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

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay.  Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. P^3

The Vatican and SSPX – An Organizational Culture Perspective

Introduction The recent and continuing interactions between the Vatican and the SSPX have been a great opportunity for prayer and reflection.  The basis for the disagreement is theological and not liturgical. As noted by Dr. Lamont (2012), the SSPX theological position on the four key controversial aspects of the Second Vatican Council are base on prior theological work that resulted from relevant magisterial pronouncements.  So it is difficult to understand the apparent rejection of the theological position of the SSPX.

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

 + JMJ    An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'.  Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like.  No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included.  I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith.  While...

Battle Joy

+ JMJ I was listening to a Cd of John Vennari on Battle Joy ( Recapture the Flag: Dedication and Battle Joy - by John Vennari ) and it really captures a key point that Catholics (Traditional and otherwise labelled) need to adopt. We should see this conflict as a chance to prove our mettle for our King and to earn our unending reward.  As veterans we'll be able to talk about the old battles in which we fought and the honour we gained in fighting for our King! Attached is a preview of course that, although secular, contains some of the elements of Battle Joy. P^3 https://www.coursera.org/learn/war/lecture/VDwfk/the-joy-of-battle

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...