He has ridiculed the youth for being attached to the "old mass." You just can't make this stuff up. This after he helped empty the pews in Argentina. His philosophy (liberation theology)has been CONDEMNED by the two previous popes. He believes in the "spirit of vatican 2" which is satanic. He shares the same "seamless garment" philosophy as the late satanist/rapist/homosexualist cardinal Joeseph Bernadin. Who believes his is the "holy spirit" moving? Dumbfounsded also. One day after hearing a homily by a Franciscan priest whom I approached and he threw me out of the church and threatened to call the police on me (he appeared to be possessed), I questioned his homily and told him I knew about Bernadin, another Fransiscan came up to me and told me to take comfort in the following scripture: Acts 5:34-39 New International Version (NIV) 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
Just to be precise, I said God is perfect and cannot be unfaithful. But of course, He cannot make mistakes either. The so-called 'mistakes' were due to man's free will, which God turns into victories. His ways are not our ways. Yes, someone (apologies, I can't recall who exactly) just recently posted all the awful things that previous bad Popes have done. But really, these were in the overwhelming majority, personal sins of the Popes. BUT, no previous Pope has ever systematically laboured to invert the Truths of our Faith. No previous Pope has refused to acknowledge the Divinity of Christ, -by refusing to genuflect before Him in the Blessed Sacrament, while willingly getting on his knees to kiss the feet of mere men (and women and pagans), -by allowing people who do not believe in the Real Presence (Protestants) and those in public situations of mortal sin (adulterers) to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist, -by giving an interview to his favourite atheist journalist friend who said that this 'pope' does not believe that Christ was a god. -by saying that Jesus had to ask for forgiveness from His parents for His 'escapade'. No previous Pope has blasphemed against the Holy Trinity by claiming that the 3 Persons are fighting among Themselves behind doors but presenting a united front. No previous Pope made a public declaration that God willed the plurality of religions. No previous Pope said that prosetylism is a sin. No previous Pope has ignored Our Blessed Mother in favour of a pagan idol pachamama or ignored an important Marian day (the memorial of the Immaculate Conception) to allow an animal light show on the facade of St Peter's. No previous Pope has celebrated the Protestants' 'Reformation' and practically canonised the heretic Martin Luther. No previous Pope has honoured abortionists and homosexuals. No previous Pope has repeatedly insulted faithful Catholics. No previous Pope has insinuated/ stated that there is no hell and that the soul is not immortal (the soul just ceases to be). I could go on and on, but you get the picture. How is it possible for Jesus to have promised that Peter is the Rock upon which He founded His Church and yet have us end up with someone like Cardinal Bergoglio as pope? Cardinal Bergoglio is an obvious apostate. He is NOT Catholic. And if an apostate is sitting in the seat of Peter, and Benedict XVI is not the true Pope, then truly we have a situation where the See is vacant. +
Francis is especially troublesome. But he does appear to be our Pope. Believe me, this is embarrassing and distressing. It would be much, much easier be able to hear and say that Benedict is still Pope. But. He doesn't seem to be. After watching staunch Catholic after staunch Catholic leave over Pope Francis, and continuing to watch this happen, I am convinced that the only way through this debacle is to tune out the Holy Father charitably and just focus on Christ. I have heard a homily from a very wise and bright priest that said we must actually listen to the Holy Father, in the sense of listening to his homilies, but I don't think that is something I can do. Maybe I should try, but it's too difficult right now. I understand what you're saying and why. I wish I could agree, because that would make way more sense, but I can't.
I don't wish to get into (another) roundabout on this. We've done this many, many times and it goes nowhere. This all comes down to one basic point. You do not have the authority to declare a papacy vacated. Nor do any of the laity. It doesn't matter if what you think is true or not. And that's about all there is to it. If the faithful could just wash their hands of Pope Francis then at least one bishop or cardinal in the world would have done so. So how many have? Zero. Not even the SSPX have denied he is Pope. Guess why? Because they all know canon law and they know they do not have the power to do that. You are on very dangerous ground spiritually. I like you SG, but you're wrong on this.
Gracia, I hate to say this about a priest, but if any priest told you that you must listen to Pope Francis' homilies then he is just wrong. If the best thing for you to do spiritually is to just not listen to them and pray for him then that is what you should do. There have been many Catholics through the centuries who have lived and died never having heard or read a single word from any pontiff. Some didn't even know the Pope's name. We do need to pray for him, but we do not need to hang on his every word.
gracia, Very well said. I keep thinking that if this is in fact part of our chastisement then this God's plan. That doesn't mean that we should not be critical of the various things that we see occurring but continuing to look for a quick way out of the situation is not what we are supposed to be doing, imho. I saw some of the posts about a recent article from Mark Mallett comparing the attempt to impeach Donald Trump to the attempt to oust Pope Francis. I have not read MM's article but I have wondered about this also. I just find it a bit strange that both of these things are occurring simultaneously and I came to the conclusion that God wants us to note how absurd the Dems look who are using anything then can possibly come up with to impeach the president. Iow, good Catholics should take note of this and not pursue similar methods to oust the pope. I realize that we cannot actually oust the pope but to continue to go on and on about this, jumping from one reason to another why Pope Benedict is still the pope when he has stated that he was not pressured to resign is just too extreme in my opinion. It made some sense to discuss the possibilities but when they have all led to dead ends with no proof it is well past the time to move on imho.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. This was beginning to eat me up and make me feel guilty. Thank you, Sean.
