Vatican City, Apr 16, 2017 / 03:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In a lengthy interview with EWTN’s German television branch, Benedict XVI’s closest aide describes how the retired pontiff is doing as he turns the milestone age of 90, giving a rare look into what life is like for the Pope Emeritus.
Archbishop Gänswein has been Benedict’s personal secretary since 2003, while the latter was still Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He has remained close at Benedict’s side throughout his papacy, resignation and his life of retirement.
In anticipation of Benedict XVI’s 90th birthday, which this year falls on Easter Sunday, April 16, Gänswein gave a lengthy interview to EWTN.TV in German, sharing insights into how the Pope Emeritus plans to celebrate his birthday and highlights and personal memories of his pontificate.
Among other things, the archbishop recalls how Benedict handled his election, the frequently negative media-firestorm that enveloped much of his pontificate, his hope for what people take from his papacy as well as how he spends his days in retirement.
Please read below for the full interview with Archbishop Gänswein, conducted by the head of EWTN.TV Martin Rothweiler, and translated from the original German by EWTN’s Silvia Kritzenberger:
EWTN.TV: The question everyone’s interested in is, of course: How is Pope Benedict? The Psalm says: “Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years.” That happens to be psalm 90. And now on the 16th of April, Pope Benedict will celebrate his 90th birthday! How is he?
Gänswein: Yes, indeed, on Easter Sunday he will turn 90! Considering his age, he is remarkably well. He is also in good spirits, very clear in his head and still has a good sense of humor. What bothers him are his legs, so he uses a walker for help, and he gets along very well. And this walker guarantees him freedom of movement and autonomy. So, for a 90-year old, he is doing pretty well – even though, from time to time, he complains of this or that minor ailment.
EWTN.TV: How will he celebrate his birthday?
Gänswein: On Easter Sunday, priority will of course be given to liturgy. On Easter Monday, in the afternoon, we will hold a small celebration. He wanted something not too exhausting, appropriate to his strengths. He didn’t want to have a big celebration. That was never an option for him. A small delegation from Bavaria will come, the Mountain troops will come… The Bavarian Prime Minister will come to the monastery, and there we will hold a small birthday party in true Bavarian style!
EWTN.TV: Have you any idea if Pope Francis will come to see him?
Gänswein: That is quite likely. He will surely do so.
EWTN.TV: No one knows Pope Benedict better than you – apart from his brother Georg Ratzinger. How did you get to know Pope Benedict?
Gänswein: Actually, through literature. Back in the day, when I was just about to finish gymnasium, my parish priest gave me Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity, urging me: “You absolutely have to read this! That’s the future!” I said: “Okay, but have you read it?” “No,” he replied, “but you have to read it!” And I did. Later, when I started to study theology in Freiburg, and then in Rome, and then again back in Freiburg, I had practically read everything the then-professor and cardinal had written. But it was only 21, or maybe 22 years ago, that I finally met him in person here in Rome, when I was asked to become a collaborator of the Roman Curia … More concretely, I met him in the Teutonic College, that is, in the chapel, where Cardinal Ratzinger used to celebrate Mass for the German pilgrims every Thursday, joining us for breakfast. That was how the first personal contact with Cardinal Ratzinger came about, and since then we never lost that contact.
EWTN.TV: At some point, he decided to call you to his side. Why did his choice fall on you?
Gänswein: Well, you must know that I didn’t come directly to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; my first employment was at the Congregation for Divine Worship. But when, in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a German priest left after a certain period of time in order to go back to Germany, Ratzinger asked me to come. “I think you are suitable for the post, and I would like you to come,” he said to me. “If you agree, I would like to speak with the respective authorities.” And he did. That was how it came about that, in 1996, I entered the staff of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a post I held until 2003. Afterwards, he made me his Personal Secretary – which I still am, to this very day.
EWTN.TV: What was your first impression of him? What did you think when he called you to work closely with him?
Gänswein: My first thought was: Have I done something wrong? Don’t I have a clean record? So I examined my conscience, but my conscience was clear. And then he said: “No, it is something that concerns your future. Something I think might be a good task for you. Consider it carefully!” Of course, I was very pleased that he thought I was capable of working in his entourage. It is indeed a very demanding task, one that requires all your strength.
EWTN.TV: Which personality traits and characteristics did you discover in him?
Gänswein: The same I had already discovered in his writings: a sharp intellect, a clear diction. And then, in his personal relations, a great clemency, quite the contrary of what he has always been associated with and still is, of what has always been said about him, when he was described as a “Panzerkardinal” (army tank Cardinal), someone rough – which he is not. On the contrary, he is very confident when dealing with others, but also when he has to deal with problems, when he has to solve problems, and, above all, in the presentation of the faith, the defense of the faith. But what moved me most, was to see how this man managed to proclaim our faith with simple, but profound words, against all odds and despite all hostilities.
EWTN.TV: What were the main issues on his agenda when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith?
Gänswein: When I joined the Congregation, he was dealing with the encyclical letter Fides et Ratio, and then with Dominus Jesus, documents which date back to years when I was already part of the Congregation. Later, of course, it was also about religious dialogue – a subject he revisited and deepened also after he’d become Pope. And then the big issue of faith and reason. A whole chain of subjects, so to say, I could witness in person. And it was all highly interesting, and a great challenge, too.
EWTN.TV: It was Pope John Paul II who nominated Cardinal Ratzinger Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. What kind of relationship did they have? What kind of relationship did Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, have with the Pope who was, as we now know, a holy man?
Gänswein: Cardinal Ratzinger, that is to say, Pope Benedict, had contributed with a relatively long essay to a small, but beautiful little book that was published on the occasion of the canonization of John Paul II. An essay, in which he describes his relationship with the holy Pope John Paul II – after all, they had worked closely together for 23 years – and the great admiration he has for him. He spoke of him very often. It is of course a great gift, an immense grace, to work for so long, and so intensely, side by side with a man like John Paul II, facing also many a storm together! And the then Cardinal Ratzinger had to take many blows for John Paul II, since the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clearly cannot be everybody’s darling: He has to offer his back, so that he can take the blows that are actually meant for the Pope.
EWTN.TV: How strong was his influence on the pontificate of John Paul II?
Gänswein: I am convinced of the fact that the pontificate of John Paul II was strongly influenced and supported not only by the person of the then Prefect of the Congregation of Faith, but also by his thoughts and his actions.
