Pope of Surprises: Francis Celebrates Mass Versus Deum at Tomb of Blessed Pope John Paul II

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Poll Results In

Results now coming in...A whopping 96% of readers who voted considered there was something 'not quite right' about the German Bishops Conference owning an erotic porno book company.

To that 3% who voted that they should own 100% of the company, well done you got the answer right. Only by owning the company outright can you turn it into a religious publishing company that sells paperback books about the lives of the Saints. This was of course the Bishops' orgynial plan. Sorry. Original plan. It didn't work out that way, but hey, at least no scandal was caused, like by Bishops who buy expensive bath tubs and the like. Now that was a scandal.

Catholics, Poverty, Clericalism and the Family

One thing that gets me just recently.

Pope Francis's emphasis on poverty is fine. It not only strikes a popular chord but does teach us dependence on God's providence. But, something nags me about it. If you want to live a Catholic family life and be 'open to life', you need money to have a large family. It's a bit like when the Holy Father keeps talking about 'clericalism'.

Fine, whatever it is, it sounds like its a great problem, but in reality the vast majority of the Church consists of lay people who will never be clerics. What is the great crisis, other than the crisis of faith in the West? It is the great crisis in the family. It is this that is under great attack and many, the children of divorced and separated parents now need faith like thunder in order to have happy marriages and family lives - especially in this age when 'everything goes' (to bits).

On both matters the Pope is avoiding things that go to the heart of the crisis in the West, which is a crisis of Priests and Bishops, yes, but also of lack of fidelity and love for Christ's teachings and being generous and open to life. In fact, as a general trend, the West will commit suicide since it cannot replace its own population with 1.3 children per family - a family that is more often than not, unable to stay together for long.

Perhaps this is condemned by the Pope with regard to the culture of materialism and consumerism, but it still stands that Catholic families do need the necessary evil of money in order to be open to life and be generous to our generous God by being open to life. That isn't to put a price on a baby's head, its just an ever present consideration and often source of anxiety faced by every parent or prospective parent unless you are loaded. When the Pope speaks of 'clericalism', Lord forgive me but I just turn off because it sounds like His Holiness is 'talking Church' - priests talking about priests and how to be good priests - there is nothing more tedious to a layman's ears! - rather than talking 'Catholicism' or the Teachings of Jesus and His Church which save in their beautiful fullness.

We should welcome new life as readily as the Holy Father does!

'Poverty', 'clericalism', 'poverty', 'clericalism'. Fine, these are worthy points of discussion and teaching, but please, Holy Father, teach the fullness of the Faith, the Truth that sets us free, since while all are called to be 'poor in spirit' and some are called to poverty, chastity and obedience, and consumerism and materialism are indeed dangers to a sound and firm faith, without the Catholic family - that is families open to God's plan - the Church will die for lack of members and you may as well turn St Peter's into a mosque now. If only, Holy Father, every Catholic husband and wife welcomed babies as readily as do you in St Peter's Square!

The Lord told us how hard it is for the rich to enter Heaven, but He did not tell everyone to sell all they own and to give the money to the poor. He said that to the rich young man who asked to follow Him perfectly in order to attain eternal life. If a Catholic family gave everything they had to the poor week in, week out, or expended all their energies 'on the peripheries' they'd have little to nothing in terms of energy, love, education, catechesis and general necessities to give their children and the children they hope to have in co-operation with the Lord who is the Author of Life.

Blessed in marriage: Louis and Zelie Martin.

Of course, if a rich man has no intention of having children and he and his wife have no intention of co-operating with God in being open to life or being generous with their wealth to the Lord, then yes, surely, it will be very difficult indeed for that man and that rich woman to enter the Kingdom of Heaven since that man and that woman prefers the self-centred pleasures of this world to the generosity we should show to a generous, loving God that is among the true hallmarks of a Christian, whether s/he serves the Lord in a community, as a priest, nun, a single person or as a husband, wife, Bishop or Pope.

There is a great danger in the Pope simplifying the message of the Lord on poverty and wealth that makes a specific aspect of a particular apostolate general to the Church as a whole, when in fact, it surely stands that not every Catholic man and woman will be or can be Blessed Teresa of Calcutta or St Francis of Assisi. In fact, there is a danger of Francis making poverty and the Lord's teaching into an 'ideology'. We are indeed a 'broad and diverse' Church. We need Catholics like the parents of St Therese of Lisieux as well as holy monks, nuns, and friars. Below is a timeline of the heroic and saintly lives of Louis and Zelie Martin and, I think you'll agree that today, the timeline seems nothing short of revolutionary. I believe they may have had a little bit of time for the poor as well as a lifelong marriage, sanctity in their state of life and the fruitful Catholic education and parenting of nine children.

1823 August 22: Louis born in Bordeaux France.
1831 December 23: Marie Azelia Guerin born near Alencon France.
1850 November: Louis set up his watchmaker/jeweller shop in Alencon.
1853 Zelie set up as maker of Point d’Alencon lace in that town.
1858 July 13: Louis and Zelie married.
1859 September 9: Death of Zelie’s mother.
1860 February 22: Birth of Marie: first child of Louis and Zelie.
1861 September7: Birth of Pauline: second child.
1863 June 3: Birth of Leonie: third child.
1864 October 13: Birth of Helene: fourth child. Signs of Zelie’s future illness appear.
1865 Death of father of Louis.
1866 September 20: Birth of Joseph Louis: fifth child and first son.
1866 December Zelie’s ageing father came to live in the Martin household.
1867 February 14: Death of baby Joseph Louis.
1867 December 19: Birth of Jean Baptiste: sixth child.
1868 August 24: Death of baby Jean Baptiste.
1868 September 3: Death of Zelie’s father.
1869 April 28: Birth of Celine: seventh child.
1870 February 22: Death of Helene at five and a half years of age.
1870 August 18: Birth of Marie Melanie Therese: eighth child.
1870 October 10: Death of baby Marie Melanie Therese.
1871 Death of Zelie’s nephew Paul Guerin. Louis and Zelie billet nine German soldiers.
1873 January 2: Birth of Marie Francoise Therese: ninth child - future Saint Therese.
1877 February 24: Death of Sr Marie Dosithee sister and confidante of Zelie.
1877 August 28: Death of Zelie Martin from breast cancer.
1894 July 29: Death of Louis Martin after several years of suffering from an illness in the Bon Saveur psychiatric hospital in Caen. He returned home to die.

2008 October 19: Beatification of Louis and Zelie Martin.

If I had nine children to feed I'd require some pretty 'worldly' work in order to feed them. The world and life of the Catholic layman is going to be rather different to that of the Priest, Bishop and Pope. Surely, the message of the Gospel on poverty has to be presented in a different way to different Catholics in different states of life. Sin is sin, greed is greed, avarice is avarice, but the message on poverty must surely be tailored to different people with different needs, it cannot be 'one size fits all'.

