Arresting the Pope.
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Minnesota's own, Jeffrey Anderson wants to put the Pope on trial and the Supreme Court just gave him the go ahead to sue the Vatican. Anderson has long been condemned for his anti-Catholic lawsuits to bring down the Church and enrich himself in the process. That hasn't prevented otherwise good Catholics from seeking his counsel when needed however. Although I'm not sure I would want this guy defending me. Anderson doesn't hide the fact he's 'out to get them' hence he seems to welcome being demonized by the faithful.
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Today's first reading for the feast of Peter and Paul recounts Peter's miraculous release from prison by an angel. The apostles were ex-convicts - Christ warned them - us - about such things: "They will manhandle you and haul you off to prison, bringing you to stand trial before kings and governors, all on account of my name." [Lk 21:12] None of us should be surprised when the secular world seeks to overthrow the Church.
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Napoleon was the last emperor to arrest a Pope - Pius VII. He acted in retaliation for Pius excommunicating the 'despoilers of the Church'... after the Papal States had been annexed and Rome occupied, although the Pope did not mention Napoleon by name. It is believed Hitler wanted Pius XII arrested as well, but he was unsuccessful.
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We Catholics have lived through trying times throughout the 20th century up until the current day, although in the West we've enjoyed great freedom of religion and the esteem of society... up until now. Perhaps that fact, accompanied by a luxurious standard of living, accounts - in part - for a general lack of fervor and a general falling away. To be sure, it accounts for nearly everyone's surprise that an ambitious attorney would dare attempt to sue the Pope, or bring him to trial.
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The best popes often were not the most popular popes. Enemies of Blessed Pius IX attempted to disrupt his funeral cortege and throw his body into the Tiber. It should be noted that several times during his pontificate the Pope considered leaving Rome altogether to avoid his enemies.
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As these things happened, people always imagined it was the end of the world - if not the Church. Keep your soul in peace: "All will hate you because of me, yet not a hair on your head will be harmed. By patient endurance you will save your souls." - [Lk. 21: 17-19]
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That's well researched, Terry. It is so unfornate that all this sex abuse stuff was allowed to happen. The seminaries should have been reformed years ago. I read "Goodbye, Good Men" by Michael Rose, and that really was quite a shock to find out about the culture of homosexuality in some of our seminaries.
ReplyDelete"All will hate you because of me...."
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I don't think that most people hate the institutional Church because of Jesus, but rather because children have been raped.
That seems like a fair assessment.
How we handle this, and how we move forward from here, is what is most important now.
"I have decided to follow Jesus"
ReplyDeleteLet's recall His route, and pray like a late night Gethsemane dweller, for strength. i reckon we are gonna need it, and soon.
Terry, this is the absolute best summary of this whole horrid situation I have read.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you!
The Holy Father, "our sweet Christ on earth" (St. Catherine of Sienna), may well have many trials to undergo (the Fatima prophecies; Bl. Jacinta's in particular).
Thom, I'm afraid it's not about the "rape of children"...that is its veneer.
It's about hatred for Christ, the Church, the Holy Father.
Jeffrey Anderson is a complete creep...complete.
Thom - I understand what you are saying, but Jeffie has issues - big ones - he hates the Church and really gets off on fame, celebrity, and money. Other than that, he's probably a nice guy. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh I don't doubt that he's vile, at all. I was just speaking in general.
ReplyDeleteJesus calls us all to conversion, to repentance, to a life "in the Spirit".
ReplyDeleteThis present culture (or anti-culture) calls us to hate, despise, attack and retaliate against anyone who "opposes" us.
The rape, sodomization, abuse of children is a sin that "cries to heaven" for vengeance; that's the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Any person (bishop, priest, consecrated or laity) who have been associated with this heinous crime should be properly prosecuted or disciplined. And that is what the Pope is teaching and adhering to.
But to bring the Pope before a "court", esp. in this country, where hatred of the Church and the willful abandonment of any kind of sexual boundaries is the norm, is just crazy.
The absolute hypocrisy and hubris here is just "over the top"...it was not too long ago that the hatred for the Catholic Church was enshrined in law; priests could not be seen in public wearing proper clerical attire; convents were burned; Irish Catholics were treated as "dirt"...regarding jobs and such.
The history of the USA re: the Catholic Church is not so good.
And what constitutes some kind of involvement of the Pope with all the lack of proper discipline and regulation of his bishops? He's not a micro-manager; he depends upon the proper administration of his bishops. How can the Pope be responsible for the molestation of children when his bishops are supposed to be in charge of their own dioceses?
Okay, I'm done.
"The best popes often were not the most popular popes." It's the same with any public figures. It's always the judgement of history that determines who stands tall and who falls short. The rush to canonize recent popes and presidents is crazy. I think there should be a "100 year wait" rule before anyone is referred to as great, or should it be 500 years?
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