EWTN.TV: Pope Benedict once said that he had learned and understood much of John Paul II when he watched him celebrate Mass; when he saw how he prayed, how very united he was with God, far beyond his philosophical and mental capacities. What do you think when you watch Pope Benedict celebrate Mass, when you might be present while he is praying?
Gänswein: In fact, that is something I see every day, but especially since the moment I became secretary to Pope Benedict. Before, I was already his secretary, but we didn’t live together. It did happen that we celebrated Mass together, of course. But from the very moment of his election, it was no longer a work communion, but also a communion of life. And the daily Mass has become part of this life, then and today. It is moving to watch Pope Benedict during Mass simply abandon himself to what is happening, even now, in his old days, with all the physical handicaps that come with it; to see how intensely he enters the depths of prayer, but also afterwards, during the thanksgiving in front of the tabernacle, in front of the Most Blessed Sacrament. As far as I am concerned, it makes me enter the depths of prayer. That is highly motivating, and I am very thankful that I was given the chance to have an experience like this.
EWTN.TV: 2005 is the year that marked the end of the long and public suffering and death of John Paul II. How does Pope Benedict XVI remember this moment today? After all, with his resignation, he has chosen to let his own pontificate end in a different way…How does he remember the suffering and the death of John Paul II?
Gänswein: I remember very clearly what he said to me when he made me his secretary. He said: “We two are interim arrangements. I will soon retire, and you will accompany me until that moment comes.” That was in 2003. Time passed by…and then came 2005. The interim arrangement lasts and lasts. And he was really looking forward to having some time off in order to be able to finish writing his book about Jesus. But then things turned out differently. And, well, I think that after the death of Pope John Paul II he had other plans, hoping that the new Pope would let him take his leave, entering his well-deserved retirement. But once again, things turned out differently: he became Pope himself, and the Lord took him up on his promise once again. He had plans, but there was another who had different plans for him.
EWTN.TV: Did he expect – or fear – that in any way?
Gänswein: He certainly did not expect it – but, at a certain point, he might have feared it. In this context, I always remember his first press conference (as Pope), where he described the 19th of April, the day of his election when, in the late afternoon, the ballot was so clear that it became obvious that he would be elected. Well, the image he used, the one of the guillotine, was a very strong one, and full of tension. And later, in Munich, referring to the image of the bear of St. Corbinian, he said that the bear was actually supposed to accompany the then-bishop Corbinian to Rome, and then return to where he had come from, whereas he, unlike the bear in the legend, couldn’t go back, but has remained in Rome to this very day.
EWTN.TV: How was your first encounter, after he had become Pope? What did he say to you?
Gänswein: We had our first encounter in the Sistine Chapel, right under the Last Judgement. The cardinals had approached him and sworn obedience to him. And since I had been allowed to be present at the Conclave – Ratzinger, being the Deacon of the Cardinals, had the right to take a priest with him, and his choice had fallen on me – I was the last in the queue. There were others before me, I was the last. And in this very moment…I remember it so well…I can still see him, for the first time all dressed in white: white pileolus, white cassock, white hair – and all white in the face! Practically a whole small cloud of white…He sat there, and in this moment I granted the Holy Father my unconditional availability, promising him that I would always gladly do whatever he might ask of me; that he would always be able to count on me, that I would back him, and that I would gladly do so.
EWTN.TV: What were the joys of this pontificate? Usually, the burden of the Petrine ministry is what first comes to mind. But are there also moments, events, when you could feel the joy Pope Benedict experienced in carrying out his ministry?
Gänswein: There were, without any doubt, moments in which he felt utter joy, and also manifested it. I think, for example, of various encounters, not only during his travels. Encounters with the Successor of Peter are always special encounters; even here, during the General Audiences or the Private Audiences – and, in another, very special way, when he acts as officiant, that is, during the celebration of the Holy Mass or other liturgical celebrations. There were indeed moments full of joy, fulfilled with joy. And afterwards, he never failed to remark on it. It made him really happy.
EWTN.TV: Are there any events you remember particularly well, especially in connection with Pope Benedict’s visits to Germany, which we all remember vividly, for example the first World Youth Day?
Gänswein: Yes, well, the first encounter hadn’t been brought about by Pope Benedict himself, but by John Paul II. And so, in 2005, as we all know, it was Benedict’s turn to travel to Cologne. It was surely something great, something really moving. It was the first time in his life he met such an immense crowd of young people, who were all waiting for him! How will it go? Will the ice break, will the ice melt? Or will it take some time? And how will we get along with one another? But there was no ice at all! It simply worked, right from the start! And I think, he himself was more surprised by it than the young people he met.
EWTN.TV: What are the key messages of his Pontificate? His first encyclical letter was Deus Caritas est, “God Is Love.” The second one was dedicated to hope; his third encyclical, the one on faith, was passed on to his successor who completed it. Don’t you think that especially Deus Caritas est, so full of tenderness and poetic language, was something many didn’t expect?
Gänswein: Yes, one has to say, he published three encyclical letters. And we must not omit Caritas in veritate, which is very important. In fact, the one about the third theological virtue, faith, fides, was then published under his successor: Lumen fidei. But these four encyclicals clearly contain a fundamental message that has moved him his whole life long; a message he wanted to bequeath to men, to the Church.
Another constant of Pope Benedict is a very important word, a very important element: joy, “la gioia,” in Italian. He always spoke of the joy of faith, not of the burden, the hardship, the weight of faith, but of the joy that comes with it. And he said that this joy is an important fruit of faith – and also the one thing that gives men wings; that this is how faith gives human life wings: wings which, otherwise without faith, man would never have.
Another important thing for him is – obviously – liturgy, that is to say the direct encounter with God. Liturgy does not represent something theatrical – it means to be called into a relationship with the living God. And then, in theology, we have the person of Jesus Christ: not a historical “something,” a historical person long lost in the past. No, through the scriptures and liturgy, Jesus Christ comes into this world, here and now, and above all: he also comes into my own life. These are the pearls Pope Benedict has bestowed upon us. And we should treat these pearls very carefully, just as we do with precious jewelry.
EWTN.TV: This joy of faith is something Benedict never lost, despite often even heavy media criticism. He never really was the media’s darling, at least not as far as the German media are concerned. How did he account for that?
Gänswein: Well, I have to say, to me that is still a mystery. Whoever defends the truth of faith – to say it with Saint Paul – be it convenient or not, cannot always trigger joy. That is clear. Some essential things just aren’t for sale, and then there’s always a hail of criticism. But he has never answered to provocation, nor let himself be intimidated by criticism. Wherever the substance of the faith is at stake, he had no doubts, and always reacted explicitly, without any inner conflict whatsoever.
