There's so much conjecture in this opinion piece, that comes across to casual readers as fact. I'm really not even sure what its purpose is, other than to make us bitter toward Pope Leo and blame him for what the bishop of Charlotte has done.
My husband's favorite saint is St. Louis de Montfort. This amazing saint was, during his life, so poorly treated by Church authorities, that it's kind of shocking.... if you haven't read a ton of saint accounts and know that this has pretty much been the norm for a great many saints. God allows the higher-ups in His Church to be corrupt, misled, highly-flawed and full of questionable decisions that seem to punish the zeal, orthodoxy, and goodness of the saints. He loves to test the patience, humility, obedience and love of those who are striving to follow Him with their whole hearts. St. Louis de Montfort began so many wonderful projects to boost the fervor of the people, like an outdoor Way of the Cross that was hand built by him and his very poor congregation, painstakingly and over a long period of time...only to be told by his bishop right on the verge of completion to tear it all down. And this was while good and holy popes were in place. And St. Louis did not rally the troops and fight back with his words and accusations...He just quietly tore it all down. When he would ascend the pulpit to preach, the bishop would arrive sometimes and interrupt everything to inform the people that they'd be better off leaving than listening to St. Louis. And what was his response to this humiliation? He'd leave the pulpit, approach the bishop, and get down on his knees and bow low to him in front of everyone. What an example for us.
There is something that we can all agree on. We are called to pray, as the Body of Christ, for our beloved Church. We are sons and daughters of the one true God. That makes us a family and praying together gives us the power to remedy every evil and trial that threatens to destroy our peace. Father Anthony Pillari is doing something about the smoke of satan that has crept into our Church. He just began today a 54 day novena of rosaries, standing in front of St. Peter’s in Rome. He plans to get up at the crack of dawn every day before the city awakens so he can be near St. Peter’s earthly remains as he appeals to Our Blessed Mother to right the Barque of Peter. If others feel called to join in this novena we can unite our prayers with others around the world and I am confident that God’s love will be moved with pity for us. Yes, we deserve this whole mess but it’s never too late to change course. Mother of Mercy, pray for us.
Public accusations based on conjecture, without facts to corroborate them, amount to calumny. The weasel word 'may' is in the headline. If a reporter has to use that word, he hasn't completed his research or 'may' not have done any, at all. When we were all scandalised by Pope Francis, there were multiple sources for the issues, usually official ones, and those that were not official were highly respected and well-known. Many of the scandals were based on documents released by Pope Francis himself. Others, such as the Pachamama affair featured actual photographs of the acts themselves and statements made by the Pope. These issues were publicised on mainstream media and discussed on the most respected outlets, such as The Catholic Thing, First Things, the Catholic Register, LifeSiteNews and so on.
Wonderful post, Clare. I was struck by your remark about Melanie and Maxim making a "career "of LaSalette, it reminds me of the Medjugore seers when they became adults.
Brian i like you very much. I respect t you. But how does this "know but cant tell" business help anyone. Let it play out before you start a whisper going about. My spidy sense tells me its just wrong to do this.
Agree. It’s a gray area. Not confirmed, not straightforward. It’s not time to be confirmed, so best left alone. We need to be careful. It’s gossip.
I can’t say I disagree. My apologies. It was imprudent and uncharitable to post that. I’ll edit my posts.
Thank you Agnes, I am going to post this link on the Holy Spirit Novena thread That I just bumped up!
Fair play. And it's understandable to be nervous. He has a good chance of being an improvement on PF1, even Paul6, even if we are setting the bar very low.
