Deconstruction Of Church Tradition Under Pope Francis

After the grotesque display of satanic idolatry at St Peter's Basilica on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, we continue to see increasingly blatant attempts to deconstruct Church teaching.  Many of these attempts are from high Church officials, including Pope Francis.

Thanks to Toronto Catholic Witness, I was directed to the homily that Pope Francis gave on December 8th to inaugurate the "jubilee of mercy".  This is on the Vatican's website.  Here is the troubling passage: "Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again..." (emphasis mine)

I agree with TCW that in that phrase, Pope Francis spit in the eye all his predecessors, some of them saints, blesseds and doctors of the Church, precisely because they acted as shepherds who guarded their flocks.  While this pope might prefer that we take the "smell of the sheep", his predecessors (by and large) sought to preserve the Church in the odor of sanctity.

In a recent interview, Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said that "some form of birth control" might help with "overpopulation" and resultant "food shortage".  He also stated it could help with "climate change".  He then reminded us all of the shameful way in which Pope Francis treated the woman who was expecting her eighth child.  It would be an interesting thing if that eighth child were to confront the pope and tell him a thing or two, but I digress!

He must have realized his Freudian slip for he tried to backpedal, saying only "natural forms of birth control" were acceptable.  I don't buy it; else, why would he have used the general, nebulous "some form" descriptor for birth control?  More importantly, periodic abstinence from marital relations cannot be equated with what is commonly referred to as "birth control".  Voice of the Family is correct in opining that Turkson's remarks do lend credibility to the attempts to divorce marital relations from the procreation of children.  They certainly do make plain the linkage between "climate change" junk science with population control.

According to the Guardian, a Vatican document (name unknown) exhorts Catholics not to attempt to convert Jews to Christianity.  This document is from the Vatican commission for relationships with Jews.  Boys and girls, can you say "ecumenicide"?  You probably noticed during Triduum services that the traditional prayer for Jews to come to Christianity has been scuttled in recent years, so this manifestation of ecumenicide predates the current pontiff.  Now what was that again that we read in the Bible, at the end of several Gospels, where Jesus commands (not "suggest", not "request", but "command") the Apostles to baptize all "in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"?  Or did the "god of surprises" change his mind?

As I read of this, I think of what St Paul wrote in several of his letters, how he wished that all his brother Jews would be converted.  I also think of St. Vincent Ferrar, who once marched into a synagogue, started preaching and converted thousands of Jews on the spot.  Paul!  Vincent!  Naughty-naughty!  Stop that now!  Leave the Jews (and others) to wallow in darkness!  Don't you know that we must be ecumenical?  Seriously though, how can one talk with a straight face about a "year of mercy" and yet not seek to bring others to the font of mercy, that is, Jesus Christ, who acts through His Church?

My blogging colleague Julie at Connecticut Catholic Corner put up a piece today entitled "The New Age Of Pope Francis' Church".  Read it for I concur with her.  I too pray for a holy pope who will save souls.  At this time, it appears that this pope will not be Pope Francis, but only God knows.  Let us pray.

Francis Plops Another Stinker Called Laudate Deum

On October 3, we celebrated the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.  If anyone heard a rumble from his grave, well, there's good cause for it.  That "rumble" would have been occasioned by the release of Laudate Deum, an apostolic exhortation that is in reality nothing more than a deliberate attempt to whip up more "climate change" hysteria.  The first few verses are spent in vain attempts to breathe new life into tired, worn-out talking points regarding climate change: rising sea levels, melting glaciers, barely perceptible temperature increases and other "cries of protests on the part of the earth".  That last quote is from section 5 of this ungodly tome.  By the way - only a person can protest anything, for there must be intent to protest.  Someone close to Francis should remind him that planets are not sentient beings and such talk is indicative of sloppy philosophy and/or theology.

Big carbon footprint here!  For shame!

He also spills a lot of ink on paper as he whines that "some have chosen to deride these facts".  That's the start of his section 6-7 screed against those of us who refuse to swallow the pabulum that he and his progressive accomplices continually try to pour down our throats.  But, as they say, we encounter flak when we're above target.  This sort of sniveling is actually encouraging to read, for it means that we are having some success in thwarting their nefarious, one-world-government, new-order schemes.

In section 10, he takes some swipes against those big, bad fossil fuels.  I'm curious!  How does he think all those sin-nod delegates traveled to that carbon-footprint-increasing gab-fest?  The picture to the right (from EWTN) is that of the sin-nod in session.  You better believe the temperature is being kept at comfortable levels.  Now look at all that high-tech?  Everyone has their own tablet, and each table has four screens in the center.  Lots of electricity is being used.  Is all that power coming from windmills?  I didn't think so, either!

In section 15, we read about "irreversible effects of the climate crisis".  Francis bemoans the myth that "other creatures of the world have stopped being our companions along the way and have become instead our victims".  My!  Doesn't that just make you feel icky for being a human being?  I think that's by intent.  Again, we see the heretical personification of non-human entities.

In section 35, he shills for a one-world government.  In section 39, he lauds postmodern culture - by name!  Postmodern thinkers tend to deny the existence of objective reality and objective moral values.  And this "pope" praises that??  More commentary from LifeSiteNews. 

Let's do a word count, shall we?  Here they are!

• God - 11 times
• Climate - 33 times
• Jesus - 3 times
• temperature - 9 times
• global - 27 times
• church - 1 time
• melt - 4 times
• environment - 10 times

I could go on, but you see the priorities of this pseudo-pontificate quite clearly.