On other points, I have to say, there was a mixture of incomprehension, and also aggression, aggressiveness, that became like a clustered ball that consistently hit at the person of the Pope. The incomprehension of many, and especially the media, is still a mystery to me, something I have to take note of, but cannot sort out. I simply have no answer to it.
EWTN.TV: Pope Benedict was never shy about talking to journalists. In the introduction you wrote to the book Über den Wolken mit Papst Benedikt XVI. (Above the Clouds with Pope Benedict XVI), published to mark his 90th birthday – above the clouds, because it contains interviews often given during Papal flights – you state that these conversations reveal his particular cordiality, his often not understood or underestimated humanity…
Gänswein: Pope Benedict has never shunned away from personal contact with the media, with the journalists. And one great gift was that everything he says is well-worded, ready for printing. He was never shy about answering questions, even questions that were embarrassing – well, not embarrassing, but difficult. And that made it even more incomprehensible that it was exactly this corner from where the arrows came, where the fire was set – and for no clear reason at all. He, too, took notice of it. Of course, there were also things which offended, hurt him. Especially when it was clear to see that there was no reason at all, when you couldn’t help asking yourself: why this snappish remark, this acrimonious presentation? Things like that would hurt anyone, that’s only normal. But, on the other side, we also know that our measure is not the applause we get; our measure is inner righteousness, the example of the Gospel. That thought has always comforted him; it was the line of reasoning he has always pursued, until the end.
EWTN.TV: But was he also aware of the value of the media in the process of evangelization? After all, he has awarded the Medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice to Mother Angelica, founder of our television network, which means he must really appreciate her! How did he judge the role of the media in the concrete work of evangelization?
Gänswein: The media are an important means; a means that will become ever more important, especially in our time. He has never failed to recognize the value of the media, of the work done by the media and those who are behind it. Because media work is done by people, not by “something.” Behind every camera, every written word, every book, there is a person, there are people he appreciated, whose work he appreciated, regardless of what sometimes had been used or said against him.
EWTN.TV: One cannot think of Pope Benedict without rekindling the memory of his resignation. That is not about to change, and will continue to be a subject that stirs people’s interest. So I would like to ask you again: Did you see it coming? Was it clear to him that he would go down that road one day?
Gänswein: Well, as far as I’m concerned, I didn’t see it coming. If and since when he started to nurture this thought, is something I don’t know. The only thing I know is that he told me about it when the decision was already made. But I definitely didn’t see it coming – and that made the shock for me even greater.
EWTN.TV: In his latest memoirs – I refer to the interview-book Last conversations with Peter Seewald – Benedict XVI makes it very clear that external pressure or adversities would never have made him resign. So this cannot have been the case…
Gänswein: That’s right.
EWTN.TV: …So this is the final word that puts an end to the discussion on possible motives…
Gänswein: In another book – the penultimate project carried out with Peter Seewald in Castel Gandolfo – he had already answered the question whether or not a Pope could resign, in the affirmative. I don’t know in how far he had, already then, considered resignation, stepping back from his office, an option for himself. When you start to have thoughts like that, you do it for a reason. And he has named these reasons very openly…and very honestly, too, one has to say: the waning of his forces, spiritual and physical. The Church needs a strong navigator, and he didn’t have the feeling that he could be that strong navigator. That’s why he wanted to put the faculty bestowed upon him by Jesus back into His hands, so that the College of Cardinals could elect his successor. So obviously, the pontificate of Benedict XVI will also go down in history because of his resignation, that is clear, inevitable…
EWTN.TV: I found it really moving to watch him deliver his last speech to the priests of the diocese of Rome, the one on the Second Vatican Council. In that moment, I couldn’t help asking myself: Why does this man resign? There was clearly a spiritual force! It was an extemporaneous speech in which he exposed one more time his whole legacy, so to say, on the Second Vatican Council, expressing his wish it might one day be fulfilled…
Gänswein: In fact, that was in the Audience Hall. There was this traditional encounter, established many years ago, where the Pope, every Thursday after Ash Wednesday, met with the clergy of Rome, the clergy of his diocese. There were questions and answers, or even other forms of encounter. And in 2013, he was asked to talk about the Second Vatican Council, which he did. He delivered an extemporaneous speech in which he described, one more time and from his point of view, the whole situation and development of the Council, giving also his evaluation. It is something that will remain; something very important for the comprehension of the Second Vatican Council and Ratzinger’s interpretation of it. As far as I know, up to this day there is no other theologian who has defended the documents of the Second Vatican Council on so many levels, and so intensely and cogently as he did. And that is very important also for the inner life of the Church and the people of God!
EWTN.TV: And I think it is safe to say that he contributed to the shaping of the Council…
Gänswein: In fact, being the consultor, the advisor of Cardinal Frings, he did have a part in it. Many of the theological contributions of the Cardinal of Cologne had actually been written by Professor Ratzinger. There are lots of documents where you can clearly see that. And there are also dissertations on this subject which investigate into the possible influence of the then-Professor Ratzinger.
EWTN.TV: Let’s come back to the moment of his resignation, the very last hours. Whoever watched it on TV, was surely moved to see the helicopter departing for Castel Gandolfo. You, too, were visibly moved…And then, the final moment, when the doors in Castel Gandolfo closed. That was the moment when I – and I guess, many others – thought that we might never see Pope Benedict again. But then things turned out quite differently…
Gänswein: Yes, indeed, the farewell: the transfer to the heliport, the flight in the helicopter over the city of Rome to Castel Gandolfo, the arrival at the Papal Villa. And indeed, at 8 p.m. the closing of the doors. Before, Pope Benedict had delivered a short speech from the balcony, his farewell speech. And then? Well, the works in the monastery Mater Ecclesiae hadn’t been finished yet, so the question was: where could he stay? And the decision was quickly taken: the best option would be Castel Gandolfo. There he will have everything he needs, since no one knows how long the works will last; so he can stay there as long as necessary.
And so two months later, he returned to Rome, and has been living in the monastery Mater Ecclesiae ever since. He himself had said that he would withdraw, going up to the mountain in order to pray. He didn’t mean a withdrawal into private life, but into a life of prayer, meditation and contemplation, in order to serve the Church and his successor. His successor often told him that he shouldn’t hide. He invites him often to important public liturgies, consistories like – I remember it well – the inauguration ceremony of the Holy Year on the 8th of December 2015.
