The Pope has now been pope for slightly over three years. Each day PopeWatch gives his opinion on the actions and words of the Pope. Here is your chance. The usual open thread rules apply: be concise, be charitable, and, above all, be amusing.
PopeWatch: Open Thread
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
I should pray for him more. I should ignore him more.
That about covers it.
Last night I saw a ETWN presentation covering the cause for sainthood for Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Part of the message seemed appropriate. Bishop Sheen always maintained that you cannot separate Christ from the Cross. The priest continued, stating that totalitarian states have the cross (physical suffering) but no Christ. In the West, there is Christ but no Cross. I think that summarizes the leftists occupying the Vatican.
1st Thessalonians 21;” But examine everything carefully; Hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
That’s my approach to our Holy Father.
Thanks for Pope Watch to help me understand the good and bad of his words and actions.
What to add to the first three comments? They nailed it.
Beginning with the 1950’s and each house having a tv, Popes became performers for the world media…book authors, speakers, audience hosts of celebrities, travelers, objects of parades. They stopped working 8 hours a day at administration of institutions. St. JPII was writing and speaking the Theology of the Body series of lectures mid ’80’s while altar boys were being molested on his watch. Priority has been given to Words over Administration.
Francis is in that mode. The media demands that priority. The media wants great wordsmiths…authors…not good administrators of administrators of Catholic colleges and hospitals.
The result for years has been the institutional defects and scandals chronicled by the Newman Society….recently they found over 90% of 191 Catholic colleges permit coed part night dorm visits. Only a Pope could stop that with a phone call to each college. The phone calls never happen. Popes are busy callng presidents or governors to stop murderers from being executed in line with Romans 13:4 and they are busy reversing the death penalty position of that NT verse and of Pius XII. Phone calling Presidents to stop an execution is media news and could help a Pope get the Nobel peace prize….phone calling a Catholic college to stop their coed room visits at night is not as fascinating to the media.
Pope Francis though is not a word smith or a logician….but he thinks he is while no one else is actually saying that he is….even if they like him. He has a big heart but an unorganized mind. One can easily see him being in charge of the Church’s care of the poor…somehow he became Pope instead. God is using this to de-idolize the office. I smiled when Rorate Caeli began running essays on the limits of papal wisdom….something they neglected when Benedict was helping their goals.
I miss B16’s pontificate more and more each time Pope Frank makes the headlines.
“God is using this to de-idolize the office.”
bill bannon-
That is nailing it!
Your insights are well received from my arm chair. The financial shake up at the Vatican Bank seems like a rare administration action that his Holiness did take on, however it’s one of how many injustices that the administrator should address? Francisan Sisters of the Immaculate? Hummm. Assisting in the TLM is distorted mentality?, according to Fr. Volpi, investigator into the practice’s of the Sisters.
“Crypto-lefebvrian”…a traditionalist drift!
Administrators need to be competent.
How was his past office in Argentina and the spiritual growth there viewed? According to commentator Steve Phoenix a few days ago on a different thread, not good! Vocations to the Religious life we’re worse than stagnant.
Failure is the grade he would of received since the numbers we’re pitiful. Decrease after decrease in new ordinations year after year.
Contrast that with a Cardinal from Poland a few years back. Invincible Faith in the threat of the communist state. His leadership skills were worthy of the pontificate. Failure in the wake of the paedophile cover-up? Agreed depending upon the communication links early in JPII’s pontificate, but in the later years no excuse.
A perfect Pope we will never have.
Any consideration of a future Pope who has deplorable leadership skills or is found to have unhealthy history in the region he has shepherd, and is voted in as Pope by the Curia leads one to suspect that the smoke that entered the Holy Church is not the smoke of incense.
I would like to humbly propose that we retire the adjective “confusing” as applied to the statements of the Bishop of Rome.
He’s only confusing if you insist on trying to square his various rash utterings and writings with those of his predecessors.
The better term is “discordant.”
All good comments. My two cents: That last Our Father of the Rosary, I don’t pray for Pope Francis’ intentions, I pray for his return to orthodoxy and his mental health.
As far as being amusing, I leave the satire of the Hippie Pope to the Lutheran animators.
Three years? It feels so much longer.
Off topic:
Suz, like your picture. Is that from a British puppet series about astronauts? Every once in a while an episode will be shown on The Classic Movie channel.
-CAM
I suspect one thing’s a pretty good bet. Jorge Mario Bergoglio will not be canonized. Not on this Earth. Perhaps harsh, but I suspect true. Equates to this countries’ problem, no inspiring leadership.
I suggest everyone read the review of Antonio Socci’s new book on the indictment of Pope Francis.
http://www.cfnews.org/page10/page104/socci_indictment_of_francis.html
Michael Dowd, thanks for the heads up. I just read the “review” and it fairly well encapsulates the entire range of issues surrounding this pope. It’s not pretty!
@Michael Dowd.
What a teaser. Socci’s book.
Looking forward to the read.
Thanks.
BTW…I didn’t know PF was a non-kneel type.
The author makes it clear that he in fact kneels, just not in front of the Blessed Sacrament, nor at Consecration prayer.
That in itself explains volumes about the lil’ francis.
As always…prayers for his conversion.
I truly miss Pope Benedict, and when I pray for the intentions of the Pope, I throw at least a thought his way. At a library sale of discarded books, I came upon one concerning the so-called bad Popes of the Church. Alexander the Sixth, and his like. The title escapes memory. I considered buying it but decided it was probably an unpleasant anti-Catholic diatribe, and put it down. Pope Francis has not the personality of Saint John Paul II, nor the learning of Benedict XVI, but Bergoglio is no Borgia. They are infallible in the rare Ex Cathedra circumstance but not indefectible in any circumstance. Peter said to Our Lord, “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man”. And I think that may be why Christ chose him.
CAM: you’re good. That is mute Aquamarina from Stingray, the show featuring aquanauts, one of several Supermarionation puppet shows created by Gerry & the late Sylvia Anderson (RIP).
Suz: Looked up the Andersons to find that Thunderbirds and Fireball XL5 were the shows I had seen. Stingray was newer, more innovative in plot and production. Thank you.