according to the BBC, the Pope now has declared war on the Catholic believers in the USA.
He is angry that they oppose his pro immigration and green policies (both of which are nuanced opposition against his opinion, and I guess he doesn't realize that Catholics are allowed to oppose the Pope's political agenda. Heck, Dante did it
So the Pope complains that some pesky American Catholics are not bowing to his political agenda and if the BBC is to be believed, he is willing to allow cause a schism/split in the Church in order to do so.
but this is only politics: The real reason that "conservatives" are upset is that the Pope is putting out confusion about ancient church dogmas:
From the BBC
Some Catholic leaders - particularly in the US but also some others around the world - have accused the Pope of diluting their faith, and have even called for his resignation....in particular they are opposed to his moves to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to take Communion.sorry, but that part about divorce being a "no no" comes from that pesky carpenter Jesus, and the part about not letting people receive communion "unworthily" dates back to Paul.
But never mind. He's talking about EWTN, a cable TV station founded by a feisty Italian American nun that unlike the more official Salt network, (led by a plagiarist who resigned after caught by a blogger), insists on teaching what Catholics believe for about 2000 years. And in their news program, run by a jolly Cajun named Raymond Arroyo, actually discusses both sides of these controversies instead of parroting the "party line".
In the past, when the AmChurch (liberal) bishops tried to take it over, the founder, Mother Angelica, said she would burn it down first, because she knew it would quickly be taken over by those liberal bishops who were busy watering down the faith.
But it is a no-no to actually name names, as she found out when she dared to criticize Cardinal Mahoney after one of his teaching letters distorted the Catholic belief in the Eucharist...(eventually Mother was forced to apologize).
Fast forward a decade or two and guess what? It wasn't just church dogma that the good Cardinal Mahoney was busy at distorting: even the WAPO complained about his pedophile coverups here
And one not be an evil conservative to wonder about some "Rigid" Catholics in the US opposing the Pope: Remember last year when the Pope stopped those few "rigid" American bishops from actually trying to do something about pedophil friendly bishops in their ranks, LINK
and that's an article from a fairly mainstream Catholic world report: the real dirt can be found on Michael Voris' Youtube channel, whose videos that make the National Enquirer look bland. (and like the Enquirer, might be a bit exaggerated or include fake news, or maybe not).
If the US still has a remnant of believing Catholics left, blame the late Mother Angelica, who threw the gauntlet down, not by nailing 95 theses to a church door, but by bluntly doing a "Howard Beale" on her TV show and telling people she was mad as hell and not going to take it any more.
But the church is not a monolith.
And the reasons that Francis got a "rock star" greeting in Mozambique: because that country almost starved to death after the Communist took it over back in the 1980s LINK LINK2
and it was the Catholics who gave aid to help the starving people.
The first thing the communists did was throw out all the Europeans, which was understandable if you saw how little the Portuguese did to improve the welfare of the locals. But because they were communists, they threw out the Catholic missionaries, from various European countries, who ran schools, hospitals etc. What could go wrong? And since the Portuguese colonial leaders didn't bother to educate locals, this meant that there was no way to train local priests or nuns to take over.
Ah, but not all Catholic missionaries were European: One of my friends, a Mashona from Zimbabwe who had her masters degree in theology and English, was sent there to teach seminarians and give classes to the sisters in training back in the 1980s. She stayed for several years until she had a stroke from high blood pressure.
She said the schools and convents had been stripped of everything (furniture, books, etc.) so she had to start from scratch. And things have gradually improved there.
But you know, when the crowds enthusiastically greet Francis, it isn't because they support his newfangled church "reforms": People who are destitute are not exactly going to argue theological nuances with a guy who represents the only people who have helped them in their dire need: as the saying goes: when you are up to your tush in alligators, it's not time to discuss how to drain the swamp.
Yes, I too respect Francis as the leader of an organization that helps people all over the world, but I am not praising Francis but actually praising the work of my fellow Catholics, be they mothers trying to raise their kids or missionaries providing food and medical care.
But it doesn't mean I will stay quiet while this monomaniac tries to gaslight us when he destroys the sacraments of the Eucharist and Matrimony, and has active plans to destroy the sacrament of Holy Orders and the heretical ideas that
and if he shrugs and decides he prefers schism and will blame it on those who oppose his heretical policies: well, just remember, a lot of the church's money comes from ordinary US Catholics, who might forgive him on his heresies (since few actually know church dogma) but have had it with his lack of zeal at getting rid of pedophil co enablers in his ranks.
So prayers up: we have our rosaries and know how to use them.
as DavidWarren notes:
All is well “This is not going to last much longer. Hold on fast to Christ and Mary.” It is good advice from my sometime Argentine correspondent, Carlos Caso-Rosendi. He has been patiently reviewing that “Amazon Summit,” in which all kinds of ecclesiastical enormities are being committed by the amateur Rousseauians and neo-Marxists in the pope’s “progressive” entourage...
The fate of the Earth is not in human hands. Joy, not despair, is at the heart of the Creation. “Fear not,” we are repeatedly told. All is well, all will be well, all manner of thing shall be well. Hold fast!
Or as I like to say in the colloquial: “Don’t let the bastards drive you out of the Church.”
