Proving once again that many good men are sick and tired of being incarcerated in Gulag Novus Ordo, diocesan priest-writer for NCRegister, Msgr. Charles Pope, sounds like something right out of the pages of The Remnant in his report on the USCCB meeting. Here’s a chance for us to see the scandal through the eyes of a loyal priest and a good man, and one who’s obviously had enough of Pope Francis:
Lamentably, the vote to encourage the Holy See to release all documents related to former Cardinal McCarrick’s alleged misconduct did not pass. The debate seemed to center on canonical issues and even wordsmithing. Nonetheless, the fact that more than 80 bishops were willing to issue even a mild-mannered insistence to Rome shows that many are finding a voice that is willing to confront when and where necessary.
The greatest disappointment was Pope Francis’ decision to suppress any vote or action on the abuse scandals by the U.S. bishops. Some bishops remarked that this decision indicates that Rome is serious about reform—a gratuitous claim.
To most Catholics, the Pope’s actions and seeming resistance place the ownership of the scandal squarely in his court; he has increasingly become the face of the scandal.
Every faithful Catholic—and certainly every priest—has an instinct to support the Pope and our bishops, but this worldwide scandal has forced many of us to speak out.
I pray that the bishops who spoke out so courageously at the USCCB meeting will continue to do so and will also direct clear and forceful appeals to Rome and to the Holy Father. Demands for a full and credible investigation and a canonical trial of former Cardinal McCarrick are not out of place or unreasonable. Bishops are not acolytes of the Pope and their dioceses are not mere franchises of the Diocese of Rome.
I know of no one from any sector of the Church who is not heartbroken about this, while also angry and insistent upon reform. This is not a storm created in the “blogosphere.” Every day I am approached by parishioners and contacted by people from all over: young adults in our Bible study and pre-Cana programs, older Catholics in our Sodality and Knights of Columbus, catechists, staff members, long-time Catholics, recent converts, attendees at Sunday Mass, daily communicants, and those frequenting Eucharistic Adoration. They are all concerned; they are on the receiving end of questions themselves from family and friends: “What’s wrong with your Church?” They are dismayed; they are deeply concerned for the Church they still love. These are the people still in our pews, who did not leave during the cultural downslide and have supported the Church through thick and thin. These are the people who look to us. No clergyman should demonize them; they have been too good to us for us to write them off as some fringe element. They are good Catholics and are looking to us for clear teaching, for some return of the love and loyalty they have shown us through the most difficult decades of the cultural and sexual revolutions. They have been exceedingly patient with us. This is no time to be dismissive; this is a time to listen and work together with God’s good people for reform and a new springtime of faith in the Church and in the world. Somebody say, “Amen!”
REMNANT COMMENT: It's over. Pope Francis's legacy is papal mud.
So, what now?
As men such as Msgr. Pope begin to see straight through the Francis agenda, the entire Modernist revolution in the Church skates further out onto thin ice. Why? Because Francis is all about that revolution; he’s its poster boy, in fact—and the more people become weary of Francis the more they're actually becoming weary of it.
Singlehandedly, this ambitious and arrogant man is waking the Church to the real fruits of the Second Vatican Council which, essentially, are what Msgr. Pope is talking about here. He's not saying it in so many words, of course, but what Msgr. Pope is anathematizing is essentially the great big demonic spirit of Vatican II, which happens to animate just about every waking thought and action of the current pontiff.
Francis has jumped the shark. He's said too much, moved too fast and lacks the personality and imagination to keep the DCV2 airborne. He certainly doesn't have the charisma of Pope John Paul and, let’s face it, he was not blessed with the intellect of Benedict XVI. He can’t even count on the cover of novelty that was afforded to Paul VI, poor guy. He’s alone in his corner, in other words, having alienated most Catholics who still bother with it all.
There's nothing new and fresh about Pope Francis; so naturally, the Revolution he represents is growing old, moldy and stale. Even the neo-Catholics realize that Francis's toupee is slipping, along with the Council's fig leaf of orthodoxy.
Where does it go from here? God only knows. The Council and its legion will surely not go gently into the night.
But at the very least we can thank God for Francis, the main impetus for Neo-Catholics everywhere becoming what Traditional Catholics have always been: folks who want their Church back, their Mass back and their identity back. Catholics, in other words, who want to be Catholic again.
God bless Msgr. Pope. I hope he is pope someday.
