In an Analysis with a Misleading Title, ETWN's NCR Warms up to Pope Francis

The usually #AntiPopeFrancis #EWTN/#NCR we dubbed part of the #NewPharisees, just published a misleadingly titled piece; Clashing Visions of #VaticanII Define Present-Day Theological Fault Lines. In a previous piece we noted Crux’s Sr Editor John L. Allen Jr. either does not understand the Church or was deliberately misrepresenting here in his article Pope Francis does not understand America. Allen wrote in part: “It’s said of the pope that he doesn’t understand the United States, and that what he does get, he doesn’t especially like. Many of his bishops’ appointments seem deliberately calculated to upset the dominant ethos of the American church, and some of his policy decisions also seem designed to challenge certain aspects of the American Catholic experience.”Allen does not understand that the American Church is a member of the body The Church is not a democracy. The American Church needs to understand its place in the Catholic Church. 1 Corinthians 10:17 says “And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.”

 

Image: Stained glass, depiction Christ appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and showing her His Sacred Heart | St. Francis Xavier Basilica, Vincennes, IN

We also noted that The Catholic Media aka New Pharisees – along with its acolytes, would have persecuted Pope Francis 2000 Years Ago, Along With Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Jesus. They dislike that Pope Francis did not spike the ball when SCOTUS overturned Roe V Wade, as if it was an earthly victory like the Super Bowl. They dislike that Pope Francis offered communion to so-called devout Catholics Joseph Biden & Nancy Pelosi. They love to report on disobedient priests and hail them as heroes. The implied premise is that the Holy Spirt is no longer active in the Vatican


If the Catholic Media is waging a wart on Pope Francis, what can you expect from the seculars? The phrase "everyone's a comedian" doesn't mean that everyone is hilarious. It means that everyone thinks they're. Just like the phrase "everybody is a Pope." People may think they can do a better job than Pope Francis. Take for instance NY Post's Maureen Callahan who opines that the Pope's "slam of selfish pet parents proves he never owned a pet.' Or National Catholic Reporter's Flora Tang who frequently criticizes Pope Francis and writes that "Pope's comments are about more than pets. They reinforce the church's narrow view on reproduction and marriage."


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And to say that the National Catholic Register is unhappy with Pope Francis appointment of new cardinals is an understatement. NCR does not like that Pope Francis did not nominate a cardinal for Kyiv to appease Russia: "Pope Francis has repeatedly refused to elevate Archbishop Shevchuk out of presumed deference to the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, which would prefer that the Ukrainian Catholic Church did not exist. Not creating Archbishop Shevchuk a cardinal not only undermines protestations of Vatican support for Ukrainian Catholics, but also gives the impression that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow holds a kind of veto over internal Catholic life in the so-called “Russian world." it writes. NCR would have preferred Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles over Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, "characterized by veteran Vatican correspondent John Allen as “one of the staunchest liberals in the U.S. bishops’ conference.” NCR reasons that "passing over Archbishop Gomez — head of the largest archdiocese in the United States — for one of his suffragan bishops is an exquisitely calibrated message. That Bishop McElroy has publicly clashed with Archbishop Gomez over pro-abortion Catholic politicians is not irrelevant to his selection. Archbishop Gomez, a gracious and dignified man, will conduct himself with customary reserve in the face of what many of his brother bishops — off the record — regard as shabby treatment.

So we were pleasantly surprised that in this new analysis, although it seems designed to promote two books, one by Father Blake Britton, a priest of the Diocese of Orlando, Florida, Reclaiming Vatican II and Shaun Blanchard, a theologian and senior research fellow at the Newman Institute, the Traditionalist Paradigm. In this piece, the author and Father Britton dare criticize the Traditionalists, although they might not have the Catholic Media in mind.

Blanchard's analogy included in this analysis makes my point about the title of the piece: Blanchard is quoted as saying: “The dad in the house is talking about how great last year’s Christmas was, and there are some uncles that don’t agree with that. They’re going to speak up much louder now that dad is speaking that way.” Of course the dad refers to the Holy Father and those who speak up in public are disobedient officials or priests. The Theological Fault Lines then are more like a family discussion as opposed to the implied imminent possibility of an ecclesiastical earthquake;

Father Britton is spot on; " “If Christ is alive, everything is going to be fine. Keep praying, discerning with an open heart, and let’s moved forward in a spirit of hope.