Two recent, notable pieces of Vatican news not to be overlooked
New Vatican directives about the conduct and attire of employees and yesterday’s collection for Peter’s pence should both be considered in light of the growing outrage over the handling of the Rupnik affair.
In all the rightly indignant ferment over appalling developments in the Rupnik Affair and the soap opera stramash over Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s richly deserved comeuppance, two news items worth everyone’s attention skated under the radar.
The first concerns provisions in new Vatican laws Pope Francis issued on June 29th—the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul—disciplining the conduct, attire, and personal appearance of employees in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Visible tattoos and body piercings are verboten (cf. art. 9.1), as is “belonging to institutions or associations, the purposes of which are not compatible with the doctrine and discipline of the Church,” or even participating in the activities of such organizations, or “carry[ing] out activities or tak[ing] part in events that are not in keeping with the character of an employee of an organization connected to the Holy See (art. 14l-m).”
Article 7 states that permanent staff “undertake to observe exemplary religious and moral conduct, even in private and family life, in accordance with the doctrine of the Church.”
That last one is unsurprising, or would be, were it not for the reluctance of senior Church leadership to police the bedrooms of powerful clerics like Rupnik.
It leads one to wonder with what alacrity the Vatican types are going to be policing the conduct of custodians who pull down €1300 a month in regular pay.
The regulations in themselves are entirely reasonable and sensible. I cannot recall the precise wording they had when I came into the Vatican service, but some version of them existed.
The failure of Pope Francis and the Vatican to deal with Rupnik (inter alia) in anything close to an acceptable manner makes it impossible for them to enforce even very reasonable regulations without appearing hypocritical and even a bit thuggish.
The second story concerns the second collection this past Sunday, for Peter’s pence, the annual campaign touted for years as a chance for the faithful around the world to participate in the holy father’s charitable activities, which help the least and neediest around the world, but in fact goes largely to defray the cost of operating the Church’s increasingly dysfunctional central bureaucracy.
It remains to be seen whether converging scandals all somehow arising from one protracted crisis of leadership culture long unaddressed will continue adversely to affect the Peter’s Pence collection. If sincere diligence and genuine concern for the faithful are not sufficient motive forces of real reform on the part of high leadership, perhaps a really big hit to the bottom line will be.
The dreadful botch of the whole Rupnik business, start to finish, has brought Pope Francis’s conduct of the Church’s government under much needed scrutiny. A sober and unflinching look at the Francis pontificate makes it impossible to see the Rupnik Affair as a mere misstep or aberration. History will judge Francis’s conduct of the office with which the cardinals entrusted him under God eleven years ago.
In the present, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communications of the Holy See confirmed his outfit’s use of images by accused serial rapist Fr. Marko Rupnik, long decried by victims of abuse as atrocious, is in fact intentional and programmatic. Ruffini offered a full-throated defense of the position in the face of questions from journalists.
Exactly everyone found his position execrable and his defense utterly implausible.
On Wednesday of last week, Cardinal Sean O’Malley sent a letter to the heads of all Roman dicasteries, urging them to rethink their use of Rupnik and Rupnik-studio images.
“[P]astoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense of alleged perpetrators of abuse or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse,” Cardinal O’Malley wrote.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors—which has reportedly styled itself the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons in some recent correspondence—issued a statement on Friday, June 28th, specifically naming the Dicastery for Communications and Rupnik’s art.
“In recent months,” the statement said, “victims and survivors of power abuse, spiritual abuse, and sexual abuse have reached out to the PCPM to express their increasing frustration and concern at the continued use of artwork by Father Marko Rupnik by several Vatican offices, including the Dicastery for Communications.”
The Commission issued the statement making knowledge of O’Malley’s letter public on the feast of St. Irenaeus of Lyon, which the Vatican Media liturgical calendar illustrated with an image pulled from a Rupnik mosaic in the chapel of the Paris nunciature.
The image had been scheduled for some time. In fact, the dicastery used the same image last year. The Internet Archive has the image placed on the page in June of 2021. If folks were waiting to see how the Dicastery for Communications would respond to the general outcry in the wake of Ruffini’s remarks, they had their answer on Friday.
Business as usual.
“Pope Francis has urged us to be sensitive to and walk in solidarity with those harmed by all forms of abuse,” O’Malley wrote. “I ask you to bear this in mind when choosing images to accompany the publication of messages, articles, and reflections through the various communication channels available to us,” he wrote.
On the other hand, a word—one—from Francis would have kept the comms dicastery from using the Rupnik image last Friday, which also happened to be the day before O’Malley turned eighty years old and lost his voting rights in conclave.
Meanwhile, the DDF continues its lucubration over the case files containing the copious evidence already collected against Rupnik, who only escaped justice because the DDF decided the charges against him were statute-barred and Pope Francis didn’t waive the statute of limitations until he did.
