Wow. This is quite an assault on Tradition. There is so much to unpack.
First, the Pope attacks guardians of dead traditions. Dead traditions? Like the Mass of the Ages, the Traditional Latin Mass? Like orthodox religious congregations faithful to the authentic gospel that he suppresses? Like contemplative nuns whom he throws out of their cloisters? Like conservative Cardinals he systematically removes from the Vatican hierarchy?
Second, the Pope says failure to move forward is dangerous for the Church today. The Church has always moved forward. She grew to encompass 1/3 of the world’s current population. But if he means movement forward to liberalism and secular humanism, now that is what is dangerous. In fact, within this last half century, the liberalism in the Western Church has caused a massive downward spiral, which has speeded up under Francis’ papacy. But the worldly powers-that-be are happy with him.
Third, the Pope says that we make progress by drawing from the roots. But he is uprooting the roots, that of the age-old teachings of Christ and his Church. He is casting away the moorings. He is Protestantizing our Church by his contempt of Tradition.
Fourth, the Pope says that back-stepping makes us a sect. No. It is not about back-stepping, but about maintaining the Tradition, what Jesus and the apostles established. So in fact, this is what makes us the authentic Church of Jesus. The Protestants rejected Tradition, and so they are the ones that are sects.
Fifth, the Pope says the forward-looking initiatives create a new humanism. Ah, there it is. Here is where the Pope’s modernism shows. This is about secular humanism. It is the focus on man rather than the righteousness of God, upheld by Tradition.
Sixth, the Pope says tradition is the guarantee of the future, not a museum piece. He is correct on the first part, but wrong on the second. Having a two-millennia old Tradition does not make the Church a museum piece. On the contrary, it is what provides a strong foundation and great vibrancy for the future.
Seventh, the Pope speaks about his Global Compact on Education. Here he urged making “human persons in their value and dignity the centre of every educational programme, both formal and informal.” Human persons at the center? Not Christ? Academic excellence in Catholic schools but at the expense of the authentic faith and raising strong Catholic boys and girls? He also calls for educating youngsters “about the need for openness to the vulnerable, to safeguarding the planet, and to looking for new ways to put the economy and politics at the service of the human person.” Sounds noble, but there you have it: the modernist approach, centering on man, even at the cost of the righteousness of God. The vulnerable are the LGBTs, minorities and immigrants; the planet is about eco-spirituality and Gaia, the earth goddess (pachamama); the economy and politics are about the New World Order dominated by global elites under one-world tyrannical governance.
Finally, the Pope says that we should not think that by stepping back we can preserve humanism. Yes, that is where the Pope is at: secular humanism, liberalism, modernism. All for man. And that means forsaking what he considers dead Tradition.
-----------------------------
Pope Francis: Guarding ‘dead traditions’ is dangerous for the Church’s life
Pope Francis meets participants in the international conference ‘Lines of Development of the Global Compact on Education’ in a room adjacent to the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, June 1, 2022. / Vatican Media.
By Courtney Mares for CNA
Vatican City
Pope Francis on Wednesday criticized people who “call themselves guardians of traditions, but of dead traditions,” saying that failing to move forward is dangerous for the Church today.
Speaking to the organizers of a conference on education on June 1, the pope said that it was vital to make progress by “drawing from the roots.”
He said that “there is the fashion — in every age, but in this age in the Church’s life I consider it dangerous — that instead of drawing from the roots in order to move forward — meaning fine traditions — we ‘step back,’ not going up or down, but backward.”
Article published by Catholic News Agency. For the full article, click here.
Comments