Pope Francis today made some sweeping changes to the membership of the Congregation for Bishops.
Although he re-confirmed Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet PSS as prefect of the Congregation (a position he has held since 2010), the Holy Father significantly altered the congregation’s membership, a body that shares advice on the appointments of bishops.
Most notably, Francis has chosen to replace 65 year-old Cardinal Raymond Burke as a member of the Congregation. Currently, the cardinal heads the Apostolic Signatura, the Church's equivalent of a 'supreme court.'
But as well as the American-born cardinal, the Pope also replaced Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, 69, currently head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, and Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, 70, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference. Along with Cardinal Burke, all three are well known for their orthodoxy and love for the Church's tradition, say observers.
In their stead, the Pope has chosen Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster. He has also brought in Cardinal Donald Wuerl, 73, of Washington, Cardinal João Braz de Avis, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Society of Apostolic Life, and Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the new Secretary of State.
After today's announcement, the Congregation for Bishops, one of the most important Vatican dicasteries, is said by some Vatican observers to now reflect more closely the mind and heart of Francis than Benedict XVI. Cardinals Piacenza, Burke and Bagnasco were all Benedict appointments. Today's move is just the latest example of how Pope Francis is moulding the Roman Curia to suit his vision for the Holy See and the universal Church.



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My dearly beloved daughter, when a man separates from Me, I follow him to the ends of the earth to draw him back to Me. He may insult Me, commit terrible atrocities and go as far as to idolize everything evil, including making himself a slave of the devil, but I will never give up.
I will intervene in his life in many ways. I will introduce real love into his life; I will allow him to suffer at the hands of others - only to make him more humble and therefore more open to me, Jesus Christ. I will let him see the simplicity of the world in all it’s glorious beauty, as created by My Father, to entice him away from falsities, which blight his life. I will, through little children, show him the importance of putting the needs of those who rely on him before his own. I will bring him laughter, show him great acts of kindness, through pure souls, and I will show him examples of his own weakness, so that he knows that he is not greater than God. I may allow him to become ill, if it will make him surrender to Me and, in such cases, then My Mercy will be at it’s greatest. For it is such souls who are most likely to turn to Me and then they will and can be saved by Me.
How much effort is made by Me, your beloved Jesus Christ, to take each of you into the safety of My Arms - My Refuge. And how many of you still turn the other way and ignore Me.
I intervene through these messages, given to genuine seers and visionaries, and these have converted millions. I send signs; I pour Graces from Heaven; I bring you Gifts through the Holy Sacraments and millions have converted. Sadly, not enough have turned to Me and this is why I will not rest until every sign, every miracle, every Gift, every prophecy and every intervention has been exhausted, before I come to judge.
It will be a sad day if those who refuse My Gifts and My Intervention have to stand before Me on the Great Day and still deny Me. Even then, when I give them the chance to put their pride to one side and come to Me, they will still refuse. By then, there will be nothing more that I can do to bring them Eternal Life, as they will not welcome it. You may wonder why this is the case and so I will explain.
When the devil tempts a soul, it takes some time before he gains a strong foothold within the person. But once he devours him, he dictates every move that person makes - how he thinks, how he communicates with people, how he sins and the kind of sin he wants that soul to indulge in. The greatest hold that Satan has over them is to convince them that God is evil. Satan will convince the soul that he is God and that God is, in fact, the evil one. That is how these souls will be destroyed through the devious cunning and manipulation of the devil. So dark will these souls become, that to stand in My Light will be excruciatingly painful for them and they will hide their faces from Me. My Tears will have ceased by then, but My Sadness will be never ending.
Your Jesus
www.thewarningsecondcoming.com 2014-03-12
@MarkNY,
Did you add this just to get into a debate? Do you ridicule others because they don’t dress to your liking? FYI, most every Cardinal would dress this way up until about 1960 and are still supposed to.
Tradition is part of what brings many to the Catholic Church and brings Catholics comfort in a rapidly changing and deteriorating world. At least God does not change to meet the ‘fashion’ desires of the current trend setters.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. When we dress in a way that brings honor to God and his majesty, it is a witness in it’s own way. Unlike you, most Catholic would recognize his clothing for what it is, a witness to the Church. This while the Church rules for priests in the US require priest to where their religious garb in public. This is because it gives witness for the Catholic Church and draws some back to the Church who have fallen away. Yet most priest are ashamed to admit they are priests (thus not willing to give a witness for the Catholic Church) when out in public. In today secularized world, a priest in his habit may be the only reminder to a fallen away Catholic that they get in their whole life.