Hearing Voices in Mill View Hospital

Mill View Hospital, Hove

The Eye of a Needle

Pray for a friend of mine who has been sectioned.

I've known this individual since about 2003. He is a baptised Catholic, despite being unable to drag himself away from the Book of Mormon and retains a stubborn refusal to worship on Sundays.

It turns out he has been there for about five weeks. Like I say, I've known him quite some time and I've often thought he needs proper 'care'. I don't know whether that is something given at Mill View Hospital. The staff seemed relatively indifferent to the patients all in all.

I went to visit him with a friend whose other friend was sectioned two weeks ago. It can't be pleasant being sectioned. When you walk into a mental hospital you imagine that through the opening of the doors, you'll be confronted by something out of a zombie film, or at best 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' but it really isn't that way. They all seem 'normal' people - whatever that is in the modern world. They're normal and of sound enough mind to say things like...

"It's terrible here. The staff don't care."

I am suspicious, but not 'paranoid' about mental health hospitals. A little research on the net always reveals how many British Eugenics Society members went into mental health, obviously for 'rewarding careers' - if you enjoy sterilising and lobotomising the mentally ill. For example, I was told by another patient that my friend was 'in a really bad way' when he came to the hospital, but as long as I have known him he's been having conversations with Jim Morrison and the 'angel kingdom', hitting his own head in frustration at the voices he hears and developing a 'communicative relationship with my spit'. He is on a 'Section 3' which means he could be there until Christmas, perhaps beyond.

Brighton's most vulnerable are on an accommodation merry-go-round

Despite the severity of his schizophrenia, my friend is perfectly able to hold a 'normal' conversation. He can't look after himself, hears voices, takes drugs and doesn't come to Mass, but that really is nearly all of Brighton covered, isn't it?

He tells me how depressed he is, how even to have a cigarette, he has to go to the reception in the ward and ask a nurse to go outside with him to the garden to smoke. He's pale and withdrawn. He talks of his powerlessness in this situation:

"If I had committed a crime, or been sentenced to prison I would understand. Prison would be better than this, because at least then I would know what I have done wrong. Here, I have no freedom, my freedom has been taken from me. I don't understand."

So often, it seems, those in the State are unable to communicate effectively with those in 'their care'. There seems to be a lack of what Pope Francis calls 'dialogue' or a 'culture of encounter'. The staff are 'trained professionals'. It all seems like a job involving 'observation' and 'assessment' of the patients but as in hospitals the 'bedside manner' seems to be lacking.

West Pier: Less 'project' and more 'dumping ground'

Of course, I'll happily concede that my friend really does need proper 'care and support' with his condition - even a measure of 'supervision' - but the place is so depressing for him. All he has in his room is a blanket or two.

To add insult to the injury my friend feels (since whatever your condition and the treatment it requires it can never feel right or just to be held against your will in a mental hospital) he has been told that he will lose his flat before he is released and that he will be rehoused at 'West Pier Project', a 'temporary emergency accommodation' hostel in Hove, which is - helpfully for him - full of people with mental health problems, smack and crack addiction and alcohol issues. Nice, eh?  I believe this may well be accommodation owned by Baron Homes Corporation Ltd - Brighton's 'biggest property company'.

He's very confused and depressed. I'm sure he'll have a lovely time in the 'hostel' where tenants are known for injecting 'bath salts during deadly poke parties'. That was an article by an unscrupulous journalist, by the way.

Pray that you never fall into such dependence on the State that you are at its total mercy since mercy isn't really its abiding quality. On whether he 'deserved' or 'needed' sectioning I'm content to defer to the judgment of trained professionals and experts, but whether my friend should become another victim of Brighton's absurd homeless hostels merry-go-round is another matter. More on that to come in the next few days. It is a little scary to think how much power the State has over the individual in this country and a sobering thought that as society becomes more and more secular, the religious will be considered more different or 'insane' as time goes by.

"No pinky, don't do it!"..."Shut it, Rose!"

Meanwhile, I would really ask the question whether this art student could do with some time in a mental hospital himself - not because he is homosexual, but because he wants to lose his 'virginity' in front of a hundred strong art studio audience and then undergo a 'question and answer' session ("So how was that for you?") from the audience immediately afterwards. Welcome to the new age of 'normal'. It sounds like he needs help, but instead he gets headlines.

Oh and the revellers at Halloween, especially the 'zombies' - they're 'normal' too, aren't they? God help us all. Atheists would be surprised, but I'd say the practise of the Catholic religion is one of the few things that keeps myself and a few others in this city on a relatively 'even keel'.

Pray for Him and His Heartbroken Family to the Saint of Lost Causes

Sussex Police said the search for missing 14-year-old Dylan Alkins is continuing today. Dylan was swept away into the sea after playing near the waves with friends in Newhaven on Sunday afternoon.

Police, coastguard and RNLI crews were scambled at about 4.15pm yesterday after the incident at West Beach, Nehwaven.

After a six hour search, crews were stood down at about 10.30pm last night with the plan to resume this morning. A spokesman for the Marine and Coastguard Agency said the search has been stopped pending new information.

However the Newhaven in-shore lifeboat is carrying out a further search of the shoreline and a police helicopter has been checking the shoreline for several miles each side of Newhaven. Local police officers have also been searching along the beach and helping reassure the local community.

Chief Inspector Katy Woolford of Sussex Police said: "All agencies are continuing to do everything possible to find the boy, and our thoughts are very much with the family at this time." Friends of Dylan, who is believed to be a pupil at Tideway School in Southdown Road in Newhaven, have set up tribute pages on Facebook for friends, family and strangers to leave comments.

One user on the social networking site, who claims to be a friend of Dylan's, has posted a picture of a young boy standing inches from rough waves. Coastguards said they would not restart the search for Dylan unless they received new information from police.

The Music Industry and Catholics

Who go on to corrupt the morals of Catholic girls and others.

BBC: Don't Destroy Democracy with Your Whacko Ideas!

'Don't think. It could destroy everything!'

That was a message today by a propaganda arm of the British State, paid for by you, in order to keep you docile, manageable and always credulous of what the State tells you.

There are many threats to democracy (is that really what we have?) but I do not consider conspiracy theories to be among them.

Catholics: Unplug your Televisions!

And anyway, the BBC protects padeos!

In Honour of Lou Reed, RIP

May his soul rest in peace.

Incredibly, its still better than anything Paul Inwood ever wrote. 

My personal favourite was Pale Blue Eyes...

Also better than anything written by Paul Inwood.

May the blue eyes of the Blessed Virgin Mary look upon the soul of Lou Reed with pity and compassion and intercede for him so that he may enter into eternal rest.