The faithful deserve a complete account of the entire Rupnik Affair from start to finish. Its awful mismanagement at almost every turn must be laid bare. Another secret trial—if any should come at all—will only make it impossible to avoid the conclusion that Francis’s decision to lift the statute of limitations was a hopelessly cynical reaction to legitimate outrage.
Msgr. John Kennedy, who heads the DDF’s discipline section overseeing the review of the Rupnik case, has said “the aspect of the impact on the Church” makes the Rupnik Affair a “delicate” matter. Basically, the full truth—even a better, fuller picture—of the Rupnik business would make many senior churchmen look very bad, indeed. So, it is unlikely said churchmen will volunteer any more than they absolutely must.
Under current law—and under the current pope—that is evidently very little.
In any case, the damage is done.
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Christopher R. Altieri is a journalist, editor and author of three books, including Reading the News Without Losing Your Faith (Catholic Truth Society, 2021). He is contributing editor to Catholic World Report.
Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
CNA Staff, Mar 13, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
March 13 marks the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23-28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato Si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19-22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22-27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24, 2015. . L’Osservatore Romano.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26-31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12-13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15-21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25-26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3-28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22-27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21-24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6-27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary “urbi et orbi” blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5-8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis Custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2-6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate Evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24-30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31-Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Pope Francis greets a young boy a Mass in Juba, South Sudan on Feb. 5, 2023. Vatican Media
March 29-April 1 — Pope Francis is hospitalized for a respiratory infection. During his stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he visits the pediatric cancer ward and baptizes a newborn baby.
April 5 — The pope appears in the Disney documentary “The Pope: Answers,” which is in Spanish, answering six “hot-button” issues from members of Gen Z from various backgrounds. The group discusses immigration, depression, abortion, clergy sexual and psychological abuse, transgenderism, pornography, and loss of faith.
April 28-30 — Pope Francis visits Hungary to meet with government officials, civil society members, bishops, priests, seminarians, Jesuits, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers. He celebrates Mass on the final day of the trip in Kossuth Lajos Square.
Pope Francis stands on an altar erected outside the Parliament Building in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos’ Square during a public outdoor Mass on April 30, 2023. Vatican Media
June 7 — The Vatican announces that Pope Francis will undergo abdominal surgery that afternoon under general anesthesia due to a hernia that is causing painful, recurring, and worsening symptoms. In his general audience that morning before the surgery, Francis says he intends to publish an apostolic letter on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “patroness of the missions,” to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth.
June 15 — After successful surgery and a week of recovery, Pope Francis is released from Gemelli Hospital.
Aug. 2-6 — Pope Francis travels to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day 2023, taking place from Aug. 1-6. He meets with Church and civil leaders ahead of presiding at the welcoming Mass and Stations of the Cross. He also hears the confessions of several pilgrims. On Aug. 5, he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, where he prays the rosary with young people with disabilities. That evening he presides over the vigil and on Sunday, Aug. 6, he celebrates the closing Mass, where he urges the 1.5 million young people present to “be not afraid,” echoing the words of the founder of World Youth Days, St. John Paul II.
Pope Francis waves at the crowd of 1.5 million people who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 6, 2023. Vatican Media.
Aug. 31-Sept. 4 — Pope Francis travels to Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country. The trip makes Francis the first pope to visit the Asian country that shares a 2,880-mile border with China, its most significant economic partner. Mongolia has a population of about 1,300 Catholics in a country of more than 3 million people.
Pope Francis meets with local priests and religious of Mongolia, which includes only 25 priests (19 religious and six diocesan), 33 women religious, and one bishop — Cardinal Giorgio Marengo — in Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Sept. 2, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Sept. 22-23 — On a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Pope Francis meets with local civil and religious leaders and participates in the Mediterranean Encounter, a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries.
Pope Francis asks for a moment of silence at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. A Camargue cross, which comes from the Camargue area of France, represents the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three tridents represent faith, the anchor represents hope, and the heart represents charity. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Oct. 4-29 — The Vatican hosts the first of two monthlong global assemblies of the Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in 2021 to enhance the communion, participation, and mission of the Church. Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the synod at St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29. The second and final global assembly will take place at the Vatican in October 2024.
Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican Media
Nov. 25 — Pope Francis visits the hospital briefly for precautionary testing after coming down with the flu earlier in the day. Although he still participates in scheduled activities, other officials read his prepared remarks. The Vatican on Nov. 28 cancels the pope’s planned Dec. 1–3 trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, due to his illness.
Dec. 18 — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which authorizes nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and couples in “irregular situations.” Various bishops from around the world voice both support for and criticism of the document.
2024
Jan. 4 — Amid widespread backlash to Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, publishes a five-page press release that refers to Fiducia Supplicans as “perennial doctrine” and underlines that pastoral blessings of couples in irregular situations should not be “an endorsement of the life led by those who request them.”
