Pope Francis is neither the cause nor the cure for the crisis of the Church - He is merely a symptom

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JMJ

Pope Francis definitely has Catholics and non-Catholics alike shaking their heads.  One can pick just about any statement to find some more mind-bending modernism.

I've noticed bloggers who are normally calm are ... for lack of a better word ... exploding with anger and frustration at the antics of the current occupant of the See of Peter.



On the flipside, others of the 'Pope can do no wrong' ilk such as Jeff Mirus take the following approach:

Unfortunately, at a certain point, our serious concern about Pope Francis can become a preoccupation—an unhealthy preoccupation. We can become so tied in knots that we feel as if we cannot get on with our lives, and especially with what God calls us personally to do, until the “Francis problem” is settled. But such a preoccupation serves no good purpose. In fact, it is a dreadful temptation. Satan desires nothing more than for us to become so engrossed by what we frequently perceive as the Pope’s recklessness that we forget our own vocations, our own Catholic mission, our own apostolates. Catholic Culture - Jeff Mirus

He goes on to basically say:

I believe this is a wrong approach to take, the Church should react to a Pope that is off the rails. This is basically what the laity have been doing since the Second Vatican Council (pray, pay and obey). That hasn't worked for 50 years - why would it work now???

It won't.

Another track being trod is that of Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix, rest assured that they are on the same path, just Gerry has progressed much further than Louie.

Simply put they say that:

This likewise is an overly simple 'solution' to a problem that actually creates more problems.  For example, what if Pope Francis actually issued a licit binding order?  Those that say he is not longer Pope (or never was) would not obey.  This is only the tip of the ice-berg of theological issues with deviating from Church Doctrine.

In short, just because Pope Francis disregards Church Doctrine, it doesn't give Catholics (Traditional and non-Trad alike) license to do the same.

We just have to accept that Catholics have infallible assurance that Pope Francis was licitly elected as the Vicar of Christ (see Dogmatic Facts).

So,  while a Catholic may suspect that the Pope has abandoned the faith, they actually can't act on that suspicion. They still have to regard the See of Peter as being occupied until the authority of the Church makes it clear.

There is something that seems to be lost on a lot of people.  Namely, Pope Francis' potential.

The potential of Pope Francis is actually huge. He just doesn't seem to care what other people think and does what he likes.

If he were to work with the Grace of God, like St. Paul, it is reasonable to assume that he would proceed to act as a paragon of orthodoxy.

At this point the cynics are probably 'tsk tsking'. 

That is the problem with some Trads - they understand neither the history of the Church nor the possibility of conversions.  They see this crisis with the eyes of the modernists - just from the flip side of the coin.

We have to understand that Pope Francis is neither the cause nor the cure for the crisis of the Church - he is merely a symptom.  He is the logical result of the conflict that has been raging in the Church since the time of Pope Pius IX.

History: Pope Pius IX was elected as the liberal candidate and acted accordingly until the mobs was pounding on the door to with a desire to drag his dead body through the streets of Rome.

After that, like St. Paul, he changed his direction.

The same can happen to Pope Francis and as a faithful Catholic, we have an obligation to pray for the Pope.

Here's a traditional prayer for the Pope.  Say it and weep, then say it again:

Prayer for the Pope

V. Let us pray for our Pontiff Francis.


R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

Let us pray.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful, look mercifully upon Thy servant Francis, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church: grant him, we beseech Thee, that, by word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, he may attain everlasting life. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Pray for the Pope - that's one way we can emerge from this crisis.

P^3