Noted Catholic Leaders Publicly Contradict The Human Fraternity Document

Last Thursday I asked if the "human fraternity" document shows Francis to be an anti-pope.  Several leading prelates and philosophers seem to answer in the positive.

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a "Manifesto of Faith"; the National Catholic Register article has the entire document toward the bottom of its article.  He makes plain that Christianity is the true religion and no other religion can be considered to be on a par with the Faith that Jesus Christ Himself teaches through the One True Church.  It is the shepherds' task to guide the people, through the Church, to eternal salvation.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider said many of the same things in his own document, "The Gift of Filial Adoption - The Christian Faith: The Valid and Only God-Willed Religion".  He too emphasizes that Christianity is the One True Faith for it was instituted by God Himself.

Taking a none-too-veiled dig at two pet-causes of progressives, namely "climate change" and uncontrolled "immigration, he says, "The most urgent task of the Church in our time is to care about the change of the spiritual climate and about the spiritual migration, namely that the climate of non-belief in Jesus Christ, the climate of the rejection of the kingship of Christ, be changed into the climate of explicit faith in Jesus Christ, of the acceptance of His kingship, and that men may migrate from the misery of the spiritual slavery of unbelief into the happiness of being sons of God and from a life of sin into the state of sanctifying grace. These are the migrants about whom we must care urgently."

Where these two prelates addressed the heresies of the "human fraternity" document without naming either the document or Francis, Professor Josef Seifert names both in his "Grave Concerns About Pope Francis' Abu Dhabi Document".  He too condemns the notion that God willed "plurality of religions", stating that the pope rejected Christianity by signing onto that heretical statements in that document.  At the end of his statement, Seifert expresses hope that the pope will retract that error, but states, "if he does not do this, I am afraid that Canon Law may apply according to which a Pope automatically loses his Petrine office when professing heresy, especially when he professes the sum-total of all heresies."

The pope has taken notice of these objections.  He assured one and all that the Theologian of the Papal Household approved it.  But it seems that this theologian never saw the document.  I tend to think the latter is correct.

Two questions now loom before us.

1. Will the pope retract his error?
2. If not, will we have the courage and integrity to admit the obvious as Professor Seifert has done?

I'd suggest careful study of all three of these answers to the "human fraternity" heresy.  Pray that more Catholics stand up to these errors that, if left unchecked, will likely facilitate the damnation of many souls.  Pray that sanity return to the papal office.

How NOT To Honor St Francis Of Assisi

Today is his feast day.  St Francis is the founder of the orders that bear his name and by extension, the other orders that are the offshoots of those.  I link now to an article detailing the saint's life; of course there are more on the internet as well as countless books besides.  I'd urge careful, thoughtful study of these: first, to learn what his role in the Church was and second, to diffuse some of the pseudo-pious legends and sayings surrounding him.  The latter might be born of enthusiasm and admiration for him, but all too often the enthusiasm sheds boundaries of reason and actually wind up trivializing the saint's life.  I will now delve into some common gaffes:

• "He's the greatest imitator of Christ who ever lived".  I recently saw this on the internet, but it is by no means the first.  Here's the problem: a rather serious one.  The word "greatest" is an adjective of comparison.  If that statement were true, we must also admit its converse: "All other imitators of Christ are inferior to St Francis".  Whoever conceives these statements therefore sits in judgment over the sanctity of every Christian who ever lived.  That's extremely presumptuous at best.  Only God Himself is in a position to make any sort of declaration like this.  The following is similar.
• "St Francis is the most saintly of the Italians, and the most Italian of all the saints."  I suppose the first part of this canard is less innocuous than the one in the first bullet, for at least its originator sits in judgment of only those of Italian descent and not the whole of humanity.  The second part of this thing invokes some rather silly and shallow stereotypes of Italians.  I suppose it has to do with popular notions of Italians being spontaneous and effusive in their gestures and vocal inflections, often given to displays of emotions.  Surely these stereotypes have nothing to do with the more low-key, scholarly saints like Thomas Aquinas..oh, wait!  Last time I checked, St Thomas Aquinas was an Italian!
• "St Francis of the bird bath"  I don't see these so much now, but at one time they abounded.  This probably has to do with the incident of him preaching to birds, and they flocked to hear him.  This is one notion that has as an effect (hopefully unintentional) of trivializing him into a mere nature-lover.  The next and last one has no veneer of piety whatsoever and no faithful Catholic would be caught dead dabbling in this.
• "St. Francis the envirowhacko".  I wish I was making this up.  The environmentalists among us have arrogated to themselves St. Francis' name to legitimize their environmental idolatry, with all its anti-life underpinnings.  Take a gander of the job that the "Catholic Climate Covenant" has done with Franciscan imagery, being so arrogant as to call their pledge to idolatry the "St Francis pledge".

If St. Francis had to do any purgatorial pit-stop after his death, I'd be willing to bet that knowledge of the aforementioned lapses of intelligence in his name would have been part and parcel of his mortification.  Let us ask his intercession, and that of all Franciscan saints, that our Church be restored to fidelity to Christ's immutable teachings and leave behind the fantasies of the "god of surprises".

Pope Francis Did Obescience To Climate-Change Junk Science

Does my post title seem "mean-spirited"?  Guess again!  If only his actions were no more harmful than gullibly glomming onto a scam.  Alas, such is not the case.  By hosting today's conference on the "environment" today at the Vatican (via the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences), the pope has lent undeserved credibility to anti-life forces.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, were in attendance.  Voice of the Family issued a statement detailing their concerns regarding these individuals and their advocacies for abortion and "population control".  The statement can be read at LifeSiteNews.  The presence of these two causes many faithful Catholics much concern, especially as this summit occurs so close to the scheduled release of the much-ballyhooed papal encyclical on the environment.