Jan. 14 — Pope Francis for the first time responds publicly to questions about Fiducia Supplicans in an interview on an Italian television show. The pope underlines that “the Lord blesses everyone” and that a blessing is an invitation to enter into a conversation “to see what the road is that the Lord proposes to them.”
Feb. 11 — In a ceremony attended by Argentine president Javier Milei, Pope Francis canonizes María Antonia of St. Joseph — known affectionately in the pope’s home country as “Mama Antula” — in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The president and the former archbishop of Buenos Aires embrace after the ceremony. Pope Francis, who has not returned to his homeland since becoming pope in 2013, has said he wants to visit Argentina in the second half of this year.
Pope Francis meets with Argentina President Javier Milei in a private audience on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Feb. 28 — After canceling audiences the previous Saturday and having an aide read his prepared remarks at his Wednesday audience due to a “mild flu,” Pope Francis visits the hospital for diagnostic tests but returns to the Vatican afterward.
March 2 — Despite having an aide read his speech “because of bronchitis,” the pope presides over the inauguration of the 95th Judicial Year of the Vatican City State and maintains a full schedule.
March 13 — Pope Francis celebrates 11 years as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Francis led the “Regina Caeli” on Monday, April 18, 2022, at St. Peter’s Square. / Daniel Ibáñez | CNA
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2022 / 10:40 am (CNA).
Fear is like a tomb that can “bury us,” Pope Francis said Monday, but the Risen Lord’s words to the women who were the first to announce his resurrection apply to us, as well: “Be not afraid.”
Jesus knows that “our fears are our daily enemies” and that “our fears hide from the great fear, that of death: fear of fading away, or losing loved ones, of being sick, of not being able to cope further,” the pope said.
But Easter marks the day that Jesus conquered death, he added, “so no one else can tell us in a more convincing way: ‘Do not be afraid.’”
Pope Francis led the “Regina Caeli” on Monday, April 18, 2022, at St. Peter’s Square. Daniel Ibáñez | CNA
Pope Francis spoke Monday afternoon to a large crowd in St. Peter’s Square on La Pasquetta, or “Little Easter,” a national holiday in Italy. The day’s Gospel reading, from the twenty-eighth chapter of Matthew, records how Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” encounter Jesus while running to bring the news of his rising to his disciples.
“Brother, sister, who believe in Christ, do not be afraid! Jesus says: ‘I tasted death for you, I took your pain upon myself. Now I have risen to tell you: I am here with you forever. Do not be afraid!'” Pope Francis said.
The Holy Father noted that the Lord gives the women another instruction: “Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Fear “closes us in on ourselves,” the pope said, but we can overcome fear by answering Jesus’ call to proclaim the resurrection to others.
Pope Francis led the “Regina Caeli” on Monday, April 18, 2022, at St. Peter’s Square. Daniel Ibáñez | CNA
We may doubt our ability to share that news, but it is important to note that “the women were not perhaps the most suitable and prepared to proclaim the resurrection” either, the pope said. Nevertheless, “that did not matter to the Lord.”
Jesus cares only that “we go forth and proclaim … because the Easter joy is not to be kept to oneself,” he said.
“The joy of Christ is strengthened by giving it, it multiplies sharing it,” Pope Francis added. “If we open ourselves and bear the Gospel, our hearts will open and overcome fear. This is the secret: We proclaim and overcome fear.”
In addition to fear, there is another obstacle to sharing the Gospel, the pope noted: falsehood.
Falsehood can be seen in the “counter-proclamation” of the soldiers who guarded the tomb and lied saying that Jesus’s body was stolen by his disciples, the pope said.
“The Gospel says [the guards] were paid ‘a sum of money,’ a good sum, and received these instructions: ‘Tell people, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep”’’” Pope Francis said.
But there is a contradiction: If the soldiers were sleeping, how did they see the disciples steal Jesus’ body? The payment they received explains their contrived narrative. Money is “the other lord that Jesus says we must never serve,” the pope said.
“Before the Risen Lord, there is another ‘god’ – the god of money that dirties and ruins everything, that closes the door to salvation,” Pope Francis said. “This is present everywhere in daily life with the temptation to adore the god of money.”
Pope Francis said that when deceit and lies are discovered by the media within the lives of people, it causes scandal.
“But let us give a name also to the obscurity and falsehoods we have in ourselves! And let us place our own darkness and falsehoods before the light of the Risen Jesus,” he said.
Jesus wants to “bring hidden things to light to make us transparent and luminous witnesses to the joy of the Gospel, of the truth that will make you free,” he said.
He then asked “Mary, Mother of the Risen One,” to “help us overcome our fears and give us passion for the truth.”
About this pontificate, Fr. Weinandy has a damning piece about this pontificate today over at The Catholic Thing.
With regard to the Peter’s Pence collection this past Sunday, it was a sheer joy to allow the basket to pass without even a glance in its direction. The Vatican deserves not a dime; what it needs is a thorough house-cleaning.
