Please, don't be so naive as to compare these. Jesus did this to convert them to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Vatican princes climbing into bed with the environmentalists, abortionists and population controllers have shown no interest in converting these butchers. If anything they confirm them in their error and sin.
The comment was addressing Pope Francis not his advisors. Is the Pope acting so different than Jesus?
Only God knows the answer to this. It's not mine to judge. What I can judge is the method, and this video is so wrong on so many levels that it simply cannot achieve what many claim it is intended to achieve.
The Usual Suspects in Liberal Media and Democrat Party are doing their best .... and twisting themselves into Pretzels ... attempting to explain why this is NOT Islamic Terrorism ... and, no doubt, fabricating the perp's ties to the NRA and George Bush GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
Yes, he is our Pope and we must pray for him and trust in God. Trouble is that I have very mixed feelings about him. When I see all the borderline heretical stuff emanating from the people he favours, I begin to wonder whether maybe previous Popes have been too rigid and whether maybe everything we were taught was wrong. Maybe it's enough to acknowledge that the universe didn't happen by accident, that there was some kind of creator, and that so long as we don't set out to harm anyone or anything we'll be ok as long as we're friends with people of all faiths and none? Is Pope Francis actually bringing people to the faith, or is he watering down the faith? I don't know any lukewarm or fallen away Catholics or people of other faiths who have been converted by his message. Do you?
In answer to your final question, I have to say "no". But I could say the same with respect to all the previous Popes I have lived through going back to St. Pope John XXIII. This would of course be more of a reflection on me. Things may not look good, but it is very difficult to know what goes on in people's deepest hearts. Ultimately, it is Our Lord and His Mother who are primary in instigating these conversions, regardless of how pitiful or otherwise the human efforts (with the emphasis on the pitiful). Had we to rely on mere manly works to achieve Salvation, we'd all be lost. Thanks be to God, we are promised this is not so! Therefore, despite all our reservations about the apparent bungling of Pope Francis, we should rest assured that it is not beyond Our Lord's ability to use it for His own purpose. "Oh Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee" is the mantra to live by in these times. Truly Infallible.
Jesus is Truth. God is the same yesterday, today and always. Thus His truth cannot change, nor can any of His truths taught by His Church in the area of faith and morals ever change. This you can bank on. So let no one ever tell you that what used to be truth is no longer truth. That would be the great lie of Satan's called Relativism. We are for sure in the age of confusion, which does not come from God. Hold fast to what you have been taught. I fear this is the great deceit/diabolical disorientation that will make many fall in the end. Best to not pay attention to all the spin taking place and pray and fast.
Yes, I usually give myself a mental slap and get back on track. If this Pope has heretical leanings (and sometimes it can be hard to tell), he wouldn't be the first. Wasn't there one declared a heretic after he died, although he never taught heresy? I always try to give this Pope the benefit of the doubt because I was always taught the the great deceit would be in opposition to the Pope and the Magisterium. I'm afraid that you can't write off this video as spin. The fingerprints of freemasonry are all over it. You can be a member as long as you believe in a God - any God will do - and you must help promote fellow masons in career and business dealings. How long before the special secret handshake will be the open sesame to the Vatican? Doesn't the Holy Father know about Masonry, or didn't they make it to Argentina? I hope there isn't a lodge in the Vatican. This video suggest there is. Is the Vatican so awash with money than it can splurge on some insider's business associate to promote this step towards a one world religion? Perhaps the Vatican's Masonic Lodge was already in situ and the members are emboldened by the Pope's naivete. Please God, somebody will tell the Holy Father what is wrong with the video. Please God, there is somebody in the Vatican who actually sees what is wrong with the video.
Brian... if Father Tom read your statements, he would probably make you go to confession. The Norbertine Order is based on Loyalty to the Holy Father with Guidence from Our Blerssed Mother. When your at the abbey maybe you should mention your distrust of Our Holy Father. Brother al
I have very competent spiritual guidance Al, but thanks for your "concern." (Ironically, when I'm with my spiritual father, a Benedictine who pastors a diocesan parish, I am sometimes the 'moderate.')
On a lighter note...if you get a chance speak to Father Tom. I think he might be really close to God. Strong Saint Nice guy and Holy too
Brian, I think your concerns are justified. Pope Francis is clearly not speaking infallibly in that video, and so he is open to healthy criticism, especially given the dangers faced by Christians and other minorities by Islam today. Now, Pope Francis and his defenders might counter by saying that ISIS and their ilk are simply "fundamentalists" and "incorrectly interpreting" Islam. And, to Pope Francis' credit, he has been one of the only world religious leaders directly calling for military action against ISIS. But this is where Pope Francis is wrong in my opinion: the Koran CANNOT be interpreted any other way than LITERALLY according to anyone who has an objective understanding of the history of Isalm and the Koran. Therefore, ISIS and the radical Muslim Jihadists are true followers of Islam because they correctly interpret the Koran the only way it can be interpreted and they then put that theology into political action. It is the so-called "moderate Islamists" who INCORRECTLY interpret Islam and are actually considered to be phony and fake in the real Muslim world. Therefore, Pope Francis is demonstrating that he DOES NOT understand the true nature of Islam. Only by understanding a problem can we ever hope to solve it. Only by telling the truth can we conquer the Prince of Lies. The truth is that Islam is not only a false religion but it is one that is FUNDAMENTALLY violent.