Also of concern is the apparent bias towards blind acceptance of the climate-change junk science, a bias that seems to have made itself manifest in stifling the voices of those who differ from the progressives in attendance.  Read this first-hand account of the treatment meted out to known opponents of the climate-change mantra during the meeting.  One of those who dared to think independently (and who was under watch durng the meeting) was Lord Christopher Monckton.  Speaking beforehand at a meeting held by the Heartland Institute and Cornwall Alliance, had some very direct words for the pope.  He said to him in abstensia and on account of the Vatican meeting, "you demean the office that you hold and you demean the church whom it is your sworn duty to protect and defend and advance."  In my opinion, Monkton is correct.  The pope has no special expertise on scientific manners; when he brings the weight of the papal office to bear on personal opinions, he not only demeans his office, but he prostitutes it.

St Francis' Name is Taken in Vain!

I received, via email today, my invitation from the Archdiocese of Washington to Celebrate Earth Day 2010!  How do they suggest that we celebrate this most solemnly festive of days (April 22nd, I believe)?  "By sinking your roots deep into the fertile soil of Catholic teaching on creation, the envioronment and peace."

So Catholic teaching is compared to soil?  That's an insult to the Magisterium.  At best, true Catholic teaching is being badly distorted, particularly by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change, about which I wrote on February 20.  Again, take a look at that organization's website, and don't take that first question too seriously.  They should be ashamed of themselves for such a shoddy attempt at guilt-trip inducement.  Anyway, click on the "St Francis Pledge" to see the lack of balance and outright errors contained therein.  St Francis must be spinning in his tomb.  Notice the first point, how "God's creation" is placed before the poor and vulnerable.  Then we hear about "the moral dimensions to climate change".  Ladies and gentlemen, this blog, and others, have demonstrated that at most, "climate change" is very debatable.  Good people can disagree about its very existence.  I for one believe it to be a hoax that is protected and promulgated by the politically-correct progressives that infest both civil government and some of the American church hierarchy.  In short, this so-called pledge is based on junk science.

As far as defending the poor and vulnerable, I'd suggest that in lieu of this politically-correct gobblygoop called Earth Day, that something truly helpful be done.  Most of us live near abortion clinics, where hundreds of the poor and vulnerable are murdered every day.  Find out when the murders occur at your local mill, then go there to pray and offer life-saving assistance.  Click on some of the pro-life links at the right for assistance in so doing.

Will Pope Francis Emulate The Climate Change Shysters?

Over the life of this blog I've done quite a few posts that expose the colossal hoax known as "climate change".  Here is one anthology of posts.  I suggest careful study of the first, and the video to which it links.

It appears that Pope Francis has glommed onto the global warming hoax, as it appears that he'll devote an encyclical to promulgating this erroneous theory.  Contrary to the yap and yammer from progressives, the science to which they refer is, at best, shoddy.  Much of the so-called "research" has been nothing more than elaborate scams, as the videos in this post anthology will reveal.

If such an encyclical is released, it will not touch upon the areas of faith and morals.  Of course we must ensure that we don't waste or carelessly pollute, but the underlying premise behind that obligation is that mankind is, in the eyes of God, above all other creation and the earth must be preserved for service to future generations of people.  If he's going to promote "climate change", he will be promoting a flawed theory based on junk science.

Someone suggested to me that the leftists may be hyping this up in hopes that the pope will fall in line behind them like a mouse following the piped piper to its doom and that the actual encyclical will be along the vein described in the previous paragraph.  If that does happen that there is shilling for climate change, we are not obliged to obey error.  In fact, we will have the solemn duty to resist - respectfully, but unmistakably.  Here is an excellent post describing circumstances and ways in which we must resist even popes who might lead us into error, complete with papal citations.

Even if the encyclical is relatively benign, one may wonder why he chose that topic on which to base this encyclical.  Just a few months ago the sin-nod ended, a meeting in which it was suggested that there might be "positive value" to sodomite mortal sin.  In a saner time, a bishop would have been horrified at the prospect of basic morals being cast into doubt.  This situation reflects a greater spiritual pollution that has corroded the minds and consciences of so many Catholics, a pollution that threatens them with damnation.  I don't believe this has escaped the pope's notice.  So why is he not addressing that as opposed to a matter that is not essential to eternal salvation?  Is there a decent answer to that question?

George Soros: Puppet Master For Hillary And The Vatican?

When I wrote my post this past Sunday (two days ago) about the anti-life motives of the climate-change crowd, I asked the question "how much Soros money is in this Catholic climate movement thing".  Some news today gives the answer to that question: billions of dollars.

Elizabeth Yore, an attorney affiliated with the Heartland Institute, wrote an article that was occasioned by some proceeds of the wikileaks data dump.  In the information was also details of plans to leverage Pope Francis' influence to sway the presidential election to Hillary Clinton.  Through his Open Society Institute, Soros planned to grant $650 billion to PICO and Faith in Public Life to engage the bishops regarding "income inequality": that is, apologetics for socialism.  Yore's article appears in the Remnant and on LifeSiteNews we see more details.

