Jesuit priest Thomas Reese on Twitter

I spent about 10 minutes looking at Jesuit priest, Thomas Reese's tweets on Twitter for the month of April. 

It's no surprise this Jesuit, like his counterpart Fr. James Martin, have a Twitter feed packed with liberal, progressive often anti-Catholic tweets promoting/sharing articles in favor of homosexuality, gay marriage, heresy, etc. 

Here are a few from the month of April... 

This article is about a lesbian who says God called her to be a Methodist minister even though the Methodists are still battling within their denomination over homosexual clergy. 

Article quote: "Cullom came out as a lesbian during her senior year at LaGrange College, a United Methodist-affiliated school about 90 miles south of her home in Kennesaw, Ga.  For a time, she was engaged to another woman, but broke it off before seminary and has not had a partner since." 

"After delivering the sermon, she realized: “This is what I’m supposed to do.”
She had moved from “I won’t play in your sandbox” to “Wait a minute. It’s my sandbox. I’m going to play here. You can get out if you don’t like it.”
In her classes, she had learned about Martin Luther, John Wesley, Jarena Lee, Maria Stewart — Christians who pursued their call to preach in spite of the established church."

***

Reese seems to really, really like the potential prospect of a "married" abomination in the White House. He tweets articles about homosexual politician Pete Buttigieg over and over and over again. 

Buttigieg says: "My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man. And yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God. (applause) You may be religious and you may not. But if you are, and you are also queer, and you have come through another side of a period of wishing that you weren’t, then you know that that message, that this idea that there is something wrong with you, is a message that puts you at war not only with yourself but with your Maker. And, speaking only for myself, I can tell you that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far far above my pay grade. And that the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand: that if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my Creator."

There is so much wrong with that its hard to know where to begin. But lets start with the obvious, Buttigieg does not have a marriage. What he's got is a big old case of ABOMINATION and he's looking at an eternity in Hell if he doesn't repent and come out of it before his death. He cannot blame God for making him gay, no one is born gay. 

The Word of God is very clear that the only sexual relationship God approves is 1 man + 1 woman= marriage. That's it. 

*** 

Reese then tweets about Holy Communion for divorced and "remarried" couples...giving full credit to Pope Humbleness himself, Francis. God save us from this pope! 

***
Reese then shares an article about the pornographic vulgar show "Game of Thornes". 

Totally ignoring Catholic teaching on the subject of sex and violence on television and other media outlets. 

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS

PORNOGRAPHY AND VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA: A PASTORAL RESPONSE

Here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_07051989_pornography_en.html 

For Reese, note #29: 
"29. THE CHURCH AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS. For the Church, the first responsibility is the constant, clear teaching of the faith and, therefore, of objective moral truth, including the truth about sexual morality. In an era of permissiveness and moral confusion, this requires that the Church be a prophetic voice and, often, a sign of contradiction. The so-called "ethic" of immediate personal gratification is fundamentally opposed to integral human growth and fulfillment. Education for family life and indeed for responsible life in society requires formation in chastity and self-discipline. By contrast, pornography and wanton violence can blind individuals to the divine image in the human person, can weaken marriage and family life and can do serious harm to individuals and to society itself. Wherever possible, the Church must join with other churches, denominations and religious groups in teaching and fostering this message. It must also make the best possible use of its own institutions and personnel to give education and formation concerning the media of social communications and their proper role in individual and social life. Special attention should be given to assisting parents in their efforts.  Thus, media education belongs in Catholic schools and other educational programs, in seminaries,8 in formation programs of religious and secular institutes, in the continuing formation of priests and in parish programs for youth and adults. Priests and Religious in pastoral and educational work should themselves be discrimating consumers of media who give good example in what they read and view."


***

From there Reese pushes a growing trend of people finding their faith in a new "religion" based on the witchcraft books "Harry Potter" and made popular by a podcast that reads the books and looks for spirituality in the fantasy fiction novels.  

Article quote: 
"Just about any text can be treated as sacred, Zoltan said. But, she added, “Harry Potter” is uniquely well suited because of its ubiquity — the book series has launched spinoffs, films, a Broadway play, a theme park, even an entire genre of music called “wizard rock” — and its overarching message of love."