He is present, even when no one sees him. But often he has been seen. He simply wants to be present, as much as possible, while remaining all the same invisible.
EWTN.TV: Many people wish to meet him, and he allows them to. Does he enjoy these encounters? I myself had the chance of a brief encounter with him. There are still many people who ask to see him.
Gänswein: Yes, there are many people who ask to meet him; and many are sad when this is not possible. But those who come, are all very happy, very glad. And the same goes for him. Every encounter is also a sign of affection, a sign, so to say, of approval. And human encounters always do us good.
EWTN.TV: Do some of these people also ask him for advice?
Gänswein: Definitely. I’m convinced of that. I’m never there, though; these encounters are private. Of course, he sometimes talks about it, we talk about those visits. There are indeed people who seek his advice on personal matters. And I’m convinced that the advice they receive is indeed good…
EWTN.TV: Does he still receive many letters? Who writes to him?
Gänswein: People he has known in the past. And also people I don’t know, and he doesn’t know, but who have clearly re-discovered him through literature. They express their gratitude, their happiness, but also their worries: people from all around the world. The people who write to him are very different; they do not belong to the same category, no: it’s people of different ages, of different positions, from all walks of life, a complete mixture.
EWTN.TV: We have talked about “seeking advice:” Pope Francis, who is of a certain age himself, has always said that we should ask our grandparents for advice. Has Pope Francis ever asked Benedict for advice? What kind of relationship do they have?
Gänswein: Yes, indeed, in one of his interviews, Pope Francis is said to be happy about having a grandfather like Benedict – a “wise” grandfather: an adjective not to be omitted! And I am convinced that, as far as this is concerned, one thing or another will come up, or come out, from their contacts and encounters.
EWTN.TV: Your relationship with Benedict is a very close, very personal one. I don’t know if it would be appropriate to talk about a relationship between father and son. Have you ever talked with him about your future?
Gänswein: No.
EWTN.TV: It is known that you would love to engage in pastoral care, that you already do engage in pastoral care.
Gänswein: It was always like that: we didn’t talk about it. Only the very moment he said that he would resign, he asked me to accept the office I still hold. It was his decision, and he hadn’t talked with me about it beforehand. I was very skeptical, and remarked: “Holy Father, that might not be my thing. But if you think it is right for me, I will gladly and obediently accept it.” And he replied: “I do think so, and I ask you to accept.” That was the only time we talked about me and my future career.
EWTN.TV: What are the subjects you talk about? What are the issues that concern him in our world full of crises; what worries him about the situation of the Church?
Gänswein: Well, of course, Pope Benedict takes an interest in what happens in this world, in the Church. Every day, as the conclusion to the day, we watch the news on Italian TV. And he reads the newspapers, the Vatican press review. That is a large range of information. Often we also talk about actual issues that concern our world, about the latest developments here in the Vatican, and beyond the Vatican, or simply common memories regarding things happened in the past.
EWTN.TV: Is he very worried about the Church?
Gänswein: Of course, he has noted that the faith, the substance of the faith, is about to crumble, above all in his homeland, and that inevitably worries, troubles him. But he is not the kind of man – he never was and never will be – who will have the joy taken away from him! On the contrary: he brings his worries to his prayers, hoping that his prayers will help to put things right.
EWTN.TV: He brings them to his prayers and surely also to Holy Mass. On Sundays, he delivers homilies, and is also keeping notes. What happens to these notes?
Gänswein: Well, it is true that Pope Benedict comments on the Gospel. He does so every Sunday, and most of the time only in the presence of the (consecrated laywomen of) “Memores Domini” and myself. Sometimes there might also be a visitor, or – should I not be there – a fellow priest who will then concelebrate. His homilies are always extemporaneous. It is true, he has a sermon notebook, and he takes notes. And I have been asking myself the same question: what happens to these notes? Of course we will keep a record of them. I would like to ask him one day if he could take a look at the notes we have, in order to approve them. I don’t know, though, if that day will ever come.
EWTN.TV: Pope Benedict is undoubtedly one of the greatest theologians…as far as of our century is concerned, he surely is! He has been referred to as the “Mozart of theology.” In your introduction to the already mentioned book Über den Wolken mit Papst Benedikt XVI (Above the Clouds with Pope Benedict XVI) you wrote: “Pope Benedict XVI is a Doctor of the Church. And he has been my teacher up to this day.” What have you learned from him, maybe even in the last weeks?
Gänswein: As I already said, my theological thinking started with the reading of Ratzinger’s Introduction to Christianity. The theological teacher who accompanied my theological studies, and the time that followed, has always been the theologian Ratzinger, and still is. Being given the chance to meet him in person, to learn from his personal example, is of course an additional gift, something unexpected, and I am very grateful for that. I know it is a grace – a grace for which I will thank the Lord every single day.
EWTN.TV: So what could be, in your opinion, the lesson Pope Benedict would like us to learn from his pontificate?
Gänswein: His great concern was that the faith could evaporate. And it is surely his greatest wish that every man be in direct relationship with God, the Lord, with Christ, and that we might dedicate to this relationship our time, strength and affection. Whoever does that, will prove the same sentiment Benedict has in mind when he talks about “joy.” I think the greatest gift would be, if men allowed his proposal or what moved him, to become part of their lives.
EWTN.TV: Our wish to you: could you please assure Pope Benedict also in the name of our viewers, of our thankfulness, our sentiments of appreciation, and convey him our heartfelt best wishes for his 90th birthday! And thank you so much for this conversation!
Gänswein: Thank you. I will gladly convey your wishes, and thank you for having me!
[…]
This restriction is intended “to re-establish in the whole Church of the Roman Rite a single and identical prayer expressing its unity,” the liturgy office said.
A single and identical prayer will express Church UNITY!
Imagine this narrative:
No! No child of mine may read or pray any word from any book printed before 1952! Enough! Those earlier successors of Peter promulgated words long ago and far from the magisterium of progress dictated by VCII. Enough! Time is greater than space! Consider a precept that every Catholic recite in unison the exact same prayer at the exact same time. Would that not prove a miracle of unity!?!
All that remains is for each person to become a robotic clone of a model the Church proposes–preferably one reflecting and accompanying, simultaneously, all members of the animal kingdom. Then the universal Church could rest in peaceful unity and uniformity.
