This is the only way we can go forward. Prayer and fasting for a breakthrough in conscience for the Pope to do his duty. Staying within the Church to fight the good fight.
It is very difficult to lay down a dogma to someone you love who is struggling. I think of the words "a bruised reed he will not break" and i have trod very very carefully. It is the most painful cross in a family. Sometimes a person with SSA will pit your love for them against your faith. "You don't love me unless you accept me as I am." By this they mean "approve". Of course in such an ultimatum I must stand with Christ. But up to that point love and gentleness win the day. Without approving or condoning their affliction.
I am astonished at the apparent surprise and clamor at this latest development in this Papacy. Compared to the adoration of idols and the betrayal of the faithful Church in China this is a comparatively trivial matter, and to be expected of this man. I received an email today from a friend (a heterosexual with numerous relationships behind him, a baptised Catholic who sees no need to attend Mass). He is ecstatic that the Pope is reaching out to the 'gay community' and moving with the times and who now expects that the Anglicans and some other 'churches' will accept the primacy of the Pope and form an association of Christians who will work together to make the world a fairer/greener/more accepting place for all. I can also imagine the Anglicans asking Francis for some kind of union while he seeks to exasperate people like me into joining the SSPX. If, as Francis has asserted (to one survivor of priestly abuse) that, 'God made you this way' then the following statistics might show otherwise (from Joseph Sciambra's blog): 46% of the homosexual men in contrast to 7% of the heterosexual men reported childhood homosexual molestation. 26% of gay men reported sexual experiences before age 17 with someone at least 5 years older. “…studies find a positive association between physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and witnessing violence in childhood and same-sex sexuality in adulthood.” Homosexuals provably weren't 'made this way' it was those who might as well tie themselves to millstones and go to the nearest river who are responsible for much of this disorder and people can be saved from it.
I would caution forum members that separating oneself from the successor of Peter is no small thing. Calumny and detraction are especially serious when the one spoken about holds a high public position. Here is a good link addressing many of the issues brought up... https://catholicism.org/modern-popes.html
As a child I enjoyed the company of a large Catholic Italian family that lived just up the road. For a young reserved Scottish boy unused to frequent displays of affection it took a bit of getting used to the hugs and kisses of Italian greetings but I grew to accept them - unlike like the exotic european dishes to which I was introduced and to which I quickly developed a great liking! A nice change from mince and potatoes. One of the children of that family was Godson to my old mum. Both parents in that family died young and when their mother died mum’s Godson looked on my mum as his own. Many years ago Mum’s Godson moved to London and moved in with a man. He is still with that man. When all this came out it was a great shock to us. There had been no hint of this direction in his past. When he returned home and visited mum he became quite upset as he told her all about it. Mum listened and said words to this effect: “You do not need my approval for your choice. You are a grown man. In any case, because of my Faith you know I cannot approve of your choice. But you are my David and will always be my David. Always come and see me when you are home.” It makes me think of the scriptures “You are my son, this day I have begotten you” ps 2:7 and “Son behold thy Mother - Mother behold thy son” John 19, 26-27 and the words of my much loved Mary of Garabandal about a Protestant visitor (Conchita was not sure as to whether he should receive a kissed relic) “He too is my child”. While I do not wish to enter here into the latest reports on Pope Francis the above story brings to mind that we are all adults and if properly mature in our faith can safely make up our own minds about right and wrong. In the end our fate is in our own hands. We are responsible. God’s law is written in our hearts and when it speaks to us it exercises our conscience. “Blessed be the pure in heart for they will see God.” In this purity we know enough to make our choices. It is not Pope who will pronounce those final directions “Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matt 25:41 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood , but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
I think he just means that the bishops have been given so much authority already that when they go too far re; the liturgy and they can't get the Pope to finalize such things as changing the words of the consecration, etc. to accommodate some all inclusive congregation they will simply go into schism by getting some member of the hierarchy to sign off with some Vatican approval to show that such a new liturgy has authority. They are already taking authority into their own hands.....esp. like w/ the Germans. They just continue ahead with their ideas of women's ordinations and they won't be stopped. They already feel that they have the authority to do what they want due to the permissions granted by the Pope to the national bishops' conferences. When the Pope balks at some final stamp of approval it won't matter....they will just proceed forward. And most people today will simply follow, buying into all of the "fairness" re: equality of the sexes and the inclusivity. They will simply weigh everything according to what they are already so used to in the material world. When the Pope is faced with the reality of the schism he will try to recover from what his errors have wrought but it will be too late. Not wanting any competition or reminder of the Truth of the Church, the NWO Church will move on to eliminate those who would remind the public of that true history....the two popes; current one and emeritus one. Cancel culture! And then perhaps will be that predicted move of the anti-Christ to the chair of Peter. Fr. M said also, I believe, that we would then be something like 3 1/2 years without a Pope. Then the remnant will be led by the Blessed Mother through that period of suffering. Perhaps then a true Pope will then arrive on the scene to lead the people into the Kingdom of the new Spiritual Era. But poor Benedict as this may play out.
