First things first. We have a very short Advent this year—the Fourth Sunday thereof is also Christmas Eve. So, with one thing and another, posting my be slow/erratic. I believe I’ve been pretty clear on this in the past, but I’ll repeat it: George Bergoglio, the guy who dresses in white and lives in Vatican City, is not a Catholic—and certainly not a Roman one. I’ll grant that he may be the ruler of the Conciliar church, but not that he’s a Christian, so
"Bad" hardly begins to describe Mr. Bergoglio, and certainly doesn't even scratch the surface of the theological issues involved. "Servant of Satan," a la Vigano, comes closer.
On the other hand, it looks to me like the Catholic Church is hopelessly ageist, racist, sexist and homophobic. An 87 year old white, male, celibate Pope? Indeed! I think the Church should take a page out of, say, Harvard's playbook and replace the hopelessly handicapped and conflicted Bergoglio with a 30 year old black lesbian atheist. That would make a statement! But, you say, she's not a Catholic or a Christian? As Mark has shown, this is not a bug, this would be a feature in a truly progressive Church. Let's get on with it.
It seems similar to the statements back in the day here in the US- We are just legalizing civil unions. These couples need a legal ability to visit one another in the hospital. How can you be against that? We won’t touch actual marriage.
Travelling on a small pilgrimage and listening more to TV and radio than I normally would, as we are driving and then staying in hotels.
Simply put, we are a pagan culture. It'd be amusing if not so sad the way Christmas can't be called Christmas. I always jaw back to ads, "What holiday are you talking about?" What I see has no relation to the birth of Jesus Christ. It's all about going into hock to show you love someone.
It's ironic that we have so many entertainment channels and nothing worth watching. Yet one can see in superhero movies that we are rooting for right to win. I think the NFL is this nation's new god.
Finally, and you (Mr. Wauck) may not agree, but I am concerned about the intense focus on Mary. I hear more about Mary as mother than I do about God our Father.
I share your views. The issue of Marian devotion has many ramifications which I can't go into in a comment. Suffice it to say that the fact that at least one Marian title, Queen of Heaven, was a widespread title used in the worship of Asherah (cf. Jeremiah 44) should give Christians pause.
I used to hold the grave error theory of BXVI’s resignation. But now it seems to me he was playing 4D chess and instead brought about an impeded See. What’s so discouraging is the absolute worthlessness of the Bishops.
It's a bit reminiscent of the post Watergate Congress. At Watergate Congress appeared to be flexing their Constitutional muscles, but instead they've largely ceded much of their responsibilities--in favor of wildly reckless spending. Similarly in the Church after V2. Remember all that collegiality chatter? Now they're content to be papal acolytes instead of successors of the apostles. Not a strict comparison but ...
I am not and never have been a Roman Catholic, so I don't actually have a dog in this fight. But I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, which has had a sizable Catholic population since the 1840s, and I always had Catholic neighbors, and friends--from school and from Boy Scouts. During the mid-'80s, our home schooling group had ties with a Catholic home schooling group (yes, there was such a thing--some people weren't happy with the local Catholic schools). And my son-in-law grew up in a charismatic Catholic family; when Cincinnati got a new archbishop who was anti-charismatic, his family made a choice and went to an Assembly of God church.
But as a lifelong student of history, I know this is not the first time the Catholic church has had messes. The book "The March of Folly" by Barbara Tuchman, has a section on the Renaissance Popes of the late 1400s and early 1500s, whose corruption and immorality triggered the Reformation. There was a bad period in the early 10th century as well, when the popes were controlled by a powerful family in Rome--church historians called it the "Saeculum Obscurum," the darkest period the Papacy had. At least one Pope was the son of a previous pope with his mistress. The sex scandals of the past twenty years are not unique (to be fair, the Southern Baptists and some other Protestant groups are also having to deal with them now, too).
I don't know how this is going to play out. Since John Paul II and Benedict, the liberal wing of the Catholic church seems determined to keep control. How long they can keep it remains to be seen.
I was on the road yesterday with no Internet access, but I could think while driving. I suspect the current situation, unless remedied, could lead the Roman Catholic church down the same road as the mainline Protestant denominations. Sometimes called the "Seven Sisters" (Episcopal Church, Presbyterian USA, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran, United Methodists, American Baptists, and Disciples of Christ) have all been in decline for years. The Episcopal Church, for example, has less than half the number of members it had in the 1960s, while the US population has doubled since then. Ryan Burge, of the Graphs about Religion Substack, predicted a year or two ago that the Episcopal Church might disappear by 2040; they have buildings, they have money, they have clergy--but they are performing more funerals than they are weddings and baptisms. Its parent, the Church of England, is not doing well either. They have also embraced liberal theology and practices. But the majority of practicing, church-going Anglicans these days are in Africa, Asia, and South America--and they are all more conservative. In the past year, some of them are debating rejecting the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the official head of the Church of England.