May perpetual light shine upon him, O Lord, and may his soul and the souls of the Faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Evangelising Through Weather

"Dear David Cameron, this is payback for 'same-sex marriage'..."

The Daily Mirror has a little piece on the Apostle and Martyr, St Jude Thaddeus, who has had the storm set to hit the UK in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

It is heartening that the meteorological experts still have enough respect for Christianity to name potential natural disasters after Saints. Good that Heaven can still evangelise through weather in these secular times.

We are due to be struck by gusts of up to 90 mph, so say a prayer for me and all us here in the UK and especially for St Mary Magdalen Church's roof in particular. Pray too for any homeless who could be in the storm tonight that they may find shelter and protection.

St Jude, patron saint of lost causes, protect us this night and tomorrow from storm, flood, fire, wind and all calamities produced through nature. Protect our Churches, friends, families, loved ones, relatives, benefactors and enemies.

Humanae Vitae: The Unpopular Revolution

This evening, I watched a mammoth 2-hour interview with Alan Watt, a researcher into geopolitical affairs.

I find it very interesting that there are some figures (who are not courted by the mainstream media) who after research have deduced that the nations of the West and other nations too have been well and truly duped by the 'powers that be' with regard to the issues of abortion, sterilisation and artificial contraception.

Watt maintains that through the UN, which has ambitions of  'global governance' (that's slang for World Government) whole nations may yet be persuaded to sterilise, contracept and abort, even euthanise themselves to 'save the planet'.

His research into the works and writings of such people as Huxley, Darwin and a host of Royal Society fellows has led him to the conclusion that the sexual revolution, with its attending music and drug revolutions in the 20th century were well orchestrated affairs that came from the very top down. Seemingly not a Catholic, there does seem to be a wake-up call in the alternative media (though not in the mainstream media) that there is much that the West has accepted that has only been accepted through propaganda tools that border on hypnosis through the mainstream media. Same-sex marriage has been a pretty good illustration of this, but even those who disagree with it are presumably so disenfranchised and disempowered by the orthodoxy of 'political correctness' that they fear speaking out or making their voice heard on it.

This doesn't yet seem to be something that concerns Russell Brand too much, who has been calling for revolution on Newsnight, but even Brand's often amusing observations on the media, power and society are signs of an awakening within sectors of society that the World so often offers us illusions, myths and lies concerning moral behaviour and our acceptance of generalised, accepted 'norms'.

Russell Brand's ravings aside (a more interesting interview can be seen here),  I wonder how it is that non-Catholics like Alan Watt can so eloquently put the case to the evils associated with abortion, sterilisation and artificial contraception and document their origins and source in eugenic thinkers of the ages who continue to govern as a self-preserving elite, yet the Catholic Church in England and Wales (and even in Rome) can be so quiet on the subject.

I must say I find it offensive that the Lord Jesus Christ should be mentioned by Brand in the same breath as Che Guevara, Ghandi and Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, but I guess at the time being that is just where Brand is 'at'. It seems to me that his main point is that an elite governs over the vast majority. He seems to want "revolution" without knowing how to replace the existing order (like so many anarchists). Paxman nails him on just that in their interview because Brand can only say what a society would not be after 'the revolution'. So said every false prophet since the Lord Jesus! Still, thankfully he is just a comedian. The Catholic revolution, in its effects upon the world, would bring many things, none of them disastrous. It would, for instance, bring many, many lovely babies into the World!

Alan Watt: Say no to the enslavement of abortion, artificial contraception

While it is disheartening that atheism breeds in this country so much emnity towards the Catholic Church, it is heartening at least that even atheists and agnostics are beginning to wake up to the idea that the information fed to us through the mass media from an early age is indoctrination of the worst sort, creating not servants of God or even servants of humanity, but slaves, economic commodities of world's powerful elites that prefer to remain hidden from view while creating an order that is designed only to further their economic interests and that of their inter-breeding dynastic families.

G.K. Chesterton was fully alive to the threat posed by the eugenic thinkers and the self-preserving powerful elites of his day, penning a work entitled Eugenics and Other Evils. Why are non-Catholics taking up on the grave threat posed to humanity by both freemasonry and eugenics, but the Catholic Church remains largely silent in the face of not only a holocaust of the unborn, but to a system of beliefs that, unchallenged, poses such a terrible fate to bodies and souls in the 21st century?

To me, that is a mystery. I don't think Russell Brand and the Catholic Church are on the same page on sexuality, marriage and the transmission of human life, but as long as he keeps an open mind and challenges the propaganda spouted by the mass media about general matters, there is at least a chance that they one day will be.

The revolution espoused by the Catholic Church is never going to be popular. It is not a call to arms, but a call to self-sacrifice and the worship and service of Almighty God. It is the unpopular revolution if its the only one that makes any logical sense. Fight the power! Have loads of babies! Worship God! Its exactly what 'they' don't want you to do! Rebel!

A great many people who talk about the 'New World Order' are right, in my opinion, on many of the things they say. The real rejection of the new world order is, in many ways, summarised by Pope Francis's recent teachings - that marriage between a man and a woman is beautiful (the only kind of marriage recognised by the Church) and that no human life should be sacrificed on the altar of consumerism and materialism, because these are just what the passing and illusory joys that become the enslaving values of a world that honours money and power above family, love and the transmission of that most precious of gifts - human life itself - children.

I see we have another comedian around who reads my blog. He voted 100% in the poll in my sidebar. Thank you, you made me laugh!  Of course, if only the Catholic Church owned the pornographic book industry, we could change it and make it holy and Catholic from the inside! Let's infiltrate it! Now we see the genius and cunning of the Bishops Conference of Germany!

Lace and Tradition

Little Prince George. A traddie in the making?

Not a renaissance prince, though!

Pray

What can we do but pray for them?

Massive Storm Headed Our Way, Dedicated to Saint Jude

St Jude...not to be confused with Michael Fish.

After this weather report, Britain was hit by its biggest storm of the 20th century.

Seriously, though, this could be a big old storm. 

Perhaps we should pray to him to ask his intercession that its devastation be mitigated by his prayers.

St Jude, that is.

Not Michael Fish.

Spot the 'Luxury Bishop'

In one of these buildings has been recently living a 'Luxury Bishop'. Whoever gets the answer right wins a night in a lavish hotel in Rome. I know a lot of money has been spent on the residence of a Prince of the Church. But what happened to, 'Who am I to judge?' 

Exactly how much does it cost to maintain Vatican residences? What happened to 'mercy' and 'not casting the first stone'? Why don't German Bishops 'tell tales' on their brother Bishops to the Holy Father when one of their brother Bishops is spouting heretical nonsense, fostering dissent and rebellion against Church doctrine or when they are covering up some heinous clerical crimes?

And, honestly, what's going on with the media's treatment of this Pope? This was 'big news' on Sky News when I just walked through the station. Has Sky recently been taken over by Gloria.TV or something?

