We are in unique times. This is the most disastrous Papacy in the history of the Church. But I am not going to worry too much about it as Climate Change is going to wipe us all out anyway
There is a huge difference between you having atheist friends and the Vicar of Christ turning to an atheist to reveal to the world his own personal beliefs and his plans for the Church. Scalfari didn't doorstep Pope Francis. If we are to believe the Vatican, they didn't know each other before Pope Francis contacted Scalfari. Some of the beliefs Scalfari attributes to Pope Francis are contrary to the Catholic Faith, yet the Pope has never denied sharing those beliefs with Scalfari. Pope Francis choosing Scalfari yet again to transmit his message confirms that he trusts Scalfari's reporting. I'm flabbergasted that you can't see the problem with that. It would be like Jesus asking Caesar's herald to transmit the Gospel to the disciples, leaving the herald to put whatever spin he likes on it, then remaining silent as the herald transmits a different Gospel and subsequently returning to the herald for a rinse and repeat performance. It's the same with others like Austin Ivereigh and Frs. Martin and Spadaro. They were handpicked by Pope Francis. The Pope has no problem removing people who aren't on the same page as him, yet his chosen mouthpieces can insult and cast aspersions at anyone they choose without so much as a word of correction from the Pope. We're way, way past the "Jesus ate with sinners" or "it's all the media's fault" excuses for this disastrous papacy.
There’s a difference between holy naïveté and blameworthy hypercredulity despite cold hard facts. To take PF at face value and continue to give the benefit of the doubt to this enemy of the Faith is the latter, and depending on circumstances, gravely sinful. People are literally in danger of eternal damnation because of his errors. Where is one’s sense of justice and righteous anger in the face of this loss of souls?!?
I keep going back to "if we/they/you remain silent, the stones will cry out", in light of PEB & Cdl Sarah's book. Clearly as Benedict stated, they could no longer keep silent. I agree. With his resignation and statement he would retreat to silent prayer and honor our new Pope, there had to be far more going on. Divine Mercy, have mercy on our lack of real answers and great concerns. We pray our hearts stay open to Your Will and word.
Truthseeker, sadly Pope Francis is not upholding and defending Catholic Truth. He has not held up and supported the 2000 year-old Magisterium of the Church. That is the job of a pope. And he has not done that.
The deeper reason/cause of why Benedict broke his silence. Benedict is a deeply holy man, speaking, as the book is titled, from the heart....not from any human authority....should not be taken out of that context. Father Fessio On Book Controversy https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/father-fessio-on-book-controversy
Cdl Sarah denounces ‘brutal’ attacks on Benedict over book defending priestly celibacy 'What breaks my heart and hurts me deeply is the brutality, the irreverence, the lack of consideration and the indecency with which Benedict XVI has been treated.' By Dorothy Cummings McLean https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/c...enedict-over-book-defending-priestly-celibacy ROME, January 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Cardinal Robert Sarah has condemned the “brutality” and the “indecency” of attacks made on Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI when news of their co-authored book defending priestly celibacy emerged. Speaking to Italian newspaper Il Foglio, which published an interview with the Guinean cardinal on January 25, Sarah said there has been “a lot of talk about utterly ridiculous aspects secondary” to the themes of the book. “Absurd controversies, vulgar lies, and horrible humiliations have followed one another against Benedict XVI and me,” the cardinal continued. However, it is the attacks on the former that have wounded Sarah the most. “What breaks my heart and hurts me deeply is the brutality, the irreverence, the lack of consideration and the indecency with which Benedict XVI has been treated,” he said. Cardinal Sarah and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI are the co-authors of a book on challenges to the priesthood today. Entitled From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church in English, the Italian version of the book will appear in bookstores on January 30, published by Cantagalli. “Without animosity, without attacking anyone, we have offered our reflections with clarity, rigor and fidelity to the truth on an essential question: the Catholic priesthood and celibacy,” Sarah said. The cardinal underscored that there is no attitude of opposition to Pope Francis in the book. Meanwhile, he said the Pope Emeritus “personally confirmed with me that he welcomes this book and is happy with its publication.” “The entire text is therefore the same, except for the introduction and conclusion, which the Cantagalli publishing house has explained,” Sarah continued. “Now I ask that the sterile polemics cease.” A source has given LifeSiteNews a copy of the original manuscript of the Italian version of the book. In it, both the Pope Emeritus and Cardinal Sarah have signed both the introduction and the conclusion. In the expurgated form, Benedict’s name will be removed from these short chapters. Meanwhile, the title pages of the file sent to LifeSiteNews clearly display both “Benedetto XVI” and “Robert Sarah” as the authors of Dal Profondo del Nostro Cuore. The Italian translation was prepared by Davide Riserbato. Cardinal Sarah said the message of the book is that “if the law of celibacy is weakened, even for a single region, it will make a break, a wound