Pope Francis had an interesting, yes that is the word interesting, homily yesterday:
“In these times, it seems like the ‘Great Accuser’ has been unchained and is attacking bishops. True, we are all sinners, we bishops. He tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalize the people. The ‘Great Accuser’, as he himself says to God in the first chapter of the Book of Job, ‘roams the earth looking for someone to accuse’. A bishop’s strength against the ‘Great Accuser’ is prayer, that of Jesus and his own, and the humility of being chosen and remaining close to the people of God, without seeking an aristocratic life that removes this unction. Let us pray, today, for our bishops: for me, for those who are here, and for all the bishops throughout the world.”
With respect Holiness, PopeWatch would not be surprised if Satan were not involved in the activities of predator priests and bishops, and those who shielded them, but doubts that the Old Tempter is involved in the revelation of those sins. Rather he was doubtless involved in the concealment of those activities, including those who took refuge in silence to escape the consequences of their actions. The most charitable interpretation of all this is that either the Pope has a superb sense of truly dark humor, or that he is barking mad.
This is beginning to appear more and more that the game is now, “to attack the messenger” rather than admitting the ugly truth of systematic sin and complicity with it, embedded in the highest levels of the hierarchy. We await a true repentance and admission, and thus by so doing, freeing the Church from the real “smoke of Satan.”
Or he is simply an evil man consumed with the sin of pride. The Book of Genesis tells it well. He is his own God.
Pope to victims, ” Shut up.”
This took great courage for our Holy Father to show who the true victims are here. Just because a priest, bishops, etc. “preyed” upon children, adolescents, or young men, the whole world doesn’t need to hear about it. I propose the canonization for all such victims of truth telling. What great martyrs of our time.
In the Old Testament God sent prophets to hold the Israelites to account for their faithlessness. They were God’s drill instructors sent to whip the troops into line. St John the Baptist was more of the same. In Luke 11 Christ blasted the religious leadership with His woes. St Stephen was taking the Council to task when he was stoned to death. People always like to bring up the attempted stoning of the woman taken in adultery. They seem oddly silent about all of God’s prophets who were killed in the line of duty. The real blood letting in the Bible was more in the line of Cain and Abel, who was referred to by name in Christ’s woes.
“The Great Accuser”??? He roams the world looking for someone to accuse? This is so convoluted I can hardly recognise it as being at all Catholic! The devil uncovers our sins to scandalize? How about “The Great Tempter”? He is part & parcel of all sins that are committed!
PF is identifying himself as a bishop, as one of many, on equal terms, not as one in authority above them. When they are all bishops, there is no single authority.
” The most charitable interpretation of all this is that either the Pope has a superb sense of truly dark humor, or that he is barking mad.”
I suspect, both.