The other mainline denominations aren't doing any better. The United Methodists are breaking up over gay marriage and related issues; under an agreement worked out before Covid, about a third of their congregations are leaving the denomination (so far, nobody seems to be counting how many individuals and families are leaving congregations that are staying).
What will happen to the Catholic church out of this, I do not know. Decline is very likely. Breakup might seem impossible with their system, but you never know--there was a time in the Middle Ages when there were three competing Popes. The best hope would be a repeat of the Counter-Reformation that started in the mid-1500s in reaction to the Protestant Reformation. At least some of the corruption was cleaned up, for a while.
I suspect something of the sort is already underway and that this could accelerate it. Several bishops conferences wasted no time at all in telling Boy George to stick his queer blessings where the sun don't shine.
Thanks Phil. I'd been thinking of doing an update. The map is good. The resistance of the African bishops is no small thing. Some of these countries have very large Catholic populations (Nigeria = 30M), and these are people who actually show up on Sundays. Unlike in Europe and the US. They're not going to be mollified by BS from Bergoglio--this is a big deal. Same goes for Poland and Ukraine (it's Western Ukraine, actually). These are people who actually practice and support.
This is all true and, in fact, there was an earlier period called the Pornocracy (Rule of Whores 855-964, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saeculum_obscurum) which was perhaps the most morally corrupt in the history of the Church. What sets the current period apart is the ambition of the bishops of Rome since V2 to actually transform the doctrine of the Church. Previous periods had been periods of moral corruption rather than of doctrinal corruption. It's always more complicated than thumbnail accounts, but ...
It’s all in the enforcement isn’t it. I don’t see any LGBT allies or German Bishops being tossed into a bonfire. I see Strickland and Burke lighting up the night sky. twitter.com/holysmoke/stat…
The Church is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Francis is the Pope, albeit a bad Pope but we have had many before and will again. I would encourage you to read the interview with Bishop Schneider. https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/6954-bishop-schneider-on-fiducia-supplicans-a-mockery-of-the-natural-and-revealed-law-of-god
"Bad" hardly begins to describe Mr. Bergoglio, and certainly doesn't even scratch the surface of the theological issues involved. "Servant of Satan," a la Vigano, comes closer.
On the other hand, it looks to me like the Catholic Church is hopelessly ageist, racist, sexist and homophobic. An 87 year old white, male, celibate Pope? Indeed! I think the Church should take a page out of, say, Harvard's playbook and replace the hopelessly handicapped and conflicted Bergoglio with a 30 year old black lesbian atheist. That would make a statement! But, you say, she's not a Catholic or a Christian? As Mark has shown, this is not a bug, this would be a feature in a truly progressive Church. Let's get on with it.
One wonders how the Zionist assault on the Harvard prez is playing out in certain demographics. Going for broke seems to go with the territory.
It seems similar to the statements back in the day here in the US- We are just legalizing civil unions. These couples need a legal ability to visit one another in the hospital. How can you be against that? We won’t touch actual marriage.
I wonder if bears still S in the woods too.
Last I heard.
Travelling on a small pilgrimage and listening more to TV and radio than I normally would, as we are driving and then staying in hotels.
Simply put, we are a pagan culture. It'd be amusing if not so sad the way Christmas can't be called Christmas. I always jaw back to ads, "What holiday are you talking about?" What I see has no relation to the birth of Jesus Christ. It's all about going into hock to show you love someone.
It's ironic that we have so many entertainment channels and nothing worth watching. Yet one can see in superhero movies that we are rooting for right to win. I think the NFL is this nation's new god.
Finally, and you (Mr. Wauck) may not agree, but I am concerned about the intense focus on Mary. I hear more about Mary as mother than I do about God our Father.
The Pope and many bishops are clanging gongs.
I share your views. The issue of Marian devotion has many ramifications which I can't go into in a comment. Suffice it to say that the fact that at least one Marian title, Queen of Heaven, was a widespread title used in the worship of Asherah (cf. Jeremiah 44) should give Christians pause.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Heaven_(antiquity)
This decision is shocking to me. Would love to hear from my local parish priest about this and their thoughts. Doubt it’ll happen.
One would be tempted to posit that as goes the rest of the world, so goes the Church.
As goes the Church, so goes the rest of the world.
I used to hold the grave error theory of BXVI’s resignation. But now it seems to me he was playing 4D chess and instead brought about an impeded See. What’s so discouraging is the absolute worthlessness of the Bishops.
‘Why has western society been so supine, so unreflectively supportive to the sheering away of its civilisational ethos?’
‘What’s so discouraging is the absolute worthlessness of the’…….republican leadership? Worthless? Or treasonous?
It's a bit reminiscent of the post Watergate Congress. At Watergate Congress appeared to be flexing their Constitutional muscles, but instead they've largely ceded much of their responsibilities--in favor of wildly reckless spending. Similarly in the Church after V2. Remember all that collegiality chatter? Now they're content to be papal acolytes instead of successors of the apostles. Not a strict comparison but ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzekTS-uBkd/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
If it looks like a duck…..