Yore mentioned that in 2015 both Vatican officials (Cardinal Maradiaga key among them) and Soros personnel collaborated on an Apostolic Exhortation on Climate Change and backing for the Paris Climate Treaty.  I wrote a bit about that at the time, noting the progressives that were wined and dined at the Vatican; see this anthology of posts.  In that first post I wrote, "I would like to think that the Vatican is just being naive and easily led when it comes to climate change.  However, I now believe there are powerful forces within the Vatican - the same ones controlling the USCCB - that are pulling puppet strings and doing their utmost to promote progressive agendas upon the whole world."  Now we know, and it makes perfect sense.  In USANews, we find remarks that Soros made about himself, remarks that seem to be quite candid to say the least.  He apparently holds himself to be some sort of "god" who controls Hillary and most likely the Vatican.  Obviously he's got the "god" part wrong, but he does wield massive influence over the leftwing in this country and in the Vatican.

The realization of Soros' influence at the Vatican seems to put many things in a new light:

• The bizarre resignation of Pope Benedict XVI
• The personnel shake-ups at the Vatican: Burke out, the formation of this "gang of nine", with Soros ally Maradiaga at the helm
• The none-too-disguised manipulation of the two family sin-nods

Of course they may all just be coincidences.  But there's so many of them - like so many dots out there just begging to be connected.

We must pray for our Church, and we must understand just what is happening to her in order to do so.

Did The US Deep State Force The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI?

As we all know, Pope Francis is critically ill.  There is well-founded concern that he may be in his final days.  Calls for prayers on his behalf have been all over the internet.  We certainly must pray for his repentance and conversion to the One True Faith.  Let's face it.  He has done much to deconstruct the Church: the full-on attacks of the Traditional Latin Mass, cancelation of faithful bishops and priests, foisting the abortion-tainted Covid vaccine at every opportunity, hob-nobbing with Jeffrey Sachs and promoting earth-worship under the guise of "protecting the climate" etc.  That list could go and on.

Should he recuperate without repentance, that list would no doubt lengthen.  Therefore, with no sign of repentance, I will withhold prayer for physical healing.  Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot loose sight of the forest (millions of Catholics) for the sake of one tree (Francis).  Thanks to his wreck-o-vation of the Church, millions have had their faith compromised and weakened, perhaps at the cost of their eternal salvation.  Do we accuse Francis in this matter?  No, but by the same token, neither do we excuse him.  We look at his actions and see what has happened.

It's only natural to think about possible successors to Francis, especially in light of how he stacked the College of Cardinals over the years.  We also need to reevaluate whether or not Benedict's resignation was valid or invalid, and the integrity of the conclave that "elected" Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to the papacy.  Why now, you may ask?  Because any underhanded machinery that most likely engineered that transition will be brought back into action when Francis passes to his reward.

We've known for some time that there was undue influence regarding the election of Bergoglio.  McCarrick made no bones about that.  Other pertinent articles are here. 

On Feb 20, LifeSiteNews published some very relevant pieces.  I urge you to read them and to watch the videos embedded therein, as well as reading the linked articles.  See here and here. 

Linked here is a petition to ask President Trump to investigate alleged pressure placed by the US government on Pope Benedict to resign the papacy.  Understand that if the investigation determines that such coercion happened, then by canon law, Benedict's resignation would invalid and thus the papacy of Bergoglio would likewise be null and void.

Again, please pray for his conversion and repentance.  Pray also that no more US deep state interference occurs, so that there is some slim chance of a truly holy, capable Catholic being elevated to Peter's Chair.

Naomi Klein Acknowledges Truth Of Environmentalism; Can We Acknowledge Truth Of This Papacy?

About six weeks ago it was reported that Naomi Klein had been invited to participate in a Vatican environmental summit.  At that time we all suspected that she was using "climate change" to promote socialism.  The Heartland Institute (a common-sense scientific organization that was denied access to the Vatican as they tried to offer their input) has discovered that Klein herself admitted her modus operandi.

They discovered this rather direct quote from her regarding climate change: "The really inconvenient truth is that it’s not about carbon—it’s about capitalism. The convenient truth is that we can seize this existential crisis to transform our failed economic system and build something radically better."  Could she possibly have made her aims more explicitly clear?

Here's another "inconvenient truth" that I'd ask my "pope-cannot-be-criticized" friends to consider.  Unless Pope Francis is a completely clueless moron, he understands quite well where Klein stands in regards to climate change and socialism.  The same can be said for the others that he has let into the Vatican: Maradiaga, Sachs, Schnellnhuber, etc.  Are we truly to believe that all this progressive infiltration can be ascribed to "bad advisors"?  Whatever else the pope is, he is not some naive lil' ol' bumpkin; one does not become bishop and cardinal with those traits.

Personnel is policy, and the pope knows his personnel.  Regarding the office of Vicar of Christ, all Our Lord promised us in that regard is that the pope would never solemnly promulgate error - and that's it!  A sitting pope can do much damage without invoking infallibility; it has been done in past centuries and there is no reason on earth to presume that the same cannot happen now or in the future.

Pope Francis recently decided to call September 1st a "World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation".  Well, consider that in light of Klein's self-revelation and her continued influential role at the Vatican.  This is nothing more than brainwashing maturation to disarm prepare us for the sin-nod and further UN encroachment on our lives.

Let me suggest an alternative prayer intention for September 1, and this is not an original suggestion.  Let us keep our pope and bishops in prayer and pray that they remember their high offices and to place the salvation of souls as their one and only priority to obey the God Whom they serve.

Another Progressive Prelate To Putrify The Archdiocese Of Washington

McElroy should learn from these boys

Cardinal Gregory has resigned as Archbishop of Washington and Cardinal McElroy will be his successor.  See the announcements in the Catholic Standard and the USCCB site.  There is plausible talk that Francis put McElroy here to be a thorn in President Trump's side, namely when it comes to stemming the de facto invasion known as illegal immigration.  McElroy has also shilled for climate change, going so far as to state that it is a bigger threat to life than abortion.  Of course he's equating the murder of 3300 babies a day with a left-wing hoax.