Why can the Holy Father be so swift and decisive in suspending a Bishop in Germany for the sin of spending too much money on residences which he must know will house his successors after him, but a more 'politically difficult' or 'unpopular' decision is put on hold indefinitely? Is morality in 'the court' of Francis only about money and its prudent spending?

I am sad to ask the questions, but why are unpopular statements left to such as Archbishop Mueller, but popular decisions like this taken by Pope Francis to the joy of the media, so that others look nasty and mean, but the Supreme Pontiff always ends up looking great? 

It all seems very Latin American to me, but I didn't think the papacy was a political position but a spiritual one - involving spiritual fatherhood to not just the laity, but priests and even Bishops. Moreover, I always thought Jesus taught us that it was a joyful and holy thing, to be hated by the World for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel and that if the World spoke well of us, something is seriously wrong.

Holy Father? Don't you want to share in the humiliations and sufferings of those who proclaim the truth for love of Jesus?

Say a prayer for a man who just walked into Rome a Prince and walked out of Rome a leper. Oh...and while we're on the subject: Whatever did happen to that 'explosive dossier' on the 'gay lobby' in the Vatican? Has it, like Francesca Chaouqui's saucy Twitter feed, suddenly disappeared?

I always thought 'worldliness' wasn't just about the disordered quest for money and possessions, but also about the disordered quest for sex and power as well. 

Our Lady of Fatima: Miraculous Statues

A statue of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus is set at a makeshift altar before a pile of stones that was the 180-year-old Our Lady of Light Church in Loon, Bohol province, a day after a 7.2-magnitude quake destroyed the church.

Two statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary stand—without any blemish—amid the ruins of two churches in Maribojoc and Loon towns following Tuesday’s devastating earthquake. It was enough for residents to raise their hopes that life will get better. “It was a miracle,” Carol Ann Balansag said after residents of Barangay (village) Poblacion were surprised to find the 18th-century statue standing askew but without any scratch on the rubble of what used to be the Santa Cruz Parish Church.

The same feeling of amazement was felt by at least 600 people staying in makeshift tents on the church grounds of the Our Lady of Light Parish Church in Barangay Napu in Loon town. They were teary-eyed when they saw the grotto of the Birhen sa Kasilag (Our Lady of Light). “The earthquake destroyed the church, but it spared our patron,” said Fr. Tom Balatayo, one of the residents.

Meanwhile...

On the day after His Holiness Pope Francis consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, while commemorating the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, hopefully contemplating the yet unfulfilled request of Mary to consecrate, with all the world's bishops, Russia to her Immaculate Heart, and to release the Third Secret, lest God punishes the world with a great chastisement, a miracle occurred in the Philippines.

A large earthquake hit the southern Philippines. It's epicenter was the island of Bohol. It also occurred in the nearby island of Cebu. The death count is 160+, and 250+ injured. The people noticed a pattern. The main buildings to collapse were the old churches. In several of these churches the only thing that remained standing was a statue of Mary.

Yet, the most profound sign came from the most visited Marian Shrine in the Philippines on the island of Cebu, called Mama Mary shrine. There is a large, miraculous statue of Mary in this shrine, that has cried and cured many pilgrims. In the same church there is another statue of Mary, that appears to be Our Lady of Fatima. It has a base with the word "Portugal" on it. This base is continuous with the statue. They are one piece. The base cannot be detached from the body. Otherwise the statue would be broken into two pieces.

Here is the great miracle, which seems to be a message, a warning from Our Lady of Fatima. Right after the earthquake, pilgrims noticed and cried out in alarm that this statue had changed. Mary was now facing the wall, with her back to the people. But, the base itself, molded to the body of the statue, was still facing forward with the "Portugal" inscription!

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!  May Pope Francis and the world's bishops do as Our Lady requested.

Your Holiness Pope Francis, Remember The Powerful Forces That You Are Up Against!

If this video is a fake, some conspiracy nerd out there is very, very, exceedingly clever. Either way, it's just one of the most disturbing videos I have ever seen.

The Illuminati: Going public?

Are you guys for real? The 'Official Illuminati Website'...

While I hope and pray sincerely that the above video is a very, very convincing fake, I also hope that the Official Illuminati website, too, is a fake. Otherwise, we are headed for some very, very troubling times. Another Illuminati website is to be found here. Do people owe 'conspiracy theorists' an apology or what? If these sites are for real then why are 'they' going public in the year 2013? Why are the 'Illumined Ones' coming out in public on the internet? If the sites belong to those who they claim to be from, their justification can be found here.

Courage!

Remember, Your Holiness Pope Francis, just what it is that you are up against and be sure, confident that the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph in the end. Christ reigns! Christ conquers! Christ commands!

Be courageous, Your Holiness. Be like Moses! Extend your arms in prayer as we approach in trepidation the Great Battle long promised in Sacred Scripture. Be strong in the face of the world's hatred of the Bride of Christ and teach us, the flock of Christ, the way to Salvation. Exhort us to prayer and penance, to reject sin and evil, to adore Jesus, to worship Him as our God, to love His Blessed Mother. Increase our faith! Be firm! Recognise the evil in God's House for your enemies surround the Chair of Peter like ravenous wolves!

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Lover and Protectress of Christ's Vicar on Earth

Please, Pope Francis, Your Holiness, do not let the enemies of the Church deceive or prevail against God's children! Millions of souls are at stake! Do not let the vicious enemies of God and man destroy the Faith of Christ or to ravage, violate or rape His Bride, the Church! Defend Her with your life! Resist all who wish to violate Her Laws, Her Customs, Her Teachings, Her Religious Orders, Her Divine Constitutions and Her Sacraments! Enemies of Christ now surround you who wish to do just this!

You are not their man! You are the Vicar of Christ and the Successor of St Peter! Please guard the Deposit of Faith with your very life for this will very soon be under great attack, like no attack the Church has ever experienced in Her history! You are not their man, for thou art Peter, the Rock upon which Our Lord Jesus Christ has built His Church and against this Church the Gates of Hell shall never prevail!

Ecclesiastical Freemasonry, Your Holiness knows surely that such a thing exists, plans the demolition of the Church as it always has in its uppermost ranks. They are the children of the Devil, not the children of Light! Resist them, Holy Father, will all your might! Extend your arms in prayer, like Moses, as the final stage of the Great Battle commences in earnest. Be for us a shield and protector, but most of all, a wise and loving Father! The diabolical enemy may come as an angel of light, peace, harmony and brotherhood for all men. Should he appear, I implore that you resist him and insist that we, too, resist him upon his appearance! Urge us all, dear Holy Father, to be faithful, if necessary with our own blood, to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it.
Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement -
but do all with patience and with care to instruct.
The time is sure to come when people will not accept sound teaching,
but their ears will be itching for anything new
and they will collect for themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes;
and then they will shut their ears to the truth and will turn to myths.

