Pope Benedict XVI's Secretary: Pope Benedict Never Confirmed Vigano Report

The Deacon's Bench, a blog written by fellow Brooklynite Deacon Greg Kendra, gave us some very interesting articles today regarding the Vigano report.

The first is from a German newspaper in which Pope Benedict's secretary says that the claim that Pope Benedict confirmed the statements in the Vigano report are "fake news".  You can read the original article HERE.

Responding to a Traditionalist

This post is in response to Jayne, a traditionalist who has commented that I am not being fair to traditionalists by painting them all with the same brush.  We have gone back and forth on a prior post [HERE].  I was ready to end our debate, but Jayne wants to continue, so here goes.  

What Did Summorum Pontificum Really Say?

Blessed Paul VI celebrating Mass in the vernacular
Credit:  rorate-caeli.blogspot.com

I recently did a post [HERE] in which I discussed Father Z's reaction to the "whoopdeedoo", as he referred to it, regarding the 50th anniversary of the first celebration of a Mass in the vernacular. His response to this "whoopdeedoo" was to re-post his article satirically criticizing the New Mass and the one he names as the architect of that Mass, Msgr. Annibale Bugnini. Father Z feels the salvation of the Church lies in the Traditional Latin Mass.

Most other traditionalists agree with Father Zuhlsdorf. I recently came across an article from Crisis Magazine regarding this very same subject entitled, "Spiritual Renewal Paul VI Spoke of Has Not Yet Materialized" written by Christian Browne. The only information we are given about Mr. Browne is that he is a New York attorney who got his J.D. at Fordham University in 2004, which probably means he is fairly young, in his 30's. Mr. Brown is also a board member of the Nassau County Catholic Lawyers Guild. This is his only article to date published by Crisis Magazine.

Mr. Browne quoted from the homily of Blessed Paul VI from that first celebration of the vernacular Mass:

The welfare of the people demands this care, so as to make possible the active participation of the faithful in the public worship of the Church. It is a sacrifice that the Church has made of her own language, Latin; a sacred, sober, beautiful language, extremely expressive and elegant. She has sacrificed the traditions of centuries and above all she sacrifices the unity of language among the various peoples, in homage to this greater universality, in order to reach all.

And this [also] for you, faithful, so that you may know better [how to] join yourselves to the Church’s prayer, so that you may know [how to] pass from a state of simple spectators to that of participating and active faithful, and if you truly know how to correspond to this attention of the Church, you will have the great joy, the merit and the chance of a true spiritual renewal.

Rejection of the Pope is Rejection of the Church

It has now been one year since Pope Benedict XVI abdicated the papacy.  The rumor mill concerning his reasons for leaving the papacy started at his announcement and has not stopped, continuing right up to this time.  Having lived my Catholic life in the world of Traditional Catholicism for the last years, I hear things mostly from their perspective.

One thing that strikes me about the perspective of Traditional Catholics is that they think that everything that happens in the Church is about them and their enemies' attempts to destroy them. (Traditionalists tend to see their enemies as anyone who is not a self-defined Traditionalist, so that includes just about everyone else in the Catholic Church.) This is most certainly true when it comes the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. After all, he is the one who gave us Summorum Pontificum, so therefore all the modernist liberals in the church wanted him out.

This is the message that comes through loud and clear from Louie Verrecchio (who will be referred to as "LV" from this point on), a layman who has set himself up as some kind of expert on Vatican II and who writes a blog called "Harvesting the Fruit of Vatican II", with the subtitle, "Separating the fruits from the nuts by the light of tradition."  LV wrote a post entitled, "A Tale of Two Popes", found HERE, in which he speculates about the "real" reasons Pope Benedict XVI resigned, and also compares Pope Benedict to Pope Francis, showing us that pretty much everything Pope Francis says and does is liberal, modernist heresy.  It should be noted that LV, while he says there are some good things about Vatican II, for the most part has almost total condemnation of the Council.  

LV starts his post by informing us that it is based entirely on speculation:

A year has now passed since Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by announcing his intention to abdicate the Throne of St. Peter, and what have we learned?

