PopeWatch: Pope Peron

The story is told that Perón, in his days of glory, once proposed to induct a nephew in the mysteries of politics. He first brought the young man with him when he received a deputation of communists; after hearing their views, he told them, “You’re quite right.” The next day he received a deputation of fascists and replied again to their arguments, “You’re quite right.” Then he asked his nephew what he thought and the young man said, “You’ve spoken with two groups with diametrically opposite opinions and you told them both that you agreed with them. This is completely unacceptable.” Perón replied, “You’re quite right too.”

Father Raymond J.  de Souza explains the modus operandi of the Pope in regard to ordaining married men:

A Back-Door Approval?

But perhaps he did endorse the proposal through a back door?

Before the 2018 synod on youth, Pope Francis promulgated a new apostolic constitution that governed the Synod of Bishops, Episcopalis Communio. That document introduced the new provision that “if it is expressly approved by the Roman Pontiff, the final document [of the synod] participates in the ordinary magisterium of the Successor of Peter.”

A non-papal document could ex post be declared part of the papal magisterium.

In the opening paragraphs of Querida Amazonia, Pope Francis writes:

“I would like to officially present the Final Document, which sets forth the conclusions of the Synod, which profited from the participation of many people who know better than myself or the Roman Curia the problems and issues of the Amazon region, since they live there, they experience its suffering and they love it passionately. I have preferred not to cite the Final Document in this Exhortation, because I would encourage everyone to read it in full” (3).

What does “officially present” mean? Does it mean that the Holy Father has expressly approved making the synod’s final document part of the magisterium? Does the synod’s recommendation for the ordination of married deacons as priests now become a decision with papal authority?

Given that those are all obvious questions, the ambiguous phrasing “officially present” must have been chosen in part for its ambiguity. Time will tell if some bishops appeal to that ambiguity in order to advance the ordination of married priests.

A Stealth Magisterium

In the case of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis, in a mammoth exhortation of some 60,000 words, never even referred to Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried. There was only an ambiguous footnote, interpreted in contradictory ways by different bishops. At one point, Pope Francis wrote a private letter to bishops in Buenos Aires saying that theirs was the “only interpretation.” The letter was leaked, a magisterium by stealth. Months later, it appeared in the official Vatican records as an “apostolic letter,” an ex post addition to the papal magisterium.

In regard to capital punishment, Pope Francis ordered a change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to characterize capital punishment as “inadmissible,” a term chosen because it has no specific theological meaning, a novelty invented for this occasion.

Now in Querida Amazonia the pattern returns. Clear questions were posed. Ambiguous answers were given, awaiting clarification by novel maneuvers.

Go here to read the rest.  A dishonest Pope is a curse on the Church.