Monday 18 January 2016

For the Confused...

Just a few of the items found in the home of a traditional Catholic...
If, like me, you are confused by Pope Francis's words today on the Church, ecclesiastical tradition,  'obstinacy' to new(ness) and its relation to 'divination', please find below an explanation of what the Catechism teaches on such matters. Not that we need a Catechism anymore, for Truth itself, in the person of the Pope, has spoken...

In fact, let's burn those Catechisms with all its references to ancient beliefs and texts. They will serve as excellent and ecologically sound paper and wood burning stoves in honour of Mother Earth...Laudato Si! What wood is there around? Oh, let's burn our Crucifixes. After all, we've always put them up in veneration of Our Lord's saving Passion and to ward off the Evil one. Does not the very fact we have always done it serve to tell us we should abandon such a practice when but a word from our beloved Supreme Pontiff or his Successors would assure us of the great wisdom in doing so, despite what every one of his venerable and illustrious predecessors have said and done. Just wondering, does the god of surprises stop threatening a surprise should the next Pope be Cardinal Raymond Burke? Now that would be a turn up...

Idolatry

2112 The first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, [of] silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them."42 God, however, is the "living God"43 who gives life and intervenes in history.

2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, "You cannot serve God and mammon."44 Many martyrs died for not adoring "the Beast"45 refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.46

2114 Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who "transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God."47

Point of Commentary 1. Just to be clear on this. It is perfectly possible for the flock of Jesus Christ to pay so much reverence to the Pope that, in theory, should a bad Pope lead them astray, they could follow a Pope into error and suffer the loss of their immortal souls, should he teach heresy or error, something which a Pope is perfectly capable of doing. This is an unfortunate fact of which the current Pope seldom reminds the Faithful. For example, a Pope could suggest that God may or will, within his own pontificate or in the future, reveal something new which He had not revealed which could contradict that which has been revealed already according to His good pleasure.

It so happens that the sin of idolatry could lead a Catholic into Hell, should he obstinately follow a Pope's teaching, should, for example, a Pope ever teach the doctrine that reception of Holy Communion while remaining unrepentant in mortal sin is just dandy with the Lord God of Hosts.


Divination and magic

2115 God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility.

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.
2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity.

Point of Commentary 2. Just to be clear on this. It is perfectly possible for the flock of Jesus Christ to pay so much reverence to the Pope that, in theory, should a bad Pope lead them astray, they could follow a Pope into error and suffer the loss of their immortal souls, should he teach heresy or error, something which a Pope is perfectly capable of doing. This is an unfortunate fact of which the current Pope seldom reminds the Faithful. For example, a Pope could suggest that God may or will, within his own pontificate or in the future, reveal something new which He had not revealed which could contradict that which has been revealed already according to His good pleasure.

It so happens that the sin of divination (claiming some kind of power to know the future) could lead a Pope and his unfortunate followers into Hell, should a Pope ever obstinately believe and follow his own error - while claiming no source but his own esoteric "insight" - that God will  reveal something new that contradicts what God has hitherto revealed, thus communicating to the entire flock that God is not God and that ultimately, God is not, but rather that he is, in consequence, God. That might sound overly dramatic and simplistic, but hey, that's essentially what you're saying, if your telling the People of God to 'forget' what Christ and His Church has taught and believed, always and everywhere and believe something else instead. Don't blame me, or any other Catholic commentator, for drawing the only conclusion there is to draw when simple logic is applied in the process of examining the words of His Holiness Pope Francis.

To conclude, again I must ask why, if traditional customs in the Church are such an encumbrance to 'newness' of life in Christ, then why must Catholics maintain the very traditional custom of venerating, in any way, what a Pope says or giving it even a second's thought? Could we not just instead believe an individual Pope is mad, should we so choose, or an apostate or an infidel, according to what he says? His Holiness can only conduct such sifting and picking of those traditions that can stay (because they please him personally) and those that can go (because they displease him personally) by appealing to an Authority over the Church given by the Son of God to him, his predecessors and his successors, which is going on 2,000 years old, but I very much doubt His Holiness, even in his admirable humility, will ever tell us not to listen to him because listening to the Pope is what we did 'before the Second Vatican Council or before March 2013'.



With all that said, for 60 years, a multitude of Priests, Bishops and even Popes have been refusing to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass. For these men, how can they refuse when people ask for it. After all, "We can't embrace change because it's different to what we have always done!" simply won't wash now...

11 comments:

philipjohnson said...

God brought him to us and God will take him away in His good time.May The Lord have mercy on the bishop of rome as he spits venom on faithful Catholics .He will have his time and then his heretical venom will be destroyed.God Bless.

Anonymous said...

One of the several properties of the Truth is that if something is truthful, it is so for all Time and it does not change throughout Time.

Either the first 1,900 years or so of Catholicism are untrue, or the last approximately 60 years are untrue for Catholicism.

This Pope is knowingly or unknowingly sowing confusion.