https://edwardpentin.co.uk/bishop-s...ul-retract-approval-of-same-sex-civil-unions/ Bishop Schneider to Pope Francis: For Sake of Your Soul, Retract Approval of Same-Sex Civil Unions 23/10/2020 Edward Pentin Bishop Athanasius Schneider Statement From Bishop Athanasius Schneider on Pope Francis’ Civil Unions Remarks Same-sex civil unions and Catholic Faith The Catholic Faith in the voice of the perennial Magisterium, the sense of the faith of the faithful (sensus fidelium) as well as common sense reject clearly any civil union of two persons of the same sex, a union which has the aim that these persons seek sexual pleasure from each other. Even if persons living in such unions should not engage in mutual sexual pleasure — which in reality has been shown to be quite unrealistic — such unions represent a great scandal, a public recognition of sins of fornication against nature and a continuous proximate occasion of sin. Those who advocate same-sex civil unions are therefore also culpable of creating a kind of structure of sin, in this case of the juridical structure of habitual fornication against nature, since homosexual acts belong to sins which cry to heaven, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says (see n. 1867). Those who advocate same-sex civil unions are ultimately unjust and even cruel against those persons who are living in these unions, because these persons will be confirmed in mortal sin, they will be solidified in their interior psychological dichotomy, since their reason tells them, that homosexual acts are against reason and against the explicit will of God, the Creator and Redeemer of men. Every true Catholic, every true Catholic priest, every true Catholic bishop must with deep sorrow and a weeping heart regret and protest against the unheard fact, that Pope Francis, the Roman Pontiff, the successor of the apostle Peter, the Vicar of Christ on earth, uttered in the documentary film “Francesco” that premiered on October 21st 2020 as part of the Rome Film Festival his support for civil same-sex unions. Such support of the pope means support for a structure of sin, for a lifestyle against the sixth Commandment of the Decalogue, which was written with the fingers of God on stone tables on Sinai (see Ex. 31:18) and delivered by the hands of Angels to men (see Gal. 3:19). What God has written with His hand, even a pope cannot erase nor rewrite with his hand or with his tongue. The Pope cannot behave as if he were God or an incarnation of Jesus Christ, modifying these words of the Lord: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mt 5:27-28) and instead of this say, more or less, the following: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, ‘if a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination’ (Lev. 20:13), ‘men who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God’ (1 Cor. 6:9); ‘the practice of homosexuality is contrary to sound doctrine’ (1 Tim. 1:10). But I say to you that for persons who feel same-sex attraction “we have to create a civil union law. That way they are legally covered”. Every Shepherd of the Church and the Pope above all should always remind others of these serious words of Our Lord: “Anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:19). Every pope has to take very much to heart what the First Vatican Council proclaimed: “The Holy Spirit was not promised to the successors of Peter that by His revelation they might make known new doctrine, but that by His assistance they might inviolably keep and faithfully expound Revelation, the Deposit of Faith, delivered through the Apostles.” (Dogmatic Constitution Pastor aeternus, chap. 4) The advocating of a legal union so that a lifestyle against the explicit Commandment of God, against human nature and against human reason will be legally covered, is a new doctrine, which “sews cushions under every elbow and makes pillows for the heads of persons” (Ez. 13:18), a new doctrine that “perverts the grace of our God into sexual pleasure” (Jude 4), a doctrine which is evidently against Divine Revelation and the perennial teaching of the Church of all times. Such a doctrine is scheming with sin, and is therefore a most anti-pastoral measure. To promote a juridical lifestyle of sin