Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] The St. Gallen Mafia and Orwellian FrancisIn George Orwell’s 1984, no one is supposed to know about anything predating the Revolution that put the now-dominant Party in power. In Orwell’s dystopian prophecy, the records must all be redacted, the memories must all be censored, and the statues must all be renamed to align with the Party’s official account of history. In an eerily similar way, under the current regime of Pope Francis, a dubious history of the 2005 conclave is now being recirculated. With his new interview on the 2005 papal election, Francis is retelling an edited version...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinals worried about liberation theology in 2013 conclave, pope saysA group of cardinals asked Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in-depth questions about liberation theology and its political consequences before deciding to elect him pope in 2013, Pope Francis said.In the book-length interview, "El Sucesor" ("The Succesor"), published in Spain April 3, the pope said he "did not realize" that he was a serious candidate for the papacy in 2013, but that he began to put together the pieces of a campaign to elect him after a group of cardinals asked him about liberation theology — a theological approach developed...