Anthony said...

I don't go as far as many of your more agitated correspondents and, indeed, I have been a supporter of His Holiness in the particular hope that he was developing a pro-life argument from the Left. The dreadful dud Laudato Si put a stop to any of that and all this now is just tired liberal incoherence. Let us hope it does not go on too long before a humble retirement. I'd go for Sarah myself, since you ask. Much more of this guff from on high and Cardinal Robert will be an oasis in the desert for all who are not Vat 2 wafflers.

Fair dos to you loony trads, but it's a shame that he's proved you correct.



Obstinately refusing to face truth said...

I don't think he wants Catholics to listen to him. They are already throwing money in his hat (and not going anywhere, ever (see The Remnant/SSPX Sisco Salza tapdance)). He (and Team B) want to pick the rest of the wallets--get some google, microsoft, and U.N. cash (not to mention the single (fe)male executive w/one dog, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Atheist cash)--bucks, bucks and more bucks (are needed to buy $1000 (worship) sessions w/Crist).

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx-priest-sued-allegedly-stealing-1m-churches-article-1.2462101

P.S. A couple posts down you said you spoke w/a priest (ret) who said it was a new church since VC2 that believes the sacrament of baptism isn't necessary for salvation. That all are going to heaven whether Jesus Christ ever became man or died or not, i.e. He didn't die for our sins. We are not sinners. So why do you think they would say the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? They are dead set against it. Don't you understand? What will make you understand? They profess a NEW faith. A different faith. The ANTI CHRIST faith. Jesus is NOT the messiah. Man is his own savior. As the devil told Eve, the Ten Commandments were a trick of God's to keep man miserable and enslaved: (i.e. All Gods are equal (in fact believing in no God is equal to believing in God), God doesn't care what you call him (we all believe in love!), All God's names were invented by man, Kill your mother and father (and don't believe anything they tell you that's contrary to VC2 (which they don't understand--it's the David Bowie generation that we're counting on to save the world!)), Kill anyone who is unwanted (esp your parents and children and anyone else you might be responsible for who would use up your money or time or who is a drain on "society" or endangering planet earth--note those who break God's law are exempt from punishment, so only the weak and innocent are killed; commit adultery (and any other sex act that gives you pleasure--as long as you have "responsibly" sterilized yourself/the act and 'protected' yourself from (your partner's) incurable sexually transmitted disease); steal (especially from anyone who has more than you--which really isn't stealing but implementing economic justice!); lie and defame anyone who believes in the Catholic Faith as taught before the NEW VC2 religion; covet your neighbors wife (how else will you be able to bring about peace?); Covet your neighbors goods (how else will you be able to bring about justice?). Only enemies are those who teach the Catholic faith as it was taught before they invented their NEW church VC2 (the synthesis of all evil).

Thomas of Fatima said...

The fact is a pope already taught error infallibly. There are more levels of infallibility than ex cathedra statements. Either he lost his authority, or the Catholic Church is not the true Church. No one has a natural right to public worship of false religion, though the state may tolerate it. Vatican II contradicts the pre-Vatican II magisterium. And we are bound to obey it if these men have authority.

Felix M said...

If you try to analyse the Pope's comments, it becomes clear that he just doesn't think logically. He sorta flows in an impressionistic fashion.

Just as he re-writes Holy Scripture to support his point. I suppose he feels that, as Pope, he's entitled to improve the Holy Spirit's initial draft.

You'd just roll your eyes if he was a parish priest. But he's a bishop. And he's the Pope. And he's full of bulls**t.

Nicolas Bellord said...

Having read an account of what His Holiness said I have not the slightest idea what he is on about and I suspect he hasn't either. Best to just ignore him.

Lepanto said...

Francis 'understands' and loves the Lutherans, the Buddhists, the Muslims, the Evangelicals and even the atheists. The only people he doesn't 'understand' are the Mafia, the arms dealers and us. He was trained in the 'new church' way of thinking and it will take divine intervention to change it - 'God loves us all as we are and nothing else really matters'. He is clearly aware of the extent of traditional disdain for his views and this obviously 'rattles' him as shown by his rants against us, perhaps rather than ranting, he will eventually try to understand us.

Nicolas Bellord said...

Maybe he is feeling very frustrated at having to write the Apostolic Exhortation following the Synod on the Family when matters did not at all go his way.

John Vasc said...

I think the reason for Pope Francis's popularity among non-Catholics is that he confirms their comfortable anti-Catholic prejudices and soothes their consciences. Because Christ does not leave man entirely benighted: unbelievers often do actually sense what true Catholic beliefs are, they are just horrified at having to confront them. But now, lulled by the reproofs of the faithful, and the vague chatter of justice n' peace, far from feeling the need to join the 'tolerant' modernist Nu-church of ageing social workers, they are rendered incurious, able to simply roll over and go back to sleep, to the silent cheering of the prince of this world.

ek said...

Este Papa es una papa.

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