Thanks Deacon Edward, for calling my attention to this excellent article by Fr. Weinandy who points out the divergence (hypocrisy?) between what is often said and done in this papacy.
Saying the right things, but putting in place clerics whose policies disavow the right thing is a shell game!
And people wonder why Archbishop Vigano and others are angry!
And I shared your delight in letting the Peter’s Pence collection go by without my support!
Fr. Weinandy is such a forwardist. Most damning is his critique of the simpering papal poet being pushed forward as a potential Francis II, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça. This pup had the nerve to praise a book entitled: “We Are All Perverse! In Favor of a Queer Theology.”
Did Paul deserve a “comeuppance” when he criticized Peter?
Sorry, but any thought thar draconian measures need to be deployed to preserve fidelity ended with thew failure to excommunicate any number of other men with collars and mitres who failed in spectacular and scandalous ways.
If one actually believes that Vigano is in profound error, one should be praying for his soul, a change of heart or some intermediary discipline. Of course, there is the possibility that he speaks some degree of truth; in which case the same prayers need to be said on behalf of the Pope and the Vatican bureaucrats.
However, to put a pen in service to cheering the equivalent of a stoning is repellent and disgusting.
You deserve a lot of credit and respect for reporting on these issue the way you do. In the age of the internet, with information and disinformation spread all over the world, your reporting is very necessary.
I agree with everything but your comment regarding Vigano–he does not deserve a comeuppance. Vigano is absolutely correct in his assertions regarding the vacant Chair of St. Peter.
Bergoglio refuses to “judge” people whose lifestyles are dedicated to committing deadly sins, and yet forbids the hiring of people with decorative piercings and tattoos?
Not to mention outlawing the Latin Mass that’s been said for millennia?
While, as Mr. Altieri points out, Rupnik is still Rupniking to his heart’s content.
The hypocrisy is astounding. Colossal. Stultifying.
How long will God allow Himself to be associated with this fiasco?
You know someone’s clambering for distractions when they start filling the view of the Vatican with the more minor issues while ignoring the major ones, such as clergy sexual activity (over 50%) and clergy sexual misconduct/abuse against adults – still no clear guidelines there. Meanwhile the victims continue to suffer and the adolescent ignorance and mentality of ‘celibate?’ clergy reigns.
It is a classic symptom of narcissism. A person with this disorder believes that others must follow the rules (when it suits him) but he himself is exempt from those rules because of his entitlement. Furthermore, he changes the rules for others as he pleases because in his mind he is a center of the universe. That makes him a natural hypocrite, capable of ordering “no tattoo” while having a tattoo himself (I am constructing an example here). It is illogical yet fits a narcotic logic “I am above all”.
A narcissist also notoriously lacks self-awareness hence he cannot see how absurd a combination of “Rupnik rupniking – no tattoos” is. It can be grasped if applied to this situation an extreme “I will”, “my will be done”.
History will reveal?
With all due respect, at this moment in Time, surely what may have appeared to be hidden has certainly already been revealed to those who are not still sleeping in Gethsemane.
There are many of us who do not believe that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò merits a “richly deserved comeuppance” any more than the excommunicated St. Athanasius when he was almost the lone voice defending the truth against the Arian heresy.
Archbishop Viganò is speaking out like Jesus and John the Baptist who rightfully and angrily called out “the brood of vipers” among the religious leaders who distorted religious truth and led people astray.
Yes, AV is imperfect but his insights on PF’s misfeasances & malfeasances are of great importance in helping reign-in the anti-Apostolic antics in Rome.
Dear Maggie & other Vignano apologists in the Comments section –
When a member of the ecclesiastical hierarchy says the pope is not the legitimate pope, that individual is getting their ‘richly deserved comeuppance’ when he is excommunicated for schism. However lousy, incompetent, or petty of a pope that Pope Francis might be (I would assert “is” all these things), he is the legitimately elected successor of St. Peter. It’s a pretty straight forward case.
[Even someone like Strickland understands this, hence why he employs the Trumpian ‘some people are saying’ rhetorical device when he occasionally plays footsie with this notion.]
And, Maggie, thanks for the hearty laugh in comparing a raving buffoon like Vignano to St. Athanasius.
Peter’s Pence has been a very deliberate object of my neglect since March 13, 2013.And really…”Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s richly deserved comeuppance…” God reward Archbishop Viganò is one of the few members of the episcopate doing his job. That he is held in contempt by the present occupant of the Chair of St. Peter only magnifies that person’s pastoral malpractice. Martin, Rupnik and not a few others run wild proclaiming the good news of promiscuity, while faithful priests, bishops and contemplative nuns enjoy Rome’s lash.
And God forbid anyone notice it or comment upon it.
Said the mural artist Cinalli: “The one thing that they didn’t permit me to insert [in the catch-all mural] was the copulation of two people within this net where everything is permitted.” Instead, Fernandez’s anti-binary “irregular couples.”
