Help needed for a research project

Regular visitors to this blog already have a sense for the mission of my apostolate, but I’ll state it here for any newcomers:

My work is broadly ordered toward defending the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine, authentically understood as the Faith that comes to us from the Apostles, transmitted over the course of the centuries “in its entirety and preciseness … pure and integral, without any attenuation or distortion.” (Quote taken from the instructions given to the Council Fathers of Vatican II by Pope John XXIII)

Unfortunately, threats to the doctrine of the faith in our day, invited by way of imprecision and ambiguity, are all-too-often the result of what the Director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, recently described as a “new genre of papal speech that’s deliberately informal and not concerned with precision.”

In the process, a deeply troubling pattern has repeatedly emerged:

– Pope Francis delivers, in either word or deed, a message that is difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with Catholic thought

– Widespread confusion and unrest ensues; the mainstream media exploits the opportunity to do the Devil’s bidding, while neo-con commentators explain away the pope’s irresponsible rhetoric, attacking anyone who dares to compare what the Pontiff actually said with what the Church actually believes

– In the aftermath of these now common occurrences, the pope does not issue corrections and clarifications intended to bring his comments back in line with the authentic doctrine; on the contrary, he often trumps himself with new and even more unsettling rhetoric

The attentive observer will have noticed that the pope isn’t so much committing “gaffes” as in a series of unrelated, ill-worded statements; rather, over time his comments reflect a noticeable consistency, wherein one envisions the pope weaving together the threads of thought from which the fabric of his papacy will eventually emerge.

For example, when Pope Francis proclaimed, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense,” those who are paying close attention immediately recognized the following consistent line of thought dating all the way back to the General Congregation of Cardinals just days before the conclave:

– Cardinal Bergoglio gives a reflection in the pre-conclave gathering on the topic of evangelization, wherein he makes it clear that he imagines that the world has something to offer the Church (life) as opposed to the Church having something to offer the world (eternal life by way of conversion to the one true faith)

– The newly elected pope met on the first full day of his papacy with 6,000 journalists and their families. The Holy Father withheld the Sign of the Cross and refused to invoke the Blessed Trinity “out of respect for the consciences of all,” a reference to the non-Catholics in the room

– The pope referred to religious diversity as “a gift”

– The pope stated in a General Audience, “Do you need to convince the other to become Catholic? No, no, no!”

You get the point; all of these statements are interrelated.

It occurs to me that one can only fully grasp the “mind of the pope” and the direction in which he intends to take the Church if his individual statements of questionable orthodoxy are viewed in context with the growing body of similar, previous comments.

In the process, one comes to realize that what Fr. Lombardi attempted to excuse as a “new genre of papal speech … not concerned with precision” is really nothing of the sort; rather, this pope appears to be quite concerned with delivering precisely the message he wishes to deliver.

As a writer, ready access to a depository of such commentary would be of great value both to me and to others.

This is the purpose of the Defensor Doctrinae Project, and I am requesting your kind assistance in launching it.

What I would like to do, with your help, is to build a depository of the pope’s doctrinally questionable statements, properly referenced, dated, and sourced with links to reliable outlets (e.g, the website of the Holy See, CNS, CNA, etc.).

I would also like to catalog those statements wherein the Holy Father makes his hostility toward tradition known; e.g., disparaging the Rosary counting “Pelagians,” and those who seek doctrinal security, etc.

To that end, I would like to invite you to record entries of this nature in the comment section below.

NOTE: I am interested in your thoughts, pro and con, on the project itself, and I have created a separate post specifically for such feedback and discussion. I would ask that you please limit your comments in this post to Defensor Doctrinae entries only, keeping them brief and to the point.

EXAMPLE:

“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.” Scalfari interview October 1, 2013

In time, I will organize the entries on a separate page on this site along with a process for submitting updates. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Latest Comments

  1. Tom Policinski October 19, 2013
  2. Sine Nomine October 19, 2013
  3. Alph October 19, 2013
  4. Martina October 19, 2013
  5. Martina October 19, 2013
  6. Martina October 19, 2013
  7. Martina October 19, 2013
  8. Martina October 19, 2013
  9. Joe October 20, 2013
  10. Kevin October 20, 2013
  11. Dumb ox October 20, 2013
  12. Jack Archer October 20, 2013
  13. Jack Archer October 20, 2013
  14. Jack Archer October 20, 2013
  15. Jack Archer October 20, 2013
  16. Jack Archer October 20, 2013
  17. Jack Archer October 20, 2013
  18. Julie Jacob October 20, 2013
  19. Julie Jacob October 20, 2013
  20. Martina October 22, 2013
  21. M J Cronin October 22, 2013
  22. Kevin October 22, 2013
  23. Dumb_ox October 22, 2013
  24. Dumb_ox October 23, 2013
  25. Julie Jacob October 24, 2013
  26. Julie Jacob October 24, 2013
  27. Martina October 24, 2013
  28. Dumb_ox October 24, 2013
  29. Martina October 24, 2013
  30. Martina October 24, 2013
  31. Martina October 24, 2013
  32. Martina October 24, 2013
  33. Martina October 24, 2013
  34. Bailey October 25, 2013
  35. Dumb_ox October 25, 2013
  36. Dumb_ox October 25, 2013
  37. Julie Jacob November 5, 2013
  38. Dumb_ox November 6, 2013
  39. Dumb_ox November 7, 2013
  40. Dumb_ox November 7, 2013
  41. Dumb_ox November 9, 2013
  42. Dumb_ox November 11, 2013
  43. Dumb_ox November 12, 2013
  44. Dumb_ox November 14, 2013
  45. Dumb_ox November 16, 2013
  46. Dumb_ox November 16, 2013
  47. Dumb_ox November 18, 2013
  48. Dumb_ox November 19, 2013
  49. Dumb_ox November 19, 2013
  50. Dumb_ox November 19, 2013
  51. Dumb_ox November 19, 2013
  52. Dumb_ox November 20, 2013
  53. Dumb_ox November 20, 2013
  54. Dumb_ox November 21, 2013
  55. Dumb_ox November 21, 2013
  56. Dumb_ox November 23, 2013
  57. Dumb_ox November 24, 2013
  58. Dumb_ox November 25, 2013
  59. Dumb_ox November 28, 2013
  60. Dumb_ox November 30, 2013
  61. Dumb_ox December 1, 2013
  62. Dumb_ox December 3, 2013
  63. Dumb_ox December 10, 2013
  64. Dumb_ox December 12, 2013
  65. Dumb_ox December 15, 2013
  66. Dumb_ox December 15, 2013
  67. Dumb_ox December 15, 2013
  68. Dumb_ox December 18, 2013
  69. Dumb_ox December 23, 2013
  70. Dumb_ox January 5, 2014
  71. Dumb_ox January 8, 2014
  72. Dumb_ox January 16, 2014
  73. Dumb_ox January 17, 2014
  74. Dumb_ox January 19, 2014
  75. Dumb_ox January 24, 2014
  76. Dumb_ox February 7, 2014
  77. Dumb_ox February 14, 2014
  78. Dumb_ox March 11, 2014
  79. Dumb_ox March 20, 2014
  80. Dumb_ox April 15, 2014
  81. Dumb_ox April 29, 2014
  82. Dumb_ox June 3, 2014