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[Catholic Caucus] Priests must play soccer, not preach dogma, says Pope in broadside against traditionalists
The Catholic Herald ^ | August 4, 2023 | Crux Staff

Posted on 08/04/2023 11:35:09 AM PDT by ebb tide

[Catholic Caucus] Priests must play soccer, not preach dogma, says Pope in broadside against traditionalists

Rome – Pope Francis has attacked the “corruption” of restorationist movements within the Church and said the Second Vatican Council has not yet been fully implemented.

In his latest surprise media interview, with a Spanish language outlet that appeared at the same time he’s in Lisbon celebrating World Youth Day, the Argentine Pontiff hit out at the “prophets of confusion” undermining the mission of the Church.

He said people with “right-wing” ideologies were the most dangerous faction in the Church and he called for a generation of priests who played soccer instead of going into communities to preach .

“We need normal seminarians, with their problems, who play soccer, and who don’t go to the neighbourhoods to dogmatise,” Pope Francis said.

Describing himself as “a stone in the shoe” for people who are opposed to his ecclesiastical and political vision, the Pope told Vida Nueva that he did not feel the time is ripe for a Third Vatican Council, in part because “Vatican II still has not been implemented”.

The Holy Father also condemned ideological movements in the Church which, he said, “dress up in a restorationist air, with a lot of apparent mystique, but also a lot of corruption”.

Francis also expressed frustration that he was unable to reform the Church as much as he would have preferred.

His reform efforts to date in the Church have revealed “a certain impotence” in that there’s only so far “over the limit” it’s possible to go, he told the magazine, admitting that “I have not yet dared to put an end to the culture of a [royal] court in the Curia”.

Referring to criticism he’s received for gestures such as regularly meeting transgender persons at his Wednesday audience, Francis cited the example of Jesus in the Gospels, who spent a large amount of time in dialogue with people who weren’t necessarily his followers.

“The first time they came and saw me, they left crying, saying I had given them a hand, a kiss, as if I had done something exceptional for them,” he said.

“But they are children of God! He still loves you just the way you are. Jesus teaches us not to set limits.”

On international affairs, Francis said he is a determined opponent of imperialism in all forms, especially in Latin America.

“Imperialism is very strong, and America is the victim of empires of all kinds,” the Pope said, without citing any specific empire

He said that the answer is to focus on the people as “protagonists of their own destiny,” though not on populism.

“I speak badly of any empire, of whatever sort,” the Pope said. “For this reason, I know that I am a stone in the shoe for more than one when I report these situations, so they have to somehow drive away the pain of the stone.”

In respect of World Youth Day, the Pope said that any pastoral approach driven by ideology, “of the left, the right or the centre … is sick from the beginning, and hurts the young.”

“Right now, groups linked in some way to right-wing ideologies are perhaps the most dangerous,” Francis said.

“I fear intellectual youth groups, those who summon young people to reflect and then they fill them with weird ideas,” he said.

On other fronts, Francis said:

The full text of the interview, in Spanish and broken into various sections, can be found on the Vida Nueva site by clicking this link.

Founded in Spain in 1958, Vida Nueva is a weekly print publication that also operates an active daily web site offering news and commentary on Catholic affairs. The platform’s editorial line is seen as more or less centrist.


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: antipope; apostatepope; catholic; dictatorpope; donatedonaldtrump; donatefreerepublic; donatetrump; tlm
Francis also expressed frustration that he was unable to reform the Church as much as he would have preferred.

Scary comment coming from Bergoglio! Who is his master?


1 posted on 08/04/2023 11:35:09 AM PDT by ebb tide
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To: Al Hitan; Fedora; irishjuggler; Jaded; kalee; markomalley; miele man; Mrs. Don-o; ...

Ping


2 posted on 08/04/2023 11:38:59 AM PDT by ebb tide (The pope ... said the church's “catechesis on sex is still in diapers.”)
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To: ebb tide
"We need normal seminarians, with their problems,"

Like pederasty and homosexuality, problems which have cost the church a few billion in legal settlements?
3 posted on 08/04/2023 11:42:17 AM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: ebb tide

Is the Pope Catholic? Perhaps not.


4 posted on 08/04/2023 11:45:28 AM PDT by CIB-173RDABN (I am not an expert in anything, and my opinion is just that, an opinion. I may be wrong.)
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To: Steve_Seattle
Liberals are drawn to soccer precisely because it is one of the few remaining venues where American exceptionalism does not prevail. The World Cup, rather, is a working model of President Obama’s foreign policy vision: a world in which America has no special role, where inferior countries are no longer humbled by American greatness, where every country is exceptional, and free shots on goal are not earned, but given away as a handout to those who have mastered the art of falling down. In the group stage, at least, the games can end in a tie.


5 posted on 08/04/2023 11:48:40 AM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity’s waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: DoodleBob

Good meme.


6 posted on 08/04/2023 11:52:34 AM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Equity" = "All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others.")
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To: ebb tide

The Joe Biden of popes. Destroying the organization he is in charge of for his own vanity.


7 posted on 08/04/2023 12:15:57 PM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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Comment #8 Removed by Moderator

To: ebb tide

“Right now, groups linked in some way to right-wing ideologies are perhaps the most dangerous,” Francis said.”

I suppose one has got to give the S.O.B credit for consistency on this point. For 10 years, his bete noire has been “right wingers.” It’s been “no enemies to the left; no friends to the right.” That’s his position, and he’s sticking to it, hell or high water.


9 posted on 08/04/2023 7:01:34 PM PDT by irishjuggler
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