That is an excellent point, and likely true. It looks weird. When the Dems do it and it looks weird, we look weird, too.
You're welcome Gracia, I'm so glad that helped. I'm sure the priest meant well, but sometimes spiritual advice is not a one-size-fits-all. And these are certainly not normal times. I think it was Fr. Wolfe who said it might even be good for the laity not to pay very much attention to what is going on in the Vatican. It can be unhealthy spiritually and also possible physically for some people. We just need to keep praying for the pope and bishops. That's all and try to remain in a state of Grace.
Yes, we must remember we don't know what we don't know. It had been taken for granted for many years by most people (myself included) that the phrase: "In Portugal, the Dogma of the Faith will always be preserved...etc." naturally means that the dogma will be preserved throughout the country of Portugal and that logically that might mean something is wrong with the dogmas in at least some other countries. But with only a sentence fragment we do not have enough to go on. The sentence could end in any number of ways. "In Portugal, the Dogma of the Faith will always be preserved...but only in the town of Fatima." or "In Portugal, the Dogma of the Faith will always be preserved...by a very few." or "In Portugal, the Dogma of the Faith will always be preserved...but it will be nearly lost." We just don't know what the rest of the sentence says. To be honest, Portugal is only a little better off than most other European countries and it is sliding downhill. In 2007 they legalized abortion. In 2010 they legalized so called "same-sex marriage." It is definitely no haven of Catholicism.
Now is probably a good time for all of us to read the Vatican 1 Dogmatic Constitutions; https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm It's important for us to note that there is no higher authority on earth than the Pope. Francis is the Pope because all the Bishops accepted the result of his election by the Cardinals at the Conclave. It is possible that he could be declared an anti-Pope or anathematised some time in the future but that can't happen during his lifetime - at least not unless he were to freely resign the papacy. Only a Pope has the authority to judge a Pope. It's very foolish for people to call for his resignation because even if Francis were to resign they are handing him an excuse to change his mind should he be dissatisfied with the governance of his successor. We're stuck with him and owe him obedience in all things but sin. Having said all that, I don't believe that the Pope who affirmed those Vatican 1 Dogmatic Constitutions would have issued Amoris Laetitia, signed the Abu Dhabi document or presided over the pagan ceremony in the Vatican gardens. It's more likely that had he envisaged being succeeded by the likes of Pope Francis he would have said a whole lot more about the obligations of a Pope to defend the Faith and not make known some new doctrine. For the sake of the Church and for the sake of our own souls, I don't believe we have any other choice than to accept that Francis is Pope and to oppose calls for his removal. Francis and his cronies are pulling out all the stops to reduce the power of his successors, especially any successor who would correct the heretical practices enabled by documents written in a way to enable such practices. Why help them by giving opponents of a future orthodox Pope reason to oust him?
No, this is true. The Pope's , the Pope and there you go. No one but God has the Authority to remove him. But that doesn't mean God is sitting up there with His arms folded waiting to see how things will pan out. https://catholicherald.co.uk/commen...lics-will-truly-stand-up-to-the-new-paganism/
http://atxcatholic.com/index.php/20...chael-the-archangel-in-colossae/#.XbQk3ehKg2x Angels & Dragons XXV: St. Michael the Archangel in Colossae St. Michael the Archangel was present in the life of the apostles and the early church from the very beginning. St. John the Evangelist wrote about St. Michael in the Book of Revelation, and others witnessed his prophecy at Colossae about the coming of St. Michael. When St. John the Evangelist went to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Ephesus, he noted that many of them had fallen into idolatry most especially toward the god Artemis. St. John raised his hands to heaven in sighs worshiping the true God, and the idol was toppled inside the temple. He continued praying, and the entire temple crumbled causing many to convert to the true faith. St. John then left for Lydia where he met up with the Apostle Philip, and they left for Colossae of Phrygia where the people worshipped a giant serpent. This is also the area where St. Paul would write the Letter to the Colossians. With much prayer and a spear, St. John and St. Philip slew the people’s idol. In retaliation, they crucified the Apostle Philip. When they were about to seize St. John, a giant earthquake followed resulting in many who asked for baptism.
