Posted on 07/14/2015 5:15:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week the Marxist quasi-dictator of Bolivia, Evo Morales, presented Pope Francis with a gift — a carved wooden hammer-and-sickle cross on which the figure of Christ is crucified.
The Vatican announced that the pope had not been informed in advance about the gift. And some commentators said that photos of the pope and Morales show that the pope was actually offended. That was a false — probably wishful — interpretation. The pope himself later announced that he was keeping the hammer-and-sickle crucifix and taking it home, saying, “I understand this work. For me it wasn’t an offense.”
And “Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi . . . said he personally wasn’t offended by Morales’ gift” (the Guardian).
The pope’s acceptance of Morales’s gift — along with his attacks on capitalism during his Latin American tour — further confirms one of the most troubling moral developments of our time: The Roman Catholic Church is currently led by a man whose social, political, and economic views have been shaped by leftism more than by any other religious or moral system.
It also reconfirms what is probably the single most important development one needs to understand in order to make sense of the contemporary world: The most dynamic religion of the past hundred years has been leftism, not Christianity, not Islam, not any other traditional religion. Indeed, regarding traditional religions, leftism has influenced them — particularly Christianity and Judaism — far more than they have influenced the Left. Mainstream Protestant Christianity, much of Catholicism (especially in Latin America, where Pope Francis lived his whole life before becoming pope), and most of non-Orthodox Judaism have become essentially liberal/Left movements with religious (and in the case of Judaism, ethnic) identity.
In terms of evil committed, what is the difference between the hammer and sickle and the swastika? Would the pope receive, let alone keep, a Fascist, racist, or Nazi sculpture with a crucified Christ on it? Of course not. Yet the hammer and sickle represents more human suffering than all of them combined. The number of people enslaved and murdered under the hammer and sickle dwarfs the number of people enslaved and murdered by any other doctrine in history.
To make things worse, Pope Francis received this gift from a man (Morales) wearing a picture of Che Guevara on his jacket. Is that, too, not worthy of condemnation by the Vatican? Che Guevara devoted his life to undermining human liberty, and to killing innocents in the name of Communism.
The only institutions that can resist the left-wing takeover of contemporary life are religious ones. When they fail, upon which institutions can we depend? What if, in a visit to an American museum, American artist Andres Serrano had presented Pope Francis with a gift — his work of art, Piss Christ — that features a crucifix in a jar of Serrano’s urine?
Would the pope have accepted it? Would he have brought it home?
There could not have been a gift that more accurately represents this pope’s value system than Christ crucified on a hammer and sickle. First, in a literal sense, that is exactly what Communists have done wherever they have assumed power — crucified Christ by working to violently destroy Christianity and murder Christians. Second, in a figurative sense, the gift represents the mélange of Christianity and Marxism, precisely what much of the Church — again, especially in Latin America, and especially in the person of this pope — stands for.
My heart breaks for the millions of Catholics who feel that their beloved Church is being led over a moral and religious cliff by a leftist pope and innumerable other leftists among cardinals, bishops, and parish priests.
Though I am not a Catholic, my heart breaks too. The only institutions that can resist the left-wing takeover of contemporary life are religious ones. When they fail, upon which institutions can we depend?
Tragically, we cannot turn to the contemporary Catholic Church. When the pope keeps a hammer-and-sickle crucifix; when the pope declares free-market capitalism, the one economic system that has lifted masses of people out of poverty, to be largely evil (“the dung of the devil”); when Cuba’s Cardinal Jaime Ortega declares that there are no political prisoners in Cuba; and when the pope issues an encyclical on global warming while the oldest Christian communities in the world are exterminated, it is clear that while one can still turn to individual Catholic priests and lay leaders for moral guidance, one cannot turn to the Church and its pope for moral guidance. On the contrary. One must fight back.
— Dennis Prager is a nationally syndicated radio talk-show host and columnist. His book, The Ten Commandments: Still the Best Moral Code, was published by Regnery. He is the founder of Prager University and may be contacted at dennisprager.com.
“Qualifications of church leaders and what should be done when Catholics priests are “bad men.”
a conscientious Catholic is OBLIGED to work towards the correction of any leader who behaves in an errant manner, or who instructs other to behave likewise...for instance, priests known to be distributing communion to facilitators of abortion should be targeted and writings made to his bishop to stop his misbehavior...should a catholic have knowledge that a priest is diddling little boys, that Catholic should refrain from attending his Mass celebrations, and if this cannot be avoided,under no circumstances should he receive a sacrament, as accepting the priest’s validity to dispense the sacraments violates his DUTY to work towards correcting or removing the offender...
