Vatican City, Apr 29, 2017 / 03:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In his conversation with journalists on the way back from Egypt, Pope Francis touched on an array of topics, including North Korea, populism and a possible visit from President Donald Trump.
While nothing has been confirmed as far as a meeting with the U.S. president, much of what Francis said in the 32-minute press conference, which took place during his April 29 flight from Cairo to Rome, focused on themes that came up during his two-day visit to Egypt, but which can be applied to some of the major issues up for global discussion today.
Please read below for CNA’s full transcript of the Pope’s inflight press conference:
Greg Burke (Vatican press director): Here among the journalists are those who are making a trip for the first time and those who have made almost 100.. No, more than 100, I think… And you, I don’t know if you know how many international trips you’ve made…
Pope Francis: 18!
Greg Burke: Ah, 18, alright great. I didn’t know. Nineteen is around the corner, so also you have a good number of Papal trips now. Thanks for this moment which is always a strong moment for us and let’s start with the Italian group, Paolo Rodari. I don’t know if you want to say something first.
Pope Francis: Yes, good evening and thanks for your work because these were 27 hours, I think, of much work. Thanks so much for what you did, thank you. And I’m at your disposal.
Greg Burke: Thank you, Holy Father.
Paolo Rodari (Repubblica): Hello. Holy Father, thank you. I wanted to ask you about your meeting yesterday with al Sisi. What did you speak about? Topics of human rights were mentioned and, in particular, that you were able to speak about the case of Giulio Regeni, and do you think the truth will be reached in that regard?
Pope Francis: On this I will give a general response, to then reach the particular. Generally when I am with a head of state in private dialogue, that remains private, unless, by agreement, we say ‘let’s say on this point, we’ll make it public.’ I had four private dialogues here with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, with al Sisi, with Patriarch Tawadros and with Patriarch Ibrahim and I believe that if it is private, for respect one must maintain privacy… it is confidential… but later there is the question on Regeni. I am concerned, from the Holy See I have moved on that topic because the parents also asked me to. The Holy See has moved. I will not say how or where, but we have moved.
Greg Burke: Dario Menor Torres, from El Correo Espanol.
Dario Menor (El Correo Espanol): Thank you, Holiness! You said yesterday that peace, prosperity and development deserve every sacrifice and later you underscored the importance of the inalienable rights of man. Does this mean a support for the Egyptian government, a recognition of its role in the Middle East, and how it tries to defend Christians despite insufficient democratic guarantees from this government?
Pope Francis: Could you repeat… what does what mean? I didn’t hear…
Dario Menor: If these words that you said on the importance of peace, of prosperity and development, saying that they deserve every sacrifice, if we should interpret them as a support of the Egyptian government and how it tries to defend Christians despite insufficient democratic guarantees.
Pope Francis: No, No… one must interpret (it) literally as values in themselves… I said that defending peace, defending the harmony of peoples, defending the equality of citizens, whichever the religion they profess may be, are values. I spoke of values! If a person who governs defends one value or defends another, it is another issue. I have made 18 [international] visits. In many of those nations, I’ve heard, ‘But the Pope, going there, gives support to that government,’ because a government always has its weaknesses or it has its political adversaries, and some say one thing or another… I don’t get mixed up (in that)… I speak about values, and every person sees, is a judge if this government, this state, that from here, that from there, carries those values forward…
Dario Menor: Were you left with the urge to visit the Pyramids?
Pope Francis: But, do you know that today at 6:00 in the morning, two of my assistants went to visit the pyramids?
Dario Menor: Would you have liked to go with them?
Pope Francis: Truly, yes.
Dario Menor: Thanks a million.
Virginie Riva (Europe 1): Holy Father, a question possibly starting from the trip and extending it to France, if you accept. You spoke at al-Azhar, at the university, about demagogic populism. French Catholics in this moment are tempted by the populist or extreme vote, they are divided and disoriented. What elements of discernment could you give these Catholic electors?
