Skip to main content

A Little Perspective on Pope Leo XIV

Image
By

 +

JMJ

By Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar - https://x.com/edgarjbb_/status/1920590815472108021, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=165004058


The Catholic Church has a new Vicar of Christ.  

As discussed in my short series "Who's in Charge?", we know that Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost has been elected as Vicar of Christ in the recent conclave, taken the name Pope Leo XIV, and been accepted by the moral unanimity of Bishops and faithful in union with the Catholic Church.

Roberto de Mattei has written an article for Rorate Caeili (RORATE CÆLI: Leo XIV and the Future of the Church - by Roberto de Mattei) that delves into some aspects of this major event in the life of the Catholic Church.

The Pope has addressed the Cardinals and made clear some of his thoughts:

In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, from which I would like to highlight several fundamental points: 

  1. the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11);
  2. the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9);
  3. growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33);
  4. attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123);
  5. loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53);
  6. courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2).

I assume that many will ... basically point at this phrase and say, "See ...", not understanding what they are reading or even seeing. 

My response is 'so what?'.  

We've been enduring the identity crisis of the Catholic Church for over a hundred years.  I've traced its earliest days to the times of Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII. The fact that Pope Leo XIV has taken the name of the one of the earliest Popes to fight this particular battle, makes me wonder if his name successor will signal the beginning of the end.

Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.

I believe that the present crisis of the Catholic Church was birthed as "Liberalism" and that Modernism is simply the child and Neo Modernism its grand-child.

How Pope Leo XIV will address this crisis will be clear in his actions and I believe that clarity on this will take some months. 

So, watch and wait to see how he treats:

  • Diocesan Traditional Catholics
  • Former Eccelsia Dei congregations
  • The Fraternal Society of St. Pius the Tenth
  • The Tridentine Mass
  • The Dogmas and Doctrines of the Catholic Church
His actions will speak far louder than his words.

P^3


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

By
 + JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them.   I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest.  This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis?  When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due.   This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing

By
+ JMJ A friend had mentioned that he has seen a longer list of truths of the Faith than the one I posted here .  I have finally discovered it online. I have yet to completely determine what dogmas were missed in the original, those I have found are highlighted. Source: A List Of The Dogmas Of The Catholic Church - Fr. Carota Alternate Source: Referencing Ott   Posts Listing the Dogmas of the Catholic Church Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader (Oct 2022) Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Oct 2021) *** Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (Oct 2015) De Fide teaching of the Catholic Church (Apr 2013)           *** Latest version    
1 comment
Read more

De Fide Teachings of the Catholic Church (Updated)

By
+ JMJ  Update: I was reviewing Ott's work directly and noted that some of the Teachings are De Fide while others are different levels of authority (such as Sent Certa etc).  So please refer to Ott for the actual classification). Posts Listing the Dogmas of the Catholic Church Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader (Oct 2022) Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Oct 2021) *** Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (Oct 2015) De Fide teaching of the Catholic Church (Apr 2013)           *** Latest version  
Post a Comment
Read more

Homily vs Sermon

By
+ JMJ Something that I've noticed is that Modern Catholics use the phrase 'Homily' instead of 'Sermon'. I've often wondered about this difference. Here's what I found Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) Homily: ...Since Origen's time homily has meant, and still means, a commentary, without formal introduction, division, or conclusion, on some part of Sacred Scripture , the aim being to explain the literal, and evolve the spiritual, meaning of the Sacred Text.  ... Wikipedia Sermon: : A sermon is an oration , lecture , or talk by a member of a religious institution or clergy . Sermons address a scriptural, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation, and practical application.   Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) Sermon: As to preaching at the present day, we can clearly trace the influe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Becoming Traditional Catholic Part I

By
+ JMJ It is a big step from the non-Traditional to Traditional Catholic World. First of all, the Trad world is much smaller, isolated and under siege. This leads to a number of interesting elements that a person making the transition needs to take into account. The Trad World Is Smaller It is a fact that in the states there are about 30,000 Traditional Catholics who support the SSPX and about 3,000 in Canada.  The other Traditionalit orders (FSSP, ICK, etc), I assume, are in the same ball park if not smaller. Let put that in perspective, in my area there are 270,000 non-Traditional Catholics. Consequently, aside from the larger centers,  a Traditional 'Parish' or Mass Centre will be 200 people or less. This has the advantage of being like an extended family and cozy. It has the disadvantage that any crazy 'uncles' in that family will be in plain sight. Be forewarned that any eccentricity that would be drowned in a sea of people in a non-Traditiona...
Post a Comment
Read more