Thursday, April 18, AD 2024 4:29pm

PopeWatch: Pope Emeritus

 

It appears that the Pope Emeritus has sent out a commentary regarding the disastrous course of his successor:

 

Given his inability to travel, the usually silent retired Pope delivered the message in writing, and had it read aloud in the Cologne Cathedral by his personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who also serves as Prefect of the Papal Household for Pope Francis.

In the text, Benedict said that Cardinal Meisner “found it difficult to leave his post, especially at a time in which the Church stands in particularly pressing need of convincing shepherds who can resist the dictatorship of the spirit of the age and who live and think the faith with determination.”

What moved me all the more, Benedict said, was that, “in this last period of his life, he learned to let go and to live out of a deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even when the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing.”

Notably, Cardinal Meisner was one of the four cardinals who presented a series of questions, or “dubia,” to Pope Francis last September, asking him to clarify five serious doctrinal doubts proceeding from his 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) concerning Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried, the indissolubility of marriage, and the proper role of conscience.

The other three prelates who submitted the questions to the Pope were Cardinal Raymond Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta; Carlo Caffarra, archbishop emeritus of Bologna; and Walter Brandmüller, president emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.

When Pope Francis failed to respond to the dubia, the four cardinals published their questions publicly last November.

Go here to read the rest.  Considering that his resignation set the stage for this kidney stone of a Pontificate, the Faithful are owed far more than this sotto voce criticism of his successor.

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Greg Mockeridge
Greg Mockeridge
Monday, July 17, AD 2017 3:37am

Yes, Benedict XVI set the stage for this “kidney stone”. And yes, the desire to see Benedict rip his successor full blast is understandable. But would it do more harm than good?

Don L
Don L
Monday, July 17, AD 2017 4:00am

Greg, good consideration. The first requirement is to discern and admonish, however Benedict is astute enough to understand the warning to “be as cunning as serpents,” so one has to wonder if his comment was a mere casual thought or a well-aimed warning shot across the bow of the S.S. Vatican, however close to capsizing it be.

Greg Mockeridge
Greg Mockeridge
Monday, July 17, AD 2017 4:27am

You may very well be right, Don. As far as the reason for his abdication, I still the reason he gave is part, but all the story. Perhaps he saw the storm clouds of the Lavender Mob et. al. and thought it was worth the risk to step down and get someone in there who had the energy to deal with it. Who knows?

One would think if it were blackmail or something like that, it would require an ability to keep a secret that is beyond the Vatican’s ability to stop from leaking out.

Greg Mockeridge
Greg Mockeridge
Monday, July 17, AD 2017 4:34am

I meant to say “part but not all” of the story.

Tom McKenna
Monday, July 17, AD 2017 7:51am

Yes, I hope we can hear the real story at some point, though, like many Vatican intrigues, it may never see the light of day. The health thing is bogus, clearly. What did they have on Benedict and why should he not now, with nothing to lose, spill the beans?

TomD
TomD
Monday, July 17, AD 2017 1:20pm

No, no schism! Let them do it! We just to need to sit down, tell the truth, and refuse to be dragged into that relativistic future. What are they going to do, excommunicate half of America’s Catholics? No way.
I mean, if you are not going to promote Christian unity why be Catholic? There’s plenty of other churches already available if you don’t want to be Catholic, there’s no need to start another.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Tuesday, July 18, AD 2017 2:54am

Pope Benedict owes it to all Catholics and the entire world to come clean about his resignation or leave a testament before he dies.

Philip Nachazel
Philip Nachazel
Tuesday, July 18, AD 2017 2:56am

Worth sharing;

http://fideminterra.blogspot.it/2017/07/benedict-xvis-message-at-funeral-of.html?m=1

Pope Emeritus.
This ship will make it home.
Bailing out the water through prayer and Eucharistic Adoration.

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