in the mystery of the Church.” He believes that a priesthood for married men cannot be created “without damaging the priesthood of Jesus Christ and of His spouse, the Church.” Regarding so-called “women’s ministries,” Sarah asks himself if “we are searching for fidelity to God or if we are following fashion.” He believes that St. John Paul II has already adequately described the role of women in the Church. “St. John Paul II (said) in his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem (that) their place is central. It is a matter of reminding everyone of the necessity of holiness and to help humanity not to fall.” The cardinal also said he had offered his book respectfully and in a filial way to Pope Francis “but also to the bishops, priests, and Christian faithful throughout the world to sustain them and encourage them in deepening their reflection without being prejudiced by the (mainstream) media campaign that surrounded the last Synod and offered hurried, ideological and purely human solutions.” When excerpts of the French edition of the book were first released earlier this month, some of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s most vociferous critics attacked him on social media. Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter suggested that by writing about the celibate priesthood the Pope Emeritus was opposing the plans of Pope Francis. “News: Retired Pope Benedict XVI has coauthored a book w/ Cardinal Sarah to defend practice of celibate priesthood in the Catholic Church,” McElwee wrote on Twitter. “It comes as Pope Francis is considering allowing married priests in the Amazon region.” McElwee said he found this “incredible.” “As I digest this, I'm realizing how incredible it is )A former pope speaking in public about something his successor is currently in the process of considering,” he wrote. Father James Martin, SJ, of America magazine said he found the news “hard to fathom” and criticized Benedict for speaking out. “I have the greatest respect for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Martin tweeted. “Nonetheless, when he resigned the papacy, he said he would remain ‘hidden from the world,’” he continued. “(...) But here, he is speaking out on an issue that was one of the main topics for the recent Synod on the Amazon and is now under consideration by the Pope.” Martin, known for his LGBT advocacy, added that people might interpret this action as a “great theologian contributing to the conversation” but that others might see it as “a ‘parallel magisterium,’ which can lead to disunity.” +
Cdl Sarah on celibacy controversy: ‘Enough chatter. Let us read this book’ (FULL INTERVIEW) 'We cannot create a priesthood for married men without damaging the priesthood of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.' By Diane Montagna Cardinal Robert Sarah Twitter ROME, January 28, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Seeking to return public attention to the actual topic of his new book co-authored with Benedict XVI, Cardinal Robert Sarah has made a new intervention insisting upon the inextricable link between continence and the priesthood. In an interview published on January 25 by the Italian daily Il Foglio, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments states: “We cannot create a priesthood for married men without damaging the priesthood of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.” “Why deprive Christians in the Amazon of contact with priests who live fully their priesthood and their total gift [of self] to God and to Him alone? Is it because they are poor?” the cardinal asks. The forthcoming volume, titled “From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church,” was announced on January 12 and “provoked the anger of hell.” Referring to the storm of controversy that has surrounded the work since its appearance, and has inspired some prelates to denyBenedict XVI’s authorship, Cardinal Sarah asserts: “There has been a lot of talk about completely ridiculous side issues. Absurd controversies, vulgar lies and horrible humiliations have been leveled against Benedict XVI and me.” One notable example came at the height of the Benedict XVI-Cardinal Sarah book controversy, when Pope Francis’s preferred biographer, 95-year-old Italian atheist Eugenio Scalfari, portrayed the new book as an opposition campaign launched by the African cardinal. In the new interview, Cardinal Sarah reiterates that the work was offered “respectfully and in a filial way to Pope Francis, but also to bishops, priests and the Christian faithful all over the world, to support and encourage them to deepen their reflection” on priestly celibacy. “What breaks my heart and hurts me deeply is the brutality, irreverence, lack of consideration and indecency with which Benedict XVI was treated,” he says. “The priesthood does not belong to us. We cannot do what we want with it,” Cardinal Sarah insists. “Enough chatter. Let us read this book. Let us discuss it in peace and charity.” For the full interview, go to: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/c...tly-celibacy-book-just-read-it-full-interview +
I am puzzled by the whole scenario following upon Benedict's resignation. I'd like to possess the clarity which you claim to have. One might conclude you're stating things the way you see it, but your certainty moves you beyond the realm of opinion. I'm reminded of the words of the Lord to Samuel when the latter was attempting to determine which son of Jesse to anoint king: 1Sam 16:7 "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." I believe only two types of men best speak as you do: a Vigano who knows the facts, or a prophet of God like the Baptist who called out King Herod for his adultery. Words of caution from James 4: 11 Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor?