He has also covered up clerical sexual abuse in his diocese.  Jennifer Rohrbach Morse interviewed Rachel Mastrogiacomo, a survivor of satanic ritual abuse conducted by a priest in the context of Mass.  Leila Miller carries that interview on her site.  McElroy tried to cover it up, but fortunately the priest was laicized and did jail time.

Complicit Clergy repeated a story by NBC News that details how attorneys who are or were prosecuting sex-abuse cases against San Diego priests are denouncing this appointment.  Apparently, his crusade to deny abuse victims justice compelled him to declare bankruptcy for the San Diego archdiocese to keep the victims from being compensated.  Lisa Roers, one such victim, penned an open letter to Francis, begging him not to appoint McElroy.  However, Francis and McElroy are cut from the same cloth so Ms. Roer's plea went unheeded.  

McElroy supports the ordination of women to the diaconate.  He would not allow facilities of San Diego parishes to be used by Catholic homeschool groups.  He supports the inclusion of unrepentant gays (that is to say, engaging in repeated and flagrant mortal sin) as Catholics in good standing.  A former resident of the Archdiocese of San Francisco warns us of McElroy's hostility towards the Traditional Latin Mass. McElroy's appointment is yet another indicator of Francis' mindsets. 

Now the question for us residing in the Archdiocese is this - what are we prepared to do, if and when we see insults to Our Lord and His Church in our own parishes?  Please drop your thoughts in the comments box.

Voices Of Reason Contradict Pontifical Acadmeny Of Sciences Regarding Climate Change Junk Science

Thanks to the blogosphere (of which this blog is a small part), the world has been alerted to the joke of a conference that occurred last week regarding "climate change".  As revealed, anti-life population-control advocate Jeffrey Sachs had a disproportionately large amount of influence over the proceedings of that meeting - and the report that was obviously written before the meeting happened.

I posted on it last week; in my reply to one of the comments I mused aloud my suspicions that the "climate change" hoax might play a role in the maturation that the pope wants to inflict upon Catholics as they prepare for the brain-rot that will spew forth from next October's sin-nod.  The PAS report included the Vatican's endorsement of "population control", i.e., contraception, abortion and possibly euthanasia.  This anti-life poison may well be woven into the October meeting.

Again, thanks to the blogosphere, true scientists are making their voices and concerns heard.  On April 27, the Cornwall Alliance released "An Open Letter To Pope Francis On Climate Change".  It is signed by reputable individuals such as Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Father Paul Acton, Gary Bauer, Donna Bethel, retired MD State Senator Nancy Jacobs, Lord Christopher Monckton, Steven Mosher, Austin Ruse, Thomas Sheahen, John Zmirak.  The gist of this letter points to the reasons why popular models have failed, based on empirical data.  It also points to Biblical reference regarding the relationship between man and the created universe - and points out why any attempt to restrict fossil fuel consumption would be harmful to poor people.  If the pope insists on dabbling into scientific matters (over which he has no special authority), he needs to weigh real data, not just emotional rhetoric.

However, with some prelates, facts don't sit very well.  Cardinal Maradiaga, a chief advisor to the pope (and I've written plenty about him, too), had this to say while visiting Washington DC last week in response to a question regarding the expected encyclical about the environment: "Do not expect statistics, numbers and theories.  He will go directly to the baptized."  Pardon my french, but what the hell does that mean????  Disregard of real scientific data seems to be habitual among progressives, and Maradiaga isn't even trying to conceal it.  He's opining that the pope will rely on emotional "mob-appeal" to push through the population control heresy.  Remember - he's a key advisor, de-facto leader of this "gang of nine", for the pope.  He may be a nut, but one to be taken seriously.

Again, we all must watch what proceeds from the Vatican and measure it agains the timeless traditions of Holy Mother Church.

Archbishop Vigano And Bishop Schneider Stand With Bishop Strickland

Bishop Strickland made a statement regarding the news of the Vatican's desire for his resignation.  He acknowledged the pope's right to remove him from his post.  However, he says that he will not resign, thus running from the charge given to him by Pope Benedict.  I for one support Strickland's stance.  If the pope wants Strickland out, he will have to get ugly about it.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider sent to Bishop Strickland a very supportive letter, and it was shared by LifeSiteNews.  In that letter, Schneider told Strickland that future popes would thank Strickland for his fidelity to Christ's teachings.  Likewise, Archbishop Vigano communicated his thoughts to Strickland, encouraging him to continue his course and not quit his post voluntarily.  We await communications from other prelates.  Surely Schneider and Vigano cannot be the only ones who, like Strickland, understand what it truly means to be a bishop.

So what will be Francis' next move?  Whatever it is, it will have to wait.  It seems that Francis is going to address the Clinton Foundation on September 18.  This will take the form of a "special conversation" with Bill Clinton regarding favorite pet causes of the progressives, such as "climate change" and unbridled amnesty for border-crashers.  Other attendees of this conference include Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, some of our less-than-favorite left-wing governors such as the ones from California, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan.  Among others, there is a representative from an outfit called "Black Trans Liberation".  Now take a look at this guy.  Would you want to meet him in a dark alley?

Somehow when Francis chats with Bill Clinton, I suspect that he won't be calling the Clintons and the rest of that cabal to repentance for their promotion of baby-slaughter and sexual perversions.  I expect that conversation to be all happy-clappy with mutual praise and admiration flowing ad nauseum. 

