Francis' ostpolitik — selfies for a sycophant’s family

An obscure author, Stephen Walford, penned an Open Letter to the Four Dubia Cardinals defending Amoris Laetita.  In it Mr. Walford states:

“The abuse from many, including those who run websites and Traditionalist blogs aimed at the Holy Father and those who are loyal to him, is nothing short of satanic. You are their role models and that is an intolerable situation. In reality, there is no confusion but only outright rejection and defiance towards the legitimate Pope and his magisterial teachings. If all the Cardinals had accepted and defended Pope Francis’ clear teaching, there would have been no fuel for the dissenting fire.”

Wow, Mr. Walford accuses the four dubia cardinals (Caffarra, Burke, Brandmuller, and Meisner) of being “role models” for the ‘satanic abuse’ being directed at Francis!  He also gives this bit of advice to the cardinals:

 “We must realize that in the real world–where most of us laypeople live and work–the old ways of converting no longer work. People need witnesses of love and mercy who present them with a reason to believe. We have no choice but to meet people where they are and work from there. We cannot preach hell to people who consider an eternity of heaven as dull and pointless.”

We encourage the reader to read the full Open Letter (click here) to see its absurdity.  So how did Francis respond to this Open Letter?  He invited Stephen Walford and his family to the Vatican where they had a 45 minute private audience!  How did Francis have 45 minutes to spare in his day when he still hasn’t answered these five dubia?  A simple yes or no to these questions would go a long way to clarifying the situation but then that’s too “rigid” for Francis.  Dear reader, as you look through the photos that the Walford family posted on social media (see below) remember that they received 45 minutes with Francis in his private quarters while the family of Asia Bibi received a measly 15 seconds at a general audience! 

— The social media postings of the Walford Family —

Mr. and Mrs. Walford with their five children pose with Francis.

Walford gave Francis a copy of his book ‘Communion of Saints: 

The Unity of Divine Love in the Mystical Body of Christ’.

Walford also gave Francis an autographed soccer jersey 

with #266 because Francis is the 266th pontiff.

Will Francis add the jersey given to him by Walford to his football shrine?

Another gift, this time it was some type of crown.

No joke, it’s selfie time!

Classy!  Wearing sunglasses indoors while taking a selfie with Francis.

Another Walford boy with sunglasses, does infantile glaucoma run in the family?

At least the Walford girl is showing good manners for her selfie.

My goodness at what age do children learn to take selfies?

Remember 15 seconds for Asia Bibi’s family and 45 minutes for crap like this.

One more family photo with Francis!

A selfie before getting the VIP treatment at the Vatican!

One more selfie in St. Peter’s Square.

The “clear teaching” of Francis is his behavior.

Once it has been denied, it then becomes official!

“...the Lord does not abandon His Church, even when the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing.”

Georg Gänswein, ‘the words of the pope 

emeritus are being misconstrued’

Oh, the perils of being a modernist...

...no one understands what you really mean!

More:

• Modernist rats scurrying about and fighting on a sinking ship and at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner no less...

Modernist rats scurrying about and fighting on a sinking ship

and at the funeral of Cardinal 

Joachim Meisner no less...

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the Prefect of the Papal Household for Francis and Personal Secretary of the Benedict XVI read the following message (see below) at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner from Benedict XVI.  Meisner was one of the four dubia cardinals of Amoris Laetitia fame.  Not to be outdone, Francis also had a message for the attendees at the funeral (which no one in the press paid attention to) read by Archbishop Nikola Eterovic.

At this hour, when the church of Cologne and faithful from further a field gathered to say goodbye to Cardinal Joachim Meisner, my heart and thoughts are with you also, and gladly accepting the invitation of Cardinal Woelki, I wish to address a word of remembrance to you.

When I heard of the death of Cardinal Meisner last Wednesday, I did not want to believe it. The day before we had talked on the phone. His gratitude for the fact that he had been on vacation after he had participated in the beatification of Bishop Teofilius Matulionis in Vilnius on Sunday before (June 25) was clear in his his voice. The love for the Church in the neighboring countries in the East, which had suffered under the Communist persecution, as well as the gratitude for the withstanding the sufferings of that time, shaped his life. And so is it is no coincidence that the last visit to his life was one to a Confessor of the Faith in those countries.

What particularly impressed me in that last talk with the retired Cardinal, was the loosened joy, the inner joy, and the confidence he had found. We know that this passionate shepherd and pastor found it difficult to leave his post, especially at a time in which the Church stands in particularly pressing need of convincing shepherds who can resist the dictatorship of the spirit of the age and who live and think the faith with determination. However, what moved me all the more was that, in this last period of his life, he learned to let go and to live out of a deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even when the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing.