is against the core of the Gospel itself, since persons in same-sex unions through their sexual acts grievously offend God. Our Lady of Fatima made the maternal appeal to all humanity to stop offending God, who is already too much offended. The following voice of the Magisterium, is faithfully echoing the voice of Jesus Christ, Our Divine Master, the Eternal Truth, and the voice of the Church and the popes of all times: “Civil law cannot contradict right reason without losing its binding force on conscience.” (cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Evangelium vitae, 72) “Laws in favor of homosexual unions are contrary to right reason because they confer legal guarantees, analogous to those granted to marriage, to unions between persons of the same sex. Given the values at stake in this question, the State could not grant legal standing to such unions without failing in its duty to promote and defend marriage as an institution essential to the common good” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons, n. 6) “It might be asked how a law can be contrary to the common good if it does not impose any particular kind of behavior, but simply gives legal recognition to a de facto reality which does not seem to cause injustice to anyone. In this area, one needs first to reflect on the difference between homosexual behavior as a private phenomenon and the same behavior as a relationship in society, foreseen and approved by the law, to the point where it becomes one of the institutions in the legal structure. This second phenomenon is not only more serious, but also assumes a more far-reaching and profound influence, and would result in changes to the entire organization of society, contrary to the common good. Civil laws are structuring principles of man’s life in society, for good or for ill. They “play a very important and sometimes decisive role in influencing patterns of thought and behavior”. Lifestyles and the underlying presuppositions these express not only externally shape the life of society, but also tend to modify the younger generation’s perception and evaluation of forms of behavior. Legal recognition of homosexual unions would obscure certain basic moral values and cause a devaluation of the institution of marriage.” (ibid.) “Sexual relations are human when and insofar as they express and promote the mutual assistance of the sexes in marriage and are open to the transmission of new life.” (ibid., n. 7) “By putting homosexual unions on a legal plane analogous to that of marriage and the family, the State acts arbitrarily and in contradiction with its duties.” (ibid., n. 8) “The denial of the social and legal status of marriage to forms of cohabitation that are not and cannot be marital is not opposed to justice; on the contrary, justice requires it. There are good reasons for holding that such unions are harmful to the proper development of human society, especially if their impact on society were to increase.” (ibid.) “It would be gravely unjust to sacrifice the common good and just laws on the family in order to protect personal goods that can and must be guaranteed in ways that do not harm the body of society” (ibid., n. 9) There is always “a danger that legislation which would make homosexuality a basis for entitlements could actually encourage a person with a homosexual orientation to declare his homosexuality or even to seek a partner in order to exploit the provisions of the law” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Some considerations concerning the response to legislative proposals on the non-discrimination of homosexual persons, July 24, 1992, n. 14 Read the rest at the link
As Father Altman has said on other similar issues let's cry for the Catholic laity who have very few good shepherds. Let's pray for all the Catholics who are embarrassed by a pope who dares to speak such evil. Let's weep for all those who've left the Catholic faith and will never consider coming back because we have so many 'shepherds' just like Francis Bergoglio. Let's see if the Catholic good shepherds dare to stand up to evil and defend their flocks. Let's see if bishops and cardinals do more than just talk about it. Otherwise it's all just endless, meaningless talk.
