The best writings on Pope Francis come from foreign sources, the vast majority of which never appear in print the mainstream media in this country. A typical example is this translation of an interview of historian Roberto de Mattei which is provided by Rorate Caeli.
We seem to be sleepwalking towards a schism and few people are paying attention.
“We seem to be sleepwalking towards a schism and few people are paying attention.”
And of those who are paying attention, some are encouraging schism and some making excuses for it. Only a very few are trying to stop it.
De Mattei is a top-notch thinker. Always interesting.
Am I the nly one who read that and thought quid est veritas??
“We seem to be sleepwalking towards a schism and few people are paying attention.”
–
I’ll believe it when I see it. German corporatist bishops will not walk out over doctrinal definitions (they might if Pope Francis invokes another paradox and demands that they give up their tax incomes). Most people I know will not walk out – we will accept any doctrinal aberration as temporary and as a cross to bear. Any praxis aberration is even easier to bear, since we can always point to doctrine to expose the conflict.
–
Look at the huge numbers of Latinos leaving for Protestant churches. Now there is a real but silent schism. Yes, it can be argued that open schism is worse (I know I could so argue), but really?
“Yes, it can be argued that open schism is worse (I know I could so argue), but really?”
Think Protestant Reformation level of schism.
Oh for goodness sake, and the Church since Vat ll has NOT been made more ‘protestant’? We are a good part of the way there NOW! There are too many NO Masses that right now are barely licit with such ridiculous shenanigans as ‘The Super Bowl Mass’, clown Masses and Priests consecrating who knows what for Holy Communion. The Church as it stands right now is so permeated with the rot of modernism and too many Bishops (at least here) that don’t discipline their Priests, but punish the laity that speak up, not to mention the Priests that preach that Christ never did perform any miracles, that it won’t take a ton to push her into complete apostasy. Bishop Athanasius Schneider talks about the Church being in the fourth great crisis……uh…….yep, we weren’t doing so pretty good BEFORE Bergoglio became the one to sit in the chair of Peter. The Synod is or will be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
TLM, yes, that’s how I see things. Our Pope is far from the worst out there.
–
“When the Son of Man returns will he find any faith on earth?” Always been a good question. Especially now.
Interesting contrast to Roberto de Mattei from Msgr. Hans Feichtinger:
Fr. Z comments
Shhh Ernst! Don’t go poaching the PopeWatch for tomorrow! 🙂
Craven apologies
As Mr. McClarey has pointed out many times, to know what makes Pope Francis tick, you have to read the journalists from Argentina first. It is also important to know Argentina, the Church in Argentina, and how the Church is currently faring in Latin America.
The aftermath of the Second Vatican Council and Liberation Theology along with Latin American political extremism have been similar to a poisonous brew in a huge cauldron for the Church in Latin America. Protestantism never made much headway there until Evangelicalism got a toehold in Brazil and has spread from there. The Church hierarchy in Latin America never before faced such a threat and they have done an abysmal job in dealing with the slick, feel-good but ultimately shallow Evangelicalism.
The Roman Pontiff is an old man. He is stubborn, set in his ways, apparently unwilling to listen and he has the Latin American penchant for saying out loud whatever comes to mind. We in North America typically don’t act like that last part, not as adults.
A Pope should have knowledge of what the Church faces among its faithful the world over. All of us are part of His Church, one not more important than the other. No Pope has a magic wand to wave to solve problems, and some problems really are out of the hands of the Pope, but no Pope should try to cause more problems than what we already face.
This is why I get turned off and bitter at the treatment of the FFI and the caustic words aimed at Extraordinary Form Mass faithful. We are not enemies of the Pope. We are NOT causing problems in the Church. We believe and embrace what Holy Mother Church has taught for centuries and no “pastoral” Council changed ANY of it.
The German hierarchy’s attempts to give Communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics should be squashed. What’s more, the hierarchy of Germany and Austria and anywhere else who want this change should be shipped off to a monastery in a remote place and be made to spend years quietly in contemplative prayer.
Lots of divorced and remarried Catholics receive Communion also Catholics who are living with someone who they are not married to and Catholics who go to church only on Christmas and Easter. When I brought this topic up in my own family their answer was “” Well the priest never preach about that stuff anymore so it has to be ok or they would say something in their sermons””. I put all the fault and blame on the priest and bishops of the our church. They are leading their sheep to slaughter. Painful to watch when its your family being lead to that slaughter. As for me I go to church every week and receive but as far as the priest goes he’s just there doing a job its hard to have respect for them when you see what they should be doing but don’t. I live my life by the ten commandments and pray for the priest and bishops too open their eyes and lead us in the right direction so we can all one day live in the site of God.
I believe it was Bishop Fulton Sheen who observed that nowadays 100% of Mass attendees consider themselves immaculately conceived.
“”We seem to be sleepwalking towards a schism and few people are paying attention”
.
The thing is this is part of the End-Time. We are headed for very difficult times. Pope Francis will eventually go; but the crisis in Rome will continue until that City and the Roman Curia meet the end prophesied in Revelation 18.
.
http://popeleo13.com/pope/category/harvest-of-plagues/
http://popeleo13.com/pope/2014/12/29/category-archive-message-board-214-acceptable-year-of-the-lord/
.
Still faithful Catholics must shun Schism. Difficult? Yes. But that is the cross we have to bear.