Except we know not how to deal with Persons immutable to plans of men. Suggestions will be taken at the next SYNOD of ALL SYNODS. Until then, my most sincere desires for you to experience a very Merry Christmas.
The most Orwellian aspect of those in Francis’ Orwellian religion is that there is a complete absense of any sense of irony of how Orwellian they are.
Nothing personal Mal.
Just that your labelling is way off. Pope Francis’ religion is very Catholic, very Christ-like. Either you cannot see it or you do not want to, Edward.
You are very self-righteous. Prepays you should read this for another perspective:
https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2021/12/18/opinion-let-a-thousand-rites-bloom-and-flourish/
Can I suggest you reexamine the teachings of Holy Mother Church? We all need to do a bit of digging nowadays to find it but the Truth is the Truth, always has been and always will be. If something is true today but wasn’t two thousand years ago, it needs to be explored more deeply. And Jesus was not a ‘man of His time’ – He was, is and always will be the same. It’s we who change and then need to change again to align ourselves with Him (not the other way around).
Christ was able to insist on the coherence of the Ten Commandments. The profoundly confused mind of Francis fantasizes that the Fifth and Sixth Commandments contradict each other when we “search” for a solution for Aids, which, in his mind, necessitates contraception. Don’t hold your breath waiting for him to ever put in a good word for chastity. Additionally, Christ, unlike Francis, would have been able to make the obvious connection between such things like the trivialization of sexual ethics, including his own comments in this regard that have downplayed ethics, and the abortion culture.
I know of my own failings in Christian witness, but I know that there are numerous other ways in which Francis does not even strive to be Christlike, even in his expressed public witness, and is quite willing to act with vindictive jealousy towards those that do.
Mal, can you offer something besides simple, unsupported assertion? So far, that’s all I’ve seen from you.
Okay. I will give you something for a start. This is what Pope Francis told a group of young people.
“If I say I am Catholic and go to Mass every Sunday with my parents, but I don’t speak (about Jesus), I don’t help my grandparents, don’t help the poor, don’t visit the sick, then it is not witness, and it is useless. It is nothing other than being a parrot-Christian – words, words, words.”
He told explained how Catholics need to be witnesses. “Being a witness does not mean being a saint, but being a poor man or poor woman who says, ‘Yes, I am a sinner, but Jesus is Lord, and I will try to witness to him every day and to correct my life and follow the correct path.” https://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=73075
Pope lived this life. This is why he is affectionately known by people who know him well as the Slum Pope.
Sorry but your reply to me simply provides another example of what I observed initially – an assertion or declaration, but not really an argument.
My post did not provide an assertion nor a declaration. I quoted a sentence from the source.
Thanks, but I’m afraid it didn’t help. Merry Christmas to you in any case.
It could really not be said better than this. Thank you. One of the problems with irony, satire, of course, is that those at whom it is aimed almost never feel the sting of it. Nor are they enlightened by it. A direct approach does not work either. They seem to have a carapace or a hide so thick–as thick as their heads–that nothing can penetrate it.
Irony is a sin.
And sometimes the accusers fail to see how it applies to themselves
Being unvaccinated, Catholic, enjoying traditional mass – while being pretty common for generations and generations – it is something for adventurers only these days.
Lord have mercy.
“This restriction is intended “to re-establish in the whole Church of the Roman Rite a single and identical prayer expressing its unity,” the liturgy office said.”
In a plethora of languages, with multiple pick-and-choose prayers and varying outside-the-rubrics practices (“let’s all hold hands during the Our Father!”). Yeah, that’s some “single,” “identical,” “unified.”
“appropriate formation that makes it possible to discover how the reformed liturgy is the witness to an unchanged faith…” Freedom is the freedom to declare that 2 + 2 = 4. Without the freedom to tell the truth, nothing else matters. The Bergoglian Captivity of the Church must come to an end some day…
And so too the great lies about our faithful Pope, the Vicar of Christ, who is loved by millions of Catholics around the world.
Lies? This individual demonstrates daily his contempt for the Church. One is left to wonder what appetites he promotes that elicit such devotion in those who in reality are far more comfortable in protestantism. What exactly attracts anyone to remain in a Church they wish to see metamorphosized into something that is its existential antipode? The panache of being an edgy revolutionary, a rebel, a visionary? Is it the perks, the pedigree? Or just contempt — odium fidei? Addiction to the zeitgeist comes down to a celebration of personal hubris — pride — the impediment to all virtue.
James – Spot on. The pride that is God’s antithesis of God requires God’s Church become his. It happened at the beginning of man, and the same has been prophesied to happen at his end. Scripture does not lie, but pride does, and the prince does seek dominion in the holiest of places. He is simply not smart enough to realize that he plays a losing game.
And who loves some of us in return. Others, not so much.
He is the worst pope in a thousand years. Nothing good about him. Let’s hope the church survives him.
Not so, samton. Although I do not believe in rating people – best, worst, mediocre or whatever – I will say that millions of Catholics around the world love this Pope and pray regularly for him. THe Founder of our Church – I do not say religion – was loved by the simple and common people. However, he was hated by the uppity type, who were financially well-off and who were very comfortable in performing their liturgical rituals and displaying ashes on their foreheads. Oh no, they could not stand this upstart who mingled with sinners and made it clear to the “religious” mob that they had to get out of their comfort zone in order to be saved. They considered him to be bad news – Beelzebub, in fact.
Mal, do these “financially well-off” types include those posting here at CWR?
With respect samton911 Pope Sergus III a 60 year old man having a go with his 15 year old Mistress in the papal residence is a wee bit worst by several orders of magnitude.
That having been said Francis is not great at all and if he retires I will buy him a watch and hope his successor is wee bit better.
What lies?
You are becoming more delusional and not noticing what is happening, Mal.
The German Catholic Church is on the brink of schism and the Pope, by his lack of actions and clarity, turns his back.
What does the Pope gain by the popularity of the world but the loss of Souls?
Only the usual trad sites nsay that the German Church is on the brink of schism. German Bishops have made it clear that they have absolutely no intention of going it alone withour Rome. This does not mean that during this discussion period they will not attend to the questions that are being asked. But leaving the Church? Never.
It is curious or revealing that you use the pseudonym “Mal”.
I have used Mal for many years. That is what my friends and workmates used to call me. I know quite a few people who are called Mal. Now I know there is one who calls himself a rebel.
Latin is a bad word.