(2 Timothy 4:2-4)

UPDATE FOR READERS WITH APOLOGIES!

The Ultimate Humility Test

Readers will by now know that if I were to take a humility test, I would fail. I can say that because I'm humble, you see. Have you worked out whether I am genuinely humble yet? I'm becoming enigmatic, no?

So, now that the media has either fallen under/created the spell of The Most Humble Pope Ever in Christian History TM, I have humbly devised The Ultimate Humility Test, so that readers can assess their meekness.

So...Let's begin and let us begin in all humility and simplicity.

Q1. Your company/place of work/organisation has a set of rules and regulations in place. You find yourself as an employee of this company in a very senior role. Do you,

a) Break the law? b) Abide by the law? c) Go with the 'spirit of the law' as interpreted by you no matter what your colleagues may think of it?

Q.2 Your job involves an element of public profile. You're naturally and even supernaturally shy and humble. Do you have a camera installed outside your house following you around on a car so that you can be more easily seen by others/crowds greeting you when you leave home?

a) Yes, b) No, c) Only at particular times of the year

Q.3 You work for a company that has existed for many years. At an unknown time, it came to be that, due to custom, a tradition emerged for certain clothing to be worn as hallmarks of your company/place of work. You may, for example, be used to working for a company where you have to wear a suit, like at an accountants, or as a lawyer, or as a nurse you may be required to wear white. Everyone has been wearing the same thing just like at McDonalds especially in your role. You've just got the job. Do you,

a) Wear the same clothes as the custom requires for the company in your particular role? b) Do your own thing? c) Enter into a negotiation with other colleagues on the matter and 'go with the flow'?

Q4. You know you've got humility. You know you've got ambition. You're the boss! Do you say. "I have the humility and ambition to do this/that..."

a) Regularly? b) Once? or c) Never?

Q5. Your work involves you working and living in a nice building that is prestigious and almost 'fit for a king'. You are embarrassed by this because it is grand and you feel this runs contrary to the ethos of your company, an ethos you agree with. Do you,

a) Move into the palace next door that is called a Hotel, while taking up a whole floor which would hitherto have been used by others of less noble rank? b) Stick with what your predecessors have done because it comes with the job, and in so doing, not draw particular attention to yourself? c) Resign and become a hobo and live with the alcoholic tramps on the outskirts of your particular district?

Q.6 The previous manager of your company promoted a particular ethos. Colleagues had become familiar with his (or her) style, manner and focus. Careful, discerning and wise, the previous manager laid foundations for you which would be easy to fit into, as comfortably as slippers, with regard to the message your company wanted to convey to the general public. Do you,

a) Tear up the rule book and say, 'Let's start again from scratch and reform everything in sight, even if there's no particular problem there,' b) Continue building on the legacy of your predecessor while introducing aspects of your own personal style incrementally, or c) Bring in the enemies of your predecessor to advise you regularly on how to go ahead to the horror of his supporters who you then alienate.

Q.7 You are given a company car as a part of your job package. You are astonished by the generosity of the company. Do you,

a) Reject it out of hand because you are too simple, humble and don't drive, b) Accept it with grace, c) Order an older, more humble vehicle to be driven around in because it looks more humble and that's your kind of thing, while ensuring everyone sees you in the 'new car'.

Q8. Part of your company's work is to do charitable service in the community. When you perform some charitable work do you,

a) Keep silent and do it secretly telling those who have witnessed it, 'Listen up. You've seen nothing, right? Got me?, b) Allow your colleagues and officials to publicise it on a daily basis in the local news and then international press the day after or even the same day as the event, c) Order a team to publicise it on a daily basis in the local news and then international press the day after or even the same day as the event because this is great publicity and you're loving it, they're loving it and that's just grand.

Q9. A dispute has arisen in one division of your company. In a particular team, a small minority of workers hate the way things happen. The majority like the operational procedures introduced under your predecessor. In order to bring peace to the division do you,

a) Side with the small minority and ban the operational procedure loved by the majority while appointing a new chief whose philosophy is antagonistic to the majority of workers? b) Introduce negotiations between the fractured parties to arrange a compromise? or c) Put it to a vote within the divided community.

Q10. For centuries now, your company/organisation has been promoting a particular message to all customers/service users, one that your staff are familiar with. It's a brand message that people associate with the company/organisation and your workers suffer no confusion as to the message. Profits are at stake and this message has never failed to yield good results. As manager of the organisation do you,

a) Divide the staff and radically overhaul the message and tell your staff that those who believed the traditional message are just being 'obsessed', thereby leaving them deflated and rudderless, b) Support those who have worked tirelessly for the company/organisation in their endeavours, confirming them, but suggest other options they may also want to consider as well or c) keep silence on the previous message because you've worked out that now its divisive.

Q11. You have inherited a great responsibility for a huge team of staff. Certain new practices have been developed over the past half-century that many staff are still not happy with in the company/organisation, though some like these new methods. You know you're governing a big ship, with many different people in a diverse company/organisation. Do you name call or insult one community of your staff,

a) Monthly, b) Weekly or c) Never

Q12. Some staff get together to bring you a bouquet as an offering of their love and support of you in your responsibility and care for them. Do you,

a) Accept the bouquet graciously, b) Reject the bouquet or c) Accept the bouquet but tell other members of staff you couldn't believe that the staff who gave you the gift went to such effort to count how many flowers were in the bouquet and all have a good chuckle at their expense, which then gets fed into the press, so they hear about it.

Q13.  Many people are at your service in your role in your company. In an interview with a publication do you,

a) Thank them for their hard work, b) Thank them for their hard work while suggesting that the company needs restructuring or c) Suggest their presence is a form of leprosy.

Q.14 A concert/musical event/party is put on in your honour for your hard work in your company/organisation. Do you,

a) Send an RSVP thanking those who have put it on, while apologising that you unfortunately cannot attend? b) Go out of duty and respect for those who have thought of such a kindness in your regard, or c) Fail to turn up leaving your guests and performers stunned by your absence from an empty chair that is emblazoned on tomorrow's headlines while rumours abound that you have said that you are basically too humble, simple and modest for all that kind of rubbish.

There are no answers to this The Ultimate Humility Test, because, quite frankly, who am I to judge anyway?

Feast of St Ignatius of Antioch

Archbishop Marini: The Best is Yet to Come...

'Just when I thought a chance had passed, you go and save the best for last...'

Mother Riccarda Showed Us the Reality of Mercy

Mother of mercy: Mother Riccarda

Before you read this blogpost, scroll down to the update at the bottom. Apparently, I got my facts completely wrong. Bang goes that promising journalism career that never was...Still, I could yet get a job at The Argus.