As for Paglia, recall that he’s the Grand Chancellor of the renamed and purged John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences. Just another day at the orifice!
I believe it will be of great help (to yourself and to the Church) if you see what is happening as consolidation of a selfish (narcissistic) vector within the Church, as the opposite of the vector of Christ. I do not think I am overly “clinical” or “psychological” here because Our Lord has two natures, human and divine. His human nature then is a source of true psychology and his divine nature – of true theology. However, His two natures are united in His Person hence one cannot be considered without another: if Our Lord had a warped psyche (impossible of course) then theology would become warped as well as a result. He is an image of God the Father; if an image is humanely warped then God the Fathers appears to be different and warped as well. This paradigm is applicable to everyone in the Church since we were created in God’s image. If the bishops and priests are very warped psychologically = narcissistic they cannot lead people to Christ – true Christ.
This crookedness of a human psyche is the source of the rot in the Church. It was rotting slowly (in a parallel with true holiness) but, in our times, all rot seems to come to light and it is very hard to deny. This process was predicted at the very beginning of the Church. Think of it, who is antichrist but the opposite of Christ, in his psyche as well? Christ is the Son of God yet He was humble hence the antichrist must be nothing really but have satanic pride covered by a mask of a humble servant. This is a vector of narcissism that is nothing else but a human being thinking he is above all (yet wearing a mask of humility). That vector leads straight to disintegration/death. We all have this selfish tendency by the way so none of us is safe. Well, look then at Rupnik and others entitled and see how them, like tiny particles, are now making an emerging figure of antichrist. They are consolidating along the vector that leads away from Christ. It is unmistakable – in that emerging figure everything is opposite of Our Lord, everything is perverted. It is all about entitlement, hypocrisy, manipulation, zero empathy and compassion, lies, “I will” instead of “let Your will be done” and so on. There is a huge temptation to join that figure because as soon as one does it, he is secure, untroubled and free from pain. Most importantly, he feels he is following Christ – while following himself, his own ego.
To remain in the vector of Christ is very costly because not only it means uncertainty, confusion, etc. The worst of all, it demands an ongoing painful self-scrutiny, of measuring own psyche by Chrit’s psyche as it is revealed to us in His dealing with others and in our own expiries of Him. What I am saying is that the only way here is to surrender to Christ totally and let His Person be our guide in all this mess. To be faithful only to Him, not some “institutions” or “opinions” or whatever but Him first and foremost i.e. to verify all that the bishops, priest etc. say by His Person.
As for the abuse within the Church much discussed here, such abuse is only possible along that narcissistic vector. There is no sexual abuse without emotional abuse and the abuse within the Church is unmistakably narcissistic (only an entitlement and hypocrisy and lack of empathy can explain it). I believe it was given us to see now as the last test (the test of our empathy that makes us human if you like) so the vector of antichrist would be revealed. Hence, those who now refuse to see that abuse or excuse it in any way are joining to the vector contrary to Christ. The revelation of abuse was given to the Church so it would repent and change its ways.
Thank you, dear Anna, for this genuinely apostolic & prophetic depiction of the causes of our beloved Church’s current travail. GOD’s Holy Spirit is addressing our leaders in your godly discernment.
There is not much that we ordinary sheep can do to put right what false shepherds are imposing. Yet, if we do not speak out the truth to our best ability, we will be judged.
May there be more true Catholics who boldly witness against corruption, confident that it is only The Truth that can set us free.
I seem to hear The Apostles of our Lord saying: “You don’t have to win (Jesus is doing that), but you do have to witness to your best ability.”
Always seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
Going by what is presented in the news media, Rupnik maintains an obedience to whomever he is following. If this is the case then I think it is a consideration you might have to temper the narcissism analysis; since it might be possible for him to be redirected so that the interior issues to do with him could be given a right kind of discipline. You might object that he is free to make a change to alternative leadership; however, this can have many practical limitations within a set period not under his control and meanwhile he is plodding through with his own outlooks.
Or, on the other side of this perspective, right leadership would prove how amenable he is to true interior direction; and we are precluded from seeing that evolve.
Why is so much confidence placed in his present circumstances and those who lead him? If his personal circumstances require a seclusion why take so long and generate so much publicity? Is it merely because his art has been set up in certain sanctuaries?
Mr. Altieri, i may be wrong, but you don’t appear old enough to have been a participant in the Catholic environment of the pre-vatican II Mass. Nor do you appear to be old enough to remember weathering liturgical change after change after change through the 1960’s – early 70’s while Catholicism was being gutted, torn asunder and rebuilt in the image and likeness of the freemason Bugnini.
From my perspective in having lived through all of that spiritual and emotional trauma, not to mention the human fallout in lost vocations and the general despair of the faithful, Archbishop Vigano is spot-on in his latest letter entitled, ” I Accuse”.
