More bad news from the Vatican

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He always seems rather grouchy and curmudgeonly, even when writing on happy topics.

But I can identify with that, though I try to keep it in check in real life.
 
Well he is a member of the clergy so he probably has a bit more understanding of what’s going on in the Church than a lay person might have.
 
Sometimes there is a lot more going on at the Vatican and at the USCCB, that may be disturbing to those (like me) who think the focus should be on preserving the deposit of faith rather than extraneous or political things.
 
Years ago I was a fan… during Benedict XVI’s papacy, he had a lot of great posts, especially on liturgy and theology, that I really enjoyed. Even back then he sometimes came across as “grumpy” and some of his responses to comments seemed terse at times…but I enjoyed his blog. Since the advent Pope Francis, and later of Trump, I’ve found his blog increasingly alarming. He is a priest, and for that I owe him reverence and respect… but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve found his blog to be very divisive and sensationalist and politically charged. The recent posts about the “election steal” and the call for Biden to repent of his “likely mortal sin” of stealing the election disturbs me very deeply… we are talking about a very educated, very intelligent, and very well meaning priest in good standing… but some of the stuff coming out of that blog is truly troubling to me these days. He has a HUGE following. He’s a powerful force in the Church to be sure.
 
Pattylt said:
I’ve never read any of his writings before…does he always sound like this?
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Lately, pretty often. It used to be a very interesting blog, with a lot of things of interest to us liturgy geeks. But that was the good old days.
 
I’ve enjoyed most of Fr. Z’s articles. I don’t read him consistently, but when I do. I can find a lot of wisdom and insight into various aspects affecting the Church and the world today.

It’s ironic how different one priest is from another, especially when it comes to how they view the Church and her teachings. There are also many among the laity who align themselves with these clergy members as a way to bolster their own views and beliefs.

For example, I’ve read numerous posts on here from those whom have spoken out against Fr. Z, they find his tone to be divisive and his demeanor to be grumpy, as mentioned above. Yet, very few, if any, actually refute his words or views.

On the other hand, many of these same individuals will go to bat for James Martin, not because his words and views are supported by Church teaching, but because his tone is inclusive and welcoming.
 
Crusader13 said:
I’ve read numerous posts on here from those whom have spoken out against Fr. Z, they find his tone to be divisive and his demeanor to be grumpy, as mentioned above. Yet, very few, if any, actually refute his words or views.

On the other hand, many of these same individuals will go to bat for James Martin, not because his words and views are supported by Church teaching, but because his tone is inclusive and welcoming.
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Isn’t that the real issue?
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
St Paul. Galatians 5:19-22
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Not that I would condemn Fr Z for this, I am making the point that it is valid to choose the one who brings love, joy, and peace, over someone who brings contention and divisiveness.

I find Fr Z fairly amusing and self deprecating rather than confrontational. The posts wherein I rant are not outbursts of fury, but a way to disarm this objection of grouchiness. Sometimes he does go too far into contentiousness, but most of us go too far sometimes.
 
I am for Cephas… and I am for Paul… and I am for Apollo.
St Paul condemned these sorts of cults of personality around specific clerics.
I do take issue with some of what Fr Z says, and I also take issue with some of what Fr Martin says.
My pastor and my archbishop are who I should be taking guidance from… and I find their tone avoids the extremes of both of the above mentioned celebrity priests.

Is Fr Z correct that the Pope placed a demonic bowl on the high altar at St. Peter’s last year, and as a result of this blasphemous action, COVID happened? (He implies this in a recent blog post). I admit its within the realm of possibility…but I sincerely don’t want it to be true and I would need some HARD evidence from people I trust implicitly to give it any serious thought…I would also like to think that my archbishop, who I admire very much, would be calling out the Pope if there was any credence to such outlandish theories.
 
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He seems to have gotten worse over the years, buying into some of the secular conspiracy stuff.

So, listen to him on spiritual matters, but I would look elsewhere for commentary on current events, like this.
 
Crusader13 said:
Yet, very few, if any, actually refute his words or views.
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Easy, peasy.

That ultimately must lead to… (speculation of the future)

Hence, the outcome…, will be eugenic population control. (speculation of the future)

I suspect that, however the Wuhan Devil got out of the lab…. (speculation of the past)

Now those forces have massive backing from atheistic Communism. The well-organized and long-term thinking Communists, Masons and the homosexualist activists have finally pushed beyond the heterogeneous catalyst phase into a self-sustaining chain-reaction through society. (unsubstantiated jumble of conspiracy theories)

He goes away from the teaching of the Church when he wades off into political events and highly suspect speculation. He has written some good stuff, but this one reads like a Jack Chick tract. This is a political post, post-election. His final comment:

As the demographic sinkhole continue to yawn under the Church in the West – accelerated by the Wuhan Devil and perhaps soon by the US government puppet mastered by the ChiComs – we must continue to strive for a renewal, a revitalization of our sacred liturgical worship.

If one is going to go off the rails and after the Pope, it is best to be on more solid footing than is found in the tabloids.
 
Since the Vatican is so far away in distance, I often wonder about its connections.
Now in its fifth year, this week’s Vatican Youth Symposium has always served to promote the SDGs, even though targets 3.7 and 5.6 include “sexual and reproductive health services” — U.N. codewords for abortion and contraception.

Each symposium, including the current one, has been jointly organized by both the Vatican and the youth branch of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) — an organization also directed by Sachs and partially funded by the pro-contraception and pro-gender theory Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (in 2016 it gave $1 million to the organization).

Ban Ki-moon, who was the U.N.’s secretary general from 2007-2016, is patron of the Mission 4.7 advisory group, along with Audrey Azoulay, the director general of UNESCO who is known for her promotion of “gender equality” and LGBT rights. Azoulay also took part in the re-launch of Francis’ Global Pact on Education in October.

Among Mission 4.7’s four co-chairs are Sachs and the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo. Members of its “high-level advisory group” include Jack Ma, founder of the Alibaba Group, the multi-billion-dollar Chinese multinational , also known as China’s equivalent of the online retail giant, Amazon, and Jennifer Gross, founder of the Blue Chip Foundation that aims to eradicate poverty by helping people achieve self-sufficiency. Other members include the heads of Scholas Occurrentes, an educational program for creating a culture of encounter backed by Pope Francis.
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Pope Francis is big on climate sustainability but there are some strange bedfellows.

I wish the Pope would just talk directly to Catholics about everyday stewardship and get away from all these groups.
 
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Fr. Z and his compatriot Fr. Heilman have gotten increasingly worked up this year. It’s been a tough year for their part of Wisconsin, so I am trying to cut them both a break, but I am hoping that they both eventually calm down a bit, because they are more spiritually helpful to me when not going full-tilt Fr. Coughlin.
 
Are you referring to the Fr. Coughlin of the 1930’s? Now there’s a priest to reckon with.
 
He started out okay and slowly went bonkers. I understand my grandfather used to listen intently to him in his “okay” period.

At least he had the decency to sit down and shut up when his bishop finally told him to belt up.
 
Better then than Rabbi Meir Kahane, co-founder of the militant JDL, who, in my view, never had an ‘okay’ period.
 
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