In concrete terms, perhaps very little as it relates to the real reasons behind his renouncement of the papacy, but circumstantially, we can infer quite a lot. With this in mind, please allow me to indulge in a bit of informed speculation.

He tries to tell us that this is "informed speculation."  Just what does he use for his basis of being "informed?"  Nothing but his own imagination.  Yet, he expects us to accept everything in his post, and sadly, many do.

LV then tells us that Pope Benedict's announcement was met with two reactions. The first was "shock". But, according to LV, some of those who expressed "shock" were actually hiding their true motivations and involvement in the pope's resignation from the rest of us:

I do not doubt for even a moment that there were any number of clerics, particularly members of the Curia, who looked straight into the television cameras to express their surprise, when in truth they had played an active role in coercing Pope Benedict to take his leave.

LV, with absolutely no proof, is accusing Cardinals, princes of the church, and more specifically, members of the Curia, of playing "an active role in coercing Pope Benedict to take his leave."  This statement alone should be enough for anyone to completely dismiss this article as nothing more than the baseless accusations of an enemy of the church.

LV then discounts and ridicules those who pointed out the humility of Pope Benedict XVI in his decision to resign, calling all such talk "blather" and "spin":

The other most common reaction coming from Rome and elsewhere, especially in less-than-traditional quarters, was a near endless stream of blather (more properly, “spin”) touting the sheer humility of this pope who courageously decided to step aside for the good of the Church.

According to LV, the "humility" displayed by Pope Benedict was a way to set us up for what LV calls the "Cirque du Humilité" of Pope Frances, whom he brazenly insults as a fraud:

In hindsight, this was but the opening act for the Cirque du Humilité that burst onto the Roman stage with the elevation of Jorge Bergoglio.

Is it merely coincidental that the suddenly “humble” abdicator’s successor immediately undertook to implement an unprecedented program of papal humility-on-display, with everything from worn out shoes to shoddy vestments, to pedestrian living quarters and compact cars serving as props?

LV then openly insults Pope Benedict by suggesting the real reason for the resignation was because he was "fleeing from the wolves".  This statement infers that Pope Benedict was afraid and ran away from the papacy in order to protect himself with little or no thought for the Church, a horrendous and libelous accusation:

Oddly enough, in the weeks following Benedict’s announcement, only a relative few were wondering aloud if perhaps he was in fact fleeing for fear of the very “wolves” he had mentioned in his inaugural homily. And yet, they had been howling at Benedict’s doorstep for quite some time.

Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bergoglio

LV then starts on a litany of accusations against Pope Francis, comparing his actions to those of Pope Benedict. It is a long list, and starts out contrasting the views of the two Popes regarding the Muslim religion. Pope BXVI was the "brave" pope, the one who gave the Regensburg Lecture on September 12, 2006 in which he criticized the prophet Mohammed.  LV cites an article in which then Cardinal Bergoglio disagreed with the statements of Pope Benedict. The article incorrectly says that the statements were made in 2005, and it makes one wonder what else is wrong in the article. We will assume, for the sake of argument, that Cardinal Bergoglio did disagree with the Regensburg address.  

LV, to contrast Pope Benedict with Pope Frances, writes:

Is it merely coincidental that the above mentioned Prince [who supposedly spoke against Pope Benedict] is now known as Pope Francis, a pope so determined to court favor with the Muslims that he even goes so far as to actively encourage them to hold fast to their false religion?

Pope Benedict praying at mosque

LV conveniently leaves out the fact that  just a few days after the Regensburg address, Pope Benedict, in a statement issued from the Vatican, humbly clarified his statements and even praised the Muslim religion.  Here is an excerpt from the statement which you can read HERE:

The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.

