Fr Tom Weinandy, sometime Head of House in this University (Greyfriars) and an internationally distinguished theologian, wrote (October 8 2019):
" ... One must also likewise take int account the many theologically dubious cardinals, bishops, priests, and theologians whom Francis supports and promotes to high ecclesial positions.
"With this in mind, we perceive a situation, ever growing in intensity, in which on the one hand, a majority of the world's faithful - clergy and laity alike - are loyal and faithful to the pope, for he is their pontiff, while critical of his pontificate, and, on the other hand, a large contingent of the world's faithful - clergy and laity alike - enthusiastically support Francis precisely because he allows and fosters their ambiguous teaching and ecclesial practice.
" What the Church will end up with, then, is a pope who is the pope of the Catholic Church and, simultaneously, the de facto leader, for all practical purposes, of a schismatic church. Because he is head of both, the appearance of one church remains, while in fact there are two.
"The only phrase that I can find to describe this situation is 'internal papal schism', for the pope, even as pope, will effectively be the leader of a segment of the Church that through its doctrine, moral teaching, and ecclesial structure, is for all practical purposes schismatic. This is the real schism that is in our midst and must be faced, but I do not believe Pope Francis is in any way afraid of this schism. As long as he is control, he will, I fear, welcome it, for he sees the schismatic element as the new 'paradigm' for the future Church."
I am fearful of what Pope Francis may have in store for the Ordinariate.
ReplyDeleteWas it not Archbishop Lefebvre who posited something similar? I cannot find the quotation but I have a recollection that he had been trying to explain the attitude/acts of Paul VI…
ReplyDeleteAnd we've just described the human condition, as well as the condition of the temporal Church. The wheat and the tares grow up together.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why Beatus of Liebana talks about that so much in his Commentary on the Apocalypse. Because the Church here on earth is always like that. It's just substituting the occasional bad pope for the usual bad bishop, bad priest, bad monk/nun, and bad layperson.
Once the Church is severed from the Old Rite, Pope Francis will set to work on modifying the New.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that someone has written this before, so please excuse me, during an earlier age of the Church we had two Popes and one church, now we have one Pope and two (and many more) Churches.
ReplyDelete@Compton Pauncefoot That's the trick and the trap.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Compton. hear reports from the US of baby-boomer warfare intensifying against those oases in the new Rite which use Latin and chant. They will take encouragement from what seem to be concerted efforts by the Italians to banish Latin from St Peter's in favour of - guess what? - Italian. Having set such a sterling example of financial management, they will now do the same to the liturgy.
ReplyDeletePope Francis is what the old time Jews called a Vonce: that is, a bedbug, a constant annoyance, a person attarcting attention for all of the wrong reasons. Ultimately, a person of no account.
ReplyDeleteSince usurping his high office, he has diminished its prestiege and persecuted its most loyal supporters.
I have to concede that he is in possession of the papal office, and that the legitimate holder has asserted no claims.
So, that he is a pope of sorts. The unity of the faith demands some level of obedience to him.
Obey him I will, when I absolutely have to, but to respect him is an impossibility.
No other diagnosis of the present catastrophe which I have read has hit it on the head as has this by Father Weinandy. While his perception is painful to acknowledge it is the truth and with the plain truth in hand we can walk the trail as we must while remaining faithful to Christ. God reward Father Weinandy and you, Father Hunwicke, for bring it [and so much else] to my attention.
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