As our religious and we ourselves have thrown off these traditions, we have also seen the faith of Catholics fall away and the Church shrink in the rich and fashionable Western Europe and the US. We don’t only want to ‘Dress for Success’ in business, but more importantly for God.
A couple pictures of Cardinal Burke made me laugh and then wince. In one, he’s decked out in a fluffy, floor-length red-silk outfit with an elaborate, billowing train attached. In another, he’s wearing a red saucer-like hat with tassels creased along the edges. In both pictures, he had a blank face, bereft of irony or any lingering awareness that his ridiculous costumes went out of date hundreds of years ago.
By contrast, Pope Francis has refused to wear the traditional gold stole of the papacy and usually wears a simple white cassock.
@St Donatus
I do pray that priests who think like some of the bishops we had in the 70’s and 80’s (i.e. Sullivan from Richmond, Untener from Saginaw, Gossman from Raleigh, Clark from Rochester, Hubbard from Albany, Mahony from Los Angeles, Pilla from Cleveland, and I wasn’t a fan of my old bishop Fiorenza) will not be selected as bishops during the tenure of Pope Francis I.
My opinion is the United States will continue to build up the church. Quite a few seminarians and priests who were ordained within the past 10-15 years are much more on board with what the church teaches than many of the older clergy that was ordained in the 70s and 80s. Other dioceses have seen an explosion of vocations with newer and stronger bishops (i.e. Fort Worth, Dallas, Raleigh, and Saginaw) and I think that will be an asset to Holy Mother Church.
@Richard, all of these new Bishops were selected while Raymond Cardinal Burke was still helping select Bishops. In fact, given the long period it takes to vet possible bishops, these selections were probably made during Pope Benedict’s papacy. We have yet to see what kind of Bishops Pope Francis will select. We can hope that they are not rebels against holiness and tradition. We suffered many years during the 60s, 70s, and 80s because of these types and we see the results today with closing parishes etc.
May God bless Pope Francis with the guidance of Holy Spirit.
Gentlemen:
The way the secular press is reporting this appointment failed to mention that Raymond Cardinal Burke is still the head of the Apostolic Signatura (i.e. Chief Justice). Other secular reports (i.e. see the CBS Nightly News report that aired on September 19, 2013) make Pope Francis I sound like he is changing church teaching frequently. Basically, the secular media is printing erroneous information.
IMHO, the way bishop appointments have been going since the election of Pope Francis I, I have noticed some really solid appointments, such as Bishop Matano for Rochester (NY), Bishop-elect Olsen and Sis for Fort Worth and San Angelo (TX), Bishop Seitz for El Paso (TX), Bishop Blair for the Archdiocese of Hartford (CT), just to name a few. I am praying also for a solid appointment to the Diocese of Albany (NY).
If the secular media got their way, dissenters like McBrien, Borgeois, and Curran would be appointed bishops.
Heavens above, what’s wrong with you people. PopeFrancis is as near to a Living Saint as one can get. At last we have a pope for all people, a pope who gives the people what they want and what’s wrong with that. Gays are happy at last and the abortion people are too focussed on the massacre.
0h,Good Lord! The Holy Father, Christ’s Vicar on earth has said nothing heretical, nothing improper, and nothing to even give a hint that he isn’t
a worthy Pope. I will not argue about what these opinions show us about their authors. I will only say that he has my complete trust and confidence. I will warn those who jump to conclusions to beware of the Lord who will certainly defend His anointed one. If you want to hear only diatribes against abortion and gay marriages preached at a world which knows nothing of the infinite Love of God, I guess you’ll be disappointed.
@ Fr Phillip I am far more bold that you give me credit for in your above stated post. I have confronted wayward priests when I have felt need. Two years ago the question begged to be asked to my parish priest. DO YOU BELIEVE IN HELL, FATHER ? He defiantly would not answer my question. I said that I had a right to know. After my 3rd attempt the priest answered… “Well I do but only insofar as very souls would ever go there.” I thanked the priest and then I avoided him as a priest. Yes, I pray for him. Fr Phillip, were not the Apostles and Our Lady in the Upper Room, a Remnant Army ? Have you ever read about the underground Catholic Church in the Ukraine. Perhaps you may like to read: WITNESS by Josyp Terelya. The underground church in the USSR was in-fact only one of many examples throughout history of God’s Army in action. A question for you: If you had been a follower at the time of Christ and spent time with the Apostles eating and discussing the marvelous miracles of faith worked by the Lord, until one day Jesus make the bold statement that “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life within you.” Would you too have walked away at that time in history ? You would not be able to consult holy scripture at that time to find any text to assure yourself of the truth of Christ’s words. To stay with Jesus after He had made such a bold comment demanded Humility. The Truth is still the Truth even if no one believes. Today, the Church of Rome is in crisis and as these End of the Times, foretold, unfold… there is going to be much confusion. We are very close to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in Glory and now is the time to prepare. Your job is to lead souls home. Remember, a materially rich man from Beverly Hills with no faith in the Lord Jesus is poorer than a materially poor man in Los Angeles, who loves Jesus.