If, after attempting to get the errant priest’s superiors to dispose of the offending behavior comes to nothing, or if they themselves are found out to be complicit, there remains the obligation to kick the can higher up, until a resolution is found through church channels...failing that, there is no option but to seek worship elsewhere...
As in most cases, you can’t fight City Hall, and worship then comes down to individual action...but, IMO at least, a conscientious Catholic must not allow known, unabated sinfulness from the Church infrastucture to prevail...if it means leaving the Faith, so be it...
So its ok for you to take a piece of bread from a minister who has not washed his hands after raping a little boy? Because that piece of bread is not the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ?
I pray my priest is holy and just. Of course, you want to believe that all priests are evil because you believe that the Church itself is evil. In that, we will always disagree.
I wouldn’t step foot in a “church” belonging to a denomination that allowed a molester to continue as a pastor even if it was not in the local church.
You mean you wouldn’t report it to the pastor’s superiors, in an attempt to get it stopped...? You’d be okay with the behavior continuing, and prefer to look the other other way, as long as you remain ‘pure’...?
Yes, of course I can say the same. I avoid all Catholic Churches in which they preach heresy - usually liberal type of heresy. But that’s because I live in a free world where I can take myself to any number of churches and find one of my choice. But if I’m dying and my eternal life is at stake, I will take the Host from a priest who may be less than he should. All you people think about are molesters. What’s up with that? Creepy to my way of thinking.
But if I’m dying and my eternal life is at stake, I will take the Host from a priest who may be less than he should
depends on what ‘less than he should be’means...if he in engaging in criminal behavior, and you know of it, then the resolution of your soul comes into conflict with your obligation to contest sin...but, in the end, it is of course your choice to make...
All you people think about are molesters.
no...all they think about are Catholic molesters...
Here's an example of God's thoughts of the idea.
Revelation 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;
I take that as good advice.
This is not what I was taught. This is not what Augustine says. It is NOT about the consecrator it is about the sacrament.
To think that any right-thinking person would take the Communion from anyone (and let’s face it, people in flip-flops are now handing out the body and blood of Christ) who they know is evil is ridiculous. I’m talking about extreme circumstances. I was taught to envision every eventuality.
But you still go to a Catholic Church? A church that has harboured paedophiles by simply moving them to different churches? Actions speak louder than words miss marmelstein.
Liberation Theology is strong in this one.
That is the definition of hypocrisy.
The plate containing the elements is passed out and the people take their own elements.
I find it interesting that Catholics continually downplay the seriousness of that kind of sexual sin when their preists commit it.
Why is that?
The problem is the church knowing about the sn its priests were committing and still letting them function as such, which point you have continued to avoid addressing.
Well, thanks for your response.
Is this official guidance? Is this process documented someplace? Is it local or regional? Is this a process that comes from tradition? Is it just speculation on your part? In other words, is it what you would hope to see happen?
I am curious because it is so different from what Paul prescribes in Mt 18.
Does it matter to you how the process you describe aligns with scriptural guidance for church discipline?
I am not being sarcastic at all.
I agree with you about John Paul II. But I was here when JPII was alive and I saw how plenty of posters dragged him through the mud for being "liberal" or whatever they imagined. Keep that in mind when you read posters trashing Francis. For example this article begins by trashing Pope Francis, and then covers some ground trashing JPII: What on Earth is Pope Francis Doing?.
I judge Pope Frances by his comments, beliefs and actions. He is a Marxist and he has to go now.
....”Maybe the organized church is not the future of “the church” - as in the body of Christ”....
The anti-Christ has plans for the organized church.....what we’re seeing is it be primed for that time.
It is thought the true church, the body of Christ, will eventually have to go underground...... catholics should be considering leaving the catholic church if they are Christians. Many won’t because it’s teachings keep them in bondage.
....”Roman Catholics cannot stick their head in the sand and hope Pope Francis gets ok”...
But they will...it’s already been posted on FR that they endured bad popes before so they can do likewise with Francis...not remotely understanding where Francis and the next Pope is leading them.
....”until things get back to the way it should be”....
That’s not going to happen from here on in. Even Pope Paul was working with the Globalist Agenda...Francis is simply carrying on.....and so will all Popes hereafter.
So for all the praying you’d think by this time the Catholic churches claims it is the True Church would have shown improvement on these issues.....they’ve only gotten worse. From sexual crimes to banking extortion and money laundering and the lot....like the Mafia...they simply change God Fathers.
Looks more like it's entered the Roman Catholic Church and flourishing for decades. Even the leadership attests to that from years ago to present...
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