***

Reese also shared "Heretic House"... a welcoming place for heretics to gather. 
(I am wondering when Reese and Fr. James Martin will be checking in.) 👀

***
Then Reese took a shot at Raymond Arroyo and EWTN tweeting this... 

Article quote: "EWTN's iconic host, Raymond Arroyo, no longer even makes any attempt to appear balanced when discussing the church. If his guest is an ally, he displays no inquisitiveness in his interviews. This is not a news program anymore but simply a propaganda arm of the anti-Francis, pro-Trump Catholic brigade. Last week's show was especially bad. 

First up was a segment with the "papal posse" — conservative writer Robert Royal and Fr. Gerald Murray — about the Washington appointment of Archbishop Wilton Gregory. Royal said that this appointment amounts to "Cardinal Wuerl by other means" and said he did not see this shift as a changing of the page. Arroyo said a Washington Catholic said the appointment amounted to "business as usual." Murray said Gregory needed to find out what happened in the McCarrick case, although there is nothing in the Washington archives that would explain how McCarrick came to be appointed to Washington. 

Later in the segment, Arroyo brought up Pope Francis' comments on the death penalty during a press conference on the plane back from Morocco. Murray said: "This is an extremely serious problem, Raymond, the pope does not have the power to change the teaching of the church … that the death penalty is moral in some cases." He said that if Hitler has been executed it would have been a good thing. Note to Murray: When you invoke Nazi analogies, you have almost always lost your argument. Arroyo suggested the death penalty allows people to get their soul in order before death.

Then the posse moved on to criticize the pope because of his defense of migrants, and Royal noted that in Europe, the people are not in agreement with the pope, a criterion never introduced during the pontificate of John Paul II on, say, the issue of contraception. He echoed the kind of nationalistic impulses that we hear from right-wing politicians here in the U.S. and in Europe."[clipped for length]

Personally, I thought this show was great and spot on. I love the "Papal Posse" and look forward to when they are on "The World Over"(EWTN). 

*** 

This last tweet has a gay flag as the centerpiece for a Vatican conference about war and violence and the hope that Francis will write an encyclical on non-violence and social change (I am guessing the flag is the key here- its all about the gays).  

Article quote: VATICAN CITY — Theologians, activists and bishops who took part in a Vatican conference earlier this month on the power of nonviolence to bring about social change are expressing hope that a future papal encyclical or teaching document will reexamine the Catholic Church's teachings on war. Participants in the April 4-5 meeting, co-hosted by Pax Christi International and the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said the reflections shared by the about 80 attendees provided ample material for Pope Francis to consider for a possible encyclical."

"The April event was the second of its kind, following a 2016 meeting at the Vatican that reevaluated the church's long-held teachings on just war theory, a tradition that uses a series of criteria to evaluate whether use of violence can be considered morally justifiable."

***

I would remind ALL our clergy, you have a duty to the laity. 

In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 




Sources: 

https://twitter.com/ThomasReeseSJ 

https://religionnews.com/2019/04/17/buttigieg-plays-the-religion-card/

https://religionnews.com/2019/04/26/harry-potter-and-the-sacred-text-creates-spiritual-experience-for-fans-of-secular-series/

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/arroyos-ewtn-show-anti-francis-pro-trump-propaganda

https://religionnews.com/2019/04/23/what-to-do-about-ordination-a-gay-divinity-school-student-ponders-her-future/

Pope Francis Must Resign

Truly, I am stunned by the events of this weekend. The SCATHING letter by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano about the corruption in the Church is simply stunning.

LifeSiteNews: "In an extraordinary 11-page written statement (see official English text below), Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, claims that Pope Francis knew about strict canonical sanctions imposed on McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI but chose to repeal them.
In his testimony, dated August 22, Archbishop Viganò, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011-2016, states that in the late 2000s, Benedict had “imposed on Cardinal McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed on him by Pope Francis,” and that Viganò personally spoke with Francis about the gravity of McCarrick’s abuse soon after his election in 2013.
But he says that Francis “continued to cover him” and not only did he “not take into account the sanctions that Pope Benedict had imposed on him” but also made McCarrick “his trusted counselor” who helped him to appoint a number of bishops in the United States, including Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Joseph Tobin of Newark. 
Archbishop Viganò also implicates Cardinals Sodano, Bertone and Parolin in the cover-up and insists various other cardinals and bishops were well aware, including Cardinal Donald Wuerl, McCarrick’s successor as Archbishop of Washington D.C.
“I myself brought up the subject with Cardinal Wuerl on several occasions, and I certainly didn’t need to go into detail because it was immediately clear to me that he was fully aware of it,” he writes. The Cardinal’s “recent statements that he knew nothing about it … are absolutely laughable. He lies shamelessly.”
“Cardinal Wuerl, well aware of the continuous abuses committed by Cardinal McCarrick and the sanctions imposed on him by Pope Benedict, transgressing the Pope’s order, also allowed him to reside at a seminary in Washington D.C. In doing so, he put other seminarians at risk,” he attests.[end quote]

