Pope Francis drops the hammer!!!

I have been talking about how Pope Benedict XIV wanted to take the church back to pre-Vatican II days; I call them the Dark Ages. Benedict’s plan was to get rid of the “modern” Catholics and just have the basic, hard-core, no questions asked Catholics from the good ole’ days.

Pope Francis was ordained a priest after Vatican II and was and is a supporter of the modernizations that Vatican II instituted to bring the church closer to its members.

These are two very opposite and conflicting directions for the church to follow; one going back and one going forward.

What makes this situation even more interesting is that both popes are still here.

I knew that something had to give; the church can only go in one direction at a time.

This Sunday an article in the Detroit Free Press was titled: RELIGIOUS-ORDER PROBE RILES SOME CATHOLICS / Dispute over Latin mass reflects wider division in church by Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press.

I was raised in the Latin mass and even took Latin in high school (why?) because my mother thought you needed to know Latin to become a doctor…really? The Latin mass made going to church kind of otherworldly and ominous; you had no idea what was being said but it sounded very sacred. Unfortunately, the same applies to witch doctors and medicine men who do crazy things and mutter all sorts of unintelligible incantations to make people think that they somehow have a direct line to God or at least some spirits.

Anyway, Pope Benedict eased the rules for performing the Latin mass and so a new religious order was formed (in Italy) called the FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE IMMACULATE who are traditionalists and celebrate the Latin mass almost exclusively.

Pope Francis brought the hammer down telling the order that they can say Latin mass only with his permission and sent the founder of the order to a home for the aging. He also closed the friar’s seminary and made all priests in the order swear to uphold Vatican II principles.

Francis called “traditionalist” Catholics as self-absorbed retrogrades who are not helping the church’s mission to evangelize; I like the use of the word retrogrades.

Francis may seem all meek and mild but it seems he is instituting his version and vision of the Catholic Church and will not entertain any dissent from his vision. Now that is a forward thinking kick-ass pope!

I hope he kick’s some U.S. cardinal/bishop asses because they sorely need their asses to be kicked and then their mission pointed in the right direction.

I just hope this pope lives long enough to modernize the church and put it in touch with the people it serves.

 

 

 

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