Last Thursday, Francis delivered outstanding advice to the bishops of the world via his Santa Marta homily.
Extolling the attributes of a true shepherd, Francis pointed to St. Paul as the prime example.
As reported by Vatican Radio:
“The Good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep,” said Pope Francis during his homily, drawing inspiration from the readings of the day and dwelling on the characteristics that a shepherd should have. The Pope noted in Saint Paul, the figure of the “true shepherd”, who does not abandon his sheep unlike a “mercenary”.
Francis went on to highlight three qualities shared by all true shepherds, the first of which “is to be passionate, zealous, zealous.”
The second characteristic, he said, is the ability to discern:
He knows what seduction in life is. The lying father is a seducer. The Shepherd, is not. The shepherd loves. Instead, the snake, the father of lies, is a seducer. He is a seducer trying to turn away from fidelity…
Finally, he says, the bishop must have “the ability to denounce.”
An apostle cannot be naive: ‘Ah, it’s all right, let’s go ahead, eh? It’s all right … Let’s party, everyone … everything is possible …’. because there is the fidelity to the only groom, to Jesus Christ, to be defended. And he knows how to condemn it: that concreteness, to say ‘ no.’
At this, he came to the single most important piece of advice he has ever given, not only to bishops, but to all faithful Catholics who wish to protect others from the lies of the seducer:
The Good Shepherd can denounce, by name and surname as St. Paul did.
I have little doubt that a great many prelates in the Church enjoy, by the grace of God, the ability to discern evil insofar as it is present in the words and deeds of Francis.
This is especially the case with respect to Amoris Laetitia.
Many of them know very well that this exhortation contains the seductive lies of the Evil One. They know that having been published on Vatican letterhead and disseminated throughout the entire world makes it extraordinarily dangerous. They know that the text of the exhortation, if followed, will lead many souls to “turn away from fidelity.’
They know it.
And yet, they remain all but silent.
Why?
Ironically, Francis told us the reason:
They are not willing to give their life – a life of prestige, of luxury, of human respect – for their sheep. They are not willing to suffer – retribution, scorn, demotion – in exchange for the good of the flock.
If only they would follow the advice that was given by Francis himself, not only would they publicly condemn Amoris Laetitia for the act of seduction that it is; they would denounce, by name and surname, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
With all of this in mind, Francis concluded his remarks by offering a prayer that (wonders never cease) we will do well in some way to make our very own:
For all the shepherds of the Church, for Saint Paul who intercedes before the Lord, for all pastors in order to serve the Lord.
Was he speaking as pope of the Catholic Church or as pope of the conciliar church?
The position of the SSPX is that the pope is head of two different churches-the Catholic Church and the post-conciliar Church (see reference and link below), so one needs to know which he is referring to each time he speaks since clearly, the differences between the two churches are irreconcilable.
Gustavo Corcao in the periodical “Itineraires” November 1974 and then Father Bruckberger in “L’Aurore” March 18, 1976 publicly pointed out:
“The religious crisis no longer consists, as in the 16th century, in having simultaneously two or three Popes for one Church. The crisis today is to have one Pope for two Churches, the Catholic Church and the post-conciliar Church.”
http://www.dominicansavrille.us/is-there-a-conciliar-church/
Katherine, that is a terrific article you linked. Once again the SSPX makes a grear case that V2 ushered in a new religion, with new Rites, new Canon Law, new Saints, etc. And yet once again the SSPX makes a convoluted argument as to how a heretic can be a Pope. No one is arguing that Francis is “pope” of the conciliar church. What should be crystal clear to all is that the conciliar church CAN NOT by logic and reason be the Catholic Church.
Ok Katherine, that is simply ludicrous and made me laugh out loud. I guess it’s enough to make anyone lose their marbles, unless you can truly see it all for what it really is: the “operation of error” at its finest.
The Holy, Roman Catholic Church is CHRIST-centered. The V2 new “church” is MAN-centered. These opposite positions cannot be reconciled. “He who is not with Me, is against Me.” It appears to me that the SSPX leadership feels they can walk a fine line between the True Church of Christ and the pseudo-church of Man. It isn’t possible. Years ago, I would have said that +Fellay was guarding the fortress of Traditional Catholicism as a true shepherd protects his flock. Today, I am not so sure. A true shepherd would not treat the wolf as a “friendly enemy”.
Tom A: That link was actually provided by Charmaine who responded on June 26th to Louie’s article “Did SSPX France issue a non serviam to Bishop Fellay?”
After reading it, I had to ask the question. Because it is so illogical and beyond common sense to believe the Vicar of Christ can be the head of the one Church instituted by Christ and at the same time be the head of a separate, distinctly non-Catholic church. They speak of diabolical disorientation when speaking about the conciliar church but isn’t this a sign of the same diabolical disorientation affecting them?
Too, I thought this post by Maryiloveher on June 23rd in the same article was also very strange (disoriented). Archbishop Lefebvre, who on the one hand, recognized the conciliar church is not the Catholic Church and yet, always wanted the SSPX to be “recognized” by it.
This is what Maryiloveher posted:
Archbishop Lefebvre two quotes:
“I should be very happy to be excommunicated from this Conciliar Church… It is a Church that I do not recognize. I belong to the Catholic Church.”
“So we are [to be] excommunicated by Modernists, by people who have been condemned by previous popes. So what can that really do? We are condemned by men who are themselves condemned…”
So true, Louie. The pastors have a decision to make and almost all of them make the wrong one. They are afraid of Francis and losing their cushy jobs. However, amazingly, they are not afraid of Almighty God and of losing their souls! They are blinded by Satan and it’s their own fault. Poor fools. If they only knew what awaits them at the judgement, they would immediately become fearless defenders of the faith and run, walk or swim to Rome to confront Francis to his face. Let us pray for these poor shepherds that they realize their fear is in the wrong person.
Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesied falsehood, and the priests clapped their hands: and my people loved such things: what then shall be done in the end thereof?
I think Francis knows that, if they don’t take up this kind invitation now, they never will.
Why is it that every time I look at the photo above, I feel like yawning?