the text, as opposed to being listed in the endnotes like other sources. So the comparison made between Evangelii Gaudium and Immortale Dei with regards to references appears to be misleading. Pax Christi.

  47. The Gospel is traditional, folks. If your focus is on Jesus Christ and His Gospel, Pope Francis will make sense.
    I recommend the works of Bl. Columba Marmion, and in particular, [i]Christ, the Life of the Soul[/i]. Bl. Columba shows one how to be both Christ-centered and traditional.

  49. Jack Archer: The Armaticii are praying for you, young and old.

    Michale Leon: Thanks for the link. With respect to the bishop of Rome, “schemer” would adequately describe him. With respect to being “clever like a fox”, I would say that he is “clever by half”. What I mean by that is that if one wants to introduce error into dogma, you don’t do it with “guns blazing”. When the protestants start criticizing you for being heretical, you know you have a problem. And the continuous errors produced by his musings are having the effect that they are sending the Faithful back to the source documents (not to mention the ramparts), and forcing them to re-acquaint themselves with the Depositum Fidei. Somehow, I don’t think that is the effect that the BofR was after.

    So then the question become, so what is Bergoglio up to? Personally, I think he is what can be termed as a “poser”. He is a man of average intelligence, with a penchant for wanting to be different. He also wants to be liked, so he takes the easy road. He has swallowed the modernist rubbish, but not because he believes in it, but because it is easy. He can ramble on, and the idiots in the new church will think he is on another intellectual plane. (There is a reason why the Argentine Jesuits were embarrassed of Bergoglio.) Kind of like Obama and the journalists/groupies. The stupid musings of Bergoglio and the resultant “kremlinolical” interpretive craze of the new church has created a re-enforcing positive feedback loop. The more he rambles, the more these muppets thinks he’s “teaching”. But to the sane observers standing on the sidelines and watching this Forrest Gump papacy, you just have to laugh.

    However, this silly season does have a dangerous dimension to it. The real and present danger is not dogma, but rather one of a more earthly variety. The German bishops are trying to finally force conciliar transformation of the Church that they gave been waiting for, for the better part of 50 years. And the thing that makes them dangerous is the “cash on hand” that they have from the Kirchensteuer. This massive threat is hanging over the rest of the Church whose financial position has been decimated by the post conciliar “springtime”. And Begoglio has found himself in the middle of this. This could also be root cause of the consistent hatred shown for the Pelagians. Coming from South American, he didn’t appreciate the strength of the Restorationists in the wider Catholic anglosphere. The squeaky wheel phenomenon, one can say. But I digress.

    So the question then becomes, how will this end? And I think it will end just like Begoglio’s dabbling in liberation theology ended in the 80’s. He was on board, but didn’t have the cajones to go all in. This actually worked out well for him in Argentina and after. Now I suspect that he will probably not have the cajones this time either to allow the Germans to run wild. And if this comes to pass, he will not doubt blame it on the Pelagians. And I will be one who will be glad he could have been of service. 🙂

    As an aside, I wonder where you can get a Pelagian club membership card? I’m working to get to Black 🙂

    Sorry for the Sunday rant. Beginning of the liturgical year got me all excited.

    St.Michael Archangel, ora pro nobis.

  50. I would like to suggest to all those who are feeling discouraged, or are tempted to despair and loss of faith, that this pope, whether orthodox or not, is only a blip on the screen.

    Why do you spend you time gnashing your teeth on EG, which most of us have not read (except excerpts provided by others) when you have not read the truly classic and Catholic encyclicals provided by other popes? Why do you concern yourselves with the writings of Vat. II, when you have not read Vat. I? Or Trent? Or other councils?

    I would encourage most of you to leave cyberspace and turn to the written Tradition of the Church to fill your time. Louis has his job to do. We don’t have to get to swept up in it, if it harms our faith.

    Go to Mass and receive Our Lord. Get your homilies from the writings of the saints. Read the dogmatic teachings of the Church. Pray more. Immerse yourselves in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Above all, don’t let Pope Francis, or what others write about him, weaken your faith.