Archbishop Vigano calls out all the wolves by name- Blase Cupich, Joseph W. Tobin, McCarrick, McElroy, Maradiaga and Wuerl to name just a few. From the very top beginning with Pope Francis himself, to the bottom with priests like Father James Martin. 

Quote: "Father James Martin, S.J., acclaimed by the people mentioned above, in particular Cupich, Tobin, Farrell and McElroy, appointed Consultor of the Secretariat for Communications, well-known activist who promotes the LGBT agenda, chosen to corrupt the young people who will soon gather in Dublin for the World Meeting of Families, is nothing but a sad recent example of that deviated wing of the Society of Jesus."

Vigano goes even further calling on the pope to resign... 
"Francis is abdicating the mandate which Christ gave to Peter to confirm the brethren. Indeed, by his action he has divided them, led them into error, and encouraged the wolves to continue to tear apart the sheep of Christ’s flock. In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church, he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example for cardinals and bishops who covered up McCarrick’s abuses and resign along with all of them."

But boy oh boy, I didn't see this coming and I can't believe we are at a place where we need to call for the resignation of a pope. It's sad, but entirely necessary if we are to rid the Church of this corruption. 

If the allegation are true, and they seem to be supported at this time, then Francis should indeed resign. 

What then? 

Michael Matt over at The Remnant thinks Pope Benedict should slip back into place. 

Remnant Editor's Note: "This could well mark the beginning of the end of the disastrous pontificate of Pope Francis. The former apostolic nuncio to the United States has accused Francis of repealing sanctions imposed by Pope Benedict XVI on then-Cardinal McCarrick for sexual abuse. This is a charge most serious, perhaps without precedent in modern times.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's 11-page statement, released to the National Catholic Register, accuses Pope Francis of covering for McCarrick, ignoring the sanctions that Pope Benedict had imposed on McCarrick, and also of making McCarrick a trusted counselor who became Francis's "kingmaker" when it came to American appointments and was highly instrumental in the Pope's decision to elevate far-Left bishops such as Blase Cupich of Chicago and Joseph Tobin of Newark to the College of Cardinals.
So serious is the cover-up that for the good of the Church and protection of the faithful, Archbishop Vigano has called on Pope Francis to resign. But before Francis resigns, we the Catholic faithful demand that he also remove from the College of Cardinals those who conspired even before the 2013 conclave to make Jorge Mario Bergoglio pope come hell or high water. He and the St. Gallen Group know exactly who they are.
Also, as this is an unprecedented moment in papal history, perhaps the unprecedented step of recalling Benedict XVI to the Chair of St. Peter should also be considered sooner rather than later, before this crisis gets any more out-of-control than it already is. May God save His Church MJM"

I would be stunned again if we saw this happen. Personally, I don't think Benedict would go along with this option, but you never know. He might feel responsible for this current Francis chaos and mess and wish to correct the disaster inflicted upon the laity when he, Benedict, abandoned the flock to the wolves. 

Texas Bishop Bishop Joseph E. Strickland said he believes the allegations to be "creditable" and has called for a complete investigation into this matter. He also told all his priests to “include this notice in the masses on August 26, and post it on their websites and other social media immediately.” 

Cardinal Raymond Burke has also spoken out: “The declarations made by a prelate of the authority of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò must be totally taken to heart by those responsible in the Church,” said Burke. “Each declaration must be subject to investigation, according to the Church’s time-tried procedural law." 
"After the truth of each declaration has been established, then the appropriate sanctions must be applied both for the healing of the horrible wounds inflicted upon the Church and her members, and for the reparation of the grave scandal caused,” says Cardinal Burke." 

