Skip to main content

A Scary Merry Christmas: Francis Lectures Roman Curia - The Remnant

+

JMJ


Pope Francis' true character makes itself known in fits and starts - depending on to whom he is addressing himself.

To the media he started presents himself as Pope Francis the merciful, friend of the downtrodden.

To the members of the Church (irrespective of 'rank') he presents himself as Pope Francis the object of 'unconditioned obedience'.

I've already discussed the framework for Catholic Obedience. What the Pope is calling for is submission to the Tyranny of modernism.

Funny how the modernists preach dialogue, freedom of conscience and intellectual freedom - until they're in charge.  Then it becomes:

All this is to say that the reform of the Curia is a delicate process that has to take place in fidelity to essentials, with constant discernment, evangelical courage and ecclesial wisdom, careful listening, persevering action, positive silence and firm decisions. It requires much prayer, profound humility, farsightedness, concrete steps forward and – whenever necessary – even with steps backward, with determination, vitality, the responsible exercise of power, unconditional obedience, but above all by abandonment to the sure guidance of the Holy Spirit and trust in his necessary support. Hence, prayer, prayer, prayer…
So in essence - if you disobey an illicit order from the Pope - you are going against the Holy Ghost (oops - sorry - Spirit).

But, it appears that the scales covering the eyes of faithful Catholic Church are starting to tumble to the ground.

Hence, the Church has started on the path of emerging from the crisis.

I do believe that the wound is about to be lanced!

P^3

Courtesy of The Remnant
See Also: Pentin
Speech Transcript




A Scary Merry Christmas: Francis Lectures Roman Curia Featured

Written by  
Rate this item
(23 votes)
A Scary Merry Christmas: Francis Lectures Roman Curia
You are spiritually sick, malicious, and tools of the devil.

It’s Christmastime again. That means it’s time for the Pope who says But never judge. Never” to issue his annual judgments on the character defects and spiritual illnesses of members of the Roman Curia who are resisting his “reforms.”

In his annual “Christmas Greetings” (more like “Christmas Condemnations”), Francis reminds the Curia that he has already twice (2014 and 2015) diagnosed their “diseases” of soul and prescribed “catalogue of virtues [emphasis in original] necessary for curial officials and all those who wish their consecration or service to the Church to become more fruitful.” This year, Francis heaps more insults on the mountain of crude opprobrium with which he has attempted to bury any opposition to whatever he would like to do under the rubric of the Protestant slogan semper reformanda (falsely attributed to Saint Augustine, who said nothing of a Church that must constantly reform itself as opposed to maintaining or restoring what has been handed down).
According to Francis, “the semper reformanda must also become, in the case of the Curia, a permanent personal and structural process of conversion”—that is, a reform that never ends, the ceaseless mobilism of Modernist theology. But there are those who resist the semper reformanda on account of “disease” for which there must be “cures because every surgical operation, if it is to be successful, must be preceded by detailed diagnosis and careful analysis, and needs to be accompanied and followed up by precise prescriptions.” The Curia not yet having responded to the cure, however, Francis now reiterates his diagnosis and prescription for treatment of intractable cases of Reform Resistance Disease (RRD).

First of all, Francis allows that “[t]here can be cases of open resistance [emphasis in original], often born of goodwill and sincere dialogue”—often, but not always, as we shall see. But then there are “cases of hidden resistance[emphasis in original], born of fearful or hardened hearts content with the empty rhetoric of ‘spiritual window-dressing’ typical of those who say they are ready for change, yet want everything to remain as it was before.” This would be the moderate form of RRD, suffered by those whose flesh is willing to undergo the process of endless reform, but whose spirit is weak.  They talk the talk of endless reform, but will not walk the walk.

The severe form of RRD, on the other hand, involves the symptom of “malicious resistance [emphasis in original],” which is clearly the gravamen of Francis’s complaint. The malicious form of RRD—as if we didn’t know it after three years of this sort of propaganda—manifests itself in those who are attached to Tradition: “misguided minds… when the devil inspires ill intentions (often cloaked in sheep’s clothing).  This last kind of resistance hides behind words of self-justification and often accusation; it takes refuge in traditions, appearances, formalities, in the familiar…” There must be no hiding behind traditions! The patient must take his bitter medicine and be prepared to leave all that behind as the cure takes effect.

The “good cases of resistance,” says Francis, are “necessary and merit being listened to, welcomed and their expression encouraged, because this is a sign that the body is living”—although, of course, this good resistance will not deter Francis in the least. It is rather like a fever in the patient, a sign that the body is fighting the disease. But the malicious form of RRD must be stamped out—by removal and quarantine of the infected patients if necessary.

In that regard, everyone must be reminded that the cure for RRD is not only “prayer, much prayer, profound humility” but also “responsible exercise of power, unconditioned obedience”, which means “supporting the Roman Pontiff in the exercise of his singular, ordinary, full, supreme, immediate and universal power.”

Odd—is it not? —how the persona of “Roman Pontiff” suddenly makes its appearance when Francis is demanding obedience to his novelties. But the same Roman Pontiff is nowhere to be seen when it comes to obeying the defined dogmas and perennial doctrines and disciplines of the Holy Catholic Church.

