First Year Seminarian
- 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.
I thought I remembered this from the back cover of some cheesy sci-fi fan fiction novelette!
This should have been an April 1st post. I wonder if he is a plagierist of some liberal 1st year Poli Sci srudent like Archie’s son Meadhead ?
“The cross is part of the mission… ”
“The cross, carefully emptied….. ” https://open.substack.com/pub/bigmodernism/p/a-church-that-wants-easter-without?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Egads, Pope Leo! Reminds me of many of my classmates who got sucked into the liberation theology nexus early on.
I once was told to leave class when I described liberation theology as “Jesuits with guns.”
Is this for real!?? The pope has stolen a quote for a Star Wars novel?
I can’t find the novel anywhere online. Cagney Publishing put this out, if I recall.
I think Leo must have burned them all after the connection was exposed, though there *may* be a copy left in the Vatican Library…
Even on Good Friday there’s a dog pile on the Holy Father. I had thought Calvinists hated the Pope before I converted, but that was nothing compared to Catholics.
Oh, sorry guys, that was a joke … I made it up.
Slow day at work 😀
The difference is this:
Calvinists are mad at the pope when he contradicts their beliefs in favor of sound theology.
Catholics are mad at the pope when he seems to contradict sound theology.
For the record, I’m not mad at the Pope about this, I just think he shouldn’t hire woke teenagers with immature writing skills to do his social media …
Matthew, we don’t hate Pope Leo XIV. We just pray that he will start behaving like a Catholic Pope instead of a Democrat politician from Chicago.
If you want a pope who doesn’t sound like a liberation theologian, you could try reading the whole sermon. If you want a pope who can’t be excerpted deceptively, that I can’t help you with. But just remember, every time you post a sound bite rather than a sermon, you’re on the wrong side of things.
Pinky, it was his own X account that decided this was a good soundbite, not some Pope-hating übertrad! … Are you suggesting that the Pope excerpted himself deceptively”? To what end?
I have to throw this pope a bone, small tho it be: He returned to the ancient papal tradition of celebrating Holy Thursday night Mass at S. Giovanni in Laterano, the first time since 2012 when P. Benedict XVI last did so; and instead of washing the feet of non-believers and various persons of other faiths, he washed the feet of 12 priests (which had been the tradition prior to, uh, that other man).
After the Mass he carried the Holy Eucharist in procession with the traditional Pange Lingua to the altar of repose in the side chapel, and remained in silent prayer with the congregation for some time. No one moved and those present said there was absolute silence and reverence by the whole massive crowd. Earlier he celebrated the Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s with 800 priests present, and it was also according to those present a profound and reverent event.
So, P. Leo is perhaps making small baby steps in the right direction.
(As for his many recent published comments, 70’s-style concepts, I can’t defend them. They are unworthy of the Office.)
Steve Phoenix, thank you for the update. Good to know.
A Blessed and Happy Easter to All.
Steve Phoenix, your perspective is appreciated here, as well.
For those who call out Pope haters: None of us wants to be in a position of wondering why the Vicar of Christ doesn’t seem to act like one. Leo’s predecessor even explicitly rejected that label. So far, Leo XIV hasn’t done so, at least publicly. And we do appreciate everything done to respect and adhere to ancient traditions. But we can’t help being a little cautious when we also are faced with so many actions and statements that seem flatly to contradict the Faith those traditions represent and often embody, (which in this case includes, as CAG noted, statements made in his name by people who are or should be under his direct control). Thus far, sadly, the papacy of Leo XIV is virtually indistinguishable from the previous one in many respects.
So it’s true that we who are often critical must be careful, perhaps more careful than I have been, to avoid calumny. At the same time, it also is true that our criticism is a product of our love for that same Faith. It causes many of us great heartache when our shepherds fail to be shepherds, and instead act more like secular politicians, all the while demanding the same respect they earn when they actually ARE shepherds.
Enough for now. God bless all here. St. Catherine of Siena, ora pro nobis.
One other note:
On Good Friday yesterday, after celebrating the Good Friday liturgy at St Peter’s in the afternoon, yesterday evening P. Leo actively participated in the full traditional candlelight Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum, with full and solemnly prayerful demeanor. The pope carried the cross through all 14 stations, the first pope to do so in many years (JP2 did so in 1979 until his hip surgery in 1995; P. Benedict XVI carried it for the First Station his first few years.)
The very active part he served in this important and widespread newscast event, its striking images always getting worldwide attention, speaks volumes. So again, there doesn’t seem to be a dearth of sincere faith by this pope, and that is a comforting message. We will hope for more.