Well..well..what magnanimity for those who desire to worship in the way the Latin Rite had done for 1300 years..Archishop Lefebvre was correct… the modernists cannot be trusted. How sad that the liturgical peace Pope Benedict brokered has been destroyed.. and for what purpose? The Church is divided further. Is this an action of the Holy Spirit?…Or the Evil One…?
Lefevre was an excommunicated goofball. He told lots of lies and misled many. Well, Benedict gave us the old mass again, and because of all the SSPX loons etc that wanted to weaponize the old mass and turn it into an anti Catholic anti Vatican II seminar, the current Pope has restricted its use again. I guess those kids in the anti Catholic breakaway sects just cannot have good things, and they ruined it for everyone.
Amen! I am not thrilled with Francis punishing loyal Trads or young people who like the Old Mass and never heard of the SSPX. But the Radtrads dinny help the cause. They hurt it and they still do.
Good parents, when one child is misbehaving, do not punish all of their children.
All kinds of problems, like (unjustly) punishing the good child too.
Or letting the bad one get away and then arbitrarily punishing 3 others and arbitrarily rewarding the remaining 4.
I left the Catholic Church because of Pope Francis and his rejection of the Catholicism that was practiced for nearly 2,000 years prior to the Second Vatican Council. I am now much happier.
You should not have left simply for having a Pope who, like hordes of the ordained in the post VII era, were malformed and too prideful to even consider it. The fact that one slipped to the top does not mean that the gates of hell have prevailed. Jesus needs everyone to fight.
You should return, plain secularization is much more digestible than contemporary, contradictions filled Christianity but there is no salvation outside Church. As of Francis & friends – just ignore them. You will retain the same level of happiness and you will be saved.
We are here to learn to love God in this life and be happy with Him in the next. You might feel happier for a time now but (sorry) we’re not here to make ourselves happy but to be pleasing to God and earn our Eternal Reward. I do know how you feel – I used to come away from our local Mass feeling angry and knew that was not supposed to happen. Keep looking until you find a Priest who can help you in your journey? We are all created to go back to God but we need to put in the work, take up our own cross and ask for help to get there.
Why are you happier? Either you’re attending an “ecclesial communion” not in communion with the Holy See, or you’ve left religion altogether. In either case what’s to be happy about?
We’ve had a few popes in history worse than Francis-not many-but a few, and he’s a short timer. When he’s buried for for some centuries the ancient rite will still be celebrated. In the mean time he’s a cross that must be tolerated, and his pontificate a penance we deserve.
Then Dr. Hart you are lost. St Augustine and Tradition tells us there is NO EXCUSE FOR SCHISM even upon the admission the Church is being ruled by wicked and sinful men.
Do you think Pope Francis is personally evil and he will go to Hell? Maybe he will & maybe he won’t but if he goes to Hell yer odds of joining him went up the day ye left the Church. REPENT AND RETURN!
No Salvation Outside the Church! That is Dogma and ye canny plead invincible English.
Invincible Ignorance…..why did I write English? Well I know why.:D Freudian slip…..
And you are the one to pronounce judgement on him?
This “defense” has worn out or lost a true meaning, even baby killers use it, saying, when you tell them they’re killing babies: “Your’re judging us. Who are you to judge us. You’re pontificating.”
We should be happy to hear our faults when it’s accurate; and then we’d welcome the pronouncement of the right judgment.
Everyone of us will meet our just reward…including popes.
“As pastors we must not lend ourselves to sterile polemics, capable only of creating division, in which the ritual itself is often exploited by ideological viewpoints,”
So when can we expect the Vatican to abandon their infantile and sterile polemics capable only of createing division, in which the ritual itself is exploited by venomously ideological viewpoints?
And so the Trads are showing themselves to be cafeteria Catholics after all.
More like faithful flowerers of Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre who was excommunicated, Penanoke.
Having spent a long time studying Lefebvre and his goofy anti Catholic schismatic organization known as the SSPX, I can say there was a very good reason that he was excommunicated. For all practical purposes, he and his people installed Lefebvre as their own personal pope. Talk about leaving the church!
He was wrongly excommunicated – Holy Mother Church has corrected this error.
And Lefebvre is respected for his contribution to helping preserve Faith. He is not worshipped.
And SSPX oppose sedevacantism.
You sound very angry. Let us not become divisive in our natural confusion with the many different messages we are hearing. This is an opportunity to deepen our understanding and our love of God and His Church. Let’s do Him proud instead of lashing out wildly at things we simply don’t yet understand.
MariTere, he was not “wrongly excommunicated,” he consecrated four bishops without papal approval, a clear violation of canon law for which the penalty is automatic excommunication. He died excommunicated and it was never reversed in his case. The excommunication was eventually lifted later for the four bishops (one of whom was subsequently excommunicated again), but it was not “an error” that the Church made and then corrected, it was done pastorally in hopes that the group would have a pathway to be fully in communion with Rome, which, to this day, they are still not.
So the refusal -in conscience- to be a so-called “cafeteria Catholic” makes the faithful “cafeteria Catholics”? Amazing! The Modernists -no matter how high in the Church they have climbed- can’t decide who is or is not Catholic any more than the insane can decide who is or is not sane. Sorry!
To people like Mal, the refusal to recognize the Pope’s Pachamama idolatry as orthodox makes one schismatic. This is the upside-down, Orwellian world of Modernist papolaters.
Timothy, the only reason I refuse to go with the lie that Pope Francis worshipped the icon is simply because that claim is a lie. Nobody there, especially our Pope worshipped the icon, though they did pay respect to something that represented the motherness of earth to them, the earth through which God’s created gifts are made available to mankind. Do we in the west not use pagan rituals like genuflecting and wearing wedding rings which we have blessed by a priest?
Timothy, I was a critic of Pope Francis until I came to realize that I had been conditioned by opinion writers and not be the truth. I was only when I began to read unadulterated reports that I developed a better understanding of this Pope who has devoted his life to faityhfully serving our Lord, his creation and his people.
‘Pagan rituals like genuflecting and wedding rings’? Be careful what you condemn … Wedding rings are Sacramentals and genuflection before a king is a sign of respect and humility; not to be compared with paying respect and homage to something other than God. We should worship the Creator not the created, especially in His own house.
Mal,
I’m glad I see you for who you really are. Your conscience must be very elastic.
My issue is not the Latin Mass. That’s not what animates my thoughts. However, Christian morality does.
When Joe Biden met with Francis in October, Biden claimed that the Francis told him he was a “good” Catholic and that he should continue to receive Communion. Thus, the Pope is endorsing Catholics who espouse heresy and support the “right” of women to kill their pre-born babies. That’s truly demented and evil.