OMG Paul, while reading your posts are full of hate and self righteousness.
I am understanding better that many hold their own faith (not the Catholic faith) and are the arbiters of what they consider to be “authentic” Catholicism. When groups have words like “Remnants”, “Armies”, “True” et al. they are usually arbiters of what they imagine the Faith to be.
Nowhere does Our Lord speak of gathering armies or groups within groups that have secret or hidden knowledge or truth. The excuse that this pope (or any pope’s) teaches heresy can be judged by the Tradition of the Church, not by folks who disagree for political or even spiritual reasons.
After reading many of the comments here I am becoming convinced that “comm boxes” are “near occasions of sin” for many. They become places where we can say things we would never say to each other face to face. They encourage not only self righteousness but lack of mercy and charity.
The ungodly anger and the rage expressed here is truly amazing to see.
Now, is the time for all to stand-up and show your true colors. If you are Roman Catholic and you love the truth of church teaching passed down by our Fathers in Faith, stand-up for Jesus. If your faith has been a faith where you take what you want from The Church, from the truth, and leave that which you do not agree with, then perhaps the protestant faith is your faith. If you can see clearly that this pope is an impostor and false prophet/mason who is craftily twisting the truth of Holy Scripture, stand-up for Jesus… because if you continue on the road of lies that this man is walking, and agree with him, you may very well lose your soul to the Beast.
Listen to no priest that tries to tell you that humanism is above Christianity. Unfortunately many priests are deceived though they claim the discernment of the Holy Spirit. They take pride in saying that they have studied scripture or worse, that they are theologians. Ask such a priest if he openly upholds the sanctity of human life regularly in his sermons and he will likely begin to stutter. To the solid priests who see through this pope, stay strong Men of God. You will win this spiritual battle within and without the church. Join members of God’s Remnant Army and by doing so you will be continuing to burn the candle of the Roman Catholic Faith.
Remember everyone that this pope was foretold in Zachariah “I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered”. The abomination of desolation has to happen and this pope will ensure that it does. I’ve been studying www.thewarningsecondcoming.com for one year now and the Crusade Prayers are powerful and beautiful. Rome will be destroyed but the Remnant Army has Risen-Up :) All is unfolding but have no fear because God is in complete control. Q. What good is it to help the materially disadvantaged (poor), while the child in the womb is massacred ? This pope is a Mason and a humanist.
It’s still the same ol’ thing, political rhetoric and attitudes worm their way into our discussion of the the style of the Holy Father and his governance of holy Church. HE himself said that his economic statements were based solely on the PAPAL documents of his predecessors, not on liberal politics of this age. As for your comments on the orthodoxy of prominent Catholic bloggers, you are completely out of line. They are completely in line with Catholic thought. You are weakening the faith of the brethren and encouraging apostacy. If you want to speak your thickly veiled political views,why don’t you write in a political forum?
Lets, just pray for all of them, ok? Lets pray that May Pope Francis protect the Integrity of the Magisterium and the Traditional Teachings of the Church, That in his every move may the Holy Spirit be his Guide, That may he protect those who are unborn and that may he protect the sanctity of Holy Marriage and Matrimony that is with accord to Natural and Moral Law. That may he Keep and promulgate the Summurom Pontificum and that may he be in line with what Pope St. Pius X’s views are on the Heresy of Modernism, that may he be always filled with the Holy Spirit and that may the Blessed Virgin Mary be his protector always. Let us also pray for those Cardinals, That they may the strength of God be always with them and that they may always protect the Sacred Tradition of the Holy Mother Church, Life of the Unborn and the Integrity and Sanctity if Holy Matrimony with accord to Natural and Moral Law.
Our Lady of Consolation, Pray for us and bring consolation to your son’s church, Amen.