Pope Francis: Great… there is a dimension of “populisms” – in quotes, because you know that this word for me, I’ve had to relearn it in Europe, because in Latin America it has another meaning – there is an issue in Europe and there is an issue of the European Union behind it… that which I said about Europe I will not repeat it here… I’ve spoken about it four times, I believe, twice in Strasbourg, once at the Charlemagne Prize and at the beginning of the commemoration of the 60th. There is everything I’ve said about Europe. Every nation is free to make choices that it believes convenient before this. I cannot judge if this choice is made for this reason, or for another, because I don’t know the internal politics. It is true that Europe is in danger of dissolving. This is true! I said it softly in Strasbourg. I said it more strongly at the Charlemagne [Prize ceremony] and lately without nuance. We must meditate on only that – the Europe that goes from the Atlantic to the Urals – there is an issue that scares Europe and perhaps feeds … the issue is emigration. This is true. But let’s not forget that Europe was made by migrants, centuries and centuries of migrants. We are them! But it is an issue that must be studied well, also respecting opinions, but the honest opinions of a political discussion – with the capital letter, big, with the big ‘Politics’ and not with the little ‘politics’ of the nation that in the end winds up falling. About France, I’ll tell the truth. I don’t understand the internal French politics. I don’t understand it. I’ve sought to have good relations, also with the current president, with which there was a conflict once, but after I was able to speak clearly about things, respecting his opinion. On the two political candidates, I don’t know the history. I don’t know where they come from, nor – yes, I know that one represents the strong right, but the other I truly don’t know where they come from – for this (reason) I cannot give a clear opinion on France. But, speaking with Catholics, here in one of the gatherings, while I was greeting people, one said to me, ‘But why don’t you think big about politics ?’ What does that mean? Well, he said it to me as if asking for help… eh, to make a party for Catholics. This is a good man but he’s living in the last century. For this, the populisms have relationships with migrants, but this is not from the trip. If I still have time later I can return to this. If I have time, I will return.
Vera Shcherbakova (ITAR-TASS): Holy Father, thank you first of all for the blessings… you blessed me. I knelt down some minutes ago. I am Orthodox and I don’t see any contradiction with my baptism, anyway, I see it as a great pleasure. I wanted to ask: what are the prospects for the relations between the Orthodox, obviously Russian, but also yesterday in the common declaration with the Coptic Patriarch, the common date of Easter (came up) and that they speak of a recognition of baptism… where are we on this point? How do you evaluate the relations between the Vatican and Russia as a State, also in light of the defense of the values of Christians in the Middle East and especially in Syria? Thanks.
Greg Burke: This is Vera Shcherbakova, of the TASS Agency.
Pope Francis: Christos Anesti! I, with the Orthodox, have always had a great friendship, since Buenos Aires, no? For example, every January 6th I would go to vespers, to the complete readings, at your Cathedral of Patriarch Plato, who is in an archbishop in the area of Ukraine, no? And he… two hours and forty (minutes) of prayer in a language that I didn’t understand, but you could pray well, and then the dinner with the community. Three hundred people, a Christmas Eve dinner, not a Christmas dinner. They still couldn’t eat dairy or meat, but it was a beautiful dinner and then bingo, the lottery… friendship… also with the other Orthodox, also sometimes they needed legal help. They would come to the Catholic Curia because they are small communities and they would go to the lawyers. They’d come in and out. But, I’ve always had a filial, fraternal relationship. We are sister Churches! With Tawadros, there is a special friendship. For me, he’s a great man of God! And Tawadros is a patriarch, a pope that carries the Church forward, the name of Jesus before (him). He has a great apostolic zeal… He is one of the most – permit me the word, but in quotes – ‘fanatics’ of finding a fixed date for Easter. I am too. We are seeking the way. But he says, ‘Let’s fight!’ He is a man of God. He is a man who, when he was bishop, far from Egypt, went out to feed the disabled, a man who was sent to a diocese with five churches and he left behind 25, I don’t know how many Christian families with the apostolic zeal. The you know how they make the election among them. They look for three, then they put the names in a bag, they call a child, they close their eyes and the child chooses the name. The Lord is there. He is clearly a great patriarch. The unity of baptism is moving ahead. The guilt of baptism is an historical thing (Editor’s note: Pope Francis seems to be referring to the historical ‘breach’ between the recognition of baptism between the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic traditions. Neither currently recognizes baptism carried out in the other Church), because in the first Councils it was the same, then as the Coptic Christians baptized children in the shrines, when they wanted to get married, they came to us, they were married with a Catholic, they asked for the faith… but they didn’t have it and they asked for baptism under a condition. It started with us, not with them… but now the door has been opened and we are on a good path of overcoming this issue, the door…. In the common declaration, the penultimate paragraph speaks of this. The Russian Orthodox recognize our baptism and we recognize their baptism. I was a very close friend as the bishop of Buenos Aires with the Russians, also with the Georgians, for example… but the patriarch of the Georgians is a man of God, Ilia II. He is a mystic! We Catholics must learn also from this mystical tradition of the Orthodox Churches. During this trip, we had this ecumenical encounter. Patriarch Bartholomew was there too. The Greek Orthodox Archbishop was there and then there were other Christians – Anglicans, also the secretary of the Union of Churches of Geneva (Editor’s note: Pope Francis is referring to the Conference of European Churches) but all that makes ecumenism is on the path. Ecumenism is made on the path, with the works of charity, with the works of helping, doing things together when they can be done together. Static ecumenism doesn’t exist! It is true that theologians must study and come to an agreement, but it will not be possible for this to finish well if we’re not walking. What can we do together? Pray together, work together, do works of charity together… but, together, eh! And move ahead. The relations with Patriarch Kirill are good. They are good. Also, Metropolitan Archbishop Hilarion has come many times to speak with me and we have a good relationship.