My personal thoughts on this... this is good for the Church. I think prayers are being answered right now. The Church is at a place where the evil inside the Church can be purged out. 

I pray that Vigano is an example to other Bishops and clergy to speak out and not be afraid. The truth must come out and the rotten clergy removed. 

God bless you Archbishop Vigano for your honesty and fearlessness! 



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 



Sources: 

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/former-us-nuncio-pope-francis-knew-of-mccarricks-misdeeds-repealed-sanction

https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4049-former-apostolic-nuncio-to-the-united-states-accuses-pope-of-mccarrick-cover-up-calls-on-francis-to-resign 

https://www.lifesitenews.com//news/texas-bishop-urges-thorough-investigation-of-allegations-against-pope-franc 

https://www.lifesitenews.com//news/cardinal-burke-responds-to-former-us-nuncios-explosive-letter-about-pope-fr

Now is not the time to panic good and faithful servants

Between the latest homosexual priests scandals and cover-ups; to the pope changing the catechism some people have apparently reached their limits. 

It's understandable, but not an excuse to jump ship. 

I left a comment over on The Remnant...

Julie: I pray for this pope and I try so hard to love him...but I fear him. He seems to be purposely destructive...makes me think of the prophecy's from Emmerich about those inside the Church tearing Her down from the inside.
I wonder...will the next pope be able to "undo" what our current pope is doing?

And a wonderful woman quoted the Catechism (a part that so far, hasn't changed). 

Ann Malley replies to Julie @ CT Catholic Corner...  

Look to CCC 675: Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers (cf. Lk 18:8; Mt 24:12). The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth (cf. Lk 21:12; Jn 15: 19-20), will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of His Messiah come in the flesh (cf. 2Thess 2: 4-12; 1Thess 5: 2-3; 2Jn 7:1; 1Jn 2:18, 22).

We all knew this was coming, but we forget when these things happen. We are shook and scandalized and frustrated and angry. I happen to believe the Anne Catherine Emmerich prophecies about what is coming... the near total (the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church) destruction of the Church by Freemasons and rotten clergy in the Church. So I can't say that I am surprised by anything coming from the Church any more. It breaks my heart to see and it does make me angry, but I am not shocked by it because we have been warned. 

Anne Catherine Emmerich prophecy: 

“Last night I had a vision of the Pope. I saw St. Francis carrying the church, and the basilica of St. Peter borne on the shoulders of a little man who had something of the Jew in his countenance. It looked very perilous. Mary stood on the north side of the church with her mantle extended over it. The little man was almost bent double. He is, as yet, a laic. I know who he is. The twelve men whom I always see as the twelve new Apostles ought to have helped him, but they arrive too late; however, just as he was about to fall, they all ran up with myriads of angels to his assistance. It was only the pavement and the back part of the church, for all the rest had been demolished by the secret society helped by the servants of the church themselves. They bore it to another place, and it seems as if rows of palaces fell before it like fields of wheat in harvest time.


“When I saw St. Peter’s in this ruinous state and so many ecclesiastics laboring, though secretly, at its destruction, I was so overcome that I cried earnestly to Jesus for mercy. Then I saw my Heavenly Spouse (Jesus) before me under the form of a youth. He spoke to me for a long time. He told me that this translation of St. Peter’s signified that the Church would apparently fall to total ruin: but that, resting on these supports, she would be raised up again. Even if there should remain but one Catholic Christian, the Church would again triumph since its foundations were not cast in the intellect or councils of men. She had never yet been without members praying and suffering for her. He showed me all that He Himself had endured for her, what efficacy He had bestowed upon the merits and labors of the martyrs and He ended by saying that He would endure it all over again if it were possible for Him again to suffer. He showed me, also, in numberless pictures, the miserable aims of Christians and ecclesiastics throughout the whole world. The vision grew wider, more extended, until it embraced my own country; and then Jesus exhorted me to perseverance in prayer and expiatory suffering. It was an unspeakably great and sorrowful picture. I cannot describe it!”[clip]

And...“Then, I saw that everything that pertained to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence. Most priests were lured by the glittering but false knowledge of young school-teachers, and they all contributed to the work of the destruction. 


“In those days, Faith will fall very low, and it will be preserved in some places only, in a few cottages and in a few families which God has protected from disasters and wars.”[end quote] 

We have the Sacred Scriptures as mentioned in the catechism and many prophecies warning us about what is coming, so none of us should be shocked to be witnessing these things. Saddened yes, but not so much that we jump out of the Ark of our Salvation and into certain death. 