I’m glad I left the Catholic Church. Francis’ actions and words have proven that it is run by a man who is demonically possessed.
So what was Francis “worshiping” when he insisted that no one criticize the practice of burying children alive among his idolized Amazonian peoples?
Anyone in the vicar’s vicinity who paid respect to ‘something that represented the motherness of earth’ dishonored and misrepresented Scripture and Catholic belief. God the FATHER created heaven and earth, with the SON who was with Him in the beginning and through Whom all things were made when the SPIRIT of God was moving over the face of the waters.
Paying respect to ‘something that represented the motherness of earth’ is an affront to Mary, the Mother of God, the same God who created heaven and earth. Neglecting the Mother of God – ALSO THE Mother of the Church – disrespects Mary, Christ, and all good Christians. The Blessed Virgin Mary is fruitful as the vessel God chose to deliver Salvation to man.
The thing the vicar and his company respected is nothing more than a clod of earth. That clod was painted and shaped to represent something other than Mary. *’What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ.’
Respecting a clod of earth versus honoring Mary affronts a Christian sensibility which sees the blessed and singular Mother of Christ as full of virtue and grace. Choosing to respect, instead of Mary, a clod of earth, Francis did dishonor to himself, to his position as vicar, to the Mother of Christ, and to Christ Himself.
*The Catechism is a friend.
No, it’s just that the breakaway sect Catholics of the SSPX, those who worship Lefebvre as if he were a god, are all choosing to become protestants rather than stick with the one true church. Let’s face it, for all their dissembling and pretending to remain in the church, they have left it and formed a goofy protestant religion that merely apes the trappings of the Catholic church
There is this thing called the Eighth Commandment. It applies to you too. No one has ever “worshipped” Archbishop Lefebvre. As to his excommunication, no one can know. According to Canon Law, the terms of his excommunication can only exist if the state of his soul were in mortal sin because of his actions, which is a matter only God can know. Considering your dislike for the Eighth Commandment, presuming the role of God does not seem like too much of a stretch.
As to his excommunication, no one can know. Actually, we do know for sure that he WAS excommunicated – automatically and later by a Bishop. What we do not know if at the very last moment of life on this side, he repented. Without this repentance there is no way he could live in the Church in the heavenly realm. Jesus did promise that whatever Peter should m
bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Jesus keeps his word.
I can assure you that I do not intend to reject or ignore the Eight Commandment. I just worry about those who tell lies about the words, actions and fidelity of Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ. I wonder if you have an idea of how serious these lies and false accusations against the Pope is.
“Pastor Aeternus” of the First Vatican Council while relatively short, waxed profusely on the authority and power of the papacy and the submission it was due, but it provided a linchpin toward the end: “The Holy Spirit was not given to the Roman Pontiffs so that they might disclose new doctrine, but so that they might guard and set forth the Deposit of Faith handed down from the Apostles.” When the living Magisterium fails to thus perform does it exist? The Petrine Office is at the heart of the living Magisterium. Pope Francis promotes ideas which are contrary to the perennial Magisterium of the Church, albeit with calculated ambiguity, but persistently without any ambiguity fails to correct bold heresy emerging from the episcopate, the clergy and the theological academy. His peculiar exercise of the office he holds undermines the papacy and simultaneously undermines his own claim to papal authority when he duplicitously abandons the magisterium of his predecessors which was in conformity to the Gospel and the Apostolic Tradition. He can’t have it both ways and he knows it. Recall again his admonition to Archbishop Forte in regard to communion for the divorced and remarried – “…not too directly or it will make a mess. We’ll clarify it later…”
Submission to papal authority in such a context is as walking the razors edge. The unleashing of the whip upon laity and religious who adhere to a classical understanding Roman Catholicism has provided one scandal after another during the Bergoglian captivity while Jesuits who promote homosexuality, for one example, are embraced with accolades.
What does give here?
It would do well to recall a statement of sixteenth century Bishop Melchior Cano, O.P., theologian at the Council of Trent: “Peter has no need of our lies or flattery. Those who blindly and indiscriminately defend every decision of the Supreme Pontiff are the very ones who do most to undermine the authority of the Holy See – they destroy instead of strengthening its foundations.” Above and beyond the situation addressed in this article Bergoglio and his syndicate weaponize the impulse to papolatry against which Cano warns in order to eviscerate the papacy and make Roman Catholicism prone to total deconstruction from within while maintaining the façade. Perks, pedigree and prestige assigned to the service of a “new paradigm.”
If you want to go deeper tap Ss. Bellarmine and Cajetan.
The cafeteria Catholic preeminent is one Jorge Mario Bergoglio who understands the papacy as being his carte blanche for exercising his personal perspective. The papacy is a magic wand. You stand with Christ or you don’t — no slight of hand there.
The second to last sentence should read “The papacy is not a magic wand.”
Wrong. The Cafeteria Catholics are 1) Bergoglio and 2) Those from the breakaway Catholic sects who recognize no one as god except for Lefebvre, and themselves, who act just like Protestants, and constantly deny the pope has authority over them.
They are both bad. And no, just because you can quote some guy from long ago does not mean you are scholarly. I have seen equally non impressive attempts from the breakaway people. They are VERY selective in their quotes from old sources, and they never mention the more excelletn scholars who hold the contrary points.
“Scholars” who contadict doctine, have no authority. “Scholars” are as buffoonish as everyone else. Didn’t you learn anything in college?
Samton, that poses a bit of dilemma for me. I don’t attend the Masses of SSPX or encourage anyone else to do so. But if, as you say the Pope is also a “cafeteria Catholic,” what do you suggest I do about that? Am I still bound to obey him and regard his fuzzy theology as binding?
“Re-establish in the whole Church of the Roman Rite a single and identical prayer expressing its unity.”
To WHAT unity are they referring?
To one that does not include the TLM, at the very least.
Traditionis custodes: Vatican further tightens restrictions on Traditional Latin Mass….and…
Covid Lockdowns: Vatican further tightens restrictions on any Mass TLM or otherwise
Um, wait. I’m confused.
Are we supposed to be celebrating diversity? Or shutting it down and lopping it off?
Does synodality go two ways? Or is it just another term for the exercise of unyielding, dictatorial control?
And what about dialogue? Does that now mean making sure we have our pens handy to jot down new epoch-shifting rules handed down to us by our betters?
