Pope St. John Paul II

All of the posts under the "Pope St. John Paul II" category.

Four Years of a Disastrous, If Not, the Worst Papacy

Much ink has been spilled these last four years writing about Pope Francis. Since his elevation to the Papacy, Jorge Bergoglio has given reason to spill ink on an almost daily basis.

He has given many interviews in which he provides ammunition to the enemies of Christ and her Church. He has surrounded himself with Cardinals who were, for the most part, considered radically liberal and had been pushed to the wayside. He continues to undermine the pontificates of his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II, by his attacks on the family, the Liturgy, tradition, and everything Catholic. He undermines Jesus Christ by creating new teachings that are contrary to what Our Lord has given us in the Gospel relating to divorce and remarriage.

It gets tiring.

His latest assault on the Church is against the priesthood. He suggests that Catholic men who have been married may potentially be able to become priests, a practice which hasn’t existed in the Roman Rite for close to 1900 years (except converts from Anglicanism or Orthodoxy).

But this shouldn’t surprise us, after all, Pope Francis is a follower of “the god of surprises.”

Pope Francis must sense that something is afoot and that his time as the Pope is coming to an end. His novel teachings of blatant disregard to Catholic teaching are becoming more accelerated, quicker, and more frequent. Four years ago it was every few weeks in which he said or did something scandalous; now it is a daily occurrence. Perhaps the thought of the canonical penalties of refusing to respond to a dubia are weighing on him?

To say that the conservatives and traditionalists are unopen to the Holy Ghost is, quite possibly, one of the saddest excuses I’ve heard to defend this man. A Pope can’t change teachings of the Church which have excommunications on them. A Pope can’t change the teachings of Jesus Christ. This Pope attempts to and receives praise for it.

Clergy who argued with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II about the need to change Church teaching are strengthened by Pope Francis. These clergymen continue to wreck havoc with their false mercy allowing those who are unrepentant to receive access to the sacrament while ridiculing the repentant as being too rigid.

No other Pope has been as popular by secular culture as Pope Francis is. Jesus Christ was crucified by the society in which He lived, for our sins; Pope Francis is set on a pedestal and praised for his inclusiveness and mercy. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II were regularly mocked by the media and society in general.

Pope Francis will likely go down in history as one of, if not the worst Pope in the entire history of the Catholic Church, putting to shame the horrendous papacies of the 1000s and Borgia Popes of the 1500s. While those Popes lived disgusting, vile, and sinful lives, they at least taught the Catholic faith as it had been given to them. Pope Francis, on the other hand, teaches a doctrine contrary to what has been given to him and lives a life that matches that heretical doctrine.

It has been four years of this pontificate, and I will not bore you with anymore (at least in this post). For those who follow this blog regularly, you know where I stand. May the Lord spare us any more of this non-sense.

Jeff March 12, 2017 Leave A Comment Permalink

Pope Francis Denies the Catholic Faith and Precepts of the Church…Again

Three years ago I publicly blogged that Pope Francis was a heretic. The reason being that he stated, “if you do not feel you are in need of God’s mercy, then you better not go to Mass.” While we might initially react that this is sound advice, we must remember that Catholics are morally obligated to attend Mass every single Sunday. What we are not morally obligated to do is to receive the Holy Eucharist. We are only required to receive only once a year, and it is preferable to do so around Easter.

Being that this was still early in his papacy, not even completing his first year, I faced much criticism. I ended up taking the original post down and republishing it on the two-year anniversary of the original publish date. Interestingly enough, Pope Francis has again said something similar.

Speaking to the youth of the parish of Santa Maria in the city of Guidonia, Pope Francis said:

If I say I am Catholic and go to Mass, but then don’t speak with my parents, help my grandparents or the poor, go and see those who are sick, this does not prove my faith, there’s no point. So it is none other than parrot Christians, words, words, words, I wonder if you remember that song. Christian witness you do with three things: the word, the heart, the hands.

While these acts fall under both the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, they are not required, nor are they morally obligated to stay in a state of grace. What is necessary is going to Mass each and every week, whether you want to or not.

It is good to perform the works of mercy, as there is great grace that God bestows to those who perform them faithfully. But to say that one who does not perform these works makes Mass pointless, and then to call the individual a “parrot Christian,” is not only insulting to the Catholic who does fulfill his weekly Mass attendance, but to Christ and His Church who gave us the commandment.