LV then makes a statement which cannot be answered because it is of a general nature with no specifics whatsoever. In a court of law, this would immediately be thrown out as vague and unsubstantiated:

Pope Benedict XVI, in spite of whatever shortcomings he may have had from a traditional perspective (e.g., Assisi III, the “continuity” illusion, his failure to celebrate the traditional Mass in public even once), committed what the neo-modernist cabal in post-conciliar Rome considers an unforgiveable sin; he showed a willingness to render papal authority in the manner of a Sovereign, when clearly everyone who is anyone in the Eternal City knows darn well that the church-of-man playbook now firmly in place requires the pontiff to govern according to unwritten rule number one: collegiality.

LV contrasts and compares Pope Francis showing that he promotes collegiality, strongly implying that Pope Francis is watering down the authority of the papacy.  But this cannot be answered in any way because of the vagueness of the statements.  Therefore, these statements by LV carry no weight whatsoever and have to be dismissed.

LV then attempts to tell us what Pope Benedict XVI did "in the way of overstepping his bounds as primus inter pares (first among equals); landing himself in water so hot that he felt he had no choice but to end his days in seclusion."

From LV:

First, he issued Summorum Pontificum.

Had he simply treated the “old Mass” as a sentimental attachment to be tolerated, rather than as a gift to be propagated, his own traditional leanings in matters liturgical could have perhaps been overlooked by the wolves, but as it was, he incited their fury.

I will be the first to admit that there are those, even among the clergy and the bishops, who do not like the "Old Mass."  But I can't help but wonder if it often has something to do with the attitude displayed by people like LV?  In this statement, LV shows that he feels everything revolves around Traditionalists and the attempts by the rest of the Church to destroy them.  The traditionalists truly do not understand that they bring on much of the "persecution" that they may suffer because of their self righteous and condemning attitudes of anyone who doesn't agree with them.  

At this point, LV brings up Pope Francis' praise of the late Cardinal Martini, who is condemned by many Traditionalists.  LV gives us this statement by Cardinal Martini to show how opposed he was to Traditional Catholics, and by inference, how opposed Pope Francis is to traditionalists:

"Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our rituals and our cassocks are pompous.”

What LV doesn't tell us is that in the interview in which Cardinal Martini made this statement, he followed it up with another statement with which I think most Traditionalists, who never hesitate in their criticism of the post-conciliar Church, would be in complete agreement:

“The church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops,” he said in the interview. “The pedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation.”

Pope Benedict and Cardinal Martini

LV also does not tell us that Pope Benedict praised Cardinal Martini.  This is from a CNS story about the death of Cardinal Martini:

The late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini was a "generous and faithful pastor of the church," who not only studied the Bible, "but loved it intensely and made it the light of his life," Pope Benedict XVI said.

Does this somehow make Pope Benedict an enemy of Tradition?  LV doesn't touch this.

LV then gives us the second reason "Pope Benedict turned up the heat under his Throne":

Secondly, Pope Benedict turned up the heat under his Throne considerably by lifting the excommunications from the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, and this in the very same year that he decreed the “Heroic Virtues” of Venerable Pope Pius XII.

Both of these acts, together with Summorum Pontificum two years earlier, amounted to an anti-Semitic trifecta in the minds of many a Jew and their progressive con frères within the Church; brothers in arms in the cause of creating an institution only a Mason could love.

While much of the dust-up concerned the comments of a now former SSPX Bishop relative to the Holocaust, the entire affair was treated as an occasion to proclaim the Jewish people off-limits in terms of evangelization.

I really don't know what to say to this.  LV gives us nothing to support his contention that lifting the excommunication of the SSPX bishops brought persecution.  There can be no doubt that there were those within the Church who thought it was a mistake, but for this reason they wanted to throw Pope Benedict out of the papacy?  We need something to back up this grave accusation, and we need to know who these people are.  LV gives us nothing.

LV then segues this into a "contrast" between the views of the two pope on the Jews.   LV  takes a swipe at Pope Francis with these words:

Pope Francis raised eyebrows in saying, “We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked,” (cf Evangelii Gaudium 247) as if their rejection of Christ amounts to anything less than a rejection of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Is it merely coincidental that Pope Benedict’s successor not only boasts a history of synagogue visits and inter-worship with Jews, but has also co-authored a book with his rabbi-best-friend; the same with whom he prayed during Sukkot and Shabbat at the Vatican, a papal first?