Understand the reason why Francis is only too happy to chat with a pro-abortion left-wing cabal while drawing long knives upon faithful clergy.  He and the ilk led by George Soros, Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, etc are in cahoots with each other.  Faithful prelates stand in their way because the leftwing agenda is at complete odds with the teachings of Our Lord.  Not only do the progressives consider bishops like Joseph Strickland to be fair game, but the bulls-eyes are trained on us as well.  We need to acknowledge that.

Laudato Si And Paris Agreement - Spawned From Same Progressive Agenda

Cardinal Peter Turkson, who had a major role in the drafting of Laudato Si, granted an interview to a news outlet called Mongabay.  In it, he unabashedly admitted that the preamble to the agreement and Laudato Si bore very striking resemblances.  I've no doubt that they are very similar.  This only goes to show how the current Vatican leadership - including Pope Francis - are taking their marching orders from progressive puppet-masters.  Turkson might attempt to pretend that Laudato Si was some sort of inspiration for the Paris Agreement.  However, could it be that the drafters of Laudato Si and the Paris Agreement are simply taking their talking points from the same sugar-daddies?  They certainly aren't basing their theories on solid science!

The Church hierarchy has no moral right to try to cram the "climate change" ideology down our throats.  The mission of the Church is to save souls; that's the mandate given to her by Jesus Christ Himself.  The Church disgraces herself when she lets that divinely-ordained mission play second fiddle to progressive pet projects that are designed to insinuate one-world government as the world's de facto deity.  That disgrace is being allowed by, if not perpetrated by, the pope.

For instance, the Church must uphold Christ's teachings on marriage and the evil of homosexual conduct.  The Italian Parliament is deliberating bills to legalize sodomy and the adoption of children by perverts.  Good people are taking a stand.  This past weekend, an organization called "Committee to Defend Our Children" organized a rally in Rome, dubbing it "Family Day 2016".  Hundreds of thousands of good people made their voices heard.   Cardinal Angel Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian Bishops' Conference played a key leadership role and was present at that rally.  Pope Francis, however, distanced himself from the rally, going so far as to cancel a meeting he had scheduled with Bagnasco. The Remnant has more details.  They give their opinions on the "whys and wherefores" of the pope's reluctance to stand with faithful Catholics.  They are opinions but I believe they are well-reasoned.

I mention all this to remind us all that it is outside the Church's realm of expertise to pronounce on "climate change".  We are free to disagree with the hierarchy's progressive take on the matter.  In light of the flimsy scientific basis for it and the progressive ramifications of it, I'd suggest we disagree with it vigorously.

Pope Francis Rigidly Promotes His Progressive Priorities

I thank Vox Cantoris for pointing out the pope's mindset that underlies his rhetoric and actions in two areas.  Let's look at priestly formation, for starters.  Rorate Caeli analyzed a talk that the Pope gave to a group of Jesuits a few months back.  In it he lamented "rigidity" in the priestly formation in traditional circles.  Notice how he slyly insinuates that when a young man is "too confident, rigid and fundamentalist", then he might be "mentally ill".  Of seminary teaching he laments "educating in light of overly clear and distinct ideas".  Then he talks about the "dynamics of personal discernment, which respects the law  but knows how to go beyond."

There's much to unpack here.  First, let's look at the phrase "overly clear".  Most sane people would agree that clarity is a good to be desired.  Clarity is tied to truth.  How is it possible to be "overly clear" or "overly truthful"?  If one lessens the truth or clarity, then one is engaging in dishonesty and obfuscation, right?

Now let's address that second quip about the "rigidity" indicating "mental illness".  This is nothing short of slander directed at young men, aspiring to the priesthood, who exert much effort to follow God's immutable commands.  And yes, God's commands are quite clear.  For instance, "thou shalt not commit adultery" does not admit of any exception.  Does the pope find that "overly clear"?  Well, perhaps he needs to take that up with the Author of that "rigid"command.

This dovetails right into that last quote: "respect the law but know how to go beyond".  If one is going beyond what God's law says is permissible, he/she should drop any pretense of "respecting the law".  "Respect" is just a mental game played by those who would justify thumbing their noses at God's law, and ultimately God Himself.

So, as far as Pope Francis is concerned, is everything up for "discernment" and "accompaning on the journey"?  Is everything to be considered free of "rigidity"?  Surprisingly, NO!  There are some matters, according to this pontiff, that are to be considered set in stone, that admit of no divergence of opinion whatsoever.  These are matters that are indicative of his real loves and mindsets.

Today he addressed the Pontifical Academy of Sciences regarding "climate change".  He said it's "indispensible to create a regulatory system that includes inviolable limits and ensure the protection of ecosystems" blah-blah-blah.  "Indispensible"!  "Inviolable"!   Hmmm!  Sounds like rather "rigid" language to me!  Where does "knowing how to go beyond" fit in with this paradigm?  So the Teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed through His Church is subject to "gray areas" but "climate change" junk sciene is sacrosanct?

Let's look at this "regulatory system".  Who will be controlling this "regulatory system"?  The pope never got around to divulging that teensy detail, but one can imagine that the UN (Useless Nincompoops) would have their hand in that, along with George Soros and other assorted oligarchs.  Over the years I've done many posts on the menace of environmentalism.  As you read the posts, you'll notice that one underlying motive to this movement is the deconstruction of western civilization and its Christian roots.  In particular, pay close attention to this post, noticing the three motives that seem to be underlying this junk science (and watch the video).