I concur and support every single point that he makes regarding the background and subsequent fallout of Vatican II.
As our Lord said, “you can tell a tree by its fruit.” Yes, there are a few good fruits born of V-II, but they are the rare exception.
We are now sufficiently separated in time from those tumultuous years to be able to look back objectively on what actually transpired, who drove the issues and what the real objectives were. Archbishop Vigano names them all, in clear detail. For my part, I would rather v-2 never happened.
My advice, worth very little, is if you have lived your entire life on a ship at sea, don’t be so quick to judge those who have lived on dry land.
If only more Catholics loved the Church enough to be as outraged as you are, dear ‘brineyman’, we’d see GOD move speedily against the perverters.
According to ‘Ethical Encounter Theology’, our universe is here to serve the extremely complex, Divine purpose of freely alowing the fullness of evil to fully embody itself, so that final Judgment will be based on what people actually do.
That may help us see why GOD is permitting the PF gang’s mockery of Catholic faith.
Ever in the love & mercy of King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
As a lay Catholic male theologian, I am not surprised by these rules. There has long been one set of standards for what is considered “standard Catholic behavior,” a second for behavior acceptable for liberal heterodoxy, and a third, very indulgent, set for anybody who puts on a Roman collar.
Worried about tattoos & piercing. What bout clergy who outfit our lady of Guadalupe in pride colours or bishops who have statues made of our beautiful blessed mother in labor … with legs spread open. This pope and those he surrounds himself will have to face her one day and their won’t be a pride flag to hide behind. As for peters pence … never 👎
Our Scottish word ‘stramash’ meaning disturbance or racket is such an apt word in this context. Thank you for all your work, which is always insightful and thought-provoking
Archbishop Virginia? You mean Vigano, right?
It has been corrected. Thanks.
About this pontificate, Fr. Weinandy has a damning piece about this pontificate today over at The Catholic Thing.
With regard to the Peter’s Pence collection this past Sunday, it was a sheer joy to allow the basket to pass without even a glance in its direction. The Vatican deserves not a dime; what it needs is a thorough house-cleaning.
Thanks Deacon Edward, for calling my attention to this excellent article by Fr. Weinandy who points out the divergence (hypocrisy?) between what is often said and done in this papacy.
Saying the right things, but putting in place clerics whose policies disavow the right thing is a shell game!
And people wonder why Archbishop Vigano and others are angry!
And I shared your delight in letting the Peter’s Pence collection go by without my support!
Fr. Weinandy is such a forwardist. Most damning is his critique of the simpering papal poet being pushed forward as a potential Francis II, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça. This pup had the nerve to praise a book entitled: “We Are All Perverse! In Favor of a Queer Theology.”
Did Paul deserve a “comeuppance” when he criticized Peter?
Sorry, but any thought thar draconian measures need to be deployed to preserve fidelity ended with thew failure to excommunicate any number of other men with collars and mitres who failed in spectacular and scandalous ways.
If one actually believes that Vigano is in profound error, one should be praying for his soul, a change of heart or some intermediary discipline. Of course, there is the possibility that he speaks some degree of truth; in which case the same prayers need to be said on behalf of the Pope and the Vatican bureaucrats.
However, to put a pen in service to cheering the equivalent of a stoning is repellent and disgusting.
Agree 100%
You deserve a lot of credit and respect for reporting on these issue the way you do. In the age of the internet, with information and disinformation spread all over the world, your reporting is very necessary.
I agree with everything but your comment regarding Vigano–he does not deserve a comeuppance. Vigano is absolutely correct in his assertions regarding the vacant Chair of St. Peter.
This is beyond weird.
Bergoglio refuses to “judge” people whose lifestyles are dedicated to committing deadly sins, and yet forbids the hiring of people with decorative piercings and tattoos?
Not to mention outlawing the Latin Mass that’s been said for millennia?
While, as Mr. Altieri points out, Rupnik is still Rupniking to his heart’s content.
The hypocrisy is astounding. Colossal. Stultifying.
How long will God allow Himself to be associated with this fiasco?
You know someone’s clambering for distractions when they start filling the view of the Vatican with the more minor issues while ignoring the major ones, such as clergy sexual activity (over 50%) and clergy sexual misconduct/abuse against adults – still no clear guidelines there. Meanwhile the victims continue to suffer and the adolescent ignorance and mentality of ‘celibate?’ clergy reigns.
Dear Stephen, you are correct, I think.
‘Flim-Flam Artist’ PF is tweaking the news feed, so we, the global faithful, will not notice what he’s stealing from us.
Strange days, indeed. Yet, we have the certainty that Jesus reigns above it all.
It is a classic symptom of narcissism. A person with this disorder believes that others must follow the rules (when it suits him) but he himself is exempt from those rules because of his entitlement. Furthermore, he changes the rules for others as he pleases because in his mind he is a center of the universe. That makes him a natural hypocrite, capable of ordering “no tattoo” while having a tattoo himself (I am constructing an example here). It is illogical yet fits a narcotic logic “I am above all”.