Shhh...Remember to say it quietly, but...

Mother Riccarda, who has a cause for beatification with Rome and who was received as an infant into the Church at the parish in which I attend Mass, did not discriminate between the Jew and the Nazi when she was welcoming guests. This is less well-known than her kindly treatment of the Jews at risk of death.

It is a matter of historical fact now (UPDATE: It's not!) that as well as taking in persecuted Jews into her convent, Mother Riccarda also took in Nazis on the run seeking refuge.

Of course, that she took in Jews is something we can shout about, but no doubt we would rather be quieter about her kindness to Nazis as well. To those who would have commended her on her heroism in protecting Jews however, I am quite sure she would have said she was only doing her duty, both out of love for Jesus Christ and in fidelity to His Vicar on Earth at the time, Pope Pius XII, who asked convents and monasteries to take in the Jews at risk from Nazi persecution.

For her, it seems, Christ's call for mercy and love for the outcast, the persecuted, and even for wicked, notorious sinners fleeing towards what appeared the only safety and refuge in Rome, was general, universal, even - yikes! - unconditional. We are not told of any who, seeking refuge were turned away from her convent in Rome, or kicked out to be rounded up by Hitler's troops. She loved them all and showed them all mercy - the mercy of God Pope Francis has been calling us to show to our brothers and sisters. Showing mercy to the innocent is easy. Hard mercy - showing mercy to the wicked - is hard, yet that is what we understand is the mercy Jesus showed us and that He wishes us to show to others.

Of course, I am sure that she would have loved Pope Francis very much, as the visible head of Christ's Body on Earth, the Vicar of Christ and representative of the True Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. I must say I am starting to lament a little my harsh treatment yesterday of Pope Francis. The call to mercy and overlooking the faults we see in others isn't conditional. It is our love and mercy which is so often conditional, as you'll have seen in my last blog post. It is a lack of mercy which is condemned in today's Gospel reading.

That the SSPX have more mercy that the Church of Rome is, well, somewhat embarrassing! That the SSPX are following the call to mercy given by the Lord by putting mercy above public reputation and human respect is maybe a PR disaster for them on Earth, but I expect Heaven is somewhat impressed - or Heaven is at least glad some have done what Heaven would expect. Maybe they thought, "Well, everyone thinks we're Nazis anyway, so I can't see this making much difference...", or perhaps they thought Jesus's words in the Gospel ("Dead men's bones, anybody?") are worth taking seriously, walking the walk, as well as talking the talk. How lamentable, that this man was, in death, accorded no mercy from the Church of the God of Mercy!

A moment of mercy is what Pope Francis described as the requirement in this epoch in reference to matters of divorce and remarriage. We're not quite sure what this will mean in actuality. Anyway, take a moment of mercy, why not, and pray for the soul of a baptised Catholic who went off the rails under the Nazi regime and committed some terrible crimes. We've no sure way of knowing whether, in such times, we would have been like Mother Riccarda, or like him, a killer. I am also praying for a moment of mercy will be shown to the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, whose situation within the Church is, it appears, growing worse. Jesu, mercy. Mary, pray.

If Mother Riccarda would have taken the individual into her convent while he were still alive, I can't see her wishing the individual barred from all Churches in Rome, as a corpse. If we cannot show mercy to the dead, who can do us no verbal harm, how can we learn to show mercy to the living, who are able to answer back? For that reason, and for many others, not least that we desire mercy for ourselves at our judgment, we should afford to the dead the measure of mercy that we wish to receive ourselves.

UPDATE: Apparently, the convent didn't take in fleeing Nazis after all. Er...Well...we are still called to show mercy.  Truth and fact has rather made a mess of this blogpost!

On Heaven and Earth

Today, I was reading some of the book on Pope Francis called, 'On Heaven and Earth'. I was struck by a passage within it which is detailed below on Zenit. It struck me as odd. You'll see why. I have read quite a bit of this book and would like to give some thoughts on it in a different blog post, but I disagree in principle with the idea that its bad to sell something flashy and expensive off for 'charidee'.

I always thought Our Lord told us not to sound a trumpet blast when we do a good deed and He slated the Pharisees for doing so. I guess that when you are the Pope, people are going to report on whether you sneezed, so secrecy in giving is near impossible.

Also, you might not want to give your money to Caritas, since they don't have a great reputation in terms of their Catholic identity, but that's another matter entirely. In his dialogue with same-sex marriage supporting Rabbi Abraham Skorka, the then Cardinal Bergoglio opined as below...

'Regarding care for the poor, the cardinal differentiates between genuine works of charity and “social-conscience calming activities” carried out in order that a person “feel good about oneself.” But love, he says, “requires a person to go out from himself, to truly give oneself to others.” He then gives as an example a Church charity auction in which a gold Rolex was auctioned off. “What a disgrace [and] bad use of charity,” he says. “It sought a person who would use this watch for vanity in order to feed the poor.” (Words of the then Cardinal Bergoglio, in the book, On Heaven and Earth)

From Rome Reports today we receive this news...

'Pope Francis donated one of these Harley Davidson bikes to charity. The bike will be auctioned off and the money will go to a Caritas shelter in Rome. During the summer, nearly 2,000 Harley Davidson owners made their way to the Vatican to mark the brand's 110th anniversary. As a gift, they gave Pope Francis two bikes. Now Pope Francis has decided to give the bike to charity. The funds will help Rome's 'Don Luigi di Lietro' center, which provides both shelter and food to those in need. In fact it helps over 1,000 people every day. The local director of Caritas, Bishop Enrico Feroci, said the gift shows the Pope's support and closeness with the people of his diocese of Rome.'

So, Your Holiness, is auctioning a flashy materialist item for charity right or wrong? Why is it not a "a disgrace, a bad use of charity" when you do it, but it is if others do it? What a grumpy old negative git I am, but not for the first time, I'm confused. Surely, a more humble approach is to say, 'Who am I to judge?' one who donates or sells an item for charity. These things seem like such little things, and yes, I am being critical, but this is another example of the contradictions communicated by Pope Francis.

Dear Auntie

Dear BBC,

Watching Strictly Come Dancing, I am certain, falls under 'watching an immodest show', so as a Catholic I know this is an occasion of sin.

Still, I do wonder how the Biased Bastion of Corruption (BBC) manage to get away with running a TV programme for nearly ten years without a same-sex dancing couple.

How does it get away with this flagrant discrimination and refusal to acknowledge diversity? Is there something about same-sex dancing which somehow lacks complementarity? Are you saying same-sex dancing is unnatural? Is there something deficient in same-sex dancing? Or are you worried a same-sex dancing couple would cause viewers to turn off? Why do you insist that some activities require one man and one woman? I can't believe such bigotry existing in the 21st century. Are you a bunch of medievalists?

