Pope Francis has a gift. No, it’s not the gift of faith, but it’s a gift nonetheless, and that is the ability to communicate with remarkable clarity.
Yes, I know, Francis has long been criticized for creating a whirlwind of confusion among Catholics thanks, allegedly, to his unorthodox style and his proclivity for off-the-cuff remarks, but that’s not the case at all.
The real problem as it concerns all of the chaos surrounding this pontificate lies not so much with Francis as it does with those who try to shoehorn his words and deeds into a Catholic mold instead of simply taking him at his word and acknowledging him for who he is.
In other words, we might say that while Francis is broadcasting in crystal clear high definition via his own radio station, far too many of the faithful are tuned into a different, more Catholic, frequency where the transmission often experiences interference.
The heathens, the heretics, and the just plain worldly among us don’t have this problem. From day one, they have been on the same wave length as Francis; they hear him loud and clear, and they love him.
For instance, when the Bishop in White first appeared on the balcony at St. Peter’s like a deer in the headlights and uttered his first unforgettable words, many devout Catholics were a bit taken aback. The simple, the earthbound, and even the Church’s enemies, on the other hand, were charmed.
The difference?
They accepted that “Buona sera!” was pretty much all that he had to offer to the world at that moment; i.e., they simply took him at his word.
Yesterday, in his address to the Convention of the Italian Church in Florence, Francis once again demonstrated his gift for piercing clarity when he summed up the meaning of life according to Jorge, and likewise his understanding of the Church’s mission, thus:
“Our duty is to make this world a better place…”
No doubt, many of the faithful, clergy included, will receive these words and immediately take it upon themselves to impute to them (perhaps even subconsciously) some deeper Catholic meaning wherein our obligation to continue the work of redemption, to evangelize all nations and to strive for eternal salvation are simply presumed.
Those who are dialed-in to what the Francis is actually saying, by contrast, know better.
They realize and accept that Jorge Bergoglio really and truly believes that his duty, your duty, my duty, the State’s duty, the Church’s duty, etc., extends no further than to make this world a better place.
As for that other world that is eternal life?
Francis has “faith” (if you’ll excuse the expression) that this has been accomplished for all who but follow the example of Jesus; provided it is understood that the “Jesus” he has in mind is really little more than the first century Jew who went about doing good deeds.
As for his deeper underlying motives, let us repeat after Pope St. Pius X who said of the modernists (of which Francis is most certainly one), even as he judged the objective reality of their words and deeds with severity, “We leave out of consideration the internal disposition of soul, of which God alone is the judge.” (Pascendi – 3)
Point being, my friends, at the end of the day, Francis isn’t very confusing at all; at least not once we accept that his entire pontificate is fueled by nothing more than a misguided desire to make this world a better place – not objectively better, mind you, but rather “better” as he personally (and erroneously) conceives of such things.
Now, let me be clear; that is not to give him a pass for his cunningness in furthering an objectively evil agenda; much less do I wish to excuse his obvious hatred of all things traditional (aka Catholic) and those who embrace them, as if to suggest that I know that he means well.
I simply wish to acknowledge the sad truth regarding that upon which he relies as justification for his destructive behavior; feeble justification though it is.
Consider:
Francis wants the Church to stop behaving as if she has all the answers. He wants a poor Church for the poor. He wants the people of the world to embrace radical environmentalism. He wants open borders. He wants a synodal Church. He wants shepherds who follow and smell like the sheep. He wants a Church that is unconcerned with doctrines and rules and procedures. He wants all who wish to receive Holy Communion to be invited to come forth regardless of their disposition, and on and on the list could go.
And why does he want all of these things?
Because rather than believing what the Church believes; namely, that “the absolute and immutable truth preached by the Apostles from the beginning may never be believed to be different, and may never be understood in any other way” (cf Pope St. Pius X, Oath Against Modernism), he believes that if his desires come to fruition this world will be a better place.
It is for this very same reason that he works so mightily to promote the One-World Religion of Apostate Rome; encouraging heathens, heretics and Jews to join with us as “brothers and sisters” in service to the world.
As he stated in his recent audience wherein he professed what I called The Conciliar Creed of the Church of Man:
… we may be joined by many people who are not believers or who are in search of God and of the Truth, people who place at the centre the face of another person, in particular the face of a needy brother or sister. The mercy to which we are called embraces all of creation, which God entrusted to us so that we keep it, not exploit it or worse still, destroy it. We must always seek to leave the world better than we found it… [emphasis added]
By no mere coincidence, it is this same earthbound, spiritually bankrupt, and ultimately evil pursuit that inspires the Freemasons.