Unless we believe that the pope is a total idiot, we must concede that he is in cahoots with the progressives and their agendas.  Owing to his position as Vicar of Christ, he is poised to spread the poison of progressivism.   Many Catholics at one time were naive in their disbelief of this problem.  While some continue their pollyanna-esque blindness, an increasing number are admitting that the ever-mounting pile of evidence is shattering their illusions.  Some of these, though, are now trying to ignore the problem, pretending that it has no relevance to their lives.  This blog joins with the Remnant in stating that we cannot be indifferent and silent with respect to the harm being caused by this papacy, for souls are at stake.

Pope Francis, We MUST, On Pain Of Sin, Avoid Even The Appearance Of Communism

Pope Francis, this past Monday, claimed that Christians shy from the "social gospel" because they fear that the Church will look like the Communist Party.  Of course he is trying to cajole Catholics into disregarding their common sense so that they will indeed swallow the "social gospel" crap - and eventually socialism, if not outright communism.

In light of these shameless attempts by the pope and other quasi-socialists to induce false shame into us, we must stand strong and call them out for what they are.  Here are just a few facts about this "social gospel". He is a big fan of Dorothy Day and her Catholic Worker Movement.  I don't know just what Day's original intent was for the CWM, but it has veered into socialism and dissidence.  From this page of the DC affiliate, we see that they have allowed disgraced Bishop Thomas Gumbleton to speak at their events, as well as some Pax Christi individuals.  Of course, rabidly pro-abortion Jeffrey Sachs was often invited to the Vatican to craft Laudato Si, a thinly-disguided apology for socialism, as well as population-control and climate-change junk science.

In 1984, Pope John Paul II suspended a divinis the priestly faculties of Fr. Ernesto Cardenal, when the latter held a cabinet position in Nicaragua's Sandinista government.  Cardenal had always been a Marxist involved in "liberation theology".  Pope Francis lifted the suspension.  He noted that Cardenal accepted the suspension, but there was no mention of Cardenal seeing the errors of his Marxist and liberation theology mindsets.  In this and his various document, the pope displays an untoward affinity for socialism and even communism.

Previous popes have proclaimed quite different things about socialism and communism.  They are worth a study.  They emphatically declare those philosophies to be inherently evil.  So should Christians shy away from appearing to be communists, even if they aren't - for now?  Absolutely.  1 Thessalonians 5:22 is adamant about avoiding the appearance of evil - and that is what communism is.  The so-called social gospel is a spiritual and moral booby-trap.

WaPo - Trump Has Power Over Hurricanes

In June of 2017, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had a hissy-snit because President Trump rescued the United States from that fraud known as the Paris climate agreement.  They betrayed their ignorance of the US Constitution by claiming that the US ratified it.  That did not happened.  While the Messiah Most Miserable signed it, that was not sufficient to ratify it.  According to the Constitution, any international agreement must be approved by the United States Senate before it can be considered binding on the US.  That simply didn't happen.

Pope Francis has glommed onto this climate-change junk science, championing the Paris climate covenant.  Long-time readers of this blog will recall that for years I have decried the pope's servitude to environmentalism.  He has gone so far as to parade all sorts of anti-life people through the Vatican in the name of this environmental idolatry.

Not all are taken in by the hype.  Investor Business Daily reports on the sheepish admission by the UN that this Paris accord is a joke.  Of course sane people, including President Trump, knew that all along.

Sane people are a rarity in mainstream media.  The Washington Compost outdid itself today in its op-ed by claiming that because Trump pulled us out of that agreement, he is to blame for Hurricane Florence.  I wish I could say it was satire, but they are serious.  They said, and I quote, "when it comes to extreme weather, Trump is complicit".  What?  Do they think Trump did some American Indian rain dance to conjure up a hurricane?  Do they ascribe divine attributes to him?  Do they have one iota of common sense?  When you read the article, look at the comments.  Most are mocking the editorial, as well they should.

Now I wonder how the denizens of that USCCB building off Michigan Avenue are reacting to the editorial.  They are probably nodding in assent.  It's time to abolish the USCCB.

Pope Francis, The One-World-Government Shill

Pope Francis, several weeks ago, stated plainly that he wants to see an end to national sovereignty and the establishment of a world-wide government.  In practical terms, that would mean ascribing authority to the United Nations to encroach upon national governments as the latter tries to address the interests of its citizens.  He used the progressive talking points of both climate change and massive, unbridled immigration as excuses to bring about a globalist monstrosity.  If the pope has his way, we in the US and elsewhere would have unbridled baby-slaughter shoved down our throats.

A week or two after that at the Rome Life Forum, Cardinal Burke flat out contradicted the pope regarding one-world government, rightly calling it "not just and legitimate" and noting that one-world government would be by definition totalitarian.  Moreover, he pointed out that patriotism is an extension of the Fourth Commandment, as is limiting Muslim immigration.

Cardinal Sarah also offered correction to positions espoused by the pope and others.  Last month, he pointed out that the call for unfettered immigration is "a false exegesis to use the word of God to promote migration.  God never wanted these heartbreaks."  He was stating that defending migration is a misinterpretation of Gospels by priests and bishops "bewitched" by political and social issues.  I might also point out that the direction of the "bewitching" exclusively tends toward the direction of progressive and anti-God proponents, and that the "misinterpretation" is quite deliberate and thus malicious.