I love our Pope and pray every day that God sends him extra graces and blessings so he can be a light to the world. He talks of love, that we are all children of God . . .God is love, and we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. It's not complicated . . .
I think the person in the above video has been dead for some years now. I hope the supporters of Pope Francis on this forum will never let the likes of Brian and Mac brow beat them into not defending our Holy Father whenever they insult and abuse and stab him in the back. We don't need clever arguments or screeds of other people's words and propaganda from those who have turned against him. We do need to express our love and trust and gratitude for all the good Pope Francis is doing for our Church, for the patience, tolerance and kindness he is showing the world, for showing the world that the true face of Christ is Roman Catholic, for telling the lost, "come home", for having the courage to stand up and not only be counted but wrongly accused and criticized and pilloried by the spiritually blind, deaf and lame and the savage minds and mouths of those who just don't like him. We who love our pope and believe he is doing right by us know where the real heresy resides. It is not in Pope Francis. For encouragement watch the good people in your parishes go about their daily work for their communities, their families and for their faith. Know that they know what is right and wrong, that in them there is no confusion and that they value the leadership of Our Pope. We do not need to call the enemies of the Pope by the names they deserve but we do need to call them out when they step out of line and still call themselves Catholic on this forum, like an exorcist needs, by the Power of God, to call out a demon. These enemies of the Pope (who claim they are not) think they are so wise. They say and suggest our Holy Father is foolish and duplicitous. Of course we know he is wise and honest safe in the arms of Mary and with the mind of Christ. This comment will in all probability be dismissed by the Pope's enemies as emotional and baseless but his friends know better. While I hold the likes of Mac in great affection I find it harder and harder to pray for him and his kind at least for what they represent, for Brian and his kind whose words seem so bitter, and so that just means I must double my efforts. I find it hard to distinguish these people from their agenda, from their lobby. They are so out out step with the Faith. They of course will say that it is because they are the remnant, the only ones who know, like Johnny the marching soldier who reckoned all the other soldiers were out of step, not him. They are not just marching to a different drum or to their own drum they are marching to the wrong drum. I am all for healthy debate but debate that results in disease and a break down of the Body is not healthy. We don't need to go looking for these errant comments but when we find them I suggest we say a prayer for their authors and just say something simple in support of our Pope. You don't even have to address their error. Ignore it and say something good. This is not a rant. It is a heart felt plea.
Is this Fr. Tom Nelson? If so, he was the one who first met our son back here in PA when Mike was on retreat with Fr. Silvan, our Passionist friend, 6 years ago. I met him at the time. He is a great and holy priest. (Please send me a PM, I need to mention something privately.)
Ok Joe, I love Pope Francis. View attachment 4049 View attachment 4050 Yeah, go ahead and say something bad about him now. Could any of you do that? Amen. pcj
The first person who expressed reservations to me about Pope Francis was a person in my parish doing daily work for community, family and faith. In fact, that's the only type of person I know who is worried by Pope Francis. In my experience, the people who admire and heap praise on him are those who disagree with Church teaching on marriage, sin, confession, attending Sunday Mass, etc. They think he is paving the way to transforming the Church into one that they can live with - a Catholic version of the more liberal Protestant churches where anything goes. I won't be leaving the Church to join any schismatic group because I know that the Holy Spirit will find a way to make things right eventually, and I urge anyone who is inclined to leave the Church to remember Jesus' prayer that we all would be one. Are you saying that we shouldn't voice our concern to fellow Catholics - that we should just be quiet?
A good summary of the situation, Joe. The matter of whether to ignore the negative postings about Pope Francis is a more difficult question. Such negativity expressed on secular forums can be readily ignored but the problem here is that this forum is supposed to be supportive of the Catholic faith. I'm still unsure about whether responding is a good or bad idea. But one thing we should not be surprised about is the opposition to Pope Francis. He is truly behaving as Jesus did 2000 years ago. And of course for many of the 'protectors of the faith' of the time, Jesus was a blasphemer whose dealings with the gentiles was a scandal that had to be dealt with. Pope Francis 'tells it as it is' as Jesus did so he will be treated the same way as Jesus. Pope Francis' actions are driven by love, but the world does not want to love.