Two things in recent times which pleased him more than anything:

• On the one hand, he has always told me how deeply he in the Sacrament of Penance, how young people, especially young men, are experiencing the grace of forgiveness - the Gift, they have found the life that only God can give.

• The other thing that has always touched him and gave him joy, was the quiet growth of Eucharistic Adoration. At the World Youth Day in Cologne this was a central point for him - that there was Adoration, a silence in which only the Lord spoke to the heart. Some Pastoral and Liturgical experts felt that such silence in looking at the Lord can not be achieved with such a huge number of people. Some were also of the opinion that Eucharistic Adoration was overtaken as such, by the Mass, since the Lord would be received in Eucharistic bread and not be looked at. But that this Bread can not be eaten like any food, and that the Eucharistic sacrament "welcomes" all dimensions of our existence - that reception must be worship, has now become very clear. Thus, the time of Eucharistic Adoration at the Cologne World Youth Day has become an interior event, which remained unforgettable to the Cardinal.

When, on his last morning, Cardinal Meisner did not appear at Mass, he was found dead in his room. His Breviary had slipped out of his hands: he was praying as he died, looking at the Lord, talking to the Lord. The death that was given to him, shows once again how he lived: looking at the Lord and talking to him. So we can confidently recommend his soul to the goodness of God. Lord, we thank thee for the testimony of thy servant Joachim. Let him be intercessors for the Church of Cologne, and on the whole Be earthly! Requiescat in pace!

source: Fidem in Terra - Faith on Earth, Benedict XVI's Message at the Funeral of Joachim Cardinal Meisner 

The chutzpah of Rabbi Ratzinger!  He sheds crocodile tears over the mess which he helped bring to fruition!  Benedict XVI when he was younger saw to it that a witch’s brew of chaos was put into effect during the Second Vatican Council.  This same chaos used to be his playground but now he fears it might be no more if it weren’t for the Lord!  What’s the matter, Benedict XVI?  Your fellow modernist Francis doesn’t like the smells-and-bells as much as you do?

Fr. Joseph Ratzinger as a theological consultant at Vatican II helped create a huge mess. 

Notice he is dressed in a coat and tie. This was before he learned to love smells-and-bells.

Things are going to be getting mighty interesting 

when ‘humble’ Francis hears about this!

Last week it was anti-Francis posters, this week a Fake L’Osservatore Romano

The Italian media is reporting that a faux L’Osservatore Romano is circulating in Rome.  It was sent to many cardinals at the Vatican by email and a select few members of the press.  The lead article declares that Francis has responded to the five Dubia submitted to him by the four cardinals, answering each of their questions with both “Yes & No”.  The fake paper also pokes fun at Antonio Spadaro, Pio Vito Pinto, Walter Kasper, Eugenio Scalfari, Christoph Schönborn, Gerhard Müller, and Lucetta Scaraffia.   Below in black and white is the best image of the spoof Call Me Jorge... found available, plus a color snapshot of the page.  Last week it was the anti-Francis pasquino, this week a fake L’Osservatore Romano.  What an embarrassment for the office of the papacy that people are mocking it left and right because of the un-Catholic behavior of the man occupying it.  We wonder what protest next week will bring?

(click images to enlarge)

***** UPDATED 11 FEBRUARY 2017 *****

Thanks to the source tho sent us the original file!

(click image to enlarge)

***** UPDATED 14 FEBRUARY 2017 *****

English translation!!!

(click image to enlarge)

Quando, quando, quando‏

Francis ‘the humble’ is “boiling with rage” because four cardinals ask him to clarify Amoris Laetitia

The Year of Mercy is over!

Recently four cardinals (Caffarra, Burke, Brandmuller, and Meisner) went public with five dubia they had sent to Francis, pertaining to Amoria Laetitia, some two months ago that have gone unanswered.

The “Dubia”

1. It is asked whether, following the affirmations of "Amoris Laetitia" (nn. 300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the Sacrament of Penance and thus to admit to Holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person "more uxorio" (in a marital way) without fulfilling the conditions provided for by "Familiaris Consortio" n. 84 and subsequently reaffirmed by "Reconciliatio et Paenitentia" n. 34 and "Sacramentum Caritatis" n. 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in note 351 (n. 305) of the exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live "more uxorio"?

2. After the publication of the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" (cf. n. 304), does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s Encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" n. 79, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, on the existence of absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts and that are binding without exceptions?

