"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.
