Agnus Dei, miserere nobis.
Pope Francis could not shine the shoes of JPII
Michael Hichborn
President
Lepanto Insititute
You may not know this, but there is going to be a confab in Rome of population control advocates.
Guess who is hosting? The Vatican…
From Feb. 27 – March 1 of this year, the Pontifical Academy of Science and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences will be holding a “Workshop on Biological Extinction.” The topic? Overpopulation…
Of course, this in and of itself is going to be concerning for the pewsitting Catholic. In fact, the entire idea of overpopulation is a myth from start to finish. But what is more concerning is who is invited to the party — no less than eight questionable participants who are on record as holding extreme pro-abortion, pro-contraceptive, and ideas diametrically opposed to Catholic moral teaching.
The capstone for all of this (and what concerned many Vatican observers) was a very subtle but noticeable shift in Pope Francis’ messaging on abortion… away from condemning abortion and more towards condemning the “interruption of a pregnancy” — words that Pope Saint John Paul II directly condemned as equivocation in Evangelium Vitae in 1995 [see comment below].
Now whether this means Francis intends to shift Catholic teaching away from Evangelium Vitae and Humanae Vitae is anyone’s guess… but when one aligns Francis’ messaging shift towards the language of the proportionalists and sees a litany of bioethicists holding views contrary to Catholic moral teaching… well, one has to be concerned
his Saturday marks the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, coinciding with a lunar eclipse and a comet visible to the naked eye. What better time to discuss Our Lady as Perfect Mother to us in these troubled times, than on this episode of the Lepanto Institute podcast, Bold and Stupid Men.
…and now for a real treat. You may have noticed some of the reports about posters going up in Rome poking fun at Pope Francis’ idea of “mercy” as it is extended to Malta. Interestingly enough, it seems as if the satirists aren’t stopping there. From Crux:
Today, a parody copy of L’Osservatore Romano was Emailed to bishops, cardinals and other Vatican officials.
The headline reads, “Ha Risposto!” and the text features the Pope responding to the dubia questions with silly and bizarre statements that are often direct quotations from his own homilies and interviews, culminating in each case with the answer, “yes and no.”
The parody also makes fun of Antonio Spadaro, Cardinal Kasper and other Francis allies.
Of course, it is PR mastermine Monsignor Antonio Spadaro who has had a hand in orchestrating the series of hit pieces against Cardinal Burke in the past, most recently in a speculative and outrageous attempt to tie him to white supremacists (of all things!!!) — tarring the dubia as an extremist political question rather than a spiritual one.
Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. But it sure is fun to watch Spadaro try.
As always, please pray for the Church, for our bishops and priests, and for Lepanto’s mission as we continue to unearth the truth and “restore all things to Christ.” (Col. 1:20)
Christus Vincit!
Michael Hichborn
President
Lepanto Insititute