On March 13, 2019 the Catholic Church reached six years with Pope Francis. I just want to say that it’s been a long six years. The man is the most liberal Pope in the history of the church. I’ve seen friends of mine leave the church under his leadership.
While Benedict and John Paul II weren’t conservative in the slightest, they were good politicians. Every now and then they’d throw out a bone to conservatives and Traditionalists to keep them happy. Francis does no such thing. He promotes all of the bad things from his two predecessors but none of the good ones. This may sound like a bad thing but it’s actually a good thing.
It’s a good thing because this papacy has forced people to wake up. They’re sick and tired of having their precious church not only tolerate homosexual child raping priests but actually having bishops protecting them. I think many decided that they’d had enough when the revelations of Archbishop Vigano came to light in August. I still remember where I was when I found that out. Was that ever a good day.
At this point many in the Catholic world woke up. It was very satisfying to see Taylor Marshall issue the following Tweet to Rorate Caeli. They were very gracious to accept his apology.
Other Catholics woke up as well. However, some have decided to remain in their state of deliberate delusion that nothing is wrong. I won’t name any names but most Catholics who follow the crisis in the Church know who they are.
Something that has really inspired me under this pontificate is the faith of the people who have stayed. While some friends of mine have gone over to Evangelicalism because they simply couldn’t take it anymore, many have stayed and because of that have seen a strengthening of faith. It’s been a blessing in more than one way.
Many are praying for a new Pope but here is where I disagree. I think Pope Francis needs to stay in another 10 or even 15 years. He’s actually the biggest weapon that the Traditional Catholics have. When we pray for the Pope it should be that he lives until 100 years of age and doesn’t resign. The longer he’s in, the more people wake up to the rot that was hidden under the politics of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
For those who have dabbled in the idea of joining the Church but have been deeply turned off by Francis, I say this:
Come on in and join the fight. God didn’t promise us comfort. The hand picked apostles of Jesus Christ failed the Lord in many ways but that didn’t mean that things were hopeless. The more good Catholics we have the better.
Six years on and I am unable to work out what Pope Francis is about!
Upon his election there were hopes for reform, but he appears to be just another conservative trying to bumble along the best he can. He has had an easy ride from the mainstream media, they love him probably because he does not appear to have firm principles and appears to refuse to judge people.
That said it’s probably a good thing that popes tend to be elected when they are old men, just imagine the mess that an energetic and enthusiastic one might make in this media age.
I also meant to add that if a pope is relatively young you are likely to be stuck with him for quite a while.
Allan. doubtless this has reached your ears:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/prominent-clergy-scholars-accuse-pope-francis-of-heresy-in-open-letter
The major accusations start from the bottom of Page 9 of the PDF letter.
Oh yes,
Some of my favorite people have signed it.
A lot of people point out at the Vatican II as the core of all problems the Church has today. It is hard to disagree but it surely is more than that. Reading the latest Joseph Ratzinger’s letter on the crisis within the Church – mostly focused on pedophilia – it is hard not to notice that our 2 former popes tried to maintain the traditional way of the Church while facing huge opposition from inside and outside.
Pope Francis’ speeches and actions are becoming more and more liberal, it is sometimes hard to distinguish between them and typical mainstream media reporting.
I see more Protestant elements within the Church and resistance of the faithful, sometimes even confusion. I am very worried about the way our Church is going to go. But if that is something that will make us stronger, then let it be.
I honestly think that the reason why homosexual “marriage” exists in Western countries is because the Catholic bishops were too cowardly and spineless to stand up to these cultural forces.
Francis is an interesting guy. Yes, he’s a liberal but there’s more to it. I don’t think he’ll be doing anything anytime soon with all of the scandals going on, the most recent being this heresy charge.
I agree with you. It is just frustrating to see the pope importuning Catholics for love and mercy and faith while at the same time I am yet to see him condemning the ‘progressive ideas’ as dangerous for Christians and Christian morality.
I think he believes that everyone has a chance to be heard, even if he disagrees with them. However, I don’t think he realizes that he’s giving these people a platform and now they’re mobilizing forces to promote their beliefs as an “optional view” withing the Church.
I have often said that the Church hierarchy are acting like politicians. The sad truth is that they’re not even being good politicians.