3. After "Amoris Laetitia" (n. 301) is it still possible to affirm that a person who habitually lives in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, as for instance the one that prohibits adultery (cf. Mt 19:3-9), finds him or herself in an objective situation of grave habitual sin (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration, June 24, 2000)?

4. After the affirmations of "Amoris Laetitia" (n. 302) on “circumstances which mitigate moral responsibility,” does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s Encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" n. 81, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, according to which “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice”?

5. After "Amoris Laetitia" (n. 303) does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical "Veritatis Splendor" n. 56, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, that excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and that emphasizes that conscience can never be authorized to legitimate exceptions to absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts by virtue of their object?

This set things into motion.  According to Edward Pentin, a Vatican reporter for the National Catholic Register, “There has been no formal reaction from the Vatican but I do understand from sources within Santa Marta that the Pope is not happy at all and he is in fact quoted as boiling with rage. So, he’s really not happy at all with this.”  In fact, Francis is so upset he decided to cancel the consistory with the college of cardinals he had scheduled to happen on 19 November 2016.

Edward Pentin describing Francis as “boiling with rage”

Francis’ Jesuit buddy, Antonio Spadaro, quickly denied the story, “When I read that #PapaFrancesco was "furious" because of ecclesiastical quarrels I burst out laughing There are many other things that make him "infuriated"”.

source: twitter @antoniospadaro, 17 November 2016

Once something has been denied it becomes ‘official’.  In an interview with Francis conducted by Stefania Falasca and published in the Italian daily Avennire on 17 November 2016, Francis brings up Amoris Laetitia.

 “The Church exists only as an instrument for the communication of God’s merciful plan to the people.  At the Council [Vatican II], the Church felt it had the responsibility to be a living sign of the Father’s love in the world. With Lumen Gentium, it returns to the origins of its nature, the Gospel. This shifts the axis of Christianity away from a certain kind of legalism which can be ideological, towards the Person of God, who became mercy through the incarnation of the Son.  Some — he (Francis) thinks of certain replies to Amoris Laetitia — still do not understand, or it’s black or white,  even though it is in the course of life that we are called to discern.  The Council told us this, but historians say that a century needs to pass before a Council is properly absorbed into the body of the Church… we are half way.” 

Does it sound as if something is gnawing at him?

The chutzpah Francis has to suggest that before Vatican II the Church was not living up to the Gospel, it was instead legalistic and without God’s love!  It’s little wonder, Francis who promotes himself as ‘humble’ blew his stack when someone dared ask him to clarify a few points in Amoris Laetitia.

Recall last year in October, when Francis went on a rampage in the Vatican after 13 cardinals wrote him raising their objections to the Synod.  Sources reported that Francis caught up in a sudden violent outburst of anger, thundered against them saying, “If this is the case, they can leave. The Church does not need them. I'll throw them all out!”  In fact, Francis was so worked up, people in Vatican fearing for his life sent for a doctor who diagnosed Francis with tachyarrhythmia (a resting heart rate which exceeds 100 beats per minute).

Perhaps, as an anonymous commentator suggested, Francis wasn’t speaking about himself to the attendees of his Wednesday general audience when giving advice on how to put up with annoying people but was talking about his cardinals particularly; Caffarra, Burke, Brandmuller, and Meisner. 

The ‘Jubilee Year of Mercy’ is officially over in two days and it appears Francis ended it just in time as he has exhausted his supply of Mercy.  One would have thought that Francis ‘the humble’ would be understanding of these cardinals, especially Burke who despite having a doctorate in Canon Law and an award’s case full of honors pertaining to Canon Law had to have the Vatican explain to him that individuals who have undergone sex-change operations cannot be validly be admitted into a religious institute or society of consecrated life.  And also, that if a transsexual is now living in a religious order the transsexual must be expelled from the religious house.  Isn’t it reasonable to assume that Francis would show Burke some patience?  Here we were thinking that Francis was a bridge builder!  Oh, well!

We at Call Me Jorge... believe that Msgr. Adriano Bernardini summed it up best about Francis (who was then only ‘humble’ Cardinal Bergoglio) when he was the nuncio to Argentina,

“He’s a man sick with power.”

On Friday morning Mr. Pentin reconfirmed his statement with a tweet.

source: twitter @EdwardPentin, 18 November 2016

On a scale from 1 to 10 — zero meaning calm, 10 meaning boiling rage — Here’s Francis with a score of 1

It make us wonder, what would a “boiling rage” look like?