Why would he do it? What message is he sending?
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Tag: pope francis
At the Register: Doctrine doesn’t change over the phone
Ring-ring.
Hello?
Hi, it’s the Pope, and guess what? It’s OPPOSITE DAY!
From Conversations that didn’t, won’t, and wouldn’t happen, vol. 836
At the Register: Great New Children’s Book about the Papacy (updated with link this time!)
Our Holy Father, the Pope: The Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present would make a very good addition to the library of any Catholic child. Quick review here. This week or next, I’ll be doing a few more book reviews of some of the excellent children’s books coming out of Ignatius/Magnificat.
At the Register: Mother Church says, “Yes, you may.”
In which I remind us all that baptism is a beginning, not a trophy for winners; and in which I briefly long for an icon depicting Christ the Sneaker-Upper.
I wish I had worked this in, but do yourself a favor and read Max Lindenman’s short little jewel of an essay, “Catholics Do Not Throw People Away.”
At the Register: When it comes to building a community . . .
Prepare yourself . . .
for a lot of baleful head shaking over this story from Franciscophobes: Pope’s Sharp Words Make a Wealthy Donor Hesitate.
Because when people say, “Francis has made me interested in the Church again, and I’m thinking of going to Mass for the first time in twenty years!” then that’s proof that his kind of evangelization is shallow and meaningless. How do we know they’re the real deal? (After all, when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, and over 3,000 people were baptized that day, we know for sure that every last one those converts understood and were fully prepared to accept every tiny iota of the Gospel with no reservations and with complete and thorough fervor and sincerity.)
People returning to the sacraments? Pff. That’s the last thing we want. But we’re talking about losing money here, folks. MONEY. You see? You see how the corrosive influence of this hateful man is beginning to play out? Francis the Destroyer strikes again!!!!1!!
Pope calls sick traditionalist Catholic, says criticism “important”
From Rorate Caeli:
Mario Palmaro, the Italian traditional Catholic writer and journalist who has authored many books and articles together with his friend Alessandro Gnocchi … told Italian daily Libero about [the telephone call from the Pope]. In September and October, after a very critical article published in Il Foglio, Palmaro and Gnocchi were summarily fired by Catholic broadcaster Radio Maria after several years of work in the station.
Palmaro says:
“Pope Francis told me that he was very close to me, having learned of my health condition, of my grave illness, and I clearly noticed his deep empathy, the attention for a person as such, beyond ideas and opinions, while I live through a time of trial and suffering.”
“I was astonished, amazed, above all moved: for me, as a Catholic, that which I was experiencing was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life. But I felt the duty to remind the Pope that I, together with Gnocchi, had expressed specific criticisms regarding his work, while I renewed my total fidelity [to him] as a son of the Church. The Pope almost did not let me finish the sentence, saying that he had understood that those criticisms had been made with love, and how important it had been for him to receive them.” [These words] “comforted me greatly.”
Read the rest here.
Three cheers for Deal Hudson!
It’s short. Go read the whole thing:
Dr. Deal W Hudson: Don’t Call Me a Conservative Catholic Anymore
Real BOMFOG
Last week, I did the last thing Pope Francis would want: I yelled at people for not liking Pope Francis. A few commenters pointed out that it doesn’t help anyone to cement the “us vs. them” mentality, when we’re all supposed to be part of the same family. “BOMFOG,” they used to call it — brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God — I guess because Nelson Rockerfeller used to use the phrase constantly, maybe thoughtlessly, in his speeches.
Well, so, now Pope Francis is calling what’s called an “extraordinary synod” to discuss the subject of family. And man, this is not going to be any thoughtless, jargoned hot air. According to the Catholic Herald:
The extraordinary synod will see heads of Eastern churches, presidents of the bishops’ conferences, and heads of Curia offices gather at the Vatican from October 5 – 19 for a meeting entitled “Pastoral Challenges of the Family in Context of Evangelisation”.
A 1969 extraordinary session was dedicated to improving cooperation between the Holy See and national bishops’ conferences; and a 1985 extraordinary session, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council, recommended the compilation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was published seven years later.
Pope Francis had told reporters accompanying him on his plane back from Rio de Janeiro in July that the next synod would explore a “somewhat deeper pastoral care of marriage,” including the question of the eligibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
He added that at the time that Church law governing marriage annulments also “has to be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufficient for this. It is complex, the problem of the pastoral care of marriage.” Such problems, he said, exemplified a general need for forgiveness in the Church today.
