God is merciful because and when He chooses to be, not because He has to. We can spit in His face only so many times and get away with it. Only so many. God is Merciful, that doesn't mean He is Stupid. He knows when a rejection is a total rejection.
That being said, the Cancelled Priests have many zealous followers. This to them is “permission” to start saying out loud in public what many have held quietly and privately for years.
Anne Barnhart is the loudest lay voice in this regard. Her wit is scathing ....and amusing....but until those with the anointing and provenance step up to the plate and proclaim what we all painfully suspect, then these are just voices crying in the wilderness.
I think Anne’s heart is in the right place, even if she’s a bit full of herself, but as a convert she doesn’t grasp the essential distinction between a lay person expressing a strong personal opinion and the actions reserved only/always to the Church alone.
Wh When the Holy Father was in charge of the Jesuits in Argentina the whole place went into meltdown over his leadership. He was a tyrant. Rome had to step in and give him the boot to Germany to save things. No I would not trust him to be peaceful towards me or anyone else. But it was Father Altman I was referring to. Given his total disaster in adminstration in Argentina Pope Francis should never have had any control of anyone higher than an altar boy for the rest of his life. In fact an entry was left on his file that he should never ever be made a Bishop. When he was eventually made Archbishop of Buenos Aires , again the same deal. BVery highly unpopular and still is in Argentina. Once again a tyrant. In the Vatican a by word for bad temper and rages with anyone who gets in his way, dirvers, Swiss Guards, Sacristans, whatever. But the thing is, how did someone so obviously temperamentallly unsuitable for any leadership position somehow keep shooting up the greasy ladder? He had help of course. Secret friends. There is no way he could have kept on rising without very powerful, influential help.
He was earmarked for stardom from early on. I suspect he was also tapped for the Papacy a long, long time ago. I suspect he knew this too.
I read a biography of Mao tse Tung one time and it is very similar to the bios I read of Frank Sinatra and Pope Francis. Most unusual. The author of the life of Frank Sinatra for instance pointed out that though he had researched his life from earliest childhood he could not find anyone who knew him with anything good to say about him. Not one. It was the same thing with Mao Tse Tung. I could not see one good decent thing he ever did his entire li, not one. No one ever had anything good to say about him, no one ever liked him. This is of course a sure sign of the Diabolic. Pope Francis reminds me so much, in every respect of Frank Sinatra or Mao Tse Tung.
Fr. Altman has demonstrated anger for some time. In His woes against the Pharisees, we see the anger of Jesus demonstrated, but Fr. Altman's anger has been visibly seen in every interview I've witnessed in the last 6 months. Is Christ calling him to be a crusader of this sort? I'm concerned as you are, Brian. Such troubled times. Mary has been raising the alarm for centuries in tears, but not in stridency. Safe under the Mantle of Our Lady!
I love her. Such a wonderful message of hope. I started to read her during covid. She has really helped me have a heavenly perspective.
I pray this kind of anger doesn't ever strike Bishop Strickland, or other faithful prelates that are unjustly treated by others in the Church. Even when a prelate feels called to shine light on error, we must pray that they are able to keep their peace and practice humility, because anger tinged with bitterness will eat you alive and tempt you in directions that may ultimately be harmful for the Church. These are such hard times.
Mao Tse Tung and Stalin had terrible relationship with their abusive biological fathers... When Mao's father was dying, he called for Mao to say sorry, but Mao didn't even bother going...
I don’t think there was anything said in that video that I whole heartedly disagree with. If one thinks he is an anti pope then what? Does that make you not in communion with the church? What have people done in the past? Just wait until there is a new pope?, keep your head down and don’t speak about what you are thinking?
I do think Fr. Altman was very imprudent in expressing this opinion publicly. It’s one thing for laity to rant about this on their blog. It’s another thing altogether for a priest to say it in a public forum. Neither laity nor diocesan priests have the authority to make this declaration. Only the Church, in her cardinals (and bishops?) can do so. We do have the right to discuss our very real mental reservations and misgivings about the Vatican. But it is wrong for us to straight out say PF is an antipope, at present. I’ve said numerous times that I hold the mental reservation that eventually the Church will declare he was an antipope. Yet I still pray for him as my pope. As a faithful Catholic I have no choice to do otherwise, no matter how strongly I hold this mental reservation.