Time and time again, we have witnessed the Holy Father insult the Catholic faith and those who make a conscious effort to follow Jesus faithfully. For those who have been paying attention these last four years, especially this past year, you have realized that we have a Pope who very likely doesn’t believe the Catholic faith, as he is constantly rushing to change pastoral practice at every turn.

There are still those out there who believe that Pope Francis is a holy man and is in the mold of his predecessors. Can you imagine Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI insulting Catholics who faithfully practice their faith by calling them “parrot Christians” for their shortcomings? Can you imagine either of these Popes being offended that a particular group prayed so many Rosaries for them? Can you imagine either of these Popes changing the rubrics of the Mass simply so that they can break them after they go into effect?

I can’t.

Simply put, upon the election of Pope Francis, it was very evident that there was a clear break from previous Popes. When faithful Cardinals who were very close to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were ostracized, and unfaithful Cardinals who were clear enemies by the previous two pontiffs become best friends with Pope Francis, you know that we have a problem. And you are silly for thinking that everything is just fine.

Jeff January 17, 2017 2 Comments Permalink

You Have a Moral Duty To Vote Trump and Defeat Hillary Clinton

With the election looming only three short weeks away, we are hearing more and more Catholics and conservatives talking about something that seems rather absurd; voting for a third party candidate.

Photo taken by Gage Skidmore

Why would I call this idea absurd? Simply put, we have Hillary Clinton, the most radical, pro-abortion candidate to ever run for President in this country as the front-runner of this race, according to polls released thus far.

Hillary Clinton has an excellent chance of winning this election, whether through honesty or rigged elections. The only other candidate who has an excellent chance of winning this election is Donald Trump, a man who has proposed giving us pro-life Supreme Court justices, willing to defend the 2nd Amendment, and many other pro-family values. He has also written a sincere letter to Catholics discussing the importance Catholics have had in building this country and how he will fight for our religious freedom.

No matter what your argument may be in Donald Trump not being “the best man for the job” there is a near zero chance of a third party candidate winning this election. Unless you can convince 60 million people to vote for said candidate in the next 20 days, you are throwing your vote away and allowing Hillary to walk away with this election.

In the third Presidential debate, Hillary admitted that she would put justices on the court that will make abortion legal for all nine months, up until the day the baby is ready to be born. If you are pro-life in the slightest, the very thought of this should leave you appalled, and this should send shivers down your spine. Babies who are ready to be born will die under this woman.

But what I have discovered is that it almost appears to me that the Catholic “pro-life” Church in America might want Hillary to win. I have seen numerous Bishops (Archbishop Chaput for example), come out against both candidates, treating Donald Trump as bad, if not worse, than the most radically pro-abortion candidate in the history of this country, a woman who admires Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood.

In 2008, we were told that we couldn’t vote for Obama, but we had to vote for McCain.

In 2012, we were told that we couldn’t vote for Obama, but we had to vote for Romney.

Both of these men were known as soft Republicans who had no interest in running a pro-life platform, except for those pesky six months before the election. Romney ran all of his previous election campaigns for various offices under a pro-choice position. “Well, he is from Massachusetts, but he was pro-life.” McCain was another soft Republican who never did much for the pro-life platform. But with both of these candidates, we were told that we had to stop Obama because of his staunch pro-abortion stance.

Apparently, that isn’t the case anymore now that Hillary is the nominee.

In 2016 we are told to vote our conscience even though Trump has done far more than either McCain or Romney ever had with pro-lifers or Catholics. Trump has given us a list of 20 Supreme Court justices who will uphold the Constitution, and overturn Roe V. Wade when given a chance. But apparently, when push comes to shove, it’s easier to claim to be pro-life when it makes one look like a good Catholic than to actually put those principles into practice.

Catholics and every single person on this planet have a moral duty to stop evil. But all I see Catholics doing is getting up on their high horses, puffing out their chests, and pretending that they are so high and mighty by ignoring Trump and allowing Hillary to walk away with this election, all because they voted their “conscience.”

As Pope St. John Paul II says in Christifideles Laici:

Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights-for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture-is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.

The USCCB, in their document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship write:

Sometimes morally flawed laws already exist. In this situation, the process of framing legislation to protect life is subject to prudential judgment and “the art of the possible.” At times this process may restore justice only partially or gradually. For example, St. John Paul II taught that when a government official who fully opposes abortion cannot succeed in completely overturning a pro-abortion law, he or she may work to improve protection for unborn human life, “limiting the harm done by such a law” and lessening its negative impact as much as possible (Evangelium Vitae, no. 73). Such incremental improvements in the law are acceptable as steps toward the full restoration of justice. However, Catholics must never abandon the moral requirement to seek full protection for all human life from the moment of conception until natural death.