We were warned so that we could be prepared. 

We must hold fast to the authentic Faith, go to Mass and Confession, practice a good devout prayer life and work out our salvation as Saint Paul tells us while trying to save the souls of those around us. If we want to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant" at the end of our life, then we must be "good and faithful" until the end of our lives.

Don't jump ship in the storm- there is no salvation to be found anywhere else. 

In Christ and holding on, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 


links: 

https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4000-killing-capital-punishment-francis-vs-the-catholic-church

http://catholicprophecy.org/venerable-anna-emmerich/ 

https://www.lifesitenews.com//news/church-at-crisis-moment-that-demands-serious-pain-and-soul-searching-ewtn-p 

Sunday Review

This post is about some things that caught my eye this week. The good, the bad, the ugly and the ironic. 

Before I get to that, I've come to the conclusion that the Holy Father has an extremely narrow view of the world. All his constant talk of helping the poor (a given for any decent human being) and pushing for a larger role of women in the Church (deaconesses etc) and of course more "dialogue" is because Pope Francis, for all his globalist talk doesn't actually look at the global Catholic Church. I think he sees only the environment he was in and applies that to the entire world. 

What the Church and status of people are/look like in Argentina is not what the Church looks like in the United States, the United Kingdom or any where else. This article by Rome Reports reflects my thoughts on the influence Argentina has on Pope Francis and the Bishops of Argentina. 

On Friday, Pope Francis (again) talked of expanding the role of women in the Church...

quote Catholic Online: If women are able to freely put their gifts at the service of the entire community, "the way in which society understands and is organized is positively transformed, reflecting better the substantial unity of the human family," he said.
Because of this, a beneficial model for society is one that amplifies the presence of women in social, economic and political life at the local, national and international levels, "as well as in the ecclesial," he said.
"Women have the right to be actively involved in all areas, and their right must be asserted and protected even by legal means wherever they prove necessary."
This, Francis said, involves "expanding the spaces of a more incisive feminine presence." 

And: 

quote: However, "women can also become fully involved in exchanges at the religious level, as well as those at the theological level," the Pope said, noting that many women "are well prepared to face encounters of interreligious dialogue at the highest levels and not just from the Catholic side.""This means that the contribution of women is not limited to 'feminine' arguments or to encounters of only women," he said, adding that dialogue "is a path that man and woman must accomplish together."

...has he seen the Church in the United States? Women run nearly everything! I'd like to hear the pope speak to the problems in the United States...abortion, euthanasia, birth control, fornication- specifically the number of Catholics who live together before marriage, immodest clothing- when was the last time anyone ever heard about dressing modestly so you don't cause someone else to lust? There are dozens upon dozens of topics that Catholics in the United States (and other countries) need to hear our pope discuss, but all we get is more social agenda speeches about women's roles and the environment. It's disheartening. 

*** 

Now for the Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Ironic stuff...

The Good... 

This story is from last month but I apparently missed it. A friend sent it to me this week. The fantastic story of Father Maniyangat, who died and was taken by his guardian angel to Hell, then Purgatory and finally to Heaven where Jesus spoke to him telling him “I want you to go back to the world. In your second life, you will be an instrument of peace and healing to My people. You will walk in a foreign land and you will speak in a foreign tongue. Everything is possible for you with My grace.." ! 

Quote: "First the angel escorted me to hell. It was an awful sight! I saw Satan and the devils, an unquenchable fire of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, worms crawling, people screaming and fighting, others being tortured by demons. The angel told me that all these sufferings were due to unrepented mortal sins. Then, I understood that there are seven degrees of suffering or levels according to the number and kinds of mortal sins committed in their earthly lives. The souls looked very ugly, cruel and horrific. It was a fearful experience. I saw people whom I knew, but I am not allowed to reveal their identities. The sins that convicted them were mainly abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, hatefulness, unforgiveness and sacrilege. The angel told me that if they had repented, they would have avoided hell and gone instead to purgatory. I also understood that some people who repent from these sins might be purified on earth through their sufferings. This way they can avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven. I was surprised when I saw in hell even priests and Bishops, some of whom I never expected to see. Many of them were there because they had misled the people with false teaching and bad example."

