Pope Francis evicts "enemy" Cardinal Burke

The rumours have been confirmed. Pope Francis evicts his US critic, Cardinal Raymond Burke, from the Vatican. 

A useful commentary of events leading to the eviction of the pope's "enemy" is provided at the beginning of the above podcast video.

Pope Francis has attracted much criticism from commentators. Traditionalist Anglicans have looked on in bemusement as he appears to be guiding the Catholic Church along the path to ruin, the path already trod by the Episcopal Church in the US, the Church of England and the Church in Wales, among others.

Having sown the seeds of hope for change among revisionists, the Vatican is trying to draw a line on women’s ordination and homosexuality in new letter to German bishops.

That will not stop revisionists from pecking away as they seek to make the Church conform to the pattern of this world rather than be transformed as the Anglican Church in the West has witnessed 

What hope can there be for a Church when Christians who practice their faith by obedience to the word rather than apostates are regarded as the enemy?

Brass Neck Barry

Archbishop Barry Morgan at the 900th anniversary celebration of the Papal decree that two trips to St Davids were the equivalent of one to Rome.  Source: Twitter

On Saturday, 22nd July 2023, St Davids diocese held an Extraordinary Diocesan Conference (EDC) to "canvass LMAs' opinions on the qualities they would like to see in the person elected as the new Bishop of St Davids".

Those qualities would been regarded as obvious based on faith and tradition before politics divided the Church in Wales.

The man regarded by many as responsible for the mess the Church in Wales finds itself in is archbishop Barry Morgan who is suspected of trying to influence opinion long after his retirement.

With the election of a new bishop approaching and a reputation for creating division Morgan made an ill-judged appearance at the special service to mark the 900th anniversary of the Papal decree that two trips to St Davids were the equivalent of one to Rome, something I would have thought would have meant little to him as a protestant.

Following his manoeuvring, St Davids was the first diocese in the Church in Wales to elect a woman bishop which would have been anathema to any pope. 

Joanna Penberthy's episcopacy has been a disaster from her mean minded attempt to get rid of elderly male clergy to her political posturing which culminated in her “Never, never, never trust a Tory” comment which attracted widespread derision. 

Described by Barry Morgan as the best person to be a bishop, she is another divisive figure who has advanced feminism over faith. She is reported by the archbishop to be "in good heart" as she prepares to retire to Cornwall following extensive periods of sick leave. 

The retirement of Provincial Assistant Bishop David Thomas, author of  'A Noble Task', gave archbishop Morgan the opportunity to decree that there would be further provision over his dead body for faithful Anglicans who, on grounds of conscience, were unable to receive the sacramental ministry of women, thus reversing assurances which led to the ordination of women and their elevation to the episcopacy in the Church in Wales.

I am not clear what message the archbishop was trying to convey in his presidential address to the EDC other than a facilitator would be listening to the views of people in St Davids diocese. 

Hopefully the errors of the past will be heeded by putting faith before politics. To that end, all Anglican views must be heard, including those excluded Anglicans who, in the words of St David, Keep the Faith.

Coronation thoughts

Their Majesties King George VI, Queen  Elizabeth II and King Charles III.  Source: Wikimedia Commons

I remember the shock of hearing that King George VI had died. It was a time of great sadness. 

Along with Prime Minister Winston Churchill the king set an example of fortitude which did much to encourage those of us huddled around the wireless listening to the endless WW2 news broadcasts, so many in fact that I wondered how the BBC would fill the airtime after the war. 

My lasting memories of Queen Elizabeth's coronation are of the Westminster Abbey entrance procession to Parry's, I was glad, and of Queen Sālote of Tonga shunning the rain, smiling and waving to the crowds from her open carriage in a procession of carriages with tops firmly closed.

Charles III's coronation will be different. It has been scaled down. Security is a greater risk but the processional route is much shorter. 

It will be a multi-faith occasion. I understand the motives but, as I mentioned in my previous entry, I doubt the wisdom of including believers of different faiths and none in what is essentially a Christian service.

