“The Pope’s Unforced Error”
Over at the National Review, a post appears written by Father Benedict Kiely (pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Stowe, VT) that provides a good situation report about the “general battlefield conditions and troop movements”, to use a military metaphor. (Link here) On an aside, cd. Burke will be the head chaplain of a military order, after all. I will not go into the detail, since these are facts that all readers of this blog should be familiar with. What I will highlight are certain aspects of Fr. Kiely’s post that provide “optics” of the reign of the bishop of Rome Francis, in contrast to those provided to the general public by the slavishly adoring MSM.
Fr. Kiely starts with an introduction:
Burke has been “promoted” downward to a position that is normally a sinecure for an elderly cardinal past his sell-by date. As the new cardinal protector of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Burke, a youthful 66, will now oversee the Knights of Malta, one of the oldest existing military orders in the Catholic Church. They are known today mainly for their works of charity.
Next Fr. Kiely takes aim at the MSM image of ” Francis the reformer”:
Despite the image of Francis as a man of dialogue and compromise, he is regarded in Rome as the most authoritarian pope in decades. He is also a man known to settle scores. Immediately after his election as pope, he swiftly moved an Argentinian bishop known to have been his chief opponent when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires — another “downward” promotion — transferring him to an obscure position in the Vatican bureaucracy. In the space of just over two years, Pope Bergoglio has been removing, or not reappointing, many of the key men put in place by his predecessor, Benedict XVI.
Once the point has been driven home of just how petty and vindictive the bishop of Rome in fact is, Fr. Kiely contrasts him with Cardinal Burke:
Even Cardinal Burke’s enemies — and he has many, and they are all ideological — admit that he is exceptional in that he has never evinced ambition for higher office. But Francis brooks no opposition, so Burke had to go.
Next the “crimes” of the Great Cardinal are presented:
His crimes? Burke upholds traditional Biblical teaching on marriage and encourages devotion to the traditional Latin Mass.He is regularly seen in different countries celebrating a liturgy that Francis regards as a relic of the past, although the churches where these Masses are celebrated are usually filled with large young families, and they produce a wealth of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. (Buenos Aires was known to have hardly any vocations in the seminary during the time that Jorge Mario Bergoglio was archbishop.) But perhaps Cardinal Burke’s most glaring offense was that he declared that Catholic politicians who support abortion should be refused Communion.
Not a very pleasant picture is presented of the present occupant of the See of St. Peter. And this portrait is being produced by a member of the secular clergy in good standing.
Once the facts about the papacy of Francis are enumerated, Fr. Kiely presents the reader with a wider context to the quite “pathological” situation in Rome. Fr. Kiely writes;
What does this apparently inter-ecclesiastical dispute matter to the wider world? In the first place, it shows how the only large global institution that represents what might be called the traditional view of the family and society is divided, and that division is clearly bad for those who care about the future of the family and civil society. On a more positive note: This could mark the last rally of a certain Sixties mentality in rapid decline. Unless they are weather-vanes tilting with the wind of ambition, the priests and bishops ordained since Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict have nothing in common with the bell-bottomed theology that, at least for a season, has been revived in Rome.
And here Fr. Kiely identifies the problem that the most astute observers of this pontificate have been expressing for 32 odd months, namely this: the Francis papacy is stuck in a time warp circa 1968.
And as a final “kick in the proverbial teeth” of the present pontiff, Fr. Kiely writes this:
There is one possible final irony. Some have speculated that Pope Francis, who turns 78. next month, will follow the example of his predecessor and eventually step down from the Petrine office, perhaps at age 80. In any case, Raymond Burke will likely be a significant figure at the conclave to elect his successor, and already some observers are predicting that the courtiers’ foe will end up as the next king.
Yes dear readers, the “cd. Burke as papabile” is starting to get traction, and Fr. Kiely does a great service by getting it out into the public domain.
And on a final note, after reading this piece, the part that stays in my mind is the following passage:
In today’s Vatican, the courtiers have the upper hand. It is as a patriot, a man discontented with yet loving his Church, that Burke in his new position will enjoy a freedom that until now he did not have.
Let’s just pray that this passage gets lodged in the collective conscious of the readers of the National Review and not only.
indignusfamulus said:
Rev. Gerald R. Culleton published a book in 1941 entitled “The Prophets and Our Times” in which he quotes St. Thomas Aquinas writing in the Summa:
“In all ages men have been Divinely instructed in matters expedient for the salvation of the elect, and in all ages there have been persons possessed of the spirit of prophesy, not for the purpose of announcing new doctrines, but to direct human actions.”
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The greatest of the prophesies he lists come from Sacred Scripture and Our Lady of Fatima. But also significant are those which foretell the arrival of a holy Pontiff, or “Angelic Pastor” who will restore the Church after a time of terrible calamities when Faith would fall very low. What happens next would seem to us to be only possible after the Consecration of Russia takes place:
Holzhauser (d. 1568)wrote:
–“When everything has been ruined by war and Catholics are hard pressed by traitorous co-religionists and heretics; when the Church and her servants are denied their rights, monarchies abolished, their rulers murdered, then the Hand of Almighty God will work a mrvelous change, something apparently impossible.”.
“The Pope will rule supreme in spiritual matters. Persecution will cease and justice reign”.
–He will come from the North
–he will root out false doctrine
–he will destroy the rule of Moslemism
–he will have dominion from East to West
–All nations will adore God, their Lord, according to Catholic teaching.
–there will be many wise and just men, and peace will reign over the whole earth, for Divine power will bind Satan. ”
–“This will be the Age of Solace wherin God will console His Church, after many mortifications and afflictions she had endured.”
–Another prophesy says “he will restore all the ancient traditions: and be “a pope who wears red”.
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Aside from the many photographs of Cardinal Burk wearing Red, we were struck by his many qualifications, when reading your link to Taylor Marshal’s reasons Cardinal Burke (could be ) our next Pope : Here’s our summary of that in which he writes:
“The Cardinals will rally to a holy man who will prayerfully clean house and face down the evils, scandals, and rumors.
— a man of the Gospel who thinks seriously, operates on sound principles, whose virtue is known by all.”
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“Cardinal Burke:
— speaks English, French, Latin and Italian.
— is theologically orthodox and can spot dissent.
— is an expert in canon law with experience at the highest canonical authority, second only to the Supreme Pontiff himself.
— is an open advocate for using canon law in defense of the sacraments and God’s honor
— celebrates and promotes the Latin Mass AND a reverent Novus Ordo.
— can bring resolution to this traditionalist soap-opera, reconciling the SSPX ..
— can restore visual dignity to the Holy See. May even use the Papal tiara.-(Burke wears the cappa magna without blinking an eye).
— is a hardliner against pro-abortion Catholic politicians, who isn’t afraid to play ball:
—– forced the cancellation of a (pro abortion) Sheryl Crowe concert at a Catholic hospital
—– sacked a St Louis Catholic basketball coach for supporting abortion and embryonic destruction.
—– called the US Democratic party “the party of death”
—– accused Barack Obama of being “anti-life and anti-family.”
— And Most importantly,” he has great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
— Fatima is the key to everything going on in the Catholic Church. “I (Taylor Marshal) think Cardinal Burke feels the same way”.
— he is close to the Friars of the Immaculate
— he helped establish the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin.”
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We wonder if C. Burke will one day be the Pope -who preaches the reign of Christ the King, AND finally does the collegial Consecration of Russia.
That is one very Hope-filled Idea.– Ave Maria Help of Christians, Ora pro nobis. 🙂 🙂
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