Conduct a search for information on Freemasonry and you will find that practically all of the literature promoting membership therein includes such statements as the following found on the website internationalmasons.org:
The doors of Freemasonry are open to men who seek harmony with their fellow man, feel the need for self-improvement and wish to participate in making this world a better place to live. [emphasis added]
One ponders the impetus for the Franciscan reign of terror in vain searching for anything more profound than this:
Francis, no doubt with the Devil’s help, has convinced himself that he is laboring, just as he has been telling us all along, to make the world a better place.
This is what moves both the Mason, and the current Bishop of Rome, to act as they do.
As Porky Pig says, That’s all folks!
A Humanist’s Humanist is Papam Bergoglio.
To paraphrase Will Rogers Sr:
‘I never read a Doctrine That I LIKED.’
I believe that now, after reading “Tuning into Francis,” the static and seeming complexity of Francis’s words will be reduced to their (unfortunate) simplicity and clarity. Brilliantly written!
Bergoglio and the Prince of the World speak the same language. They understand each other very well.
I believe the Bergoglio-Scalfari connection should be investigated more closely. From my own research online, there is a very good chance Scalfari is a Freemason himself (or at the minimum associated with Freemasonry, which amounts to the same thing) – moreover, Scalfari’s own father was a prominent Freemason and helped found a FM lodge – and THIS is the man that Mr Bergoglio chooses time again to conduct his interviews with??
THIS is the man to whom Bergoglio says, “There is no CATHOLIC God???”
What God does Bergoglio believe in?
Hear the other side.
Saint Augustine
I keep getting so depressed when this Pope opens his mouth.
He is incapable of ever saying anything that reaffirms the Traditional Catholic Faith.
His recent statement about the Church’s doctrine not being a closed system is yet another case in point.
Perhaps he needs to go back to basic Catholic Teachings Class 1.01 a learn that revelation stopped with the close of the New Testament period and the Apostles. Certainly God continues to guide His Church to EXPLAIN and CLARIFY doctrine and to DENOUNCE FALSE DOCTRINE – as the Councils of the Church have done for 2000 years, but no new doctrine can be stated, no matter how much Kasper, O’Brien, Kung, or countless others may want to.
Surely His Holiness understands that the proclamation of the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption were not seen as new doctrines but as simply making explicit what had been always believed.
No one has the authority to either cancel a doctrine of the Church or to proclaim a new one. As I said, the proclamations about the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption were seen, as carefully pointed out by the Pope at the time, as making clear something that was fully part of the doctrinal teaching of God’s Church – they were not seen as new revelations that somehow had been invented 2000 years after revelation closed.
So why does this Pope and his mob keep wanting to suggest that up until now the Church has got it all wrong? They are telling us that the Church has been harsh, nasty, unmerciful for 2000 years, and that NOW we are finally waking up and becoming enlightened.
So out with any words of Our Lord that sound too harsh, no nastiness about those who remarry after divorce, forget Scripture, forget what Our Lord said, after all He was simply a man of his times – rigid, harsh, post Mosaic ( a few years ago those words would have earnt you the title of blasphemer and heretic – but we are much more enlightened now).
Will someone please try and stop the present Pope from opening his mouth – every time he does I end up depressed.
These four words on their own mean nothing. What is the context in which they were stated?
EM I’m sorry if I am wrong but I have to believe….by the way of reading many of your posts here (basically all quotes)…that you are surely a member of the heretical vatican 2 religion. Why do you post on this site?
“Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”
Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”
Matthew 14:70
This article is entirely to the point. I believe the logical approach to interpreting Bergoglio is not to begin with the presumption that he is a Catholic, but rather to begin with the (rebuttable) presumption that he is an average Westerner.
In other words, he has to prove that he is distinct from the average Westerner by actually advocating Catholicism.
Short but one of the best explanations of his words and actions that I have read. Now I feel that I understand much better what he does and says and why. Not good news though!
The only way to peace is a collegial consecration of Russia which every Pope since 1929 has failed to do. Sister Lucy quotes our Lord:
[i]The pastors of the Church, however, chose to delay and, on August 19, 1931, Our Lord Himself appeared to Sister Lucy in Rianjo, Spain and expressed His displeasure, saying “make it known to My ministers that, given they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution My command, they will follow him also into misfortune.” [i] http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/consecra.asp
These popes think that through speeches in front of microphones and cameras and back room deals they can effect change for peace. How wrong they are and how soon will be their misfortune. Prayer.