It should be noted that Pope Benedict made several visits to synagogues to pray with the rabbis, and in the early part of his pontificate, Pope Benedict had an audience with the chief rabbi of Rome.  The following is an excerpt from his address (you can read the entire address HERE)

“The Catholic Church is close and is a friend to you. Yes, we love you and we cannot but love you, because of the Fathers: through them you are very dear and beloved brothers to us (cf. Romans 11:28b). This reciprocal esteem and trust has continued to grow since the Second Vatican Council. Fraternal and cordial contacts continued to develop and were intensified throughout the Pontificate of my venerable predecessor, John Paul II.

In Christ we participate in the same heritage of the Fathers as you, to serve Almighty God “with one accord” (Zephania 3:9), grafted onto the one holy trunk (cf. Isaiah 6:13; Romans 11: 16) of the People of God. This makes us Christians aware that, with you, we have the responsibility of cooperating for the good of all peoples, in justice and in peace, in truth and in freedom, in holiness and in love.”

LV, in his post, says the Jews' rejection of Christ also means "a rejection of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." I submit that LV's statement amounts to a rejection of the teaching of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church plainly states at #121: "The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value, for the Old Covenant has never been revoked." To reject Jesus Christ is most certainly wrong, but it is NOT equal to "rejecting the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." To say this is to contradict the plain teaching of the Catholic Church.  And someone really should caution LV that he is definitely courting with antisemitism in his statements. 

LV gives us one more reason for the ouster of Pope Benedict from the papacy:

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Pope Benedict all but signed his own walking papers the moment he set in motion the so-called “Doctrinal Discussions” with the Society of St. Pius X.

Imagine, the Roman Pontiff suggesting that these “traditionalists,” with their attachment to the doctrine of the Faith as it was taught without confusion prior to the Council and their insistence upon the Social Kingship of Christ, have something of value to offer the Church!

Again, in the eyes of the Traditionalist, everything revolves around them.  Yes, Pope Benedict absolutely did reach out to the SSPX and tried very hard to bring them back into the fold of the Catholic Church, and I praise him for that.  But it was the SSPX, under the leadership of Bishop Fellay, who refused to sign the agreement with the Vatican in June 2012.  The SSPX said they will not accept the legitimacy of Vatican II nor the legitimacy of what they call the Novus Ordo Mass.  LV tries to praise the SSPX for their loyalty to the Church when it was anything but loyalty.  Rather, the SSPX completely rejected and turned their backs on the Magesterium of the Catholic Church and by doing so, they rejected Jesus Christ Himself and crucified Him anew.

Pope Benedict XVI showed tremendous courage in trying to reunite with the SSPX. This very act alone shows he would never "flee from the wolves." How can Louie Verrecchio or anyone else dare accuse this courageous and humble man of lack of courage and of fleeing from obedience to the Lord? I'm not sure LV even realizes he is doing this because he is so blinded by his own beliefs and prejudices.
There is more to Verrecchio's post.  Again, you can read it HERE, but it is just more of the same.

The comments to this post show just how dangerous it is.  A few examples:

1. Theresa February 12, 2014 10:36 pm

   Pope Benedict is the Vicar of Christ…….need I say more???

1. Biggie February 13, 2014 1:47 am

   If Pope Benedict was forced or coerced in ANY way to resign this current “pope” is invalid thus Saint Francis of Assisi’s “A man not canonically elected..” prophecy. Sorry, I know it offends many people but I call it as I see it and I’m calling Shenanigans.

1. Andrew February 13, 2014 3:07 pm

   But wait. I believe it was an act of Providence that the Society wasn’t regularized. Clearly the Mother of God spared them from what is now happening to the Franciscans of the Immaculate.
2. 
   

   Andrew February 13, 2014 3:08 pm

   And yes if Benedict’s resignation was forced then it would be invalid, making the other bishop of Rome Antipope Francis.
3. 
   

