[Catholic Caucus] Anarchy in VC

That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill ^ | January 15, 2018 | The Bones

[ebb tide]

There are rumours circulating that an embattled, deceitful and thoroughly discredited pontificate - at least discredited among faithful Catholics following events carefully - seeks to draw the clergy of the Holy Catholic Church, by coercive means, into a new vow of obedience in particular to Pope Francis and his own 'unique' Magisterium. I shudder at such rumours.

Are these rumours true? We do not yet know. How do such rumours evolve? Who wishes these things to circulate? Are they credible? Should it be taken seriously? Only the last question can I answer and only with an opinion. I fear so. I believe clergy have reason, based on their own observation of five years of laughably less than transparent conduct within the Vatican, to be on the alert at least. The new rumour suggests that this pontificate - one in which the use of reason as a faculty has already been 'taken down a peg or two' during the intra-ecclesial 'dialogue' concerning Amoris Laetitia - is considering the nuclear option of going for broke and enforcing loyalty to a dictatorship of relativism in the Vatican. Would that really be surprising? Not really.

But would Francis contemplate going down that road? He has already said 'I might be the Pope who splits the Church', a throwaway comment that made it sounds like splitting the Church and causing global schism was a bit like ordering food at a Roman trattoria. 'I might have the cod, or I might have the steak. Oh no, I think I might split the Catholic Church instead.' That this pontificate has sclerotic, schizophrenic but, most pointedly, psychotic tendencies has become quite apparent over the course of time, not that the Church has never seen 'psycho Popes' before. Anarchy rules in Rome. Yet, there is more than simply this to understand about this papacy, since there is simultaneously the most aggressive and to some extent the most effective and consolidated PR campaign in Church history going on, even as I type, and it is in the complete and total service of the Pope and his reputation. Christ our Lord is not a major beneficiary of this extensive publicity campaign, but we have after five years expected very little to come from the Vatican that lauds and honours the Church's Lord and Head.

As 'M.A Colonna's' The Dictator Pope made clear, the most disquieting aspect of this pontificate isn't simply that this Pope is something of a thug, with contempt for his critics, for if he were only a thug, the whole world could see it, but rather that this pontificate seems to involve a mafia boss, one desperate to consolidate his power base while living among his enemies, who manages to twist and discredit the message of Jesus Christ while appearing to the majority of the world as a very kind man who is nice to the poor, who kisses babies and visits the sick, imprisoned and elderly, thus making him appear to be saintly and all the while doing it with a cameraman by his side, you know, like all the Saints did.

The truth is that real mafia bosses do not need to go to such great lengths to reinforce the image of their inherent goodness to all and sundry. Such men display greater sincerity perhaps than Francis, because, in fact, they are feared because they are dangerous, not because they appear dangerously virtuous to the public, while being cruel and scheming in secret. Within the walls of the Vatican, Francis is feared because he is terrible and has grown powerful, not because people are afraid that he might drop round and kiss their sick grandmother. In truth, no good deed of Pope Francis goes undocumented now, and hasn't for five years, because such deeds are clearly needed to reinforce a PR message that the Pope is wonderful and beyond reproach. It all serves as wonderful cover and camouflage for a man seemingly without much faith in the actual words or mission of Our Lord to save souls and bring the Truth to those who need it, whether they wish for it, or not and even better cover for a psychopath to abuse his Office. If I were to suggest one reason why The Dictator Pope has the Francis Team worried, it is that such a document puts something of a break on the canonization attempts that will be a natural consequence and reaction to the day when His Holiness dies. For his changes to be permanent, the mafia need Francis to stay relatively unblemished in the eyes of most of the Church so that his changes can receive 'sanctification' with his reputation for mercy.

[campaignPete R-CT]

He is old enough to resign

[utahagen]

Frankie NEVER will resign.

[livius]

I think he’s made the Faustian bargain. His soul is already in the clutches of the Evil One, but he’ll live as long as he can do evil.

[Biggirl]

He will step down. Count on it.

[utahagen]

What makes you think Frankie will step down? (I’m not arguing with you; I really want to know why you think this.)

[Campion]

This sounds awfully familiar.