Pope Pius XII, in his March 16, 1946, letter to the Pastors and Lenten Preachers of Rome, wrote:

The exercise of the right to vote is an act of grave responsibility, at least when there is the question involved of electing those whose office it will be to give the country its constitutions and its laws, particularly those which effect, for example, the sanctification of feast days, marriage, family life and school, the various phases of social life. It therefore falls to the Church to explain to the faithful their moral duties which derive from their right to vote.

Again, two years later, Pope Pius XII strictly commands:

It is your right and duty to draw the attention of the faithful to the extraordinary importance of the coming elections and to the moral responsibility which follows from it for those who have the right to vote. In the present circumstances it is strictly obligatory for whoever has the right, man or woman, to take part in the elections. He who abstains, particularly through indolence or cowardice, commits thereby a grave sin, a mortal offense.

Photo by Roaming Catholics

Anybody who decides not to vote, or votes for a third party candidate (their “conscience”) commits a mortal sin. Thus it is important that you form your conscience properly, and use it to stop evil.

Every single vote matters in this election and for Catholics who want to continue down the pro-life, pro-religious liberty, anti-contraceptives in health care, pro-traditional marriage path, I don’t see them rallying around Trump, the man who is going to stop Hillary. Hillary has promised that she will throw Catholics under the bus.

I urge you, to take what could very well be your last stand against evil. Protect innocent life. Cast your vote for Donald Trump.

Or you can stand on your pedestal and vote your conscience. We’ll both be in the gulags if Hillary wins.

Jeff October 20, 2016 1 Comment Permalink

Only The Last 50 Years of Catholicism Matters

For some time now, I have argued that the majority of Catholics view the Church as only being relevant since the Second Vatican Council. So much so, I wrote a parody article explaining how the Church was founded in 1963 when the Holy Spirit descended upon those present at Vatican 2.

We can see evidence of this when we analyze the footnotes of documents that mainstream Catholic authors, as well as the Vatican, has released over the last couple of decades. The number of citations we see to only post-conciliar popes and Vatican 2, in comparison with the number of citations before Vatican 2 demonstrates that many prelates are only looking for examples that go as far back as 1963. Yes, some of these citations do include references to Sacred Scripture, as well as to some saints such as St. Thomas Aquinas.

Lest we forget, St. Thomas Aquinas lived from 1225-1274 and is a Doctor of the Church. His masterpiece The Summa Theologica is considered to be the go-to book on all things theology and Catholic thought. St. Thomas Aquinas’ work has been so influential that his process for thinking out issues was named “Thomistic”, and many Popes declared that his work is the prime example of how Catholics should approach their education.

To better illustrate my point, Donald Cardinal Wuerl released a graphic the other day in which he discusses the number of citations Pope Francis uses in Amoris Laetitia that point back to the pontificates of previous popes.

Based on Cardinal Wuerl’s graphic, we see that there is a total of 107 citations. Of those 107 citations, only 14 or 13% of them are to St. Thomas Aquinas. 87% of the citations are from the last 50 years of a 2,000-year-old religion. If we are to believe Cardinal Wuerl, then 87% of Pope Francis’ citations are from the last 2.5% of Catholicism’s life-span. Surely there weren’t a few more points that couldn’t have been taken from the vast majority of our faith? You would be hard-pressed to find any document written in the last 50 years that would have even a 50:50 ratio of pre-Vatican 2 to post-Vatican 2 citations (excluding the documents of the Second Vatican Council, of course).

Even more alarming is how the majority of the quotes which are obtained from Pope St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio are taken severely out of context. The same can be said about the quotations taken from St. Thomas Aquinas. Both LMSChairman and the Remnant published articles detailing how Pope Francis misrepresented both of these saints in Amoris Laetitia.

When prelates use only a subset of the Magisterium of the Church while formulating documents, it certainly lends credit to the common misconception that the Church’s teachings were changed (Spoiler: some of them were) during the Second Vatican Council. For the Hermeneutic of Continuity to be true, you would expect that all of the unchanging teachings of the Church be used, not just those that further the agenda of the enemies who have put themselves into prominent positions.

Jeff May 1, 2016 2 Comments Permalink

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