Posted on 05/13/2015 4:13:46 PM PDT by ebb tide
According to Vaticanist Sandro Magister, Pope Francis has decided to postpone the publication of his long-awaited encyclical on the environment. The reason, according to Magister, is that the Pope realized that the document in its current state had no chance of receiving the approval of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith under the leadership of Cardinal Gerhard Müller. If it seems somewhat improper for a Cardinal to be telling a Pope what he can and can't write, don't fret, gentle reader: the text wasn't written by Pope Francis at all. The ghostwriter behind the heavily discussed encyclical is one Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of Tiburnia, a native of Buenos Aires. Archbishop Fernández, who belongs to Pope Francis' inner circle in the position of most trusted theological adviser, was already heavily involved in the writing of Evangelii gaudium, and spent the Summer of 2013 in Rome for that purpose. Last March, as Pope Francis set about to compose his Eco-Encyclical, Archbishop Fernández was again flown in to do the heavy lifting. The close working relationship apparently stretches back to the time when Pope Francis was still Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, with Fernández working largely behind the scenes, drafting the future Pontiff's important speeches and letters.
Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández (Notice the pectoral cross. Look familiar?) However, it seems that Archbishop Fernández has let the influence he enjoyed over papal affairs go to his head. In an interview published in Corriere della Sera last Sunday, he took the current wave of Ultramontanism to new heights, implying that the Curia and the entire body of Cardinals are non-essential to the government of the Church - which, while technically true, is Vaticanese for "we will push ahead, with or without the Cardinals' blessing." He also felt safe enough to criticize Cardinal Müller's recent comments that his job as Prefect of the CDF is to give the Pope's magisterium theological structure:
I have read that some say that the Roman Curia is an essential part of the mission of the Church, or that a Prefect in the Vatican is the sure compass preventing the Church from falling into ignomy, or that this Prefect guarantees the unity of the Faith and facilitates serious theology from the Pope. But Catholics know from reading the Gospel that it was to the Pope and the Bishops that Christ granted a special governance and enlightenment - and not to a Prefect or some other structure. When one hears such things, one could almost get the impression that the Pope is merely their representative, or one who has come to disturb and must, therefore, be monitored. [...] The Pope is convinced that what he has written or said cannot be treated as an error. Therefore, all these things can be repeated in the future, without having to fear receiving a sanction for it. We don't know how Cardinal Müller reacted to these sharp words, or whether, as Giuseppe Nardi surmises, he spoke directly with Pope Francis regarding the encylical, but Magister relates that sources inside Santa Marta are reporting that the Pope will not be publishing Archbishop Fernández' already completed text, and has - for the time being - tabled the entire project. It's clear that he can't let it disappear entirely without a tremendous loss of face in the public arena; UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, apparently moonlighting as a Vatican spokesman, has announced that the encyclical is set to appear in June of this year. But who will be behind the next incarnation of the encyclicus maculatus is anybody's guess.
(NB: I would like to acknowledge the work of the tireless Giuseppe Nardi, without which this article could not have been written. See his treatment, in German, here.)
I saw this posted elsewhere and I’m not sure I follow it.
It’s got a common theme with the last thread I posted: Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of Tiburnia, a native of Buenos Aires. Archbishop Fernández, who belongs to Pope Francis’ inner circle in the position of most trusted theological adviser, was already heavily involved in the writing of Evangelii gaudium, and spent the Summer of 2013 in Rome for that purpose.
I have been a faithful Catholic since birth. If the Pope publishes a global warming encyclical that supports the global warming lies and agenda, then I am done. I will leave the church because the moral authority of the church will have been squandered and thrown away by a fallable human fool.
Be still, my heart.
This may be a move of the Holy Spirit. I'm looking with cautious optimism for more shifts in the wind.
Don't speak of leaving the Church. Read a little history. We've come through far rougher times than this. The Holy Spirit took hold of Pope Paul VI --- that indecisive, melancholy, vacillating man --- and gave us Humanae Vitae.
Something is truly not right with this Pope.
The gist of it appears to be the pope has painted himself into a corner:
".. everyone has heard he's producing a new encyclical & knows what it will contain,"
--- this is what I've been criticizing from the git-go: people reacting to "what they know it will contain" when not one word of it has been published yet. People swift to pass judgment on the basis of no evidence have not exactly earned either credibility or respect.
"...recent public statements on the same subject have proved unpopular..."
Unpopular with whom? Not with the world leadership elite: national and international governments, billionaire corporate and foundation heads, academia, NGO's and QUANGO's, the talking heads in the media. Knowing how popular a sweeping climate-change encyclical would be with them, the pope's putting on the brakes --- if true--- would be a sign of principle, wouldn't it?
"...however The UN let the cat out of the bag early, and announced a publication date that gives the pope little time to overhaul the encyclical into something more acceptable."
Again, more acceptable to whom? He's going to turn his back on Ban Ki-Moon and Bill Gates to seek the favor of --- whom? James Delingpole? Christopher Monckton? Mark Steyn? The Heartland Institute? If so--- IF SO --- it's time for a Te Deum
Obviously not one of those ex cathedral things, huh?
You lay down with dogs, you come up with fleas. Fernandez is a dog. Just sayin’.
Ridiculous. Pope Francis has babbling about this nonsense for over six months.
It’s interesting how these sorts of reports are slander and hearsay for some and proof of the movement of the Holy Spirit for others.
What the Holy Father puts in the Encyclical will be a different matter. It's there where we'll have to be exacting in determining what is "prudential judgment" (non-Magisterial), what is "Bergoglio's opinion" (also non-Magisterial); and what is a part of the Ordinary Magisterium.
Are you kidding? Have you read EVANGELII GAUDIUM? Why would you expect anything better?
We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked.
This appears to be a non-sequitur. What does that have to do with ecology?
I find it amusing when people attempt to use Latin phrases incorrectly.
If a pope denies the dogma of his own religion, of which he should be very well schooled, of extra eclessium non sullus, why would anybody consider him an expert in “ecology” as you call it?
P.S. The global warming hoax is about a lot more than “ecology”. The Pope’s intimate collaboration with the evil U.N. which is pro-population control via abortion and artificial birth control, all in the name of “protecting God’s creation”, is absolutely despicable.
As for an analysis of what his purported teaching will be in this encyclical, I prefer to wait until it's published and I've read it.
I guess that's considered odd.
So why is he writing an encyclical on that of which he knows nothing about?
I won’t know until I read it. It does seem dicey.
If Francis made an announcement of another upcoming encyclical in which he explains how he plans to baptize Martians against their will, would you still wait until it was published to criticize the intent?
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