PopeWatch: A Raw Exercise in Papal Power
- 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.
It’s my hope that the majority of the Cardinals recognize the danger of having another such dictator Pope. Surely 2/3 of the Cardinal electors understand that if they choose a Francis II (may God forbid), they condemn themselves to being subject to the whims of another despot.
The bright side to the decadent, grotesque papal court of Francis is that it is destroying the credibility of the (c)atholic left, the crew that gave us this deeply awful pontificate. No one who’s paying attention believes Francis and his fellow travelers give a damn about collegiality, canon law, rooting out sexual abusers from the hierarchy, fiscal responsibility, or the Catholic faith that’s been proclaimed for two millennia.
I’m hoping the excesses and the hubris of Francis and his hangers-on have worn out their welcome in Rome. Maybe if Francis wasn’t such a ham-handed, petulant, vindictive ass he could sell his grift better. As it is, the worse he is, the greater the possibility enough Cardinal electors will want someone very unlike Francis to be his successor.
Here’s hoping.
This is what happens when the Pope is made a law and a power unto himself without any restriction or accountability. Now yes, ultimately he is accountable to God. But the reality is that if the Pope cannot be deposed for heresy and / or abuse of power, then any tinpot tyrant given the Seat of St. Peter can do what that man has been doing. Francis will pay for this in the next life. But in the meantime, he is doing incalculable damage to the Church and indeed even to humanity by his false witness. Maybe this will teach us a very valuable lesson in Papolatry, and maybe the Cardinals, being afraid of what a replacement dictator would do, might enact changes to ensure any future Pope is subject to being judged by the criteria of Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and is prohibited from fabricating new teachings, promulgating heresies, and promoting known sexual deviants and abusers. If the Pope cannot be subjected to law because he is a law unto himself, then the Roman Church deserves everything She is getting.
When will Bishops realize that a Pope should not be a Dictator?
When they don’t excuse their own cowardice, and act like an Apostle.
(A dictator provides cover. I only went along because of- )
One simple piece of advice;
Set the Example, Don’t be the Example.
Clarity. Sincerity. Humility.
Great attributes for all of us.
The USCCB should elect Bishop Strickland as their new permanent President. That would send the desired message to Rome, and have the bonus of really infuriating Cupich and McElroy
Let Francis depose several good bishops, very publicly.
Yes. I mean it.
Expose him for what he is and what he does.
Expose the “safe” bishops for what they are and what they fail to do.
Set a precedent that the supreme legislator of the Church will bind and loose, so that when God sees fit to send us a better pope, the wolves will be escorted out of the henhouse.
This has been a strange, disruptive and directionless papacy which has confused and angered many in the pews. Even those of us that have simply tried to ignore PF find that the shadow of his office casts a pall over the land scape that is difficult to avoid. Many look forward with the expectation that “This too Shall Pass”.
Undermining the Holy Father at every opportunity, acting like a social media troll, and embracing extreme politics in order to advance oneself is a fireable offence. Good on Pontifex!
The Pope holds his office in order to defend the teachings of the Church. When he is deficient in that task all Catholics have a duty, not a right, to “withstand him to his face” as Saint Paul did to Saint Peter. All Bishop Strickland did was to stand up for traditional Catholic teaching. For that he deserves praise, not to be removed by the Pope.
In what universe is undermining the boss an effective means of advancing oneself?
… And what “extreme politics” did the good Bishop embrace?