    You didn’t really think that the devil would fight the martyrs of this age with physical scourging, arrows and fire, did you? No, the martyrs of this age will be scourged with doubts, human respect, calumnies, mockery, and rejection. This is why the Holy Spirit has provided us with two millenia of teaching of the True Faith. So that we may be armed against the attacks of Satan in our day.

    I write this for myself, also. I can’t even list the seven castles of St. Therese of Avila, but I know that I can get into the first three through my own efforts. There is so much more Catholic reality out there for us, a reality that will increase out Glory in Heaven, if we do not spend too much time on passing things.

    And knowing this reality, we will better be able to evangelize our loved ones, friends, and neighbors for the advent of Our Lord.

    Paul

  51. At Catholic Family News – John Vennari – a very interesting read

    Pope Francis’ text is a call for church reform at all levels, says Hans Küng

    29 November 2013

    Church reform is forging ahead. In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis not only intensifies his criticism of capitalism and the fact that money rules the world, but speaks out clearly in favour of church reform “at all levels”. He specifically advocates structural reforms – namely, decentralisation towards local dioceses and communities, reform of the papal office, upgrading the laity and against excessive clericalism, in favour of a more effective presence of women in the Church, above all in the decision-making bodies. And he comes out equally clearly in favour of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, especially with Judaism and Islam….
    From The Tablet

    http://www.thetablet.co.uk/texts-speeches-homilies/4/162/pope-francis-text-is-a-call-for-church-reform-at-all-levels-says-hans-k-ng

  52. When he was elected I was doing everything I could to think it would be ok. My friend was more aware and knew very soon it was bad. I finally saw it after the interviews. It is horrifying. If he succeeds in canonizing that drinker of the blood of the Martyrs John Paul II…I just don’t know…I don’t know what to think. Jesus and Mary please stop him from canonizing that man! Please listen to the martyrs crying for vengeance against what he did as the Pope!

  53. Three serious reasons authorize the faithful Catholic to doubt the merits of the new beatifications and canonizations.

    – Firstly, the reforms that followed the Council have produced as a consequence certain inadequacies in the process,

    – and secondly, they have introduced a new collegial intention, two consequences that are incompatible with the soundness of beatifications and the infallibility of canonizations.

    – Thirdly, the judgment that occurs in the process involves a conception of sanctity and heroic virtue at the very least equivocal and hence dubious.

    In the context resulting from the post-conciliar reforms, the pope and the bishops offer to the veneration of faithful Catholics authentic saints, but canonized at the conclusion of an inadequate and doubtful procedure.

    Thus there can be no doubt that Padre Pio, canonized after Vatican II, practiced the virtues in a heroic degree even though the new style of process that concluded with the proclamation of his virtues can only give one pause.

    On the other hand, the same procedure makes possible canonizations that would have once been unthinkable, in which the title of holiness is conferred upon faithful departed whose reputation is controversial and in whom the exercise of virtue in the heroic degree is not particularly outstanding. 
Is it certain that for the popes who have accomplished these newfangled canonizations, heroic virtue is what it was for all their predecessors until Vatican II?

    This unwonted situation can be explained by the confusion introduced by the post-conciliar reforms. It cannot be dispelled without getting to the root cause and examining the soundness of these reforms.

    ….from ‘DICI’, Documentation Information Catholiques Internationales……..

  54. I find it supremely hypocritical that a man who has approx. 6 Billion in investments, should call capitalism morally evil….

  55. Um… The references to scripture are in-line in EG. References to scripture abound in the document. There are several on almost every page. They just aren’t in the end notes. Get your facts straight.

  56. I found this very helpful.

    Evangelii Gaudium: grief for the faithful

    Fr. Franz Schmidberger, Rector of the SSPX seminary in Germany presents an short analysis of the Holy Father’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium published on November 24, 2013.
    http://sspx.org/en/evangelii-gaudium

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