Posted on 04/02/2025 3:17:36 PM PDT by ebb tide
On February 14th, Pope Francis was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome for bilateral pneumonia. For about a month, news regarding his health became an enigma, a secret filtered through the regular bulletins from the Vatican Press Office.
Starting from March 15, 2025, these updates were reduced to just one, which gave hope for an improvement in the Pontiff's health. On March 23rd, Pope Francis was subsequently discharged. Everything seemed fine, apparently. Yet, the situation is not as clear as the Vatican would like to suggest. Beyond the real health conditions of Francis, there are many analysts (both Catholic and non-Catholic) concerned about the implications of what has been happening in recent weeks.
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and his deputy, Monsignor Edgar Peña Parra, were among the very few who, more or less regularly, had personal and highly confidential meetings with Francis since the beginning of his hospitalization. As the Italian analyst Nico Spuntoni wrote, these days we have witnessed a true strengthening of the power of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
Shortly after being discharged from the hospital, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had developed very serious communication difficulties, to the point that he would need to 'learn to speak again.' Cardinal Parolin stated on March 27th that 'perhaps not as before, but the Pope will return to govern.' This statement raises a legitimate question: who has been governing until now? And what would these 'different ways of governing' consist of?
Another distinguished Italian expert on Vatican affairs, Matteo Matzuzzi, has described Pope Francis's media disappearance as a scandal for our times, dominated by the cult of image. This aspect becomes even more significant when considering how the Pontiff, since the beginning of his papacy, has shaped his role around constant public exposure. The Pope of selfies, live streams, daily statements, continuous doctrinal updates, and legislative hyperactivity has suddenly retreated into the shadows. For a leader who accustomed the faithful to a massive communicative presence, the prolonged absence could not help but raise questions and even distasteful conspiracy theories.
Yet, some questions seem legitimate. If the Vatican's media machinery has always done everything to keep Francis at the center of attention, why does it now seem to almost eclipse him? The communication saturation that characterized his pontificate for years may have now become a boomerang, making his current invisibility even more suspicious. But the issue is not just about image. At the core lies the question of actual power within the Vatican. If Francis's condition is more serious than officially admitted—and some medical signs might suggest this, considering respiratory problems that could also imply states of hypoxia and reduced lucidity—who is really making the strategic decisions for the Church?
It is worth recalling that, even according to Pope Francis's trusted canonist, Jesuit Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda—echoing a centuries-old Catholic legal tradition—amentia, or the absence of mental clarity, is equivalent to the Pope's death and therefore constitutes grounds for the cessation of his office. However, with one crucial detail: the absence of clarity must be “certain and continuous.” If that were the case, why does no one openly raise the issue? Not even a comparison with John Paul II stands. Pope Wojtyła, in fact, faced his illness with a transparency that earned him worldwide respect. In Bergoglio's case, on the other hand, opacity can only fuel doubts and suspicions.
And while the Pontiff now has to struggle to recover more or less definitively from a challenging clinical condition, the influence of certain cardinals seems to be growing significantly, to the point where one might fear the existence of a sort of 'shadow government,' capable of steering the Holy See's choices according to less transparent logics and interests than they would have us believe.
Despite Francis's condition, for instance, Cardinal Mario Grech has announced that the Synod's calendar has been set until 2028. The Synod on Synodality, arguably one of the most controversial projects of Francis’s pontificate, continues undisturbed under the leadership of Grech, a Maltese cardinal rising among the papabili and a trusted figure of the hyper-progressive Jesuits—seen by some as the alter ego of the Jesuit Jean-Claude Hollerich, also among the cardinals.
This synodal process, presented as a form of 'greater participation,' is, in reality, a dangerous tool for the democratization of the Church, where the hierarchy progressively relinquishes its guiding role in favor of a permanent assembly of bishops and laity. The reduction of the Church to a parliamentary democracy echoes what Cardinal Martini had already envisioned back in 1999.
The ultimate goal is becoming increasingly clear: to transform the Church into a fluid institution, increasingly shaped by the principles of secular progressivism. This project finds resonance in some national episcopal conferences, which are ever more committed to diminishing the Pope's doctrinal primacy in favor of a decentralized autonomy, undermining the unity of the universal Church and its ability to convey conservative values in civil society.
In the meantime, as if that weren't enough, bishops across Europe bow before Brussels. At a time when the European Union is experiencing an unprecedented institutional, political, and economic crisis—with a devastating conflict at its eastern borders ongoing for far too many years and the sudden loss of the United States as a key ally—the bishops not only fail to seize the opportunity to reconsider the very nature of the Union but rush to reaffirm their total adherence to the project.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi (see here and here), president of the Italian bishops and a leading figure of Catholic leftism, reiterated on March 11 the Church's commitment to acting as a guardian of democracy, with an uncritical acceptance of Europeanist dogmas. “The European founding fathers were courageous, breaking with entrenched nationalist logics,” said the cardinal. “Today, the evil of nationalism takes on new forms. The weakening of international structures will soon become a cause of greater uncertainty for everyone, not greater security. We must invest in the European Project.”
Not a word about the causes of the European crisis, the technocratic drift of Brussels, or any doubts about their growing interference in citizens' lives. It is yet another confirmation of how the Catholic hierarchy has now abandoned any claim to defend the sovereignty of nations and the freedoms of peoples, reducing itself to a mere ideological instrument. This alliance appears increasingly symbiotic, with the Church aligning itself with leftist agendas without any resistance, sacrificing its prophetic mission in favor of a supporting role for transnational elites. The current crisis is not only institutional but also cultural and spiritual: the sense of objective truth and the Christian foundations of our Western civilization are being progressively eroded in favor of a false worldly pragmatism that even waters down the Gospel.
The ultimate goal is becoming increasingly clear: to transform the Church into a fluid institution, increasingly shaped by the principles of secular progressivism. This project finds resonance in some national episcopal conferences, which are ever more committed to diminishing the Pope's doctrinal primacy in favor of a decentralized autonomy, undermining the unity of the universal Church and its ability to convey conservative values in civil society.
Ping
They have subcontracted the job to the Biden/Obama staff. They have extensive experience with running large, complex organizations from behind the throne.
Homos in the Curia are running the Church and you ain’t seen nothing yet.
“to govern”
That says it all. Three cheers for organized religion.
ANTI pope Jorge. NOT the Pope, never has been. Evil, Squatting in the seat.
The Biden Papacy.
Good analogy.
For the latest reason I think so...
KCIII and his sidechick allegedly had a private meeting with Bergoglio yesterday.
A link with a pic, the only pic released AFAIK...
Note the photo credit...
So if the Vatican is pulling a Weekend at Bernie’s/POTATUS type scam, the Vatican trusts Chuck to keep their secret.
Just like they all kept Biden’s...
Interesting. Frankie doesn’t look too good in that photo. Very pale.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.