Monday 16 June 2014

I Can't Reconcile the Message with the Reality


Pope Francis's homily today is rather thought-provoking. Certainly, it pricked my own conscience with regard to my treatment or rather lack of love for the poor and the elderly. I just cannot reconcile the message with the reality. There is a complete disconnect between the message of Pope Francis today and the treatment of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. 'Martyrs of...ecclesiastical corruption'....for Heaven's sake...that's a perfect description of the plight of the Immaculate sons and daughters! How eerie that His Holiness should mention St Stephen. The founder of the FFI, who lives apparently now more or less in seclusion under very strict rules imposed from above is called Fr Stefano Manelli. From time to time, we suffer our own glaring moral blindspots, but we are not all preaching in the emphatic manner of Pope Francis on brotherhood, charity, mercy, fraternity. The themes that His Holiness has chosen that mark his pontificate are laudable, but there is a real difficulty in reconciling the warfare on the FFI with these themes. Why single this group out for special and severe attention and then, when alerted to the possible charge of hypocrisy, do nothing to ease their burden?


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actions speak louder than words . . .

Deacon Augustine said...

Let's face it, Laurence, if he was a politician, or anybody apart from the Pope in fact, the general consensus would probably be that he is "Full of manure." It is only good manners or a latent Ultramontanism that prevents more people from saying so.

He admits that one of his failings has been a tendency to authoritarianism. Perhaps the grace of office has not tempered it.

Православный физик said...

I'm with Deacon Augustine....so it seems pride gettith in the way.

Our Lady of Good Success-pray for us. said...

Agree with both comments above. If people weren't being blinded by all the spotlights bouncing off the cassock, the vision one would be left with would be unpapal to say the lest.

p.s. typically neo-gospellic neo-homily: here's a bit of neo-gospellic exegesis:

'he [Naboth] possessed and lay close to the palace of Ahab, who wished to acquire it to "have it for a garden of herbs" (probably as a ceremonial garden for Baal worship).' But JOrge, you promulgate baal worship in the Vatican Gardens, so I'm not getting it? "The Talmud also sees here a link to the prohibition of mixtures of milk and meat in Jewish law." Ah, now I get it, we who follow the Fulfillment of the Law, Christ, need to revert to the Mosaic Law. Penny, dropped.

Jacobi said...

What I find very disturbing and puzzling about the present Holy Father is how openly critical so many loyal thinking Catholics, are, or feel themselves compelled to be.

This simply would not have happened so overtly with the last five popes and indicates a profound change in how the office of Keeper of the Keys is viewed.

I just don’t know if this is good or bad. What I am sure of is that the Church is continuing to decay, rapidly, and I see no analysis or corrective action being taken. Worse still there’s no evidence that this is even realised.

Our Lady of Good Success-pray for us. said...

p.s. that should be the land Naboth possessed. But, I guess, in keeping with the new evangelisation, vague is okay.

Our Lady of Good Success-pray for us. said...

Re: the title of the post, "I can't reconcile the message with reality", here's one Catholic psychologist's take on the broader crisis and the cognitive dissonance it is engendering:

http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/734-to-believe-a-lie

JB said...



An awful American president and a pope who is Paul VI on neo-Jesuit steroids. Not good.

Can someone explain to me why he wears off white robes? Cream colored. Bizarre.

Catholic Mission said...

June 18, 2014
Wednesday audience today: FRANCISCANS OF THE IMMACULATE ACCEPT VATICAN COUNCIL II WITHOUT THE FALSE INFERENCE : ITS TRADITIONAL!

http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.it/2014/06/wednesday-audience-today-franciscans-of.html#links

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