We can only call it as we see it Terry. Pope Francis is in the process of destroying the Church. He would never have had a chance to do this if Pope Benedict was still in place. If Pope Benedict resigned on grounds of ill health, then how come so many years alter he is still alive? Since Pope Francis is doing so much obvious evil how come Benedict has not spoken out? Poe St John Paul 2 spoke of the Papacy as a ' Patrimony' and would not resign even though he was dying of a mortal debilitating illness. This position , that a Pope does not and cannot resign was the position of , almost without exception of all off previous Popes. These facts do give me clarity. Jesus said, 'By their fruits you shall know them'. The fruits of Benedict's almost unprecedented resigination have been truly, truly terrible.
I was racking my brains there trying to discover a good reason might have had to resign and whether he not he actually placed forward such reason (s0 himself). I can't remember him placing any forward, but I open to be corrected on this. What he actually said was that he had been in an internal prayerful Discernment Process and simply felt that this was the right thing to do. I don;t think he actually gave reasons. I read a few comments that maybe Jesus or Our Lady had appeared to him and ordered him to step down. ...errr well possibly..I suppose. But then why not openly say so? If anyone can offer me a suggestion as to what compelling good reason might justify him for doing so that sets him apart from all other Popes who died in office , I would love to see them. I can't think of any.
It was PEB’s idea. I cannot give you chapter and verse, but you can find it in his writings if you research it.
Pope Benedict comes across as a gentle soul, mild mannered and scholarly. He's the polar opposite to the Rottweiler depicted in the secular press - most likely acting as mouthpieces for their contacts inside the Church whose toes he stepped on initially when, as Prefect of the CDF, he did his duty of defending the Deposit of Faith against their heresies and later when he started laicising sexual abusers in the priesthood. That tells us all we need to know about his enemies. Maybe the corruption was so bad that he felt he didn't have the type of personality to deal with it, especially considering how well organised were his opponents. The St. Gallen group had a lot of influence and it looks like they were working with the Catholic Spring crowd. I would be very surprised if the Jesuits weren't behind the "Catholic Spring" and I don't think there has been any credible rebuttal of Fr. Malachi Martin's book about the Jesuits. (I've seen them described as the world's biggest pride parade). And I doubt that the Jesuits were the only wayward religious order. Weren't the Dominicans being led by a fruitcake at some stage? There was no shortage, either, of McCarrick proteges in the US episcopate and the majority of German Bishops seem to be Lutheran in all but name. Add to that the problems with the Vatican bank and it's easy to see why Benedict would have felt that the Church needed a stronger, more ruthless character to clean house. Maybe he hoped that there would be enough orthodox votes at the Conclave to keep Cardinal Bergoglio out of the papacy. Maybe he believed that Cardinal Bergoglio would be preferable to the next likely candidate if he hung on until Cardinal Bergoglio was too old to be papabile. Maybe he believed that if he spent the rest of his life praying for his successor, there was a better chance that Cardinal Bergoglio would a good pope once he realised the difference between being a hurler on the ditch and being the team captain on the field. It's very possible, too, that he came to the conclusion that schism was inevitable if he didn't resign. There were rumours that his brother was being used as leverage against him - that if he didn't resign allegations of abuse would be made against his brother who is his only living relative. We just don't know and may never know. I think the most likely reason he resigned was that he remembered how heavy was the burden he carried for Pope John Paul towards the end of St. John Paul's papacy. I don't recall where I heard it, but there was a suggestion that he was one of those who would have preferred Pope John Paul to retire rather than sticking it out to the bitter end. Whatever the reason, our Christian duty is to accept that he acted in the best interests of the Church.