   Taylor Hall February 13, 2014 4:11 pm

   Interestingly enough, Antonio Socci wrote an article in “Libero” arguing that Benedict’s resignation may have been invalid, thus making Francis an Antipope. A whole can of worms has just been opened.

1. Hannah February 13, 2014 7:29 pm

   For a year, I’ve been trying to convince myself that Benedict was no longer Pope. But, I can’t. Something isn’t right, as everyone is saying here. Every so often, I hear reports that he’s doing fine, in good health, etc. Well, shouldn’t he be on his death bed? You’d think so, after the drastic abdication. It hasn’t happened in centuries and it doesn’t just happened. Why is he still wearing white and being called Pope Emeritus? He choose to still wear white himself. It just seems obvious that he’s trying to show us something yet he acts like he’s no longer Pope and acknowledges his Successor.

   If he’s still Pope, what are we supposed to do about it? That means there’s an imposter in the Chair of Peter and someone has to restore Benedict back to his rightful place, but how?

   Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich saw when there would be a time with “two Popes” and she saw the “consequences of the false church.” She’s talking about now.

   Pray is all I can say. One of these days, God will straighten this out.

As you can see, many of these people have in effect become sedevacantist, for all intents and purposes rejecting Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ. Blogs like those run by Louie Verrecchio and other self-proclaimed "Traditionalists" are what one person has called ecclesiastical pornography. These blogs are occasions of sin and while pretending to show the Face of Jesus Christ, they are leading you directly away from him and into the arms of the devil. I know this is a very strong accusation, but there can be no Catholic Church without the Vicar of Christ. Therefore, anyone who tries to turn you against the Pope is an agent, wittingly or unwittingly, of the devil.


We live in very confusing days when, more than ever, the devil appears as angel of light. We must constantly test the spirits. One sure test is the position of a person in regard to the Holy Father. Does he or she recognize and accept the Holy Father as the Vicar of Christ, Christ's true representative on earth? Does he or she accept the teachings of the Catholic Church? Many traditionalists complain about "Cafeteria Catholics", those who pick and choose what they want to believe. The sad fact is Traditionalists tend to lead the pack in picking and choosing what they want to believe, and far too often, their choices do not include accepting the Vicar of Christ. They will tell you they "pray for the Pope" in one breath, and tear him down in the next breath.  This is not supporting the Pope.

The Venerable Fulton Sheen described it best in his biography, "Treasure in Clay".  Bishop Sheen met every pope from Pius XI to Blessed John Paul II.  This is what he wrote:

"This close association with so many Pontiffs was only the coming to a head in my life of that experience of faith which occurred in the seminary.  I had such reverence for the Vicars of Christ because I saw in them the visible head of the Body of Christ, the Church.  It has always grieved me to see little candles spluttering in contempt at the corporate and garnered wisdom of the Church."

The Real Reason Pope Benedict XVI Abdicated

It has been almost a week since we first got the shocking news that Pope Benedict XVI was abdicating the Papacy. I've been mostly sitting back and watching the reactions of others. Some are struggling with grief, anger and fear as expressed in Hilary White's article on Lifesitenews :

Since Monday, I have struggled even to understand my own feelings. These have ranged, honestly, from shock to a kind of dread not only at the ominous question of what happens now, what is coming next, but at the very great strangeness of breaking of this ancient precedent. How can it be right? And why now, when the world seems to be sinking into an unimaginable darkness?

Then there are the traditionalists engaging in conspiracy theories, such as Chris Ferrara writing for the far right Remnant. Ferrara printed the Pope's entire resignation message and then began to look for clues as to the Holy Father's "true motivation". The following is a partial quote from Pope Benedict XVI's statement:

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.

