Pope John Paul II
Pope Francis
I can’t even believe two more different men ever existed on this earth.
Moreover, as his papal name indicates, Pope John Paul II was theologically a modernist in tune with Vatican II. Despite the recent preferred conservative interpretation of Vatican II so that it is consistent with Catholic tradition and the magisterium, the modern Catholic Church hierarchy almost entirely scorns the Latin Mass and traditional doctrines and attitudes. Since John Paul failed to give traditionalists the safe harbor of express and enduring official papal sanction, the way was left open for Pope Francis to further marginalize traditionalists -- and he has.
In Church administration, Pope John Paul II proved to be more a clever operator than a consistent and determined reformer. Thus many financial and moral scandals festered and the fidelity of most Catholic seminaries and educational institutions declined. Now, under Francis, these adverse trends have accelerated, often abetted by the Pope and his key allies. Corruption scandals and evidence for a newly aggressive gay clerical mafia are in full bloom.
Perhaps most foolishly of all, Pope John Paul II was noted for a friendly embrace of Muslims and Islam. Again, although Pope Francis has taken this policy further and to an even more dangerous degree, he did not create it. Pope John Paul did.
I acknowledge that the fullness of time may diminish these criticisms to minor quibbles. Instead of heresy, schism, organizational collapse, and dhimmitude in its European heartland, the Catholic Church may recover its bearings, convert Europe's burgeoning Muslim communities, and gain new strength in drawing the world toward Christ.
Indeed, the Catholic Church has gone through numerous crises in its long history before recovering and finding new strength. We should be clear-minded about the abyss that now beckons before the Church -- and we must pray that the Church will recover yet again.
In charity, I offer a sincere appreciation of Pope Francis in one respect: he speaks of Satan and the demonic as real and has spurred the training and deployment of exorcists. For all his faults, Pope Francis knows that Christ and we His followers are engaged in a profound struggle for eternal stakes against an enemy whose powers transcend our limited perception.
I left the Catholic Church, becoming an evangelical Christian, for many reasons, but one of them was the Catholic claim of "papal infallibility."
As I watch Francis continue to tear apart the church, I am more and more convinced that I was right. He is nothing more than a socialist pretending to be a Pope.