Greg Burke: She’s asking about with the State…
Pope Francis: Ah, with the State! I know that the State speaks of this, of the defense of Christians in the Middle East. This I know and believe that it is a good thing to fight against persecution… today there are more martyrs than in the first centuries, most of all in the Middle East.
Greg Burke: Phil Pulella…this question will address the trip, but then let’s see where it ends…
Phil Pulella (Reuters): If I can I would like to speak about another topic, but I’ll start with the trip. You spoke yesterday in your first speech about the danger of unilateral action, and that everyone must be builders of peace. Now you have spoken very clearly about the “third world war in pieces,” but it seems that today this fear and anxiety is concentrated on what is happening in North Korea…
Pope Francis: Yes, it’s the focal point!
Pulella: Exactly, it’s the point of concentration. President Trump sent a team of military ships to the coast of North Korea, the leader of North Korea threatened to bomb South Korea, Japan and even the United States if they succeed in building long-range missiles. People are afraid and speak of the possibility of a nuclear war as if it were nothing. You, if you see President Trump, but also other people, what will you say to these leaders who are responsible for the future of humanity? Because we are in a very critical moment…
Pope Francis: I would call them, I call them and I will call them like I called on leaders in different positions to work on resolving problems along the path of diplomacy, and there are facilitators, many of them, in the world. There are mediators who offer…there are countries like Norway, for example, no one can accuse Norway of being a dictatorial country, and it’s always ready to help, to name an example, but there are many. The path is the path of negotiation, the path of diplomatic solutions. This world war in pieces of which I’ve been talking about for two years more or less, it’s in pieces, but the pieces have gotten bigger, they are concentrated, they are focused on points that are already hot. Things are already hot, as the issue of missiles in North Korea has been there for more than a year, now it seems that the thing has gotten too hot. I always say to resolve problems on the path of diplomacy, negotiation, because the future of humanity…today a widespread war destroys I don’t say half of humanity, but a good part of humanity, and it’s the culture, everything. It’s terrible. I think that today humanity is not able to support it. Let’s look to these countries that are suffering an internal war, inside, where there are the fires of war, in the Middle East for example, but also in Africa, in Yemen. Let’s stop! Let’s look for a diplomatic solution! And there I believe that the United Nations has the duty to resume their leadership, because it’s been watered down a bit.
Pulella: Do you want to meet President Trump when he comes to Europe? Has there been a request for a meeting?
Pope Francis: I still have not been informed by the Secretariat of State if there has been a request, but I receive every head of state who asks for an audience.
Greg Burke: I think the questions on the trip have finished. We can take one more still, then we have to go to dinner at six-thirty. There is Antonio Pelayo from Antena 3, who you know…
Antonio Pelayo (Antena 3): Thank you. Holy Father, the situation in Venezuela has deteriorated recently in a very serious way, and there have been many deaths. I want to ask you if the Holy See intends to carry out this action, this peacemaking intervention, and what forms could this action take?