You have to have a strong faith so nothing or anyone will take you in the wrong path.
http://www.concernedcatholics.org/home.htm
@Tim, I am sorry I offended you. For what they are worth, my prayers are with you. You are carrying a great deal.
I really admire your Christ like care of your family and I know your life is giving much glory to God.
Im having a hard time with the snobbery you speak of.
If the Holy Father is preaching something you’ve never heard of on the local level,I’m sorry.
We clergy have the obligation to tell you the truth. If we come across as snobs, sorry ‘bout that. Some folks can preach well…others should do more work with poor, face to face. That you find Baptists more to your liking, is a sad commentary on your local clergy or on your own point of view.
Again you have edified me with your Christ like life and I am saddened by
the lack of joy in your Church life.
@Tim:
It sounds like you have a lot on your plate. If you live any where near St. Louis, I would be willing to help you take care of your mother-in-law and brother sometimes. God Bless You
“Truth it is what binds us to the Faith and to Christ, truth always matters, but so do mercy and charity.”
“These statements and actions simply show a lack of faith and hope in the promises of Christ. They show an ungodly rage.” And “Why is it that many of us who proclaim we hold to the truth lack compassion and mercy toward others?”
Is this is charitable comment? Merciful? Respectful?
Most of us in the pews every week had never heard of mercy and charity before Francis? I mean I help take care of my mother law and handicapped brother and raising seven children and trying to be a good husband. But Americans should be less materialistic and more joyful like other countries – right. How many times have I heard this intellectual snobbery from the clergy since Saint Pope Saint Francis took over! With no respect for the people in the pews why should we show up? My faith could easily supported by a very vibrant and lively Baptist community who might ever know and respect the men who show each Sunday!
The time has come when we must divorce ourselves from the language and attitudes of our worldly political secular personae when we are entering into the discussion of what tone the Vicar of Christ chooses to use in his exhortations to the Faithful and to the secular world. “He who hears you, hears me” are words that 0ur Lord did not use lightly. And to talk disparagingly of bloggers who are so loving and orthodox is no obeying St. Paul’s demand that serve the Lord “with one mind”. I do not relish the words of the Just Judge when he says that your worldly politics will go with you into perdition.
Accusations of faith being destroyed, threats of leaving the Church, denouncing individuals by name?
These statements and actions simply show a lack of faith and hope in the promises of Christ. They show an ungodly rage.
Catechesis was awful in most places for years, this was sinful, many were confused and some left the Church. This is a great loss. We have a responsibility to invite those people back, to seek them out. And if “the come back” to this suggestion is, “Why would we want to invite them back to this mess.” You missed the point and have become lost yourself.
Truth it is what binds us to the Faith and to Christ, truth always matters, but so do mercy and charity. Why is it that many of us who proclaim we hold to the truth lack compassion and mercy toward others?
How deep is the faith of someone who would abandon the Church because of a personnel change in the curia? Amazing. Not for Wales . . . but for Burke!
Take heart brothers! Reember-always-what our Lord said: I will be with you until the end. What more does one need to survive any trial?The ONLY Church Christ founded Will survive
—-anything.
The 1970s are back baby. You know ” mercy” is in and apparently that means truth is out. We are reliving the same 70s silliness.
@ Luke,
Please don’t leave; remember Peter’s words to Christ, and ask to whom you would go? I understand; I’m a cradle Catholic who remained Catholic DESPITE my years at Catholic schools. There has always been scandal and confusion. You say you don’t want that to happen to your daughter. Leaving won’t help. Teaching her the faith will. Despite all the problems, there are many resources available to learn the Truth of the faith. Don’t leave the sacraments. Think of the grace you would miss! There is a point to the old saying about not throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
And think of the positive side. God does write straight with crooked lines. Even though many conservatives are concerned about Pope Francis, I know that the worry is misplaced. Besides the many deliberate media mistranslations, we must note that Pope Francis has a different style than
Pope Benedict. They both serve the Lord and His Church beautifully, each with the particular talents God gave them. I love them both. Think of the Apostles. Could Peter’s personality have been any more different than John’s? All this unnecessary hand-wringing is causing more problems than anything else.
Luke, don’t leave the only religion that Jesus Christ established on Earth. Don’t let Satan drive you away with all the confusion. It is the only source of salvation.
