On This Fourth Anniversary of Pope Benedict’s Abdication
On this fourth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s abdication of the Papacy, I have some musings that I have been thinking of for some time.
For Catholics, we are living in a rather difficult period in the Chuch’s almost 2,000-year history. Under the papacy of Pope Francis, faithful Catholics are ridiculed, mocked, and left with a feeling that we have been bad simply for following the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church.
In contrast with that of Pope Benedict, we feel that we had it so wonderful under his reign. After all, he gave us Summorum Pontificum, encouraged the return to Latin, Ad Orientem, and other reforms to bring reverence back to the Liturgy. I have heard many Catholics pine for the days of Pope Benedict, wishing that we could have him back as our Pope and talk about how great of a Pope he was.
I wish I could say I felt the same way.
The truth is, we can thank Pope Benedict for Pope Francis. Pope Benedict, for whatever reason, abdicated the throne. Why he did this has been up for debate for the last four years. Some speculate he was blackmailed, tired, ill, opposed from within (St. Gallen mafia), couldn’t handle the politics, and I’m sure many other reasons that I have yet heard. But for whatever reason, he abandoned us.
If Pope Francis is the abusive father that berates his children behind closed doors and puts on a show of pleasantries for the world to see, Pope Benedict is the father who walked out on his wife and children and left them alone and wounded for the abusive father to waltz right in.
What the Church needs right now is not a return of Pope Benedict, but rather, a Pope who will defend the Church, her teachings, Christ’s teachings, and proclaim the Gospel as given to us by Jesus Christ. We do not need a Pope who will only go half way, but a Pope who will stand by the Church and with full force return her to her former glory.
Enough of the liberal nonsense, enough of the modernist propaganda, enough of the Protestant, all religions are the same garbage and enough of the globalist mentality that has infected and wounded the Church for the last 100 years.
Pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict, pray for Pope Francis, pray for the Church, and pray that God spares us any more of this disastrous papacy.
I am sorry but I disagree with you on this. The Jesuits were bound and determined to put this man in as far back as 2005 after Pope John Paul died. Are you still not aware of the St Gallens Mafia club led by the Belgium Cardinal and Carlo Martini wanted him out after 8 years which is blackmail. If he had been elected in 2005 would you blame JPII? If anybody is to blame it is the Cardinals and others who opposed Benedict from the start.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I am aware of St. Gallens mafia, as I mentioned it about mid-way through this article, with a link to my article on it when the news of it first broke in late 2015. I am fully aware that they tried to oust Benedict for some time and were planning on electing Bergoglio.
That said, had Bergoglio been elected in 2005, would JP2 be to blame? Yes, partially. JP2 didn’t “abandon us,” but died. There is a huge difference between your father walking out on you, and your father up and dying.
But here is a question I have for you. Who made each and every single member of the St. Gallen’s mafia a Cardinal? Each and every single member was made a Cardinal by JP2. Additionally, each Cardinal who voted for Francis was made Cardinal by either JP2 or Benedict.
We can directly blame Benedict for walking out instead of standing to fight, and we can blame JP2 for making these evil men Cardinals, instead of sacking them like he ought to have.
I agree we can rightly blame both Benedict and JPII for they both had universal jurisdiction over the Church and the mandate to care for the flock under their charge.
To do so they should have disciplined wayward and dissident bishops, priests, and theologians who infected the flock with heretical ideas, errors galore, and modernism.
What they didn’t do directly led to Francis and Amoris Laetitia.