Pope Francis: There was an intervention from the Holy See at the strong request of the four presidents that were working as facilitators. And the thing didn’t turn out. And it remained there. It didn’t turn out because the proposals weren’t accepted or they were diluted. It was a ‘yes-yes,’ but ‘no-no.’ We all know the difficult situation of Venezuela. It is a nation that I really love. And I know that now they are insisting, I don’t know well from where, I believe that it’s from the four presidents, on relaunching this facilitation and they are looking for the place. I think that this has to be with conditions already, very clear conditions. Part of the opposition doesn’t want this. Because it’s curious, the very opposition is divided and on the other hand it appears that the conflicts are always worse. But, there is something in movement. I was informed of that, but it is very up in the air still. But all that can be done for Venezuela has to be done, with the necessary guarantees, if not we’re playing ‘tin tin pirulero’ (Editor’s note: this is a Spanish term for trying one thing, then another and another without knowing what one is doing). It’s not working…
Greg Burke: Thank you Holy Father. And now we go to…
Jörg Heinz Norbert Bremer (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung): Some days ago you spoke about the theme of refugees in Greece, in Lesbos, and you used this word “concentration camp” because there were too many people. For us Germans this was obviously a very, very serious word, and very close to “extermination camp.” There are people who say that this was a linguistic lapse. What did you intend to say?
Pope Francis: First, you must read well everything that I said. I said that the most generous in Europe were Italy and Greece. It’s true, they are closer to Libya, to Syria. From Germany, I have always admired the ability of integration. When I studied there, there were many integrated Turks in Frankfurt. They integrated and had a normal life. There was no linguistic lapse: there are concentration camps, sorry: refugee camps that are true camps of concentration. Perhaps there are some in Italy, or in another area…in Germany, I’m not sure, but you think of what people do who are closed in a camp and can’t leave. Think about what happened in Northern Europe when they wanted to cross the sea and go to England. They are closed inside. But it made me laugh a bit, and this is a bit of Italian culture, but it made me laugh that in a refugee camp in Sicily, a delegate of Catholic Action told me, one of the delegates from the dioceses in Argentina – there is one or two in the area there, I don’t know which diocese – the heads of that city where the camp was spoke to the people in the refugee camp, and they said: you, here inside, it will hurt you and your mental health too…you have to go out, but please don’t do anything bad. We can’t open the door, but we can make a little hole behind. Go out, have a nice walk, and this is how relationships were made with the people who lived in that city, good relationships, and these (refugees) aren’t delinquents, they don’t commit crimes. The sole fact of being closed without anything (to do), this is a lager! (Editor’s note: he is referring to the German name for concentration camp. For example, Auschwitz was a “lager”). But it doesn’t have anything to do with Germany, no.
Greg Burke: Thank you Holy Father.
Pope Francis: Thanks to you for this work you do which helps a lot of people. You don’t know the good that you can do with your news pieces, with your articles, with your thoughts. We must help people and also help communication, because communication…may the press lead us to good things, may it not lead us to disorientations that don’t help us. Thank you very much! Have a good dinner, and pray for me!
Ed Pentin, Elise Harris, Alan Holdren and Andrea Gagliarducci contributed to this report.
[…]
It’s a papacy that is a mess..
Something Francis himself recommended… So he’s practicing what he preached… To the detriment of the entire Church…
In a normal world, Bergoglio and his coterie around the world would all be charged for crimes of violating ecclesiastical RICO laws.
This moral mess is beyond “replying to”. The”Sweet Christ”, the
Vicar of Christ on earth, is owed allegiance by all, “even if
he were the Devil incarnate” —(St.Catherine of Siena). So who,
except God, is above Pope Francis? That means the same people —
THAT’S US — who owe allegiance to Francis will REPLY BEST by non-stop “pray, penance, and almsgiving” . . and REPARATION, Eucharistic preferably, while suffering this Pontificate to its . . conclusion? . . or to the ushering in of the Anti-Christ?
Don’t confuse the forest for the trees or the trees for the forest…alas, if Sweet Truth be Love and Light:
Saint Catherine is even by this one article amply heard afresh divinely echoed:
Alas, alas, sweetest father mine, pardon my presumption in what I have said to you and am saying; I am constrained by the Sweet Primal Truth to say it. His will, father, is this, and thus demands of you. It demands that you execute justice on the abundance of many iniquities committed by those who are fed and pastured in the garden of Holy Church; declaring that brutes should not be fed with the food of men. Since He has given you authority and you have assumed it, you should use your virtue and power: and if you are not willing to use it, it would be better for you to resign what you have assumed; more honour to God and health to your soul would it be.
AAuthority also you have, to give peace to those who ask you for it. Then, since you are not poor but rich, you who bear in your hand the keys of Heaven, to whom you open it is open, and to whom you shut it is shut. If you do not do this, you would be rebuked by God. I, if I were in your place, should fear lest divine judgment come upon me. Therefore I beg you most gently on behalf of Christ crucified to be obedient to the will of God, for I know that you want and desire no other thing than to do His will, that this sharp rebuke fall not upon you : “Cursed be thou, for the time and the strength entrusted to thee thou hast not used.”