If you don’t want the same mixed up mess for your daughter of the 70s and 80s, I recommend that you start attending a FSSP parish where we follow all the Catholic Churches teachings yet we don’t allow the changing tides to change our beliefs and practices. We still use the same basic training material used by Nuns five hundred years ago or one hundred years ago. The Catechism that created so many saints over the centuries. The traditional and solid truths of the Church are taught without all the craziness that many modern parishes are involved in. Our children grow up strong Catholics and our faith is strengthened by the strong sermons from our holy priests. We also have the Mass in the holiness that it held for 500 years with great reverence and love for Jesus Christ.
Yes, we do obey the Pope but the Pope can have personal opinions because he is human but he can’t change the eternal truths of the Catholic Church. We believe that the Novus Ordo (modern Mass) is valid but we believe that the historical Mass of the ages brings about far greater blessing and graces from God. It had so much strength that it brought me, a former atheist back to the Church.
Lots of young people, young families, large families and fast growing parishes show the fruits in themselves. Please, don’t through away truth.
This convert is on the way out. I won’t let my daughter go through a rehash of the 70’s and 80’s. My wife’s faith was already destroyed long ago by 12 years of Catholic school. I won’t let the same thing happen to my daughter.
Some of the comments are so negative, they border on hate, but Pope Francis seems to rise above all of those negative feelings. And yes, Cardinal Burke has been conservative, traditionalist and a so called guardian of the traditions of the church, but then again i wonder? isn’t he supposed above all, as a priest of God, to love God and to love one’s negihbor? i say this because his statements, many a time, show everything but love for everyone who does not see the church as he does. So, his leaving the Congragation for Bishops, will give someone else a chance to let the Holy Spirit choose whoever is right for the Episcopacy, not whoever Cardinal Burke believes is right.
As I read the comments, I am shocked to find out that the Church is controlled by the pope. In reading the comments I discover that each pope has the ability to abolish whatever teaching he wants. According to many of the comments the Holy Spirit is no where present in Pope Francis’ works. I never knew that the papacy was given to the Church to dominate and define in each pontificate who and what the Church is to be.
Did not JPII and Benedict appoint people that agreed with them and could further their concept of leading (not controlling) the Church?
From the comments I gather that if we disagree with a pope we should leave the Church or condemn the pope.
Much of what is written is foreign not only to many of us but also to the teaching of the Church herself.
It is sad to see that many of those who make comments here are filled with self righteousness and hubris. Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est?
Mr. Pentin does a disservice to the pope as well by implying that Cardinals Burke, Bagnasco and Piacenzo are known for their orthodoxy and love for the Church’s tradition. From this statement it seems that Cardinals Wuerl, Braz de Avis and Archbishop Nichols are somehow not orthodox and do not love the Church’s tradition.
rstevens,
I agree, there is no place else to go and no matter what Pope Francis does or doesn’t do, he can not change the dogmatic teachings of the Church. No matter what, if we love God, we can not turn our back on him.
Even during the crazy 70s and 80s, the teachings of the Magesterium never changed. What did change was the teachings and actions of most priests and bishops and it had very grave effects on the faith of millions of Catholics. In all of this, that is what I am concerned about. How will it effect my loved ones, friends, and fellow Catholics? If it has the same effect as it had 50 years ago, there certainly will be few left to serve the true God in faith and truth.
I have heard people say that the Catholic Church is a different church than it was 100 years ago, but it isn’t. You might say it has on different clothes, it is a bit older, it is a bit boring, it doesn’t teach as well as it used to, it is weaker, it doesn’t discipline it’s children well anymore so they are running a bit wild, but it is the same Church with the same beliefs.
As Jesus promised, no matter how bad things seem, the Gates of hell will not prevail against the Church.
God Bless Pope Francis and may his Holy Spirit guide him.
I am a ten year convert and I gotta say I am thankful for those first years with my heart and head in the bible. Repent, beleive, be baptized. It would seem the Church at large is trying to offer the hope of the Kingdom void of repentance and the sacrament of confession. A call to the Kingdom without surrendering oneself to the King. My simplistic observation
Y’all are jumping to conclusions! Pope Francis is no liberal, but the media IS!! If you “jump the ship” where are you going to go? As Peter said “who do we turn to Lord, you have the words of ever lasting life”. Our Church is STILL the ONLY pillar of Truth left on this earth. Jesus said of the church “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.
With the second largest religious group in the US being lapsed Catholics, 80% of current Catholics not regularly attending Mass, and 90% disagreeing with the Church in one way or another, one wonders whose ‘desired results’ have been achieved in the last 50 years.