That's an excellent article. Thank you for posting the link. I'm not sure, however, that it addresses the problem foreseen by Pope Paul V. Pope Paul (I think it was Paul V but I'm too tired to check that it was he) was concerned that the Reformers could infiltrate the papacy by having one of their own elected. I think he meant that the infiltrator would come to the papacy by legitimate means but with the intention of corrupting the Faith. I suppose that the author of the article would cite the case of the Council of Constance and John Hus or the cases of simony. Pope Paul V would surely have known of those or similar cases when he issued the Papal Bull. What if Pope Francis ascended to the papacy under the circumstances described in the Papal Bull of Paul V, and irrefutable incriminating evidence came to light? Would faithful Bishops have the authority, or even the duty to call for his removal from office and set about ousting him? I don't know the answer to that question but I'm curious as to whether what Pope Paul said then would apply now. I'm not sure whether I read somewhere that a later Pope or Council issued something which effectively cancelled that Papal Bull, but what if it has never been negated? For example, what if the St. Gallen group and the Catholic Spring leaders combined in a conspiracy to bring about the resignation of Pope Benedict thus leaving an opening for the election of Pope Francis with the intention that he would use the office of Pope to corrupt the Faith? That would be a scenario closer to what Pope Paul warned against rather than the cases cited in the article in your link. It's hypothetical because even if the Francis papacy is such a case, short of one of the conspirators confessing, there would never be enough evidence to prove it but I'm curious about how the Church would handle such a scenario. Also, the first comment beneath that article quotes St. Jerome in support of the claim that Jesus did strip the High Priest of his office although to my limited understanding it seems that Caiphas did a DIY job of effecting a sede vacantist situation by rending his own garments.
Peter Hitchens explains the problem with modern marriage The impact of no-fault divorce -- Great quote by Peter Hitchens - 'it's easier to get out of a marriage than a car-lease agreement'.
As long as the poor old Pope continues to promote the looney left agenda, his tweets will be allowed to flourish. No surprise there.
https://mail.yahoo.com/b/folders/1/...myc&showImages=true&offset=0&folderType=INBOX This is worth a look to get a sense of perspective. I have never posted a link before so I hope this works , this one is from Fr Ianuzzi
This is of interest: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...-union-not-mistranslated-in-documentary-95995
I would be very careful who I believed and followed at the moment. Many of these dreadful people, Cardinals, Bishops and...dare I say it would our Holy Father the Pope would lead you down to road to hell laughing and singing and dancing. It is a Spiritual Minefield. Here is a good and holy Bishop who straight talks. https://www.ncronline.org/news/peop...vil-unions-dangerous-and-papacy-lacks-clarity Texas bishop says Francis' support of civil unions is 'dangerous,' papacy lacks clarity The Catholic bishop of Tyler, Texas, a vocal opponent of Pope Francis, has invited the pontiff to fire him. In a new interview, Bishop Joseph Strickland characterized the long delay of the release of the Vatican's report on former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick as "evil" and said that "if I get fired for saying that, for not being politically correct, go ahead and fire me." Strickland also accused both the Vatican and the United States of having a "deep state," saying the papacy lacks clarity and Pope Francis' recent comments in support of civil unions for same sex-couples are "confusing and very dangerous." "The church is weak. The church is not clear," he told radio host Cy Kellett on Oct. 21. "We were relying on the papacy to be this beacon of clarity and stability, and it just doesn't feel clear and stable anymore," Kellet said to Strickland during a webinar on "Forming the Catholic Conscience in a World of Confusion," sponsored by the multimedia organization Catholic Answers. "Sadly, I have to support that," Strickland replied. His remarks came on the same day in which Francis reaffirmed his long-standing support for civil unions, which Strickland dismissed as mere opinion. "A pope could have had opinions contrary to the deposit of faith 500 years ago," he said, suggesting that the widespread availability of new media and developed forms of communications has altered the way papal pronouncements are received around the world. "What's getting broadcast around the world is Pope Francis' opinion on this, and I think that is confusing and very dangerous," adding "there are evil forces that would love to destroy the Catholic Church." Strickland, who is 61 years old and was made a bishop in 2012, is among the most vocally partisan members of the U.S. hierarchy. In September, he endorsed a viral video made by a Wisconsin priest who claimed "you cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat." In 2018, when the now disgraced former papal nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, accused Francis of mishandling abuse and called for his resignation, within 24 hours Strickland deemed Viganò's charges to be credible and asked that his statement be distributed at all Masses in his diocese. During the hourlong webinar, he recalled meeting with Pope Francis this past January during his ad limina visits at the Vatican with other bishops from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, which he described as "very