WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 2015 SYNOD? (PART HH) Here we will continue what we started to look at in PART GG of this series and that is the present opposition to our Holy Father and what he is doing and saying. The material comes from an article in the Italian newspaper, La Stamps (a Jesuit paper) from the October 16, 2016, issue; the article was written by Giaromo Galeazzi and Andrea Torniello from Rome. It deals with Catholics who are anti-Francis (who turn out to be more numerous than I have thought!). Unfortunately, my source as I have it here has no title; so I am sorry I cannot give you that! The opposition, unfortunately, is very real and a lot of the criticisms about the Pope shocked me! They are really eye-opening and for me, as a papal observer, many seem incredible but I leave that to your own judgment. The article is a good description and detailing of the journey to the world of Francis’ opponents, “where regionalists, Ratzinger nostalgics, and enemies of the Council [Vatican II] are joined by a common disapproval of the current Pope: ‘There is chaos in the church because of the Pope.’” (ibid.) And “the glue that holds them together is their aversion towards Francis. The world of Francis dissenters ranges from Lefebvrians [followers of Bishop Marcel Lefebvre – the Society of Saint Pius X] who have decided to ‘wait for a traditional Pope’ before renewing their communion with Rome [recall what we have already seen about them in these Consortium materials], to Catholic regionalists who compare Francis to his predecessor Ratzinger and promote the campaign ‘Benedict is my Pope.’” (ibid.) There are “websites that share sedavacantist positions [the idea that the papal chair remains empty/vacant because Francis is not a real pope]. These are adamant that the Catholic writer Antonio Socci was right to argue that Bergoglio’s [Francis] election is invalid simply because a vote was cancelled without a scrutiny in the March 2013 Conclave. This was because one of the cardinals mistakenly placed an extra ballot in the ballot box. The vote resumed immediately to wipe away any doubts and without any of the cardinal electors raising any objections… The opposition intensifies on the web, with people letting all fury loose protected by their computer screen … The ‘messainitaliano’ website, which promotes the old liturgy but also publishes vitriolic comments on the Pope, speaks about the ‘tedious ideological monotony of the current pontificate.’ On the web, one comes across comments about the Church eventually dissolving into some kind of a United Nations of religions with a touch of Greenpeace [a pro-ecological organization] and a hint of a trades union organization, given that ‘today, moral sins are downgraded and Bergoglio established social or socialist) sins as well.’” (ibid.) Traditionalists, conservative prelates, and conservative intellectuals have signed protests or appeals about Francis’ open pastoral attitude with regard for the Eucharist 1 for remarried divorcees and dialogue with the Chinese government; we have already seen some of what these are in the Consortium material already. “Opposition to the Pope unites people and groups that are very different among them” (ibid.). More gentle criticism, for example, comes from La Bussola Quotidiana, an on-line newspaper and the monthly newspaper Il Timone. “The Argentinian Pope is also reproached almost on a daily basis by LˊEspresso’s former Vatican affairs journalist Sandro Magister. Then there are the … mocking comments made by Maria Guarini in the Italian blog Chiesa e Postconcilio and the harsher criticisms made by ultra-traditionalist and sedevacantist groups, those who believe there has not been a worthy Pope since Pius XII.” (ibid.) The opposition to Pope Francis is quite widespread on the internet. “Those behind this opposition use the Internet and private meetings between clerics, combining frontal and public attacks with more articulate strategies. Alessandro Gnocchi, who writes for the Riscossa Cristiana and Unavox websites, is on the frontline of the web criticism against the Pope: ‘Bergoglio is systematically surrendering the Church to the world, the Church is becoming worldly. His pontificate is based on the brunt handling of power. Never has the faith been so debased.’” (ibid.) Fondazione Lepanto is a foundation that tries to protect the principles and institutions of Christian civilization. It is one of the cultural powerhouses of anti-Francis sentiment. “The foundation’s books combined with the Corrispondenza Romana news agency and the meetings held in the sitting room on the first floor, make it one of the headquarters of the anti-Bergoglio front. ‘The Church is going through one of the biggest moments of chaos in its history and the Pope is one of the causes of this,’ says historian and President of Fondazione Lepanto, Roberto De Mattei. ‘This chaos is above all to do with the Pope’s magisterium. Francis is not the solution but part of the problem.’ Opposition, De Mattei added, ‘is not just being expressed by these so-called traditionalist circles but extends to bishops and theologians who were trained according to the Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI] and Wojtyla [Saint Pope John Paul II] schools of thought.” (ibid.) We now come to the thorny question of the (retired) Pope Benedict XVI and (active) Pope Francis. We have already met Antonio Socci (above). “On his official Facebook page, Antonio Socci claims that Benedict XVI did not really want to resign but still considers himself Pope and wants in some way to share the ‘Petrine ministry’ [the papacy], with his successor; Ratzinger himself, however, has denied this interpretation” (ibid.). Benedict XVI has denied this interpretation more than once and has confirmed that his resignation is totally valid and has publicly shown his obedience to Pope Francis! Benedict’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, has complicated the situation because publicly he has said that there are not two popes but an extended ministry, with an active member (Francis) and a contemplative member (Benedict). Socci has added that “one contrasts love and the truth (Bergoglio), while another sees them united 2 in God (Benedict).” “Among the many comments to these remarks, Paolo Soranno wrote: ‘Francis I seems to be serving God Rainbow [?] (who does not impose religious and moral principles) and not the Catholic God.’” (ibid.) What does this garbage mean? If you can figure it out, please let me know! People like De Mattei prefer to call their opposition “resistance” rather than “dissent.” “This resistance was recently expressed by 45 Catholic theologians and philosophers who criticized the apostolic exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’ and by 80 figures – who gradually turned into several thousand – including Catholic cardinals, bishops, and theologians, who made a declaration of ‘loyalty to the unchanging magisterium of the Church.’ One of the hotbeds of resistance, the historian [De Mattei] underlined, ‘is the John Paul II institute for the family, whose heads were recently removed by Bergoglio.’ Traditionalists are also targeting Francis for the part his migration policy is playing in destabilizing Europe and obliterating western civilization.” (ibid.) Oh, come on, now!! “The attack against Francis is global” (ibid.) There is a strong geopolitical element in this, according to Agostino Giovagnoli, Professor of Contemporary History at the Università Cattolica. “They are accusing Bergoglio of not proclaiming the truths of the faith with sufficient vigour but in reality they are blaming him for not defending the West’s primacy. This opposition has political motivations that are masked by theological and ecclesial questions. China is an example of this. There is an alliance between Hong Kong circles, sectors within the United States and Europe’s right wing: they are accusing Francis of putting the goal of uniting the Church in China before the defense of religious freedom … These critics say the Pope should affirm religious freedom as a political argument against Beijing [China] instead of seeking dialogue through diplomatic means.” (ibid.) Opposition to Pope Francis also exists in the Curia, as we saw in earlier Consortium materials. This also finds voice in clerics with Vatican connections, e.g., the liturgist and theologian Father Nicola Bux who is a consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Office of Liturgical Celebrations. Father Bux has stated “today, there are a few lay people, priests, and bishops asking themselves where we are headed … The Pope’s job is to safeguard ecclesial communion, not to favour division and rivalry, siding with progressives against the conservatives.” More, a researcher who is very traditional, Flavio Cuniberto wrote a book criticizing Francis’ social magisterium and recently launched a protest in, the Italian newspaper, Il Giornale where he stated that “Bergoglio has not updated Catholic doctrine, he has destroyed it and acts as though he is a Catholic but is in fact not: the distorted idea of poverty elevates old pauperism to the dogmatic sphere. The Pope praises recycling and thus the virtues of the good late-modern consumer become the new evangelical virtues.” Parenthetically, I hope by now you have noticed how often these opponents of Francis disrespect the Pope by using his last name (“Bergoglio”) to designate him!! And I had a very hard time inserting Cuniberto’s nonsense into these materials because his comments are so biased and make no sense within any Christian/Catholic context! 3 “The opposition comes from the more conservative side of the spectrum but also finds a voice among some disappointed ultra-progressives” (ibid.) If you know anything about Maria Guarini, an ultra-traditional blogger, you would expect an inane statement like “if the next Pope is Bergoglian, the Vatican will become a Cathomasonic branch”! However, some of the ultra-progressive opponents also say very harsh things about Pope Francis.