Wolemai, I believe that duct tape comes in many colors and designs, including rainbow. I don’t know of anything else (humanly speaking) that can shut this guy up. He is an maniacal egotist (much like the Fuhrer) who loves the sound of his own voice. We may have to resort to earplugs!
Right on Dumb_ox. This article settles it in my mind.
Delusions of grandeur. You’re not Jesus.
He showed himself to be an opponent of the Faith and fundamental moral law from the beginning.
Dear Rich, It is wrong to make personal accusations against other commenters. Address the objective. We must presume good faith on the part of others unless it’s reasonably shown otherwise. Mr Verrechio decides whom to permit to comment on his site.
Our Lady told us if certain actions were taken the apostasy in the Church would end.
Wolemai, do not be depressed or discouraged. The darker it gets around us the closer our Blessed Mother is to us. Pray for courage, fortitude, wisdom, call on Mary, there are no cowards in Heaven. I will pray for you.
It is wrong to support belial before all the world claiming one is supporting Christ. There are a lot of wrong things going on, a lot which pass through this agora, but asking a manifest hypocrite to change their ways is not wrong.
PS. Louie does leave in the stream or get rid of this or that commenter (unfortunately one or two of the most erudite therefore compunctive – no room for hard-core Medieval Mission here). Meantime, let’s comment with conviction. There are hot, cold and wishy-washy on this site (a microcosm of the confused ‘narratives’ of those who claim Christ, coming up against those who conform to Christ, to those who couldn’t care less so long as the freemasonic ‘temple’ gets built in time.)
Just think, like all men of the flesh, he is wrong in every decision he takes. He’s like Obama, completely in parallel with Obamanation. Every direction he takes in foreign policy benefits Muslims and Marxists in one way or another and Francis does the same thing, caring only what the outsider thinks so that THEY love him: neglecting the sheep and their smells. He wants Buddhists and Hindus and Musselmen and everyone but US! Its all calculated. Its deliberate – false paths and false doctrine – then he throws a bone to the conservatives in his 20th decision to throw them of guard and make them think, “Gee, he’s all right after all! Boy I was (secretly) starting to feel a slight concern come over me.” Accentuate the postive – like dr john!
Someone interviewed an anonymous ex-Jesuit the other day and it was getting a shade darker every few lines until the questioner came right out and asked, you mean he’s like the mafia? and the reply – “much worse…you’ll see.”
And please, think with the Holy Apostles. Paul wrote in chains, in inexpressible joy. The Latin is “Sentire Scriptura.” If you read the New Testiment in a new way, say by chronological order (it starts with Thessalonians), and follow it like a living great drama, the word will seep in very deep, the holy fear stirs up, and a kind of holy excitement arouses the SPirit – a warm low-burn on your face feeling, “The zeal of the Lord is my strength!” God bless you all dear brethren!
It is inevitable that you should feel the rub of other people’s characters against your own. After all, you are not a gold coin that everyone likes.
Besides, without that friction produced by contact with others, how would you ever lose those corners, those edges and projections — the imperfections and defects — of your character, and acquire the smooth and regular finish, the firm flexibility of charity, of perfection?
If your character and the characters of those who live with you were soft and sweet like sponge-cake you would never become a saint.
St Josemaria Escriva
Thank you for your words of encouragement tmarie.
Much appreciated.
I particularly pray for my family which includes 13 grandchildren. Oh how the leaders of the Church are letting our young people down, by not presenting and defending the fullness of the Faith.
Thank you for your comment that you will pray for me. Nothing is more important than prayer and nothing is more powerful.
I love you, man! You are spot on.
Having lived in DC, I learned, rather unwillingly, that the means to effective political lying is not just to talk around an issue, but also to just “say less than necessa . . .”
The latter is the sneakiest way to communicate. First, he relies on manufactured appearances and poser body language to send false unconscious emotional, cognitive and psychological messages. Second, he employs a deeper deceit by playing with peoples’ train of thought by essentially beginning a thought, and letting everyone else finish that thought in their heads without realizing that they have been COMPLETELY MANIPULATED.
I like how you make second deceit I have enumerated in my latter point come to light. Kudos!