And yet Pope JPII did seriously consider resigning and saw it as something permissible for popes to do. He discovered though that his papacy was totally about Divine Mercy....noted by how quickly he moved on that held up devotion and mandating it as a feast of the Church to be acted upon by every parish; and he quickly made St. Faustina a saint for her intercession for such. Perhaps the attempt on his life was for that awakening in him to be alerted to his mission of Divine Mercy as human experiences also have the effect of changing one's state of mind. The end of Mercy and the beginning of Justice "kissing" Mercy was to begin in 2000 but JPII then offered his suffering until his death for the purpose of extending this time of full Mercy and it was accepted...and so it was until 2005 at his death and then after that came the beginning of the time of Justice, as we witness now w/ the exposure of the evil systems and the events that are causing the choice of either evil or good w/ no more fence sitting, until it would come to nothing but Justice. In the case of Benedict, it was a real case of a full attempt to bring down the Seat of Peter....since that is the goal of Satan from the beginning, not caring about just who would be there at the time.....through a threat of targeting it via the scandal of the times and use of Benedict's time as bishop in Germany where there was abuse unknown fully by him at the time, to destroy the Church through him. And that would have included his dear brother as well due to the scandal that occurred in the choir school of Regensburg. Knowing that it was the Church that mattered only and that he was too weak himself to stop the control at the top....if you'll remember "they" had already breached security of his office through inside leakers who stole personal letters, etc., leaking them to the press, promising more of the same at a time that the Church was already in the spotlight of corruption. So I believe that his resignation was for the sake of the Church's continuance through one who might be more able to fight this and personally be out of the same spotlight of possible blackmail. I often thought of why Benedict did not return in his retirement to his beloved Germany and to be with his brother and was told that "they" wanted him under their watch, confining him to the defined area of the Vatican w/ threats that if he stepped on to German soil he would be arrested. I believe he always thought of the Church itself and saving Peter, knowing that bringing down the Church from the heights was the goal. Now, I would say that he is showing his personal courage to step beyond the parameters, seeing that the choice for his replacement is himself offering the opportunity for destruction from the top and thus Benedict is reminding the faithful that the Truth remains always no matter the new and heretical teachings going forward. I believe he did his best w/ his full conscience for what were allowable choices. And Mary in her more recent approved messages, while warning the "solid ones" whom she is birthing in pain to be the purified Bride Church of what is coming within the Church and to stay with the True Magisterium...so knowing what is occurring with this current Pope.....still asks us to pray that he makes the right decisions, as with her as the Mother of all, she never gives up the Hope she holds for all of her children even if we do.
Today's meditation from the Diary of St. Faustina: Meditation: I understand Your words, Lord, and the magnitude of the mercy that ought to shine in my soul. Jesus: I know, My daughter, that you understand it and that you do everything within your power. But write this for the many souls who are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment (Diary, 1317).
It depends I suppose on how we view what exactly the Papacy is. A good clue is that we refer to Pope as , 'Holy Father'. He is a Spiritual Father so it is not like a job, a career or even an ordinary vocation . This is what JP 2 meant by the word, 'Patrimony'. Now imagine the father and mother of a family who feel that things have just gotten on top of them and they needed to leave their children to get on with what ever. We would be horrified of course. Well what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. This goes for Popes too. Giving up and walling away is not an option.