Blessings of Christ’sMass!
Thank you, God bless!
Let’s not forget that St. Catherine of Siena also reprimanded the very same pope and declared that if he did not get his act together for the sake of the unity of the Church, it would be better that he resign lest he face the wrath of God. We should be asking Heaven to send us a holy prophet to hold this bad pope accountable.
Saint Catherine of Siena, Letter to Pope Gregory XI:
Alas, alas, sweetest father mine, pardon my presumption in what I have said to you and am saying; I am constrained by the Sweet Primal Truth to say it. His will, father, is this, and thus demands of you. It demands that you execute justice on the abundance of many iniquities committed by those who are fed and pastured in the garden of Holy Church; declaring that brutes should not be fed with the food of men. Since He has given you authority and you have assumed it, you should use your virtue and power: and if you are not willing to use it, it would be better for you to resign what you have assumed; more honour to God and health to your soul would it be.
Authority also you have, to give peace to those who ask you for it. Then, since you are not poor but rich, you who bear in your hand the keys of Heaven, to whom you open it is open, and to whom you shut it is shut. If you do not do this, you would be rebuked by God. I, if I were in your place, should fear lest divine judgment come upon me. Therefore I beg you most gently on behalf of Christ crucified to be obedient to the will of God, for I know that you want and desire no other thing than to do His will, that this sharp rebuke fall not upon you : “Cursed be thou, for the time and the strength entrusted to thee thou hast not used.”
In truth, we owe allegiance to no one but God and his glorified Son, Jesus Christ. How many Popes have been corrupt over the centuries? Far more than the ones that weren’t. Trust nothing but the word of God. The Church since the early centuries has been led by fallible humans all susceptible to temptation and corruption. Many have lived up to their human failings.
The big problem with the Catholic Church is that there is no good way to address corruption in the hierarchy. If the Bishops/Cardinals/Pope become corrupt, our answer is to do…nothing! Because, you know, somehow even the corrupt clergy are so high above us that we are not worthy to stop them from destroying the Church from the inside. Right?
To this I say “Balderdash!” It is this mentality which causes corruption which just doesn’t last days/weeks/months — but years, decades and CENTURIES.
Shame on the laity for tolerating corruption in the clergy. Shame on the laity for deifying the clergy and making them incapable of taking correction by anybody but other clergy or Death.
When I see this mindset, from good people no less, I honestly have to say, “Thank God for the Protestants.”
“The big problem with the Catholic Church is that there is no good way to address corruption in the hierarchy.”
Yes, there is: expose it.
“When I see this mindset, from good people no less, I honestly have to say, ‘Thank God for the Protestants.'”
There are a host of problems with corruption and abuse among Protestant groups. And most are even less effective at dealing with said problems than are Catholics.
Carl, I appreciate the work you do and have for many years. I also appreciate your commentary and exposure of the problems in the Church.
BUT, and this is a big BUT, we are waaaaaaayyyyyy beyond just exposing corruption/weakness in the Church and hoping the exposed parties shape up or other parties rise up to take action.
In a way, our problem in the American Church mirrors our problem in American politics: The good people are not willing to stand up and fight the bad guys in such a way that hurts them much, and the bad guys have figured that out. Figured that out and become bolder…
The problem is, indeed, the people in power. But an equally-big problem is that we are not man enough to stand up to them or somehow feel we don’t have the “authority” to do so. Nothing changes until the people in power feel more pain than they feel now.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/the-complex-case-of-fr-marko-rupnik-untangled/ –
Another seemingly more balanced / truthful view above – unsure if the priest has only been accused of misbehavior so far .. when there are also motives of money on the victim side and realms of spiritual warfare on both sides –
https://www.catholicexorcism.org/post/exorcist-diary-221-it-s-all-good-father
The just and merciful means to deal with it all – may be far more complex …
do families that have history of sins against marriage / life be precluded from all related realms for the rest of their lives …having means of just and merciful means esp. in vigorous measures of prevention too for those who seem esp. harshly treated – such as the priests …
Hearing about the traffic snafus in the nation causing problems in many families – ? need to also see same as effect of the cold heartedness of the head of the related Dept.,in being an unholy example of what a family is to be !
