Skip to main content

Disobeying the Pope and Sins of Omission - Michael Voris' Latest Thoughts

Image
By
+
JMJ

Church Militant TV just issued another vortex on the topic of obedience to the Pope, when it is really




Michael Voris has another vortex out and touches on the topic of criticizing the Pope publicly.

His rationale has two foundations:

  1. Criticizing the Pope publicly results in driving many 'confused Catholics' into schismatic or near-schismatic (SSPX) groups.
  2. It is useless to criticize the Pope as it is the Bishops who are the ones who are really the problem.
I disagree with Michael on the principle that it is not right to publicly criticize the Pope.  In practice, the criticism must be delivered with respect for his office and charity for the souls - the Pope's first as well as the rest of the Church. 

Even the Pope said he accepted the criticisms of the late journalist (name escapes me) and he accepted them because he knew these criticisms came from love.

So criticising or complaining about the Pope's actions do not necessarily translate into an attack upon the person of the Pope.  

For example, I can definitely criticize St. Pope John Paul II's decision to kiss a koran that was presented to him.  This is a sinful act against the first commandment and no one should imitate the Pope in this matter.

I also would like to note that Pope Francis' orders being disobeyed by the bishops were curiously absent.  I suspect that there aren't any orders to disobey since the Pope himself is acting in accord with the bishops.  

But I digress.

The reason why anyone should criticize the Pope is in order to remove the confusion about Church Teaching/Doctrine that the Pope is himself creating. 

The koran kissing is a good example, but there are many examples of Pontifical actions that are causing scandal and causing people to leave the Church of Christ because of the confusion. Far more leave the Church altogether than the few thousands that take refuge in the SSPX and even the sedevacantist organizations.

And they are leaving in droves.

To not say something can be a sin of omission and as such when the Pope does something scandalous, those in positions of authority need to assert the elements of the True Faith - within their realm of authority.  

Michael point about the local bishops is right - to a point however his aerial vs ground assault analogy is completely off base.

Why?

Because this crisis of the Church will not end until the Pope is strong enough to take a stand on Catholic Teaching.  This is true from a doctrinal point of view and true from a cultural point of view.

Any gains made at the diocesan level can be erased as quickly as a new bishop can be installed.


Those who have a wider influence have an obligation to make use of that  influence for the service of the Church. If it is required to point out, with respect, to the Pope that he is damaging the Mystical Body of Christ - then so be it.

I would not want to stand before my just judge and say: But he was the Pope.

Everyone of the abuses sickening the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church was approved by a Pope.

Following Michael's logic we should hunker down and listen to them and obey.

But the cognitive dissonance would tear us apart.

Until next time ...

P^3
Prayer
Penance
Patience

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Father, Should I Attend That Mass?" Advice on Attending Non-SSPX Latin Masses

By
 + JMJ I see that the 'resistors' are in a tizzy because Fr. Robinson used them as an example instead of the sedevacantists. What is interesting is that you can apply the exact same reasons against going to a sede mass as that of the 'resistors'. Namely: On the other extreme are those situations where an SSPX priest knows that a certain non-SSPX traditionalist venue is a grave danger to the faith . Frankly, most, if not all, of the Resistance Masses would fall into this category. In many cases, the behavior of these priests has been and continues to be scandalous, by their (A) spirit, their (B) preaching, and their indiscriminate conferral of the (C) priesthood and (D) episcopacy. To attend a Mass with such ongoing scandals poses a serious danger to the souls of the faithful. Yep, looking at A,B,C and D the shoe fits. On this basis the "resistors" = "sedevacantists". P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org   A companion article to a recent "Questions with ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Correcting Caricatures of the SSPX

By
 + JMJ Introduction First, a little background on the FSSP St. John Vianney Chapel in Mission Hill Kansas.  After the 1988 consecrations and the foundation of the FSSP there was a consistent trend of Dioceses allowing the SSPX to run chapels and churches near SSPX locations. As with any 'organizational change' there were those who didn't agree with the change and no longer sought the sacraments from the SSPX. I heard from friends that in that era there was a lot of anger and tension (on both sides) between the St. Mary's SSPX and Mission Hill FSSP.  Second, there have been caricatures of the SSPX position (some are evident below) in which personal opinions of SSPX priests and laity are taken as the official position or conflated with those of sedevacantists or 'resistance'. Recent Perspectives of the SSPX Position In the shadow of the consecrations a fever pitch accusations and opinions how surfaced - many of which include caricatures of the SSPX positions, of w...
Post a Comment
Read more

SSPX: Why Is the SSPX So Criticized?

By
 + JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'.  This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium.  If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stories: Early Days of Tradition Part 8 - Convention Centre Chapel

By
 + JMJ I came to Tradition a few years after they had bought a chapel. My wife told me of the earlier years when Fr. Normandin would come to town and Mass would be held in a room at the convention centre.  He'd start by blessing the room and then proceed with Mass. This went on for a while before the one of the faithful found a small hall that would suit just fine. They pooled their money and bought the building.  Then came the work as the retiree's refinished the floor, setup the sactuary. Oh, did I mention that I heard that the hall had been used by a motorcycle gang? The floor needed a lot of work.  I remember seeing pictures of the founders working to make the hall into a fitting place for the Sacrifice of the Mass. That little chapel would be a refuge like many others serviced by Fr. Normandin.  From Thunderbay, Ontrario to Nanaimo, British Columbia - the SSPX chapels are all the results of Fr. Normandin's missionary work in those desperate times. Without h...
Post a Comment
Read more

How many more must die for the throne? or How to combat FUD!

By
 + JMJ How many more must die for the throne? (Movie Quote: Prince Caspian) The Spread of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I've seen a lot of FUD spreading across the intergnat on various stats etc.   So let's put this in context ... especially the perspective of those people in positions of authority who need to make decisions to protect the lives of their citizens. Yep, this is going to be that type of post.  Like it or not the leaders of our governments have their authority from God.  So, as Catholics should know, you need to have a very good reason to deliberately disobey the orders of their superiors. This is basic St. Thomas Aquinas ... so don't blame me for discussing things from a Catholic perspective. The leaders of our countries have taken action to protect the vulnerable of our countries.   As much as the young and not-so-young may whine and complain - I have to ask how many more of our elderly have to die? What the armchair virologists and ec...
10 comments
Read more