Thankfully more people are waking up to the perils of a one-world government.  The member countries of the European Union held elections this week, with conservatives gaining significant ground in Europe.  Also see here and here.   Immediately the pope whined about the election results, blaming "intolerance" and "racism".  Gee!  Why does that sound familiar?  Shades of November 2016!  Harping on the same theme, the pope, during an interview, compared the wall along our southern border to the Berlin Wall.  I suppose it didn't dawn on him that our wall is to keep out border crashers while the Berlin Wall served to imprison people within the east part of the city.  He then said he didn't understand "this new culture of defending territory by building a wall".  Is he serious?  Is he truly that ignorant of world history?  Perhaps he should take a look at that structure that surrounds Vatican City!  Walls like this have existed for centuries!

But the Vatican isn't only being bested on the political front.  Several leaders of nationalist bents are displaying and honoring their Catholic heritages.  The presidents of Brazil and Italy have both consecrated their nations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Recall that Our Lady of Fatima requested that Russia be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  To date, the popes (not just Francis) have refused to do so.

Let us pray that more and more Catholics wake up and rediscover the One True Faith, for now it seems that the pope and the Vatican have forgotten it.  Pray that they too will return to the Faith.

Pope Gives Awards To Three Culture Of Death Proponents

This happened last week at the pontifical foundation that Pope Francis founded.  He presided at a ceremony last week.  During that ceremony, three American actors, enemies of the Church's moral teachings, received the "Olive Medal for Peace".  They are George Clooney, Richard Gere, and Salma Heyak.  I needn't rehash why these three are most unworthy of any recognition by the Church.  See here and here for their dismal track records.

Our real focus should be why the Pope allowed such anti-life individuals to be the recipients of any award from a Catholic institution.  Ostensibly it was due to their activism for "climate change", terrorism and war.  Somehow I suspect the first - "climate change" - was the real driver behind this regrettable decision.  The pope and the marxist henchmen in the Vatican have been using the climate change hoax for some time now to justify their glomming onto the UN's population control agenda - an agenda that incorporates abortion and contraception into its plans.  All three "stars" advocate for these evils (Clooney being the most prominent).

In allowing these awards to be bestowed by a Catholic organization, the pope is sending a clear message that those babies who will be threatened by the UN and by Planned Parenthood are of no worth to him.  The author of the LifeSiteNews piece holds forth the possibility that the pope acted in ignorance.  While I understand their attempt to hold him blameless, I cannot condone it.  It attempting to hold him blameless, they are in fact displaying a patronizing, condescending attitude towards him in pretending that he's too ignorant to know the public stances of these American.  Too much has happened over the years for us to play these "pretend" games in regards to the pope.  We need to face reality so that we can do what is needed to preserve the Faith for ourselves and those whom we love.

Pope Francis Strikes Hands With Anti-Life Mayors Promoting Death In Guise of Climate Change Concerns

This past Tuesday the Vatican hosted about 150 mayors of cities throughout the world with the ostensible goal of "combating climate change".  Ten of those were US mayors, most being pro-abortion.  They included Bill De Blasio of New York.  Joining them was CA Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown.  They met in a workshop entitled "Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The Commitment of the Cities".  Hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the meeting was hosted by rabid population-control advocate Jeffrey Sachs.  I've written about both these before in recent months.

As Breitbart points out, Tuesday's seminar was immediately followed by another, in conjunction with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Cities and the Sustainable Development Agenda entitled "Prosperity, People and Planet in the Cities".  Notice how that phrase "sustainable development" keeps popping up like kudzu?  Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are being bombarded with that phrase deliberately so that we will be accustomed to it and not notice when the death-dealing underpinnings of "sustainable development" are fully implemented in our midst.

The pope addressed the attendees at the first meeting; Zenit has the full English text.  While it is indeed a rambling mess, we can see within it the insinuations of progressive poison.  I'm going to address a few of these points.  Again, there seems to be very little organization of thought here but there are some odd things that must be pointed out.

He ended one paragraph by claiming that "wars are an element of the imbalance of environment".  No.  James 4:1-5 has a bit to say of the origins of wars.  Mother Teresa of Calcutta had words of wisdom on the topic when, at the 1994 prayer breakfast, she uttered, "But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"  Recall that many, if not most, of the attendees of this workshop are actively facilitating this "destroyer of peace".

Further on down the pope said, "man is creator of lack of culture because he doesn't look after the environment."  The only way that can be accurate is if "environment" = God.  Culture becomes debased when man's disobedience to God becomes ingrained in the culture, as has happened to western civilization over these past few decades.  Hallmarks of this "lack of culture" have been:

• the removal of any mention of God in official public life (ending of prayer in schools, removal of crosses and Ten Commandment plaques from public buildings, etc)
• the legalization and even promotion of contraception and abortion by civil government
• the exaltation of sexual perversion and disdain for true families by the culture at large.

These have been both cause and effect of the degradation of culture.   The size of "carbon footprints" and other such nonsense have little, if anything, to do with the health of real culture.  Most, if not all, the city officials in attendance have fostered these detriments to real culture.  The pope would have done well to address these.  Instead, he made no mention of these and chose to utter politically-correct ramblings.  After the meeting de Blasio was interviewed and the transcript is on Zenit.  De Blasio is quoted as saying, "He is moving people on an extraordinary level. And we have few truly international leaders in any sense. What he is doing is creating an international voice of conscience," and "He is literally saying to us that we need to reset our assumptions and think more deeply and morally about our actions, because our current sense of practicality is digging our graves, and I think his voice is having a very big moral impact."

I'll be impressed with this "very big moral impact" when de Blasio and ilk do a 180-degree turn and stand for the unborn babies and true marriage in their respective localities.  Otherwise it will be made plain that one effect of this whole charade is to let pro-abortion pols be enabled in their "lack of culture" policies by misguided papal affirmation.