pleasant, but I'd have to say too pleasant." "The world is falling apart and Pope Francis was very cordial, very welcoming, but like I said, I mean, when a leg has been severed and we're bleeding out, I don't think we really need cordial and welcoming. We need something more," he said on Wednesday evening. "I certainly don't put it all on Pope Francis. The machine of the Vatican, there is evil there. There is darkness in the Vatican. I mean, that's very clear," said the Texas bishop. The bishop, who is well known for all-caps Twitter diatribes against the Democratic Party, the evils of abortion and against gay marriage, seemed to indicate that the evil that he believes has permeated much of the government also permeates the church. "Ultimately, it's just documented fact that there is a deep state in the United States," he told the 2,000 registered viewers for the webinar. "There is a lot of manipulation of the truth by the media, by the government, by people with money. I think that's pretty well documented and sadly, it's the same with the church. He also said that in the same way there are "cafeteria Catholics" who are "picking and choosing" elements of Catholic teaching to support, he said that many bishops are doing the same. "There are bishops that are clearly teaching contrary to what Catholic teaching is," adding that they are "playing fast and loose with what God has revealed to us." "All this synodality is garbage as far as I'm concerned. It just is not living the truth." —Bishop Joseph Strickland While Pope Francis has made strides to elevate the process of synodality, a longstanding church practice emphasizing the collaboration of local bishop conferences and local churches in communion with the global church, Strickland offered a stark criticism of it. Strickland said that "very little good news" came from the Vatican's 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people and that "All this synodality is garbage as far as I'm concerned." "It just is not living the truth," he said. Strickland was especially critical of the current German "synodal path," in which the church has vowed to have an open discussion on matters related to women's ordination, gay marriage and more. Strickland revealed that he had written a letter to the archbishops in Germany warning that they must protect the "deposit of faith." "They probably never even read my letter," he surmised, warning that the bishops are responsible for "confusion" and leading Catholics to believe that "same-sex marriage is fine, the gender issues are fine, all the agenda of LGBT are fine." "Germany is in trouble as a church," warned the American bishop.
Ezekiel 34 A Prophecy Against False Shepherds 34 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherdsa]">[a] of Israel; prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshnessb]">[b] you have ruled over them. 5 They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast.c]">[c] 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them. 7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep. 9 Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message. 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds;d]">[d] the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them. 11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day.e]">[e] 13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. 14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lushf]">[f] pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them—with judgment! 17 “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? 19 As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet and drink what you have muddied with your feet! 20 “‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad,g]">[g] 22 I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 “‘I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them—namely, my servant David.h]">[h] He will feed them and will be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be princei]">[i] among them; I, the Lord, have spoken! 25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securelyj]">[j] in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods.k]">[k] 26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing.l]">[l] 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will prepare for them a healthym]">[m] planting. They will no longer be victimsn]">[n] of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them,o]">[o] and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.p]">[p] 31 And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people,q]">[q] and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
CARDINAL FLIP FLOPS ON CIVIL UNIONS In response to remarks by Pope Francis endorsing civil unions for homosexual couples, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the Archbishop of Boston, issued a statement yesterday defending the Pope and asserting that civil union legislation is not something which the Church opposes. The Cardinal's statement reads in part: "The Pope’s endorsement of civil unions is not an endorsement of homosexual activity. Just as the Church does not campaign against civil laws that allow for common-law marriage or second marriages....the Holy Father recognizes that in civil society there can be cogent reasons to enact such laws providing for civil unions which are not the same as the institution of marriage. Pope Francis has seen civil unions as a way for governments to provide protections and health care for couples in long-term, committed relationships..." FULL ARTICLE: https://mailchi.mp/8ae45db86cbb/cat...dinal-flip-flops-on-civil-unions?e=192dfa5163
These are SOME wonderful promises from God the Father! Oh, Lord, send us a David for our times to sit upon the throne of Your Son!