I guess you have to be a theologian to be able to grasp all the the subtle and minute nuances of this pope’s statements.
Ironic that the most appropriate word to describe the type of bizarre, convoluted thinking taking place in the Vatican today would seem to be, ‘byzantine.’
Dialogue is reserved for the divorced and remarried, homosexuals, and Muslims. For Catholics who want to worship the way Catholics have always worshipped, there is the guillotine.
While Pharisees wanted to continue living their comfortable self-serving religious lives, Jesus was mixing with sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors.
Er, ‘mixing with’? He reached out to help them rise above themselves. He mixed with holy people, and people who wanted to become holy. It didn’t matter if they were rich or poor. Lazarus was extremely wealthy. I’m guessing Joseph of Arimathea was, too. It was the pride of rich He corrected, not the richness itself which was neither here nor there (“Give back to Caesar, etc”)
And Jesus didn’t justify their sins like a showboating pope using the images of humility to affect his worldly pride. And his idolators do the same.
And Jesus was not a judgmental hypocrite like the Pharisees who, out of sheer ignorance and an exaggerated image of self-importance, kept criticizing our Redeemer. However, our Lord had mankind or, shall I say humankind, on his mind and so did not allow these non-loving, ritual-obsessed hypocrites to derail his mission. Jews and Gentiles had to see and to hear him in order to witness God’s loving plan in action. It was not confined to temples.
Jesus Christ is the head of His Church. Pope Francis is only the custodian. If Jesus decides to remove His custodian.it will be in His time. Until then, I must remain faithful to the Church and follow it’s time honored Tradition, pray for it’s custodian and accept persecution ,even from those in leadership of the Church.
We are here to learn to love God in this life and be happy with Him in the next. You might feel happier for a time now but (sorry) we’re not here to make ourselves happy but to be pleasing to God and earn our Eternal Reward. I do know how you feel – I used to come away from our local Mass feeling angry and knew that was not supposed to happen. Keep looking until you find a Priest who can help you in your journey? We are all created to go back to God but we need to put in the work, take up our own cross and ask for help to get there.
The foolish idea of Papal Infallibility,that a mere mortal can be perfect is the root of all this evil… Throughout history, Jesus and Mary appear to ones they chose, provide words of guidance to ones they chose. To say that the Pope is the pipeline of Gods word is a stretch.
Did not God choose Moses to give laws, called the Mosaic Law, to the people of the Old Covenant. And did not Moses allow divorce and a way out for people who did not want to honor their parents? And did not Jesus say that, from the beginning, it was not so? But since Moses had made that ruling, it was accepted in heaven and so it was not deemed a sin for any person who divorced or did what was necessary to get out of honoring his/her parents, even though in reality it was always a wrongdoing.
Jesus chose Simon, whom he renamed Peter, to be the one who would bind or loose whatever for people of the New Covenant. It is foolish to say that this authority given to Peter is foolish. Only Protestants and protesting “Catholics’ say that.
Do we read the entire passage? Why did Moses permit what was not permitted from the beginning? BECAUSE OF HARDNESS OF HEART. Moses was not by any means infallible, in fact he was quite the contrary and because of his lack of faith was only allowed to view the Promised Land — never to enter it.
Amoris Laetitia contradicts the Gospel and the consistent teaching of the Church. The papacy is to serve as the Vicar of Christ, not His replacement. Revelation ceased with the death of Saint John the Evangelist. Any pope who contradicts Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the perennial Magisterium stands outside the Faith.
He duplicitously abandons the magisterium of his predecessors which was in conformity to the Gospel and the Apostolic Tradition. He can’t have it both ways and he knows it so connivance and sleight of hand continue to be employed. As I cited above in an earlier comment recall his admonition to Archbishop Forte in regard to communion for the divorced and remarried – “…not too directly or it will make a mess. We’ll clarify it later…” For publicizing that statement Archbishop Forte was shortly thereafter cut loose.
Now, of course, we have him eradicating ancient liturgical practice. The explanation of establishing unity is absurd. His action is promoting fracture.
Pope Francis practices a “court duplicity.”
Regardless of why Moses permitted divorce, the point is that he did. And that who followed his ruling did not sin – even though it was wrong. Moses was chosen by God to be the lawgiver then. Even Jesus quoted and acknowledged his laws. After all, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as well as Elizabeth and John the Baptist were Jews.
You keep flinging accusations against this very faithful Pope but can you name a single Dogma or Doctrine of the Church that he has changed.
Regarding your statement about communion for the divorced: In an article in Churchmilitant, of all places, we read: “Regarding divorced and remarried couples, Pope Francis clarifies, “Integrating into the life of the Church doesn’t mean receiving Communion.” He adds that to do so “would be an injury also to marriage, to the couple, because it wouldn’t allow them to proceed on this path of integration.” You see, Pope Francis does not believe that they should receive communion but that we need to still make room for them to eventually integrate – just as Jesus did not condemn the adulteress thus giving her the opportunity to repent and to turn her life around. Some people want to shut the door to people who are lost, others want to leave the door open to enable them to enter once again.
Pope Francis is a true Apostle of Christ.
Francis tolerates corruption, cover up of sexual abuse, Pagan idol worship and German Schism, yet the Mass of Ages is offensive to him. Sad.
You have got it terrible wrong, Johann. Terribly wrong.
Pope Francis hates corruption, absolutely detests abuse, especially child abuse and believes that only God should be worshipped. He lives in accordance with that belief.
The Mass that you call “:Mass of the Ages” was made binding to all Roman Catholics by Pope Pius V. He wanted unity in the Church which was then mostly confined to the region that was once part of the Roman Empire in which Latin would have been t common language. Yes the Pope did not allow any dissention. Now, that the Church has spread out far and wide, covering many areas that were not touched by the Romans and their customs, the Holy Spirit inspired Vatican 2 decided that the Church needed to be relevant to the times and so some customs and rituals needed to be changed. However, there was never any attempt ot even intention to change any dogma or doctrine. To put it in the language used by one of my Parish priests: the parcel was the same but only the packaging was changed. Some are sad, millions are happy.
Mal, Pius V also allowed all rites that were 200 years of age or more to remain in use, didn’t he? I’m not sure that “millions are happy,” since millions have left, and among those remaining, a majority do not view the Mass as a sacrifice or believe in the Real Presence. I can’t feel encouraged by those facts.
Unfortunately Mal, most Catholic commentators and journalists do not share your rosy, whitewashed view of our current Pope.