Go here to read highlights of the interview. The interview itself is behind Reuter’s paywall.
PopeWatch: Interview Magisterium
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
“When the Church loses its pastoral nature, when a bishop loses his pastoral nature, it causes a political problem. That’s all I can say.” – “
Indeed. We have no Pastor.
He respects the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision but he needs more information before he could comment on it? This is the first time in his pontificate that I can recall Francis being unwilling to say whatever pops into his head about anything.
The Dobbs decision has only been convulsing American society for almost two months now. It’s been a consummation devoutly to be wished by pro-life Catholics for 50 years. If Francis truly has little understanding of Dobbs from a juridical point of view, there should be someone in his staff who could bring him up to speed in a five minute briefing.
So how is it possible the man still doesn’t know what Dobbs means?
Part of good pastoral care is to counsel sinners. I pray that our Holy Father will warn and counsel the countless public figures and politicians with whom he interacts to be aware of the last four things. And if supportive of abortion, to repent. We should pray for him. And for those public figures who, objectively speaking, live in defiance of the moral teachings of Christ.
In all fairness he referred to abortion as like “hiring a hit man” and continued “is it right to eliminate a human right to resolve a problem?”
I’m confused? Didn’t our Lord and the Apostles so engage the truth that the political system crucified Jesus and martyred the apostles? One thing is certain–they didn’t avoid necessary confrontation and allow the desecration of the sacraments so as to not upset the politicians.
To add to my earlier comment. it seems that Pope Francis’s concern for pastoral care is summed up in the story about the sinning woman at the well. Christ (the head of our church) openly called her out for sinning-named her sin–and instructed her to “go and sin no more.” Pastoral care without concern for public scandal and the sinner’s final condition is of little value. Again, Christ, when he fashioned a wipe and drove the money changers out of the temple showed the proper order of things.
I could not agree more with Pope Francis. When a prelate fails in his pastoral duty to care for a soul–in the case of Pelosi and Biden, to prohibit them from receiving Holy Communion–he does indeed import a political problem into the Church, by contributing to scandal.
#Caiaphas
He has that backwards; the political problem came first.
Given that he referred again to abortion as akin to hiring a hit man, he seems to be in the position of saying that it is “pastoral” to not refuse the Eucharist to those who publicly advocate for the right to hire hit men to brutally murder the innocent, who want to give legal protection to those same hit men, and who even want to force others to fund those hit men.
Jason, except he referred to a woman who personally did thousands of abortions (a hit woman) as one of Italy’s greats. Only someone evil can give someone lauds and praise to someone who kills children.
Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Pope Francis’s statements consistently lack wisdom and understanding. Lord have Mercy on us.
David WS, the fallen angels knew who they were with and what they were doing yet still chose evil.
I observe what he does, what he says, who he associates with and who he promotes. That is enough. I have long ceased giving him any “benefit of doubt” as it doesn’t make any sense.
In 390AD, Emperor Theodosius massacred a large number of rebellious citizens in Thessaloniki. St. Ambrose preached against the Emperor’s action (at considerable risk to his own head) and when the Emperor tried to enter St. Ambrose’s cathedral at Milan, he was publicly denied entry. After eight months of public penance, the Emperor was finally readmitted to communion. The Church has always held up St. Ambrose’ actions as a heroic, pastoral response of a bishop to the public scandal caused by evil actions by a politician.
Francis, you are no St. Ambrose.
“Emma Bonino, a founding member of the World Economic Forum, was instrumental in legalizing abortion in Italy. She began a remarkable international political career as an illegal abortionist who used a bicycle pump to extract fetuses. Her early “activism” has largely disappeared from her online bios. In 2016, Pope Francis called her one of Italy’s “forgotten greats.””
https://studiomatters.com/marginalia-on-dobbs-and-roe
That website has a photo of her performing an abortion.
To both Ezabelle and John F. Kennedy— I have no doubt that Francis said both of those things, even though they are contradictory.
Someone who is morally consistent wouldn’t both condemn abortion and yet praise an abortionist as ‘one of Italy’s greats’. Unless that person was a Peronist, that is. It’s one of the characteristics of that particular political animal that they say whatever pleases their audience at the time. It’s all lip service, a smokescreen.
With such a man, it’s only by looking at both his actions and the people with which he chooses to
surround himself that one can get an idea of his true beliefs and intentions.
Clinton:
“ With such a man, it’s only by looking at both his actions and the people with which he chooses to surround himself that one can get an idea of his true beliefs and intentions.”
Precisely.