Later, St. John the Evangelist received a prophetic vision that St. Michael the Archangel would appear and leave a miraculous spring for the healing of the people. This occurred a few days after St. John left the area. In the city of Laodicea (also spelled Laodikeia) lived a nobleman who was a Greek pagan with a daughter who was unable to speak from birth which caused him much sadness. St. Michael appeared to him in a dream and said, “If you want your daughter to be able to speak bring her to my water-spring and give her water from there…” The nobleman woke up in fear and trembling and did as St. Michael commanded. When he arrived, a crowd was already at the spring where many were being healed (recalling the gospel story of the Pool of Bethesda where a crowd awaited the healing angel – John 5:4.) The nobleman asked the many people gathered at the healing spring what words they uttered to receive healing, and they said, “We utter in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one in essence, and the chief commander Michael, the slave of the Trinity.” The nobleman with deep faith and prayer uttered the words and gave his mute daughter water from the spring to drink, and she immediately spoke for the first time saying, “God of the Christians, have mercy on me; Holy Archangel St. Michael help me, O Archangel St. Michael help me…” The nobleman and his daughter converted to the faith. He then built a beautiful church over the spring in honor of St. Michael the Archangel and the many miracles. Approximately ninety years later, a young boy named Archippos from Hierapolis traveled to the Church of Archangel Michael in Colossae where he lived for seventy years as the custodian of the shrine. Archippos was an ascetic praying unceasingly and caring for the people who came to the miraculous spring. Then, envious pagans about 5,000 in number, on seeing so many healings and conversions decided to divert the flow of two nearby rivers (Lykokaperos and Kufos Rivers) in order to kill Archippos and destroy the church with the healing spring. For ten days the pagans worked openly in front of Archippos, and his only weapon was prayer and asking for St. Michael’s intercession saying, “Blessed be God, I will not leave the oratory and I will not flee. But I too will die from the water, for I believe in God who will save me from pusillanimity and tempest through the intercession of Michael that he might not abandon this home of his or this land until the end of time.” After the ten days, the pagans broke the dams managing to make the two rivers flood toward the church and the healing spring. Archippos on hearing the roar of the rivers coming prayed Psalm 92:4-7 exclaiming, “The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices. The rivers will lift up their waves, at the voices of many waters. Wonderful are the surgings of the sea, wonderful on high is the Lord. Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.” He then cried out to St Michael for protection saying, “Holy Archangel of God, Michael protect your temple; do not let this sacred place be destroyed.” St. Michael appeared as a warrior in great brilliance. Archippos unable to withstand such a holy sight left to the church in fear and went prostrate on the ground. St. Michael then said, “I am the Archangel of the Lord, who stands before God. I am unable to look upon the fearful glory of the undetectable Lord and the unbearable light of the immeasurable power that comes from the sight of Him. But if you cannot bear the sight of me and you shudder at the form and power of his servant, then how will you look upon the One at whose side I stand trembling?” “Rise and stand on thy feet and come here outside in order to behold the invincible might of God.” Archippos stood up and St. Michael made the Sign of the Cross with his right hand upon the rock and upon the church saying, “Up to this point is thy flux.” St. Michael also made the Sign of the Cross over the two rivers, and they stood still forming a wall, as in the time of Moses at the Red Sea. St. Michael then struck the rock with his staff, and again, made the Sign of the Cross and said to the rivers, “Funnel the waters here.” With a loud booming sound, the earth parted in two, and the onrushing waters from the two rivers forming a wall were channeled into the opening made by St. Michael. The opening or chasm where the rivers entered was renamed “Chonae”, which means “plunging/funneling” which is often depicted in icons celebrating this great miracle. The two rivers became one stream at “Chonae” and then they split into two streams underneath, each of which passed around the holy spring of St. Michael, acting as protective moats around a castle. The pagan leaders fled in fear while thousands converted; Archippos (also spelled Archippus) went on to become a saint. On this day concerning the healing waters St. Michael stated, “In this place all sickness and weakness will be driven away, all poison and enchantment and energy of the wicked one. Those who are bound will be loosened together with those harassed by unclean spirits. Those who are ill will be healed and everyone who takes refuge in this place in faith and fear, calling upon the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and Michael the Archangel, by the name of God and mine, will not leave this place in grief. The grace of God and my power will shade this place in the name of the Trinity. Our enemies who stand and look at us will become petrified while the waters surround my shrine.” The split course of the rivers remains unchanged to this day for all the world to witness. Colossae was among the great cathedrals of the empire for many centuries; however, it was destroyed in the 12th century by the invading Turks and Arabs. The Feast Day for celebrating this miracle and the St. Michael healing spring at Colossae is September 6th. St. Michael the Archangel Ora Pro Nobis!
What wonderful stories on the protection of St Michael for God's people and for Holy Church. We shouldn't be despondent but should pray for God's intervention. He will not leave us undefended. Watch & pray
Its not the first time the Apostles, took to their heels, fled and left Jesus too it. Mary and the Holy women , on the other hand, stood firm. Perhaps it is the ladies who will show us all how to do it this time round too?
So, the Catholic Church has no way of declaring that a man elected as 'pope' is no longer 'pope' even if he were to exhibit/ be discovered to be non- Catholic in his beliefs, or even actually be a Muslim, a pagan or an atheist?