“The Church is a mother, and she must travel this path of mercy, and find a form of mercy for all,” the Pope added.
Go, Papa! Bring this family of man together.
Let’s All Panic Over Franciscogenic Papal Change!!!!!!!
This morning, I read Dolan confirms error in Scalfari interview in the National Catholic Reporter. It confirms that there was at least one factual error in Scalfari’s interview: he suggests that Francis, upon hearing of his election, left the Sistine Chapel, panicked, wanted to decline, then got his head together, felt better, and went out to get dressed. But
As veteran Italian Vatican writer Andrea Tornielli has pointed out, however, there is no room next to the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, which is located in the middle of a long hallway, raising doubt about the literal accuracy of the quotation.
In any event, Dolan said, the sequence put on the pope’s lips by Scalfari is out of order.
Francis did not hesitate before accepting his election, Dolan said, although there was a moment later when he paused in prayer before stepping out onto the balcony for the “Habemus Papam” announcement.
Okay, not such a big deal, right? We’re still weathering this huge FRANCIS CRISIS, which is going to spell DOOM AND DISASTER for everybody and everything, and the SEA LEVELS WILL RISE and there will be GIRL CARDINALS, and puppy dog cardinals, and Benedict’s name will be chiseled off all the walls, and the speaking of Latin will be punished with excommunication, and there will be dogs and cats living together, and so on.
Then there’s this:
Respected French Vatican writer Jean-Marie Guénois confirmed with Scalfari that he didn’t tape the interview, nor did he take notes, so the text was an after-the-fact reconstruction.
He didn’t tape the interview. He didn’t take notes.
He didn’t tape the interview. He didn’t take notes.
He didn’t tape the interview. He didn’t take notes.
I’m just a teeny, two-bit, part-time writer on the very outer fringes of what could possibly be considered journalism, and even I know that this is outrageous. Insanely irresponsible. Something that should make people lose their jobs and all credibility forever. Holy shit. As my sister Devra Torres said, “So we’re commenting on a bad translation of a hazy memory in the mind of a presumably heavily biased source.” One more thing? Scalfari is 88 years old. But I’m sure his memory is completely accurate.
So, I know this is a big deal. But not for one second do I think that the Francis haters will so much as bat an eye. We’ll get a shrug and a grimace, and they’ll continue with their self-congratulatory dirge celebrating mourning this tragic decline of the papacy.
Why? Because Francis haters are like the prophets of climate change. No matter what happens, it’s just more evidence for what they’ve been telling us all along. Got a hurricane? Expect to see more and more of this kind of thing, because climate change! One of the calmest hurricane seasons in the last 62 years? Continue to panic! Because climate change! Polar ice caps melting? You see, that’s climate change! Polar ice caps growing and getting icier? Have you not been listening???? This isclassic climate change.
When you’re completely wedded to the idea of anthropogenic climate change, bad news is bad news, and good news is bad news, too.
Same with the Francis haters. Absolutely anything you say about the man — and about the demonstrable, incontrovertable good effects of his papacy — it’s all just more evidence of bad news. They don’t like what he says, and then they hear that he didn’t actually say it, and the response is, “I’m tired of the excuses!” Okay. So you’re tired of the truth? Yeah, I thought so.
Even things that have nothing to do with him are magically attributed to his malign influence. And when we hear about — oh, people becoming interested in the Church again . . . people asking their Catholic friends questions, because they’ve heard there’s something interesting going on in Rome . . . people considering joining RCIA, or getting their marriages regularized, or going to confession in droves . . . well, there you have it. Proof that Francisogenic Papal Change is ruining the Church. Because they are not the right kind of people, you see. Their hearts aren’t having the right kind of conversion. Their experience of the love and mercy of Christ isn’t authentic enough. How can you be so blind? THIS IS A CRISIS, PEOPLE.
Because if it’s not a crisis, we might have to change how we look at the world.
Well, we shall see, won’t we. If the climate really is changing, there’s not a hell of a lot we can do about it. If Francis really is ushering in a new era, he is the Pope, and he calls the shots. So we’ll see what’s changing, and why, and how it all shakes out. I’m putting my faith in the Holy Spirit. If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you’ll know that
The wind is blowing, and so far, it feels good.