For any sufferer from RRD who still does not accept the diagnosis and treatment, there is the catch-all gnostic prescription of “abandonment to the sure guidance of the Holy Spirit and trust in his necessary support.” That is, to resist the reforms of Francis is to resist the very will of the God of Surprises of whose latest auguries the ad hocRoman Pontiff is the sole oracle. There is never any suggestion that the same Holy Spirit would ever inform Francis that he is on the wrong course. Like the Protestant version of the Holy Spirit, the version promoted by Francis infallibly confirms what one wishes to hear—except in the case of those suffering from RRD, who are never in touch with “the Spirit” but only with their own rigidity and pride.

Among the reforms the God of Surprises is demanding through Francis—in the Church that never stops reforming—is what Francis describes as “a simplification and streamlining of the Curia.” Here is how Francis describes his work of “simplification” thus far:
·         the Council of Cardinals (Consilium Cardinalium Summo Pontifici) … was created…

·         the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Institute for Works of Religion was established…

·         … the COSEA (Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organization of the Economic-Administrative Structure) was instituted…

·         … the Holy See’s Financial Security Committee was established…

·         … the Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF), established by Benedict XVI… was consolidated.

·         … the Secretariat for the Economy and the Council for the Economy were established to replace the Council of 15 Cardinals…

·         the Office of General Auditor (URG) was established as a new agency of the Holy See…

·         … the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was established…

·         … the Ordinary Section of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See was transferred to the Secretariat for the Economy…

·         … the Statutes of the new economic agencies were approved….

·         … the Secretariat for Communication was established …

·         … the Statutes of the Secretariat for Communication were promulgated…

·         ... the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life was established…

·         … the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development was established… four Pontifical Councils—Justice and Peace,Cor Unum, the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and Healthcare Workers—will be merged into this Dicastery…
This “simplification” of the Roman Curia might appear to be a multiplication of bureaucratic agencies and a reshuffling of some existing agencies, accompanied by a blizzard of new Vatican rules and regulations. But that would be the outlook of one suffering from moderate to severe RRD. Anyone in touch with the “Spirit” would know that “simplify” does not necessarily mean “make simpler.” Simplify could also mean complicate. In the same way, defending the indissolubility of marriage could also mean ignoring the indissolubility of marriage by allowing people in invalid “second marriages” to receive Holy Communion while their valid sacramental marriages to other people subsist.

Let it not be thought that Francis limits his diagnosis and prescription to members of the Curia. Speaking more generally, he calls for “gradualism (discernment)” in the overall process of never-ending reform. By this he means “the necessary discernment entailed by historical processes, the passage of time and stages of development, assessment, correction, experimentation, and approvals ad experimentum.  In these cases, it is not a matter of indecision, but of the flexibility needed to be able to achieve a true reform.” And what exactly constitutes a “true reform”? Evidently, that is for Francis to know and for the members of the Curia (and the rest of the Church) to find out as the God of Surprises reveals his will in a continuing gnostic download of the latest instructions during a Hegelian outrolling of “historical processes”—but always instructions for change and never restoration, which is the old idea of reform Francis has diagnosed as a disease that must be cured.

As a parting insult, Francis distributed to all the members of the Curia in attendance a classic Jesuit text “ad curandos animae morbos”—on caring for diseases of the soul. There is no indication that anyone in attendance—in the “spirit of dialogue,” of course—dared to propose to this most humble of Popes a cure to which Our Lord Himself alluded in the Sermon on the Mount: “Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making.  It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX.  The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience.  The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members.  It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Church Militant TV and the SSPX - Again

+ JMJ The old narrative used to be that the SSPX was 'schismatic' and 'excommunicated'. Now the excommunication has been lifted for a number of years and the only ones who think it still has effect are the 'resistors'. That leaves the other opponents of the SSPX with the label 'schismatic'. Make it clear, the conservative Catholics have issues with the SSPX probably because they violate some of their assumptions about the Faith and this crisis of the Church. Church Militant TV is one of these the exists along the Catholic thought spectrum. They like the Traditional Mass but must ensure that they don't get tarred with the same 'schismatic' brush that the liberals use against the SSPX.  So what do they do, they use the same brush against the SSPX. The funny thing is that even when the Church does speak, they don't want to listen and persist in calling the SSPX 'schismatic'. Here's a transcript of the latest s...

The Position of the SSPX on Canonizations by the Saint Factory

+ JMJ I have sometimes been criticized for including 'St' as a title for Pope John Paul II et al. I've given my reasons here  in a discussion with Alex Long. The question is one of prudence in discussions with ntCatholics and in some cases with tCatholics. In discussions with:  ntCatholics, I will use the title in order to continue the discussion and help them arrive at a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. tCatholics, I will use the title in order to broaden their perspective on the doctrine of dogmatic facts. This broader perspective is, in my opinion, essential maintaining a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. So from a doctrinal position, I have written the article Dogmatic Fact of Fancy  and includes a reference on canonizations. Now, I know the position of the SSPX is that the canonizations are doubtful (see references below) and I also know of at least one non-SSPX theologian who agrees with the level of doubt du...

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...