A narcissist also notoriously lacks self-awareness hence he cannot see how absurd a combination of “Rupnik rupniking – no tattoos” is. It can be grasped if applied to this situation an extreme “I will”, “my will be done”.
Sorry, a mistake: not “narcotic logic” but “narcissistic logic”
Anna, “narcotic logic” was actually a brilliant mistake. It communicated.
History will reveal?
With all due respect, at this moment in Time, surely what may have appeared to be hidden has certainly already been revealed to those who are not still sleeping in Gethsemane.
There are many of us who do not believe that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò merits a “richly deserved comeuppance” any more than the excommunicated St. Athanasius when he was almost the lone voice defending the truth against the Arian heresy.
Archbishop Viganò is speaking out like Jesus and John the Baptist who rightfully and angrily called out “the brood of vipers” among the religious leaders who distorted religious truth and led people astray.
Well said, dear Maggie.
Yes, AV is imperfect but his insights on PF’s misfeasances & malfeasances are of great importance in helping reign-in the anti-Apostolic antics in Rome.
“anti-Apostolic antics.” Dr.Martin, you are spot on with your apt accurate alliteration (-:
Dear Maggie & other Vignano apologists in the Comments section –
When a member of the ecclesiastical hierarchy says the pope is not the legitimate pope, that individual is getting their ‘richly deserved comeuppance’ when he is excommunicated for schism. However lousy, incompetent, or petty of a pope that Pope Francis might be (I would assert “is” all these things), he is the legitimately elected successor of St. Peter. It’s a pretty straight forward case.
[Even someone like Strickland understands this, hence why he employs the Trumpian ‘some people are saying’ rhetorical device when he occasionally plays footsie with this notion.]
And, Maggie, thanks for the hearty laugh in comparing a raving buffoon like Vignano to St. Athanasius.
Peter’s Pence has been a very deliberate object of my neglect since March 13, 2013.And really…”Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s richly deserved comeuppance…” God reward Archbishop Viganò is one of the few members of the episcopate doing his job. That he is held in contempt by the present occupant of the Chair of St. Peter only magnifies that person’s pastoral malpractice. Martin, Rupnik and not a few others run wild proclaiming the good news of promiscuity, while faithful priests, bishops and contemplative nuns enjoy Rome’s lash.
And God forbid anyone notice it or comment upon it.
And, in addition to Rupnik and his artwork, there’s also Archbishop Paglia and his homoerotic wall mural in his former cathedral church of the Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia, just 100 kilometers from Rome: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/leading-vatican-archbishop-featured-in-homoerotic-painting-he-commissioned
Said the mural artist Cinalli: “The one thing that they didn’t permit me to insert [in the catch-all mural] was the copulation of two people within this net where everything is permitted.” Instead, Fernandez’s anti-binary “irregular couples.”
As for Paglia, recall that he’s the Grand Chancellor of the renamed and purged John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences. Just another day at the orifice!
PF & Co. are resurrecting the pornographic art of Pompeii.
Let no sensible person be unaware of the spirit at work in this.
Perhaps we should be mindful of the fate of Pompeii.
Brethren,
I believe it will be of great help (to yourself and to the Church) if you see what is happening as consolidation of a selfish (narcissistic) vector within the Church, as the opposite of the vector of Christ. I do not think I am overly “clinical” or “psychological” here because Our Lord has two natures, human and divine. His human nature then is a source of true psychology and his divine nature – of true theology. However, His two natures are united in His Person hence one cannot be considered without another: if Our Lord had a warped psyche (impossible of course) then theology would become warped as well as a result. He is an image of God the Father; if an image is humanely warped then God the Fathers appears to be different and warped as well. This paradigm is applicable to everyone in the Church since we were created in God’s image. If the bishops and priests are very warped psychologically = narcissistic they cannot lead people to Christ – true Christ.
This crookedness of a human psyche is the source of the rot in the Church. It was rotting slowly (in a parallel with true holiness) but, in our times, all rot seems to come to light and it is very hard to deny. This process was predicted at the very beginning of the Church. Think of it, who is antichrist but the opposite of Christ, in his psyche as well? Christ is the Son of God yet He was humble hence the antichrist must be nothing really but have satanic pride covered by a mask of a humble servant. This is a vector of narcissism that is nothing else but a human being thinking he is above all (yet wearing a mask of humility). That vector leads straight to disintegration/death. We all have this selfish tendency by the way so none of us is safe. Well, look then at Rupnik and others entitled and see how them, like tiny particles, are now making an emerging figure of antichrist. They are consolidating along the vector that leads away from Christ. It is unmistakable – in that emerging figure everything is opposite of Our Lord, everything is perverted. It is all about entitlement, hypocrisy, manipulation, zero empathy and compassion, lies, “I will” instead of “let Your will be done” and so on. There is a huge temptation to join that figure because as soon as one does it, he is secure, untroubled and free from pain. Most importantly, he feels he is following Christ – while following himself, his own ego.