I do love Bruce Forsythe - so smooth - such a perennial pro - the consummate performer - but how is it that Bruce gets to become ancient and craggy, but his 'lovely assistant' has always to be young, usually blond and beautiful. Oh, the rank hypocrisy of the BBC! Why don't you just cancel 'Women's Hour' and put a septuagenarian woman alongside Bruce instead, otherwise its all just words, isn't it? Are you saying that old women can't be 'lovely assistants'? Are you perhaps the most sexist organisation in modern Britain? There are lots of elderly women who would love to be Bruce's assistant. Why not give them a job?

Also, I hope you've cleaned out your corporation of paedos and sex offenders. Since the 70s, you must have been running the biggest paedo ring since time began. Still, don't let that stop you banging on about the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and linking the word 'Catholic priesthood' to 'child sex abuse' at every opportunity.

Yours truly,

Outraged of Sussex

p.s I've always wondered how much cocaine is delivered to Broadcasting House in one week? Is there any way of finding out?

A Weird Irony About Today's Consecration

Today Pope Francis consecrates the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

What is the chance of this consecration taking place on a day when in the Lectionary we are told of Naaman who is cured of leprosy by simply following Eliseus's instructions?

There's a weird irony about this, because those who argue that it is Russia in particular that the Pope and Catholic Bishops of the world need to consecrate to the Immaculate Heart of Mary say that, like Naaman, the Church's Popes and Hierarchy believe that 'minor details' like simply following the instructions given by Our Lady have been neglected. They also maintain that this neglect will have and already has had dreadful consequences for the World and the Church.

This is from one Fatima website:

Why should God place such importance on the Consecration of Russia? 

The answer, of course, is that God’s ways are not our ways, and it is not for us to question God’s ordinances as given through His prophets, no matter how strange they may seem to human wisdom.

The Bible offers an enlightening example in this regard. The Fourth Book of Kings tells the story of Naaman (see Chapter 5:1-15), the leader of the Syrian army, who went to the prophet Eliseus in Israel to seek a miraculous cure for his leprosy.

Without actually meeting him, Eliseus sent Naaman instructions to bathe seven times in the river Jordan, in order to be cured. Naaman was indignant that Eliseus did not come to administer his cure personally. Merely bathing in the Jordan, he felt, could not possibly be any better than bathing in one of Syria’s fine rivers. Rejecting the prophet’s instructions as trivial, Naaman prepared to depart; however, his advisers dissuaded him.

They argued that if the prophet had asked him to perform some arduous feat to be cured, Naaman would have done it unquestionably. So why not simply do the seemingly mundane task that had been asked instead? In effect, they said to him: What have you got to lose? Naaman agreed to give it a try on this basis and, sure enough, on his seventh washing in the Jordan, his leprosy disappeared.

[...] There is a striking parallel between this miraculous Biblical event and the attitude now being taken by certain Church officials regarding the Consecration of Russia. Like Naaman, these officials seem unable to believe that something as simple as a Consecration of Russia could deliver a benefit as momentous as genuine world peace. However, unlike Naaman’s advisers, they are telling their leader — in this case, the Pope — that he need not follow the prophet’s advice to the letter. And it appears they are so stubbornly unrepentant in their view of the matter that they will not even allow the remedy to be tried, despite repeated appeals over many decades from millions of the faithful, including thousands in the Catholic clergy.

So I found today's first reading a little eerie. The odds of that reading coming up today must be rather short...

Approval Ratings Soar for Pope Francis

Lifesitenews has an interesting report on the fallout from some of the Holy Father's interviews.  Strange times.

Whoever thought of carrying out a poll to see how popular the Pope is among Catholics, non-Catholics etc?

What next? 'With a mandate like this, backed by a majority of his party, the Pope can instigate wide-reaching reforms in the Church, his new policies are set to include...'


Strange times.

Chin Up, People, Chin Up

An anonymous individual has started a blog, 'The Biblical False Prophet Has Arrived', in honour of Pope Francis

It's important to keep a robust sense of humour at these times. I and most Catholics I know would say it is far too early to go saying anything too rash or imprudent about the pontificate of Pope Francis, but not everybody, obviously, shares this view. In equal measure, concern and a sense of joyful anticipation are growing among Catholics as the different 'branches' of the Church watch with fevered interest the decisions of Pope Francis. The Pope has said various things on various issues which have many Catholics scrambling for their Catechisms, while others who haven't read a Catechism for years, have been emboldened in their own beliefs.

A box of frogs

Mad as a box of frogs

Take, for example, the anonymous author of the blog entitled, 'The Biblical False Prophet Has Arrived - Cardinal Bergoglio - Pope Francis'. By all accounts, on first sight, this blog is mad as a box of frogs. From the looks of things, this individual started this blog almost as soon as the Pope from the 'end of the world' ascended to the Throne of St Peter.

Ironically, the blog seems to be informed by the prophecies of someone who has already been criticised by the Church's hierarchy as a 'false prophet' herself. She might think, 'Well they would say that, wouldn't they?' but ultimately we do believe in the teaching authority of the Successors of the Apostles. If her messages are anything to go by, the Antichrist is just around the corner and the 'abomination of desolation' (that's empty tabernacles, apparently, folks) will be a feature of the Church thanks to a 'newly revised liturgy' in the not too distant future. That said, with Archbishop Marini, 'all things are possible'.

As Catholics we are used to people outside the visible Bride of Christ, such as evangelical Protestants or sede-vacantists describing each and every Pope as a 'false prophet'. It becomes tiresome and comfortingly irritating. We're at our happiest when the Pope is hated for resisting the vanities of the age and schismatic sects, but what do we do when a Pope is loved and applauded by apostates, heretics and atheists?

What is unusual about these times is the dis-ease with which the words and actions of the Successor of St Peter are being greeted by faithful Catholics who adhere to the Church's Magisterium - by those who give theological assent to the Church's teachings. Under Benedict XVI these Catholics felt safe. Under Francis, it would appear they do not. For example, the idea that a Pope could convene a Synod on the family would be uncontroversial a year ago. After all, the family is in crisis. Suddenly, Pope Francis wants to convene one and Catholics are worried the Church is about to enter into a cosmic black hole to emerge without Her doctrine which will have disappeared into an eerie void. Why? Just because words and phrases leap out of his mouth like frogs, does not mean the new Pope is a 'false prophet', or 'the false prophet' of the Book of the Apocalypse and it is surely seriously sinful to make such an allegation against a Successor of St Peter.