On a more positive note, Pope Francis will be represented inside the abbey this time. When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. the papal representative had to observe the ceremony from 'an especially-built stand outside Westminster Cathedral', because he was not allowed to enter a non-Catholic church.

Pope Francis has also sent a coronation gift, two shards of wood said to have come from the cross on which Christ was crucified. The shards have been incorporated in The Cross of Wales, a new processional cross presented by King Charles as a centenary gift to the Church in Wales.

An ironic choice since the bishops of the Church in Wales have abandoned the received faith of the Church in favour of secularism. 

The Pope's apparent obsession with taking the Catholic Church down the same path as the Anglican Church, deciding doctrine by committee, is not encouraging. He has only to look at the Church in Wales to see where that leads. Neither has the Church of England heeded the lesson, allowing revisionists to change Church beliefs for their own ends. 

They achieve this by introducing change gradually so that people become accustomed to it. It has happened in Church and State. A glaring example will be the crowning of Queen Camilla alongside King Charles. 

Much has changed since I heard of the death of King George VI. I can't imagine what the world will be like when Prince William is crowned, assuming the monarchy is not abolished.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI RIP

 

May Angels lead you into paradise;

may the Martyrs receive you at your coming

and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.

May a choir of Angels receive you,

and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest.

Steps to oblivion

Roman Catholic Women Clergy                                                                                                                                            Source: Roman Catholic Women Priests

"The woke Pope epitomises liberal illiberalism. The ‘merciful’ leader of the Catholic Church is persecuting a harmless minority: traditionalists." - Tim Stanley writing in The Telegraph reported here.

Stanley writes: "The Pope, you have probably read, is ever-smiling, merciful and tolerant. Towards some, that might be true; for others, it’s a cruel joke. His treatment of traditional Catholics, to give just one example, is a case study in liberal hypocrisy."

That has a familiar ring for Anglicans, particularly in Wales.

'Will he, wont he?' articles about the Pope's intentions on the ordination of women have appeared with increasing regularity', often driven by a sympathetic media obsessed with their interpretation of equality but with no understanding of priestly ministry or theology.

 Initially Francis sounded sympathetic to the notion of women priests but then denied it while appearing to leave the door open  to discussions on setting up a female deaconate, the first step on an incremental path chosen by revisionists in the Anglican Church.

Hence the question: Is Francis laying the foundation for women to become recognized priests?. The move has been described as "a huge step forward for gender equality in the largest religious denomination" but the priesthood is not about gender equality.

Officially opening the ministries of lector and acolyte to women, Pope Francis said that there was nothing new about women proclaiming the Word of God during liturgical celebrations or carrying out a service at the altar as altar servers or as Eucharistic ministers. In many communities throughout the world these practices are already authorized by local bishops.

The direction is obvious. As 'local practices' are allowed to spread they appear increasingly commonplace leading to acceptance as normal.

According to Roman Catholic Women Priests (RCWP), which describes itself as "an International Movement within the Roman Catholic Church", women 'priests' are already ministering in over 34 USA states and are also present in Canada, Europe, South and Central America, South Africa, Philippines and Taiwan. They have prepared a video 'Making Catholicism relevant' showing several worshiping communities and their liturgies.  

Germany's Synodal Assembly has voted for Catholic women deacons by large majority with further calls for gay blessings and married priests. Pope Francis has encouraged the process of synodality, a process of discernment which he describes as listening to the Holy Spirit through the word of God, prayer and adoration after listening to one another.

In another move, a group of Catholic and Anglican theologians has publicly called on the Vatican to review and overturn a papal document from 1896 that declared Anglican ordinations "absolutely null and utterly void", something on which Pope Francis has spoken sympathetically and which many have been praying for but now complicated by decisions within various provinces of the Anglican Communion to go it alone and ordain women.