Looks like Malachy‘s prophecy of the popes may not be a hoax after all, not to mention Fatima and Benedict’s premature retirement.
It’s beginning to look like an enthralling crime novel, no wonder Malachi Martin resorted to fiction.
Should be noted that the Phanar is going down the same route and a canonical union is in the offing.
Quack, quack!
I am not and never have been a Roman Catholic, so I don't actually have a dog in this fight. But I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, which has had a sizable Catholic population since the 1840s, and I always had Catholic neighbors, and friends--from school and from Boy Scouts. During the mid-'80s, our home schooling group had ties with a Catholic home schooling group (yes, there was such a thing--some people weren't happy with the local Catholic schools). And my son-in-law grew up in a charismatic Catholic family; when Cincinnati got a new archbishop who was anti-charismatic, his family made a choice and went to an Assembly of God church.
But as a lifelong student of history, I know this is not the first time the Catholic church has had messes. The book "The March of Folly" by Barbara Tuchman, has a section on the Renaissance Popes of the late 1400s and early 1500s, whose corruption and immorality triggered the Reformation. There was a bad period in the early 10th century as well, when the popes were controlled by a powerful family in Rome--church historians called it the "Saeculum Obscurum," the darkest period the Papacy had. At least one Pope was the son of a previous pope with his mistress. The sex scandals of the past twenty years are not unique (to be fair, the Southern Baptists and some other Protestant groups are also having to deal with them now, too).
I don't know how this is going to play out. Since John Paul II and Benedict, the liberal wing of the Catholic church seems determined to keep control. How long they can keep it remains to be seen.
I was on the road yesterday with no Internet access, but I could think while driving. I suspect the current situation, unless remedied, could lead the Roman Catholic church down the same road as the mainline Protestant denominations. Sometimes called the "Seven Sisters" (Episcopal Church, Presbyterian USA, United Church of Christ, Evangelical Lutheran, United Methodists, American Baptists, and Disciples of Christ) have all been in decline for years. The Episcopal Church, for example, has less than half the number of members it had in the 1960s, while the US population has doubled since then. Ryan Burge, of the Graphs about Religion Substack, predicted a year or two ago that the Episcopal Church might disappear by 2040; they have buildings, they have money, they have clergy--but they are performing more funerals than they are weddings and baptisms. Its parent, the Church of England, is not doing well either. They have also embraced liberal theology and practices. But the majority of practicing, church-going Anglicans these days are in Africa, Asia, and South America--and they are all more conservative. In the past year, some of them are debating rejecting the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the official head of the Church of England.
The other mainline denominations aren't doing any better. The United Methodists are breaking up over gay marriage and related issues; under an agreement worked out before Covid, about a third of their congregations are leaving the denomination (so far, nobody seems to be counting how many individuals and families are leaving congregations that are staying).
What will happen to the Catholic church out of this, I do not know. Decline is very likely. Breakup might seem impossible with their system, but you never know--there was a time in the Middle Ages when there were three competing Popes. The best hope would be a repeat of the Counter-Reformation that started in the mid-1500s in reaction to the Protestant Reformation. At least some of the corruption was cleaned up, for a while.
I suspect something of the sort is already underway and that this could accelerate it. Several bishops conferences wasted no time at all in telling Boy George to stick his queer blessings where the sun don't shine.
The reaction has begun: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2023/12/african_bishops_hurl_thunderbolts_at_pope_franciss_call_to_bless_gay_couples_in_samesex_marriages.html
Thanks Phil. I'd been thinking of doing an update. The map is good. The resistance of the African bishops is no small thing. Some of these countries have very large Catholic populations (Nigeria = 30M), and these are people who actually show up on Sundays. Unlike in Europe and the US. They're not going to be mollified by BS from Bergoglio--this is a big deal. Same goes for Poland and Ukraine (it's Western Ukraine, actually). These are people who actually practice and support.
This is all true and, in fact, there was an earlier period called the Pornocracy (Rule of Whores 855-964, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saeculum_obscurum) which was perhaps the most morally corrupt in the history of the Church. What sets the current period apart is the ambition of the bishops of Rome since V2 to actually transform the doctrine of the Church. Previous periods had been periods of moral corruption rather than of doctrinal corruption. It's always more complicated than thumbnail accounts, but ...
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2023/12/18/podcast-will-the-church-now-bless-same-sex-couples-with-fr-gerald-murray/
Start at 2:25. Murray is a canon lawyer.
Damian Thompson
@holysmoke
A **carefully calculated** grey area. But **in practice,** how is that nice distinction (even if even exists) going to be preserved?
And as the old legal saw goes, possession--or practice--is nine-tenths of the thing.
James Tucker @JamesATuckerDC
It’s all in the enforcement isn’t it. I don’t see any LGBT allies or German Bishops being tossed into a bonfire. I see Strickland and Burke lighting up the night sky. twitter.com/holysmoke/stat…
Mark, yes, please, focus on Advent!
You really should watch it....jmho