That even the thought should creep into the minds of Catholics, of course, has less to do with prophecy than it does with the 'new tone' set by the papacy of Francis - a tone that has surprised just about everyone, with a variety of responses from different Catholics, as well as an element of 'leaping' outside the Church. Catholics cannot really be blamed for worrying that the Church is looking for a decent excuse or at least a decent opportunity to 'get with the programme' of the modern world by jettisoning unpopular and difficult teachings on such matters as divorce and remarriage - even those which are documented in the Gospels as coming from the mouth of Our Lord Himself, or other 'thorny matters' as artificial contraception, or homosexuality. Then there exists the ever-elusive ecumenical dream of Christian unity and harmony with other religions. Francis's charisma could do wonders for these projects, but at what cost?

What did Our Lord say about 'false prophets'? 

'For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.'  

I'm sure it is unhealthy, but I have been ruminating on such words recently, particularly with regard to why it is that Our Lord promised not only that He would be with His Church until the close of the ages, but also that the power of Antichrists and false prophets would be so strong as to deceive, 'if possible' even 'the elect' of God.

Under Benedict XVI, Catholics faithful to the Magisterium had little difficulty in citing the relevant authority (the Supreme Pontiff) in rejecting dissent by recognising it 'for what it is' and not mistaking it 'for a mature contribution to a balanced and wide-ranging debate'. The perception among those who see the Church's teachings as an impediment to a free-flowing conscience, rather than a source of nourishment for a sacred conscience interested in following Divine precepts, is that under Francis 'springtime' is here and heresies, instead of being rooted up and burned are flourishing in the 'field hospital' of Francis. I don't know about you, but I have the feeling that Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman's idea of following conscience as a Christian might have been slightly different to that of prelates of the modern day Church - perhaps even the Pope himself.

Time to Get Real? There Exists a Worst Case Scenario

"It'll all be okay...It'll all be okay..." Okay, but what if it wasn't all okay? We know it will all be okay 'in the end', but...

Pope St Gregory I the Great

Pope St Gregory I the Great prophesied that on the appearance of the Antichrist, 'not just hoards of laity but a veritable army of Bishops and Priests will go over to him'. Naturally, if ever a Pope were to be in a fruitful dialogue in some way with the forces of evil then that situation would indeed present Catholics with some serious complications of what to believe and what not to believe.

IF an apostasy were ever to begin at the summit of the Church then just in sheer terms of loyalty to Christ and His Church, the Catholic would be placed into something of a moral and spiritual quagmire, since we have been promised that communion with Peter is a, if not the, defining characteristic of a 'loyal son of the Church'. That such loyalty would be put to the ultimate test would be a scandal so great as to break the faith of many of God's children.

Under Francis, there are a considerable number of Catholic priests, laity and some Bishops who are feeling distinctly uneasy. Where is the Rock Peter is called to be? It is the sense of not knowing what is coming next that is unsettling faithful Catholics. There exists a palpable sense that we are entering into uncharted waters - a new era, under a new kind of Pope, modelling a new kind of papacy, the visible head of what many have worked towards building - a new kind of Church, divorced from Her tradition, at ease with the world and odds with Her Lord and Master. It remains too early to tell what is afoot, but why are faithful Catholics waking up at night following a Pope Francis inspired bad dream?

Pope Emeritus Benedict: "Don't tell me...it's a box of frogs, isn't it?"

The Mystery of the Two Popes

We have two Popes for the price of one - one reigning, one not. We've got used to it now, but it is still a bizarre situation. Before Pope Benedict XVI resigned to become Pope Emeritus Benedict, he intimated that in entrusting the Church to Jesus Christ he was not abandoning the Faithful. On speaking of the Transfiguration, Benedict XVI said...

'The Lord is calling me to "climb the mountain", to devote myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church, indeed, if God is asking me to do this it is so that I can continue to serve the Church with the same dedication and the same love with which I have done thus far, but in a way that is better suited to my age and my strength.'

Though Benedict XVI resigned the papacy, it is clear that Pope Emeritus Benedict is from time to time sending out signals that tell the Church, 'I am still around.' While Catholics unhappy with the signals and direction of Pope Francis are unable to pledge loyalty to Francis's predecessor, if the Church begins to shed doctrine and the Sacraments came under grave threat, then Pope Emeritus Benedict would become a focal point of those loyal to Jesus Christ and His Teachings. God's laws do not change. The Church cannot tell a truth today that would make the truth yesterday a falsehood.

If the Church were to declare a given truth taught down the ages to be a lie, then while Benedict would not be the Pope, then Pope Emeritus would become symbolic of a remnant Church that refused to abandon the Lord while all other forsake Him for the idols of the age. Benedict would remain a trustworthy shepherd, if no longer the Chief Shepherd, while the wolves (who he publicly asked God's strength not to flee from) devour the lambs in a new Church divorced from Her tradition and even perhaps for a time from Her Lord. Amidst the turmoil of an unholy revolution in the Church, Pope Emeritus Benedict would be not the true Pope, but the 'other Pope', the one who remains true and truly loyal to Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.

Speculation: Is it Divisive?

There will be some reading this thinking, 'Such idle speculation is divisive!' Quite possibly it is, but I say these things not to be controversial or to be divisive, but as a contribution to what continues to be a frenetic time in the life and history of the Catholic Church. We must, of course, be loyal to His Holiness Pope Francis. We must, of course, not try to preempt either his moves or decisions or the direction into which he wishes to steer the Church. However, Our Lord and His Saints warned us that in the last days a seriously large deception would take place which would, if possible, deceive even the elect of God. We should be suspect of prophesy and private revelation, trusting always in the great mercy of Christ who loves, guards and protects His Church until the End of Time. Yet, the same Lord who is present in every Tabernacle in the World also told His faithful ones to be 'wise as serpents and innocent as doves'. Already, 'little ones' (which need not mean literal children) have been scandalised by some of the things that Pope Francis has said and done.

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Perhaps such idle speculation is divisive. Perhaps. Pope Francis has told us not to gossip and such speculation comes a little close. Yet, few can deny the uneasiness and discomfort many are feeling with the Church about the new style of papacy which we see in Francis. There is no help in denying this sorrow that many are experiencing. Being honest about how one feels about the turbulence in the Church might be divisive, but it isn't as divisive as a Pope who has the 'humility and ambition' to make changes that could indeed divide the Holy Church of God.

If - IF - events in the coming weeks, months and years call upon Catholics to place their loyalty to the Pope over and above their loyalty to Jesus Christ and His Holy Teachings, we would all have a huge problem on our hands. Would we place our trust in someone who could call error and falsehood truth and replace God's laws with man's laws? Or would we place all our trust in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, He who is the Way, the Truth and the Life? Today we commemorate someone who tried to directly take on such grave and important issues of faith and conscience, one Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman.

'We can now appreciate Newman's toast first to conscience and then to the Pope. The Pope cannot impose commandments on faithful Catholics because he wants to or finds it expedient. Such a modern, voluntaristic concept of authority can only distort the true theological meaning of the papacy. ' 

~ Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 1991

And I and many more, in the worst case scenario, will drink to that.