As I wrote in a previous entry, "One would have thought that the innovation of ordaining women in the Anglican Communion would have provided the Vatican with sufficient experience-based evidence that, in general, women who seek ordination are advancing themselves not the Kingdom of God.

Tim Stanley is right. It should be plain for all to see. 'Traditionalist' Roman Catholics are being marginalised as Anglicans have been marginalised, left to witness the destruction of their Church while revisionists advance, step by step, by any means available to them encouraged by false prophets

Who would have thought it possible but a foot in the door is all that is needed, the first of a series of incremental steps to oblivion.

The naivety of Christian leaders

Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi in February 2019.                                                                            Source: Guardian/Luca Zennaro/EPA

In February 2019 Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, met in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They signed a declaration of fraternity, calling for peace between nations, religions and races. The document pledged that al-Azhar and the Vatican would work together to fight extremism. 

"Violence, extremism or fanaticism could never be justified in the name of religion" said Francis. But what is extremism?

The UAE promoted itself as a "regional leader in religious diversity and tolerance" where Christians were free to worship at churches and wear religious clothing. 

However, Open Doors, which monitors discrimination against and persecution of Christians around the world, said the UAE government does not allow Christians "to evangelise or pray in public. Converts from Islam endure the most persecution as they face pressure from family members and the local community to recant their Christian faith."

A day before three Catholics were slaughtered in Nice's Notre-Dame Basilica, Sheikh el Tayeb demanded an international law banning criticizing or insulting Islam. 

Church Militant's Dr Jules Gomes responded in a tweet: If there were no death penalty in Islam for blasphemy and Islam were as tolerant as Pope Francis insists, there would be no need for a global law forbidding criticism of Islam.

Sheikh el-Tayeb claimed that millions of Muslims had paid the price for the actions of “a handful of criminals” following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

Persecution.org recently reported:  Another Pakistani Christian Girl Becomes Victim of Forced Conversion and Forced Marriage.

It is Christians who are paying the price of intolerance while their leaders continue to take part in 'brotherly love' exercises with Muslims whose religious aim is to convert all to Islam while complaining of Islamophobia to conceal the truth.  

Christian leaders would do well to heed the warning of bishop Michael Nazir-Ali who explained back in 2011 how Christianity has become almost extinct in the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity, and Islam, the 'religion of peace', has became dominant in the Arab world.

Pope's support for same-sex civil unions

Pope Francis                                                                                  Source: Twitter

American Magazine carries the headline:

 "Pope Francis declares support for same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope"

"Gay couples deserve legal protections for their relationships" Pope Francis said in a documentary.

Fine. Not so fine if this is taken as a green light leading to same-sex marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others and for life.

Same sex partnerships are to be welcomed but activists take any opportunity to further their cause. Witness feminism in the Church and how civil partnerships were bent and twisted in demands for same sex marriage.

Pope Francis has not changed his stance. When Archbishop of Buenos Aires he advocated same-sex civil unions in an attempt to block a same-sex marriage law.

Probably the best archbishop we never had, Bishop Michael Nazir Ali, summarises the situation in this tweet:

"Anyone living together in long term arrangements should have legal protection. This can include siblings or mother and daughter, as well as those in other kinds of relationships being protected eg in tenancy or visiting rights. Such legislation, however, should not mimic marriage."

Exactly.

Dreams to reality

Rev. Mary Glasspool (right)  the second openly gay bishop elected in the US Episcopal Church. (AP)

"ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) -  Pope Francis said on Tuesday more study was needed on the role of women deacons in the early Christian Church, which eventually could affect decisions on the role of women today.

"Francis and his predecessors have ruled out allowing women to become priests. But advocates of women priests say a ruling that women in the early Church were ordained ministers might eventually make it easier for a future pope to study the possibility of women priests."

The movement for the ordination of women has a clear track record. Claim victimhood, gain support of secularists, substitute equality for theology, foot in the door, deacon, priest, bishop, LGBT rights, gay church, exclusion of orthodox Anglicans, decline and collapse. Queering the Church continues unabated.

