My recent posts covering Pope Francis’ scathing correction of fur parents have caused another Catholic derangement syndrome flareup. CDS sufferers are nothing if not predictable, possessing a great deal of overlap with Conservative NPCs. So, their hatred of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church has taken the form of swipes at the Pope informed by fake news of the kind they’d dismiss out of hand concerning Donald Trump.
Since public education and Facebook have rendered many people incapable of processing information in any form besides Boomer meme infographics, the following is presented for their edification.
Let’s clear the air, shall we? Clown World is a divine chastisement levied on the West for turning our backs on Jesus Christ. That same Jesus who was crucified for our sins founded a visible Church and appointed Simon Peter her head on Earth. He further promised that His Church would endure forever, which de facto establishes an unbroken succession for the office Peter held.
Have Peter’s heirs always behaved with perfect Christian virtue? Of course not. Have many of them erred in political and private theological matters? Without a doubt. Have some of them been grave, manifest sinners? Yes. The same holds true for the overwhelming majority of Holy Church’s members. Those collective violations of the Church’s teachings by her flock and shepherds caused ruptures in the Mystical Body of Christ. Those breaks with Tradition first led men to reject apostolic authority, then biblical authority, and finally reason itself. And that is why men in sundresses using the little girls’ room is now a civil right.
The Church’s hierarchs sinned by acting contrary to divinely revealed precepts. Schismatics and heretics sinned by acting according to their own invented precepts. The way out of the resulting circus is for all three camps to repent and rejoin full communion with Christ’s body.
And where Peter is, there is the Church.
“A Fantastic Story”
Too many Christians read the meaning of Peter’s name and think that the Church is supposed to be a safe harbor or a fortress, but it doesn’t make sense to siege the gates of Hell with a fortress.
We need to stop acting like we’re stuck here with Satan. Satan was thrown here from Heaven, and Satan is stuck here with us. So pick up your Rosary and make him angry.
Deficiency of righteous anger is as sinful as excessive unjust anger.
Benedict is Pope, plain and simple. Not only according to the Ann Barnhardts and Brother Bugnolos, but even a diocesan JESUIT priest I know, who was a civil lawyer for decades before his late vocation, affirmed, per canon law, 100%, Benedict never validly resigned the office, merely the ministry, hence, ibi est Papa.
God’s also making it clearer every passing day that the Holy Spirit is nowhere near this heresy-spouting imposter and likely False Prophet forerunner to the antichrist (saints for centuries having said the former would come from the episcopacy). We must pray for Bp. Bergolio’s conversion, but Pope Benedict’s intentions.
What happens, according to your theory, when B16 shuffles off this mortal coil? The College of Cardinals elected Francis. They’re not holding another conclave while he’s alive.
Which is why this decade will see revolutions, famines, wars, *actual* plagues, all topped off with heaping scoops of Three Days of Darkness, humanity staggering into 2030 less 5 or so billion people. As the Church goes so goes the world.
I am asking a practical question. Francis created 73 of the 128 cardinal electors. Canon law requires a 2/3 vote to elect a pope. If Francis does not validly hold his office, neither do those cardinals. Which means no new pope can ever be validly elected. Which would mean Christ was wrong about the Petrine ministry and the Church.
Or, Benedict XVI validly resigned–which he confirmed in his resignation letter when he called for a conclave to elect a new pope and again to La Stampa in 2014. And Francis was validly elected–as confirmed by actual canon lawyers. And Jesus Christ is God.
It’s a pickle alright. But it’s also a moot point you raise. The only factor is whether or not Benedict validly resigned. Nothing Francis has done since 2013 has any bearing on the former. I have no idea how God will solve this dilemma, but I’m confident (a) it will be amazing, (b) it will be unexpected in time and manner, (c) it will involve the Virgin Mary.
I know that you borrow your fedora from John C Wright, but from whom do you borrow your bowtie?
Thank you greatly for this post. Quitting the Catholic social media circle/circus was the wisest decision I’ve made in a long time. You get such a terribly distorted view of reality from there. If you listened to them you’d think the Church was constantly on the very brink of falling to heresy. The kind of anxiety and depression that kind of thinking brought me could’ve easily lead to a mental breakdown and I’m thankful to God that it didn’t. Personally, I think our ancestors were better off NOT knowing what the Pope and/or bishops were saying and doing at every moment.
I forget which Catholic luminary said it, but the average layman was far better off when he had no idea what the Holy Father was up to.
Give the glory to God!