Go here to read the story. Well, at least it is a change from blaming all wars on arms merchants. The truth is the Pope simply isn’t very bright, compared at least to other popes, and PopeWatch guesses that he delegated this to someone else at the Vatican to write, and the Scriptural reference flew right by him.
He used John 8:44? Knowing Jesus directed this statement to the Jewish religious leaders of His day? What an idiot! I think ot was intentional. He wanted to call Israelis those things. He loves Musloids, trans-sexed perverts, James Martin, liberal Democrats; he hates conservative Catholics and Jews.
Purposely not that bright.
The end of felt banner age.
Ecumaniacal surrender to todos, todos, todos! (Except the Jews – smack those guys down.)
So much of what he says makes little sense, particularly when combined with the other things he says.
Perhaps God is allowing him to become what many Catholics have considered the Pope to be – a sort of Delphic oracle, feeding us new pronouncements of God’s will.
The problems with this are several. First, that was never the role of the Pope (Read Acts). Second, the Deltic sybil was spouting gibberish that was made into vague pronouncements by the attendants (hmmm). Third, the external spirit (if any) providing the gibberish was not God.
It seems to me that this episode might be somewhat of a rorschach test. I found it interesting that the linked article didn’t link to the letter in question, and the one hyperlink in the article is to a religion “news” service article in which the link address specifically cites the verse as “anti-semitic,” which I suppose at least gives one the working bias of the author; hence my comment about the rorschach test.
If Pope Francis is linking the “spirit of war” to the devil who is a murderer, which is ultimately who Jesus is talking about in that passage, then I don’t see the particular controversy. War may sometimes be necessary and thus in those cases just, but the conflict and greed and hatred which precipitate them surely arises from the foul demon and the hearts of fallen men who in their sin are his children. St. John provides the gloss for John 8:44 in 1 John 3:8 where he states that “He that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the beginning.”
I don’t know Pope Francis’ particular opinion of the conflict, but I don’t see how this rises to something particularly controversial, but then again, I guess Crux has to make money somehow, although it doesn’t seem to be by means of providing the text they are editorializing on it in this instance.
I don’t know if the Pope realises that his words don’t hold weight to the world leaders waging war. They disregard him. And I don’t know that if that even bothers him.
It seems as though he is going through the motions. His body language of late, taking into account his age, shows a person who is indifferent and bored. It could be a lack of prayer life…
I think we put too much expectation on him delivering as the leader of our Faith. Lower your expectations and wait it out…
“The truth is the Pope simply isn’t very bright”
I think there’s more method to his madness than you may want to believe, Don. Pope Francis may not be the brightest bulb in the socket, but he outsmarts many of his critics who do much of the heavy lifting for him.