More than laws, more insight and means into the spiritual realms such as in the ministry of exrocism , The Precious Blood and Divine Will devotions …. the Holy Father is doing his share of same in ways that meet the needs of our times -esp. the catechetical lessons including warnings about polite demons and spiritual worldliness and all – seeing money and political power as more than The Spirit -may the ears and hearts be open to same !
Oh please. When you lack real moral and spiritual wisdom, it is easy to pretend to have it by condemning the old standbys, violence and love of money. When has Francis ever demonstrated actual wisdom on sexual ethics? When has he even drawn a connection between abortion and the sloppy moral standards of the sex revolution? On the contrary, he condemns concern for the first as an “obsession” and has cast doubt whether “below the belt” matters are even sinful.
“Fr. Rupnik’s Jesuit superiors reportedly heard the allegations against him more than twenty years ago, but either turned a blind eye or actively covered for their guy, whose fame was growing and whose stock was high in the papal apartments.”
In fairness; I could imagine the difficulty Jesuits would have believing that one of their members had illicit carnal appetites directed to women.
😂😟🤬
😂🤣
Not familiar with MarksmanRuperstiltickel’s mosaics, I turned to Google. I discovered that Jimmy Martin did a little write-up about Marko Rupnik for America ragazine in 2009. Jimmy featured Rupnik in a video and a photo gallery. Guess what? Both have now disappeared. Like a magic show of smoke and mirrors. Pooph. With a wave of the hand, they’re gone.
/www.americamagazine.org/issue/682/100/mosaics-marko-rupnik
I’m curious; how many mosaics feature three eyes between two beings? Mr. Altieri writes that the Vatican ‘turned a blind eye’ to Rupnik’s exposing his misdeeds to those with eyes that see.
Harsh yet, justified criticism of Papa is not something that CWR doesn’t want to attend to! While it is to be respected, those who love the church need to be heard.
Luke 17:3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
1 Corinthians 13:6 It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Matthew 23:1-Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, …
I’m not sure what you mean by: “criticism of Papa is not something that CWR doesn’t want to attend to”
Dear Merion:
Thank you for drawing attention to a rather awkward remark! It does happen to yours truly, more than I might wish!
God bless you in your efforts to proclaim righteousness clothed with common sense.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
Altieri is right in respect to the inviolability of papal authority, that this preeminence in the Church cannot be judged – although this judgment has two distinct meanings.
First. We cannot judge the pontiff’s authority, by negation of that authority. Second. We can judge the benevolent or detrimental use of that authority. As we find in the references here to St Catherine of Siena.
For examples, we may criticize Francis’ refusal to reply to the Dubia. We cannot prosecute him for that refusal. Similarly, many strongly criticized Francis, and rightly so for his refusal to respond to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s allegations regarding his knowledge of the McCarrick dossier. We cannot censure him for refusing.
There is a misunderstanding among pious laity who contend that inviolability of pontifical preeminence raises a pontiff, Francis, above any reproach. That a pontiff even if he makes an inadvertent blunder, misguided statement is so inviolable to evil that he cannot be the cause of evil taking hold among the faithful. That’s the issue argued at length in the recent Feser article, When do popes teach infallibly?. That query infers whether God would permit a pontiff to misguide the Church outside of his ex Cathedra infallible office. That’s an issue that previously didn’t seem possible until 2013. Nevertheless, we cannot fully know the mind of God. The Aryan heresy though virtually universal addressed a single theological doctrine that was beyond the comprehension of the vast majority of Christians. Practice of the faith remained relatively intact. Whereas today there’s virtually total reevaluation of Catholic Christian doctrine. A significant error was addressed by me in Dr Feser’s article, the doctrine on worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist.
Archbishop Cordileone banned Nancy Pelosi from receiving the Holy Eucharist May 20. June 29 Pope Francis published his Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi, “To be admitted to the feast all that is required is the wedding garment of faith which comes from the hearing of his Word.” Francis had previously criticized the Archbishop for not being pastorally sensitive, standing by previous comments that no one should be denied the Eucharist.
This is a public declaration that repudiates Catholic doctrine requiring confession and repentance for serious sin prior to receiving the Eucharist. Doctrine that reaches back to the Apostle Paul who instructed the faithful, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Cor 11:26-27).
Wearing the wedding garment is more than belief. The virgins who were left outside in the dark believed, although did not practice the faith sufficiently. Wearing the garment refers to a real faith that lives the commandments.