From the above statement, Ferrara manages to find yet another opportunity to condemn the Second Vatican Council and Blessed John Paul II, with the implication that Pope Benedict XVI's resignation is actually supportive of Ferrara's statements:

Consider: Benedict might have been wrestling with the propriety of raising John Paul to the altars of the universal Church and declaring Paul VI a beatus, thus placing his papal imprimatur on what he himself, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, described as a post-conciliar “process of decay”—a process only Pope Benedict has done anything to reverse since the Council. Yet, Benedict was also under tremendous pressure from “conciliarist” forces to perform both acts in order to shore up the collapsing credibility of the conciliar aggiornamento. At this very moment, the trickle of traditionalist critiques is becoming a torrent of criticism by respectable theologians of the mainstream, as the “spirit” of the Council wanes while its disastrous effects become too obvious to explain away any longer.

It stands to reason that if Benedict were at all committed to the idea of “Saint John Paul II the Great” and “Blessed Paul VI,” he would have remained in office at least long enough to perform the necessary papal acts. Yet he has left office, in a purely discretionary manner, just as those acts were slated to occur—during the ironically designated “Year of Faith” that is taking place in the midst of the “silent apostasy” that is our inheritance from the previous two pontificates.

Or perhaps, even if this was not the Pope’s conscious intent, the Holy Ghost has intervened by prompting him to abdicate rather than inflicting further damage to the Church by acceding to the Council’s canonization via improvident acts of the Magisterium.

Ferrara completely condemns the Second Vatican Council and Blessed John Paul II, and claims that the real reason Pope Benedict is abdicating is to avoid "inflicting further damage to the Church" through "improvident acts of the Magesterium." Ferrara sets himself totally outside of Church authority when he makes such condemning statements. He should know as a Catholic that the Magesterium is guided by the Holy Spirit and cannot mislead the Church. No one should give any credence to Ferrara's statements or any that echo similar sentiments.

Then there is Michael Voris, who is not as radical as Chris Ferrara, but still reads his own feelings into the Pope's resignation and brings in his usual theme of the war within the Catholic Church being the cause of all the problems we face. Voris happily takes this as another opportunity to condemn the hierarchy of the Church. He is not nearly as critical of Pope Benedict XVI, but he still manages to make some absurd statements:

But during [Pope Benedict XVI's] pontificate .. one thing that caught him off guard was the hostility among many of the world’s bishops to his move toward a more traditional faith for the worldwide Church. Even so far as the restitution of the Tridentine Latin Mass .. observers report that Pope Benedict was shocked that so many bishops around the world opposed his desires and worked almost openly to thwart them.

. . .

The internal strife in the Church between the orthodox and the heterodox has had to take its toll on the Holy Father.  It would be difficult for a young vigorous man to navigate these waters.  

Michael seems to have forgotten that Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for 24 years before being elected Pope. He dealt with errant bishops and priests on a regular basis. It is possible, even probable, that he was more aware of the "internal strife in the Church" than his boss, Blessed John Paul II.

But then Voris actually goes on to contradict his statement that "Benedict was shocked" at the behavior of bishops, saying that the Holy Father was actually very aware of the "turmoil in the Church":

When Joseph Ratzinger was elected the 264th successor to St. Peter back in April 2005, he said in his first homily as Pope, “pray for me that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.” He knew very well the turmoil in the Church from errant pastors and ravenous wolves in sheeps’ clothing.

So which is it, Michael?   Did the Pope know or didn't he?

Michael then gives us what he sees as the necessary qualifications for the next Pope, which is someone who is basically ready to go to war against the Church, or at least certain parts of Holy Mother Church:

And now .. we must turn our attention and prayers to the NEXT successor of St. Peter .. and pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit will send another in the mold of Benedict .. one familiar with the struggle [but I thought it took Pope Benedict by surprise?], who knows the intrigues and the players, who loves tradition and understands the need for the liturgy to continue to reveal the Divine Majesty and not be a mere Catholic looking protestant type service.

A Papa who understands that the bold clear truth must be spoken in a world darkened not just by evil in general, but by evil men who make evil choices who must be confronted, and defeated, both inside and outside the Church.

Sigh.