From Another screw in the Anglican coffin (2011): "The slow death of the Anglican church looks set to continue. While the role of bishops and priests becomes ever further divorced from traditional religious reality congregations continue to haemorrhage."

The writing on the wall has been clear for some time.

Postscript [09.05.2019]

On the plane again
"Catholics would do well to pay greater attention to the programme which resulted in the ordination of women in the Church of England." - ignatius his conclave

Black or white?

Soon all eyes will be on the Sistine Chapel roof waiting for the puff of smoke which will tell the world that there is a new pope or, more likely, commentators will be trying to discern whether it is black or white while waiting to hear the bells to confirm their hopes or if there is to be another anxious wait.

Speculation has been rife ever since Pope Benedict XVI announced that he was to retire with much talk of an African pope. Watching Pope Benedict's final audience I was intrigued by a question put by a BBC commentator to a black African in the crowd. Did he think it was time for an African pope? Back came the answer that it was not where he came from but that the right man would be elected. Not to be thwarted the commentator tried again asking a black African nun a similar question. Looking rather astonished at the question, her answer was the same. How refreshing that the response of these two pilgrims had no political motivation, just trust in the work of the Holy Spirit, so different to the claims and counter claims we have become accustomed to in the Anglican church dominated by a liberal agenda that demands re-writing the rules if the Holy Spirit is thought not to be moving in the direction indicated.

I was particularly interested in another question about the desirability of electing a pope of African or South American origin because congregations there are growing so strongly. - The fact that these countries are growing so strongly suggests that what the Catholic church really needs is a man to reverse the decline elsewhere, particularly in Europe. Pray that whoever is elected is for the good of all the church. 

Togetherness

A step in the right direction again thanks to Pope Benedict XVI.

The sound of silence

Who could fail to be moved by the Pope's visit to our shores. Already there have been many special moments. The enthusiasm of young people has been truly inspiring as exemplified by a young student, Paschal Uche, who greeted the Pope on behalf of those who had waited patiently outside Westminster Cathedral as the Mass proceeded inside. But what has struck me most forcibly is the hush of reverence that descends on the multitudes as if sensing the presence of the Lord. What would the typical Anglican priest give for that expectant silence, absent in most Anglican churches.

That difference was mirrored profoundly by two women who were interviewed. First, a Catholic, who despaired that a women could even consider wanting to be a priest protesting that such women showed no understanding of the priesthood. The other, an elderly ordained Anglican woman from Women and the Church, complained that her grandchildren did not want to belong to a church that did not ordain women - the sort of 'I want' attitude the Pope has been warning about.

The overwhelming support the Pope has received suggests that the normally silent majority cherishes what they have, or what little they have left. Activists are busy changing everything for their advantage according to their secular whims. Perhaps it is too late for the Anglican church but not for Christianity as a whole. Divided we fall leaving a vacuum in Britain that others will fill with an ideology that does not tolerate dissension. If that happens we shall all be the losers.

POSTSCRIPT

From my Blog List, "Christ in our midst", this stark warning:

http://thehandmaid.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/ground-zero-mosque/

A sense of proportion

Righteous indignation has greeted the Foreign Office memo which suggested some outrageous activities for the Pope during his forthcoming visit to Great Britain in September but from the coverage by the BBC one would have thought it were Government policy rather than the silly ideas of a junior official produced in a brainstorming session.

The ideas were not very bright especially coming from an Oxford graduate but neither was the idea of circulating the memo which appeared to give it greater credence nor the decision by The Sunday Telegraph to publish it. However, brainstorming sessions force sometimes apparently ridiculous ideas into the open for consideration although on this occasion it should have been obvious that some of them would be considered gratuitously offensive. But to talk of the Pope cancelling his visit over the issue as suggested in the press goes too far. As the Vicar of Christ on Earth, the Pope will be well aware of the wounds people suffer for their faith.