The Wayward Pope

 As if the Catholic Church hasn't been through enough, we have been hit with another "surprise" from Francis this past week - the document Fiducia Supplecans, a declaration issued by the Dicastery for the Deposit of Faith.  This piece of true garbage sanctions "blessing" couples in irregular (particularly "same-sex") relationships in an informal way without actually performing a matrimonial or liturgical rite, but it still has fundamental problems.  Given this was issued essentially on the back of Traditiones Custodes, which essentially limited celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, and the punitive measures Francis has been taking against more orthodox clergy such as Cardinal Raymond Burke, Bishop Joseph Strickland, and Father Frank Pavone, the suspicious nature of such a document is well-justified.  I wanted to address this today because it does raise some fundamental questions about the overall future of the faith, and it is an integral issue to all Catholics. 

Let me first explain myself.  I am not an exclusive TLM Mass devotee, and I also do not totally reject everything in Vatican II - I think the Council was legitimate, and there were some good things that came from it. That being said, I also am not opposed to the celebration of the TLM either, and although not part of that myself, I tend to hold a lot of convictions which the TLM proponents share, and I am definitely supportive of their right to celebrate the Mass in that very valid form.  I consider myself a traditionalist as well, although I also do have some convictions that would not be shared with my TLM brethren although they are relatively minor.  I attend a parish that is very soundly orthodox and does use a very reverent form of the Ordinary (or Novus Ordo) Mass, and I find it to be spiritually good for my own faith and its practice. Reverence in religious practice is vital, and should be based on our faith in Jesus Christ, and that is what is vital as well as being what the Church has affirmed for its 2000 years of existence.  This is known as Christocentricity, and everything about the faith we as Catholics practice should always lead us to Christ.  It is because of this that I have growing concerns with Francis and his regime as Pope, because I am not sure if God allowed Francis to be in power to test us, or if Francis is a plant of the enemy to attempt to destroy the Church - or, it could be a combination of both.  I am reminded however of the words of the Apostle in Romans 8:28 - all things work together for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. This means that there are some takeaways we need to keep in mind as this whole situation continues to unfold. 

First, the true Church will never be destroyed.  She is the eternal Bride of Christ, and if we read the end of the story, she prevails.  Scripture itself reminds us of this in Matthew 16:17-19, where Our Lord commissions St. Peter as the first Pope, and in doing so He makes the proclamation "on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  What this means is quite profound actually - even though the Church will be tested, and apostasies may happen, the true Church will always stand, even if only a faithful remnant.  The previous Pope, Benedict XVI, expressed this when he said that as Pope, he desires a Church that is small and faithful over one that is large and unevangelized, and in all honesty, the late Pontiff may get his wish if Francis keeps acting like the proverbial bull in the china shop with Church teaching.  This leads to my second takeaway.

Many orthodox faithful Catholics - both TLM proponents as well as sound conservative Catholics who attend good Ordinary Form Mass parishes - are questioning what to do right now.  Should we go to movements such as the SSPX or the sedevacantists?  Do we split off from the Holy See, declare Francis an illegitimate Pope, and do another "Babylonian captivity" scenario such as what happened with the Avignon Papacy several centuries ago?  These are serious questions to ponder, but there is a simple answer.  Dr. Taylor Marshall and others I listen to essentially say to stay put, pray, and that God will prevail in the end, and that is a good point.  I will go one step further however by saying this - if schism happens, I will always be on the side of orthodoxy, and will align with the side that maintains traditional doctrine and faith.  Simply, the sound, orthodox Catholic way is the true way, and it is the one that Catholics who love the Church and take their faith seriously should pursue.  Also, if Francis does cause a schism, there is something very important to keep in mind - it will not be us leaving the faith, but rather Francis by promoting heresies and abhorrent garbage.  While his faction may have all the wealth and control the Vatican and the infrastructure, it is important to remember that those things are temporal in the greater scheme of things - wealth is fleeting, and it will not benefit us much in eternity in all honesty, so let's not labor under the impression that holding onto the great cathedrals and other treasures the Church has been steward of for centuries will somehow make whoever possesses them the valid party.  God sees things much differently.  Plus, cathedrals can be rebuilt, and even at some point the material treasures of the Church could be restored, so let's not focus on that.  Our focus is ultimately beyond temporal things - not that there is anything wrong with those, as we are not Gnostics who deny the material because we are too "spiritually-minded" or something - and those can be easily replaced or even recovered.  Our eternal soul, however, is much more precious - saving that is a greater treasure than any riches on the earth, which Lent reminds us of every year.  We need to focus on the greater vision, and if that means exile from some aspects of the Church's historic holdings, then we must make that sacrifice.  We can learn a lot from what has happened to some Protestant and Anglican groups in recent years - they went through this same stuff more intensely and with greater sacrifice than we have thus far as Catholics, but they prevailed.  As a former Anglican myself, I remember when the Anglican Communion split essentially over the very issues Francis is trying to promote now - there were orthodox Anglicans locked out of their parishes, some of which were hundreds of years old, and they in many cases were forced to meet in storefronts and funeral homes to preserve their faith as the "powers that be" seized their assets and even tied some of their parishes up in court (this led to many of them seeking out orthodox bishops in Africa, and founding communions such as ACNA and AMiA).  The same thing recently happened to two Protestant groups - the United Methodists and the Church of the Brethren.  Both of these denominations suffered fracturing, but the ones who were more committed to an orthodox expression of their faith formed new and more vibrant fellowships (the Global Methodist Church and the Covenant Brethren Church, respectively).  Will Catholics face a similar issue?  It remains to be seen, but that still small voice of Our Lord is whispering to us now, "Trust me."  Ultimately, trust in Our Lord is the best remedy we can hope for in these uncertain times. 

So, if I have advice for my fellow Catholics, it is this.  Let Francis Bergolio play his little games while kissing his Pachamama idols and watching drag queens get validated by the likes of apostate priests like "Father" James Martin, and in time it will come back to haunt him, either in this life or the next.  We stand firm as faithful Catholics against these tricks of Satan, and there are ways we can express this that are wise and nuanced.  For one, if an orthodox priest is asked by a gay couple living in an irregular relationship to "bless" them, the priest can be creative and give them a "blessing" - that their hearts are converted, that they live chaste, celibate lives, that grace will elevate, heal, and fix their concupiscent nature, and that God will convict their hearts and examine their consciences.  The document does not prescribe what blessing to give, so this will be a way to deal with an issue like this.  Secondly, for those in bondage to the vice of "same-sex attraction" or gender dysphoria, it is important that they be loved and treated with compassion as human beings like the rest of us.  These individuals are being deceived into thinking that what they feel and are even practicing is somehow "good" and "normal," and we need to pray God opens eyes and hearts for transformation.  These types of feelings and behaviors are a symptom of the concupiscent nature mankind has had since the Fall, and as we strive to be the person God called us to be, it is important to let his grace work in us to elevate, heal, and perfect us.  This is true not only of these particular vices, but also anything - stealing, pride, hatred, addictions, etc.  We all have sinful inclinations of some sort we struggle with, as we are part of a fallen world.  The question is whether we are open to surrendering ourselves and letting God's grace work in us? That is what true Catholicism will encourage us to do. 

Any rate, I wanted to just address this and share thoughts on it.  Time does not permit me to really examine this in detail, but at least you get the idea of where I stand.  May God bless you and give you a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones, and please remember to keep in mind the reason we celebrate this holy season.