The Holy Father on a wheeled platform

Did anyone ever consider that maybe, just maybe, the Pope told us exactly why he is abdicating and that there is no secret message or conspiracy behind his actions? Consider the fact that in a couple of months he will be 86 years old. If he was still a Cardinal, he would no longer be eligible to vote for the next Pope because he is too old, being past 80 years. If he had been a regular bishop instead of Bishop of Rome, he would have already been too old to serve when he was elected Pope at age 78. Bishops have a mandatory retirement age of 75. He has a pacemaker and has been told by his doctors that he cannot fly anymore, severely limiting his role in our modern world. Those who have been close to him say he is very physically frail. He even has to use a wheeled platform to get to the altar at St. Peter's.

Pope Benedict stated his reasons for abdicating the papacy in a very succinct and clear statement:

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

We really don't have to parse each and every word to find the "real meaning" behind his resignation. Pope Benedict XVI is bluntly telling us that he is too old and sick to be Pope.

I think the reason so many have a hard time with this is because we witnessed Blessed John Paul II continue his papacy to his death despite being much more infirmed than Pope Benedict XVI appears to be. So, we think, if JPII could do it, why can't our current Holy Father?

Pope Benedict XVI was right next to Blessed John Paul II, and he saw up close how incapacitated JPII had become. It would seem that from the very time Pope Benedict was elected, he was signaling to the world that he would step aside if and when he felt he had become incapacitated. In 2010, he made this statement:

“If a pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right, and under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign,”

We live in one of the most evil times in the history of the world, and as always happens when evil is in power, the Catholic Church is in the cross hairs. Right here in my own country, the United States, the State now sees the Church as the enemy, standing opposed to abortion, same sex marriage, contraception, and a myriad of other evils promoted by the State. We need a physically strong and robust man in the Papacy who can stand up and lead the church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through these tumultuous times.

Pope Benedict XVI, as has been pointed out by many, is showing great humility and sanctity by telling the world that he is no longer fit for the Papacy, and as a great act of love for the Church, he wants to step aside to allow the Holy Spirit to choose someone else. Pope Benedict XVI will now go into a life of intense prayer, which may be an even greater and more valuable service to the Church than he performed in his role as Pope.

One lesson that should be be apparent from the 2000 year history of the Catholic Papacy is that while the Vicar of Christ, as the visible head of the the Ark of Salvation for the world, is the most important person on the earth, he is also the most dispensable person in the world. He can and will always be replaced. The Pope is really nothing more than a kind of front man, as are all of our bishops and priests. The real Head of the church is Jesus Christ, and as he told us, He will never leave nor forsake us. And He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us from the evil one, who cannot touch us as long as we stay within the authority of the Church.

I find the words of Pope Benedict XVI very comforting:

"Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer."

May God bless and protect Pope Benedict XVI as he enters this final phase of his life. He has been a wonderful, loving father to the Church,

Pope Benedict XVI Stepping Down on February 28

I woke up to unbelievable news this morning. Pope Benedict XVI is stepping down as Pope on February 28. He has mentioned in the past that he might do this, so we shouldn't be taken totally by surprised.

From  economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Pope Benedict XVI on Monday announced he will resign on February 28, a Vatican spokesman said.

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday he would resign Feb. 28, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. 

The 85-year-old pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals Monday morning.

``After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,'' he told the cardinals. ``I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiriual nature, must be carried out not only by words and deeds but no less with prayer and suffering. 

However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary _ strengths which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately the ministry entrusted to me.'' 

The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants. 

Benedict called his choice ``a decision of great importance for the life of the church.'' 

The move sets the stage for the Vatican to hold a conclave to elect a new pope by mid-March, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn't have to be observed. 

There are several papal contenders in the wings, but no obvious front-runner as was the case when Benedict was elected pontiff in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II.

I have great affection, admiration and respect for our Holy Father, and I have no doubt that he made this decision after much prayer.  It seems to me that he wants very much to be part of the election of his successor.  This would also seem to point to the gravity of the times in which we live in that the Holy Father feels that the one who sits in the Chair of Peter must have both strength of mind and body to deal with all of the challenges facing the Catholic church today.

For whatever it's worth, and that is basically nothing, I am pulling for Cardinal Raymond Burke as our next Holy Father.  

Cardinal Raymond Burke