Source: Priest Testifies to His Experience of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory After Death and His Return to His Body

I highly recommend reading this story if you haven't already! Good stuff! 

***

The Bad... 

Whenever we see Catholic clergy leading people into mortal sin it is bad, there is nothing, zero, nada good to be found in this story for Catholics in the United States. 

Quote: "CHICAGO, June 9, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — American Cardinal Blase Cupich has written a glowing introduction to the English translation of a high-ranking Vatican prelate’s new book that calls for Holy Communion to be given to civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics living in adultery as well as to cohabiting Catholics." 

and...

"Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legal Texts, argues in his book that Amoris Laetitia “could allow access to Penance and the Eucharist for the faithful who find themselves in an irregular union.” He explains “irregular union” applies to “all those who are married only civilly or living with a de facto union or tied to a previous canonical marriage.”
He argues that Amoris Laetitia allows for Catholic couples regularly committing acts of adultery to only have a “desire to change and the inability to do so” in order to receive Holy Communion."

The seeds of Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia are being reaped and the crop is deadly weeds spawned from Hell. 

Source: U.S. cardinal writes forward to new book approving Communion for adulterers 

While that is bad, there is hope coming from the Bishops in Poland (God bless them!)

For more hope read: Polish bishops’ conference calls civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics to ‘true conversion,’ not communion

***

The Ugly...

This is ugly and evil. Yesterday in New York City a large group of people decided to protest something (I really don't understand what exactly) by getting completely naked covering themselves only in body paint and walking down the streets of New York in front of families, children and tourists who had no idea what they were in for. 

It was disgusting. As Wayne Dupree puts it..."These Americans decided to walk down the streets of New York City with nothing but just body paint in protest of freedom I guess. Most will call it repulsive and childish. I call it a spirit of evil." 

I agree with Mr. Dupree. 

Source: Liberals Go Super Extreme! Body Paint Protests Through NY City

*warning: don't click the video of the "protest" its full of nudity


***

The Ironic... 

Pope Francis is speaking out about "the people being scandalized" by priests and he's putting his foot down! The irony is he's not worried about the scandalized folks still reeling from the things he's said ('who am I to judge?', 'don't breed like rabbits' etc) or by liberal priests leading people toward Hell with heretical teachings. Nope. Rather the pope is putting his foot down (rightly so) to prevent people from being scandalized because priests in Nigeria are protesting the pope's pick for Bishop. 

Imagine for a moment, that the following statement by Pope Francis were about the people scandalized by priests supporting the LBGTQxyz agenda, or "Catholic" politicians supporting abortion, birth control, euthanasia etc., or priests giving Holy Communion to people in mortal sin, or Catholic clergy and parishes marching in gay pride parades! All we can do is imagine, because our Holy Father is silent on these scandalous situations and the damage it is doing to the laity. 

Quote: According to the pope's remarks posted by Kaigama, Francis said, "I think that, in this case, we are not dealing with tribalism, but with an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord." The pope also referred to "the parable of the murderous tenants" in Matthew 21:33-44.
"Whoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the diocese wants to destroy the church. This is forbidden," the pope said.
Francis said he even had considered "suppressing the diocese, but then I thought that the church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children."
Instead, he said, every priest of the diocese, whether residing in Nigeria or abroad, is to write a letter to him asking for forgiveness because "we all must share this common sorrow."
Each priest's letter, he said, "must clearly manifest total obedience to the pope" and indicate a willingness "to accept the bishop whom the pope sends and has appointed."
"The letter must be sent within 30 days, from today to July 9th, 2017. Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended 'a divinis' and will lose his current office," the pope said, according to the posts.
"This seems very hard, but why must the pope do this?" Francis asked. "Because the people of God are scandalized. Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences."

If only our Holy Father would put his foot down over the things that actually scandalize Catholic laity on a daily basis around the world! We'd have a whole new Church! Guess the people who are scandalized by these things just don't bother the Pope much.

Source: Pope tells Nigerian priests accept bishop or be suspended



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 




Sources:

http://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=75145

http://www.romereports.com/2017/06/10/the-homeland-that-shaped-pope-francis

http://catholicsay.com/priest-testifies-to-his-experience-of-heaven-hell-and-purgatory-after-death-and-his-return-to-his-body/

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-tells-nigerian-priests-accept-bishop-or-be-suspended

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/u.s.-cardinal-writes-forward-to-new-book-approving-communion-for-adulterers

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/polish-bishops-conference-calls-civilly-divorced-and-remarried-catholics-to 

Must read...