To remain in the vector of Christ is very costly because not only it means uncertainty, confusion, etc. The worst of all, it demands an ongoing painful self-scrutiny, of measuring own psyche by Chrit’s psyche as it is revealed to us in His dealing with others and in our own expiries of Him. What I am saying is that the only way here is to surrender to Christ totally and let His Person be our guide in all this mess. To be faithful only to Him, not some “institutions” or “opinions” or whatever but Him first and foremost i.e. to verify all that the bishops, priest etc. say by His Person.
As for the abuse within the Church much discussed here, such abuse is only possible along that narcissistic vector. There is no sexual abuse without emotional abuse and the abuse within the Church is unmistakably narcissistic (only an entitlement and hypocrisy and lack of empathy can explain it). I believe it was given us to see now as the last test (the test of our empathy that makes us human if you like) so the vector of antichrist would be revealed. Hence, those who now refuse to see that abuse or excuse it in any way are joining to the vector contrary to Christ. The revelation of abuse was given to the Church so it would repent and change its ways.
Thank you, dear Anna, for this genuinely apostolic & prophetic depiction of the causes of our beloved Church’s current travail. GOD’s Holy Spirit is addressing our leaders in your godly discernment.
There is not much that we ordinary sheep can do to put right what false shepherds are imposing. Yet, if we do not speak out the truth to our best ability, we will be judged.
May there be more true Catholics who boldly witness against corruption, confident that it is only The Truth that can set us free.
I seem to hear The Apostles of our Lord saying: “You don’t have to win (Jesus is doing that), but you do have to witness to your best ability.”
Always seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
Excellent, Anna. So cogently said.
Going by what is presented in the news media, Rupnik maintains an obedience to whomever he is following. If this is the case then I think it is a consideration you might have to temper the narcissism analysis; since it might be possible for him to be redirected so that the interior issues to do with him could be given a right kind of discipline. You might object that he is free to make a change to alternative leadership; however, this can have many practical limitations within a set period not under his control and meanwhile he is plodding through with his own outlooks.
Or, on the other side of this perspective, right leadership would prove how amenable he is to true interior direction; and we are precluded from seeing that evolve.
Why is so much confidence placed in his present circumstances and those who lead him? If his personal circumstances require a seclusion why take so long and generate so much publicity? Is it merely because his art has been set up in certain sanctuaries?
Mr. Altieri, i may be wrong, but you don’t appear old enough to have been a participant in the Catholic environment of the pre-vatican II Mass. Nor do you appear to be old enough to remember weathering liturgical change after change after change through the 1960’s – early 70’s while Catholicism was being gutted, torn asunder and rebuilt in the image and likeness of the freemason Bugnini.
From my perspective in having lived through all of that spiritual and emotional trauma, not to mention the human fallout in lost vocations and the general despair of the faithful, Archbishop Vigano is spot-on in his latest letter entitled, ” I Accuse”.
I concur and support every single point that he makes regarding the background and subsequent fallout of Vatican II.
As our Lord said, “you can tell a tree by its fruit.” Yes, there are a few good fruits born of V-II, but they are the rare exception.
We are now sufficiently separated in time from those tumultuous years to be able to look back objectively on what actually transpired, who drove the issues and what the real objectives were. Archbishop Vigano names them all, in clear detail. For my part, I would rather v-2 never happened.
My advice, worth very little, is if you have lived your entire life on a ship at sea, don’t be so quick to judge those who have lived on dry land.
What does he have to lose?
If only more Catholics loved the Church enough to be as outraged as you are, dear ‘brineyman’, we’d see GOD move speedily against the perverters.
According to ‘Ethical Encounter Theology’, our universe is here to serve the extremely complex, Divine purpose of freely alowing the fullness of evil to fully embody itself, so that final Judgment will be based on what people actually do.
That may help us see why GOD is permitting the PF gang’s mockery of Catholic faith.
Ever in the love & mercy of King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
As a lay Catholic male theologian, I am not surprised by these rules. There has long been one set of standards for what is considered “standard Catholic behavior,” a second for behavior acceptable for liberal heterodoxy, and a third, very indulgent, set for anybody who puts on a Roman collar.
And Bergoglio and his Vatican don’t deserve a rich comeuppance don’t they? Try again.
Worried about tattoos & piercing. What bout clergy who outfit our lady of Guadalupe in pride colours or bishops who have statues made of our beautiful blessed mother in labor … with legs spread open. This pope and those he surrounds himself will have to face her one day and their won’t be a pride flag to hide behind. As for peters pence … never 👎
Our Scottish word ‘stramash’ meaning disturbance or racket is such an apt word in this context. Thank you for all your work, which is always insightful and thought-provoking