We think of the Jehovah’s Witnesses as a small group of religious nuts, but statistically, in the city I live in, they have more people in the Kingdom halls on a Sunday than you will find in the Catholic Churches, yet my city is 90% Catholic. The result of fifty years of liberal bishops. Very scary.
Some people shake like leaves at every passing breeze. @Patty Fisher is right, be not afraid.
Connie is absolutely right. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
How long must we continue to call this rehashed hippy church non-sense “living and dynamic” and “a new wind”. This approach is over 50 years old and has not achieved the desired results.
I am dismayed by the negative and uncharitable comments that dot these postings on the National Catholic Register and, of course, even worse elsewhere.
Let us all pray and examine ourselves for similar sins against charity. Francis deserves respect. He is our Pope and he is still Catholic.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Thank God the Church has a memory longer than the blogger/posts here…....
the same cheers/cries have been heard for the last 100 yrs when Popes have appointed their own…...... and, hold your breath, the Church is still Catholic!
Our Holy Church is not static, rigid and legalistic, but living and dynamic. There may be things and people with whom we disagree, but the Church is always faithful to tradition. Pope Francis is challenging us, to live our faith with eyes wide open instead of like a bunch of robots. He is calling us to a dynamic faith, not a rigid one where we are comfortable in our own churches and never reaching out to others to share the Good News. Christ also made his disciples uncomfortable, challenging them to live lives of charity, faith and hope. May we receive the grace from God to do the same.
If by more “pastoral candidate” there is meant a real caring for souls and an absence of fear of not being loved, rather an effort to love, a sincere effort to preach in season and out of season on all things, including the hard subjects, while rejecting no one. That’s good. If not, it’s bad, very bad..
All and all, Our belief is in Christ, have faith.
Not to worry. Cardinals Bagnasco, Burke and Piacenza will be gathering to elect another one. Hopefully not ashamed to call himself pope. There has been many discords in the history of the Church. And popes that were nobodies. They weren’t giving interviews to pop press every month though, or pontificating on economics (ignorantly). We live in the age of the lowest common denominator. Why would our Church not be ready to be lead by The Average - our Nobus Ordo liturgy is already looking like that. God Bless Pope Benedict, and the Orthogox patriarchs.
Very Sad Times, chatsworth, Tim: Y’all are acting like horrible Catholics. Why are you attacking joyful & faithful sons (like Mark Shea) & daughters (like Simcha Fisher) of our Church? You do not know their personal stories, so don’t act like you know everything. You have no right to insult them; their names weren’t even mentioned in the article, so why did y’all even mention Mr. Shea’s & Mrs. Fisher’s names (our fellow brother & sister in faith)? I have been following both Shea’s & Fisher’s work for many years and they’re wonderful, nay, awesome Catholics & I thank this newspaper for having both of them. May y’all 3 find the peace, joy & light of our Jesus Christ the Lord. May God, our Father, keep y’all. May the Saints of our Holy Church guard your ways. And MERRY (not gloomy) Christmas!
Hey, if Cdl Wuerl is no longer head of the Archdiocese of Washington, maybe Cdl Burke could take that spot! Now THAT would really make a “mess” of things—just like our Holy Father instructs us to do!
Okay, seriously, so many Catholics beat up on Martin Luther for creating division and schism during a very difficult time when abuse and corruption were rampant within the Church and the Ottoman Empire was almost literally knocking on St Peter’s door. I think we had all better just start channeling our “inner Erasmus”—stay Catholic, stay respectfully vocal and respectfully action-oriented, and continue to pray for Christ’s Church and Her leaders.
Be not afraid!
If the church becomes the progressive church then my days of being Catholic are over.
The Holy Spirit is on the move! A new wind is blowing!
It’s getting more difficult for apologists for this Pope to claim he is in the tradition of JPII and Benedict XVI and that it is only a difference of style and emphasis. Or maybe this is another of those “bad translations” we keep hearing about. As the previous poster noted, it likely will be well-received by the likes of Mark Shea and other church-shoppers who are for now in the Catholic Church. But for those of us here for the long haul, it is simply one more obstacle that we have to—and will—overcome.
The Congregation for Bishops will now reflect more closely the modernist mind and heart of Pope Francis and ensure the Church remains “progressive .” I’m sure Mark Shea and Simcha Fisher couldn’t be happier - good for them. Too bad for those yet to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ and those concerned with saving souls from the fire of hell.
Blessed Virgin Mary please intercede for the lost and apostate Clergy. Mercy my Jesus!
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