If you haven't yet read The Remnant's "With Burning Concern: We Accuse Pope Francis" I highly recommend it. 

Partial quote: 

Your Holiness:
The following narrative, written in our desperation as lowly members of the laity, is what we must call an accusation concerning your pontificate, which has been a calamity for the Church in proportion to which it delights the powers of this world. The culminating event that impelled us to take this step was the revelation of your “confidential” letter to the bishops of Buenos Aires authorizing them, solely on the basis of your own views as expressed in Amoris Laetitia, to admit certain public adulterers in “second marriages” to the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion without any firm purpose of amending their lives by ceasing their adulterous sexual relations.

You have thus defied the very words of Our Lord Himself condemning divorce and “remarriage” as adultery per se without exception, the admonition of Saint Paul on the divine penalty for unworthy reception of the Blessed Sacrament, the teaching of your two immediate predecessors in line with the bimillenial moral doctrine and Eucharistic discipline of the Church rooted in divine revelation, the Code of Canon Law and all of Tradition.

You have already provoked a fracturing of the Church’s universal discipline, with some bishops maintaining it despite Amoris Laetitia while others, including those in Buenos Aires, are announcing a change based solely on the authority of your scandalous “apostolic exhortation.” Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of the Church.

Yet, almost without exception, the conservative members of the hierarchy observe a politic silence while the liberals exult publicly over their triumph thanks to you. Almost no one in the hierarchy stands in opposition to your reckless disregard of sound doctrine and practice, even though many murmur privately against your depredations. Thus, as it was during the Arian crisis, it falls to the laity to defend the Faith in the midst of a near-universal defection from duty on the part of the hierarchs.

Of course we are nothing in the scheme of things, and yet as baptized lay members of the Mystical Body we are endowed with the God-given right and the correlative duty, enshrined in Church law (cf. CIC can. 212), to communicate with you and with our fellow Catholics concerning the acute crisis your governance of the Church has provoked amidst an already chronic state of ecclesial crisis following the Second Vatican Council.

Private entreaties having proven utterly useless, as we note below, we have published this document to discharge our burden of conscience in the face of the grave harm you have inflicted, and threaten to inflict, upon souls and the ecclesial commonwealth, and to exhort our fellow Catholics to stand in principled opposition to your continuing abuse of the papal office, particularly where it concerns the Church’s infallible teaching against adultery and profanation of the Holy Eucharist.

In making the decision to publish this document we were guided by the teaching of the Angelic Doctor on a matter of natural justice in the Church:

It must be observed, however, that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. Hence Paul, who was Peter’s subject, rebuked him in public, on account of the imminent danger of scandal concerning faith, and, as the gloss of Augustine says on Galatians 2:11, “Peter gave an example to superiors, that if at any time they should happen to stray from the straight path, they should not disdain to be reproved by their subjects.” [Summa Theologiae, II-II, Q. 33, Art 4]

We have been guided as well by the teaching of Saint Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church, regarding licit resistance to a wayward Roman Pontiff:

Therefore, just as it would be lawful to resist a Pontiff invading a body, so it is lawful to resist him invading souls or disturbing a state, and much more if he should endeavor to destroy the Church. I say, it is lawful to resist him, by not doing what he commands, and by blocking him, lest he should carry out his will… [De Controversiis on the Roman Pontiff, Bk. 2, Ch. 29].

Catholics the world over, and not just “traditionalists,” are convinced that the situation Bellarmine envisioned hypothetically is today a reality. That conviction is the motive for this document.

May God be the judge of the rectitude of our intentions.

Christopher A. Ferrara
Lead Columnist, The Remnant 

Michael J. Matt
Editor, The Remnant

John Vennari
Editor, Catholic Family News

***Please read the full article and the MUST READ LIBER OF ACCUSATION which details many of the scandals this pope has caused the faithful: 
http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/2766-with-burning-concern-we-accuse-pope-francis

Can also be read at Catholic Family News: http://www.cfnews.org/page88/files/a39c2320d5a000af50a90f8ab2bfdfba-633.html


God bless them! 


In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner