Saturday, December 17, 2016

Pope Francis Is Going to Be 80 -- The Possibility of a Resignation

By Roberto de Mattei *
Pope Francis is crossing the threshold of 80: Ingravescentem aetatem (advanced age), as the motu proprio of 21 November 1970 by Paul VI declared, which, by reaching this age, requires all cardinals to put their tasks to an end, and deprives them of the right to participate in the conclave. Paul VI. established this rule to create a new "Montinian" curia. Moreover, he introduced a fundamental contradiction in the Church's more than a thousand years of practice.
If the advanced age is an impediment to the direction of a diocese or a dicastery, and even prevents a cardinal from choosing a pope, how can we imagine that a cardinal who has become a pope, even after the age of eighty? Can he bear the burden of the world church?
It was not, however, such considerations that urged Pope Francis on 12 March 2015 to say:
"I have the feeling that my pontificate will be short, 4, 5 years. Perhaps it is not so, but I have the feeling that the Lord has set me up for a brief cause. But it is a feeling, so I leave all possibilities open. "
The real reason for a possible abdication does not seem to be a decline in capability, but Pope Bergoglio's awareness, not two years after his election, to be penetrated into what Antonio Socci in the newspaper on November 20, 2016 Libero describes as the relentless "decline of a pontificate."
The project of Pope Francis to "reform" the Church with the help of the bishop's synod and various collaborators, is well in place, and the record of the Holy Year is more than disappointing. On November 21, 2016 Marco Politi wrote in the daily Il Fatto quotidiano :
"Pope Francis closed the Holy Door, but his message is accompanied by the rumbling of a subterranean crisis. There is a civil war in the Church. "
The dispute was whether consciously or unconsciously, unleashed by Pope Francis himself, especially after the Apostolic Letter Amoris laetitia, the Church no longer moves forward, but is sinking into a terrain riddled with deep crevices.
The failure of the pontificate of Pope Francis has already been compared to that of Barack Hussein Obama. In three years in Rome, what has taken place in Washington in eight years: the transition from an initial euphoria to a final depression, because the set goals were completely missed. It would be wrong, however, to read the pontificate of Pope Francis only from a political point of view. Pope Francis could never have pronounced Obama's "yes, we can".
For a pope, as opposed to a politician, everything is not possible. The Pope has a supreme, full, immediate, and universal authority, but can not alter the Divine Law that Jesus Christ gave to the Church, nor change the natural law which God has imprinted in the heart of every man. He is the vicar of Christ, but not his successor. The Pope can not alter either the Holy Scriptures or the tradition which form the far-reaching rule of the Church's faith, but must submit to them.
This is the impasse in which Pope Bergoglio is today. The Dubia that four cardinals (Brandmüller, Burke, Caffarra and Meisner) have laid before the CDF  have forced him upon a dead track. The Cardinals expect a clear response from the Pope on the Apostolic Letter Amoris laetitia with a yes or a no to the following questions:
Can divorced persons who have once again married once and who do not want to give up their objectively sinful situation in which they find themselves, rightfully receive the sacrament of the Eucharist? And more generally: Do the Divine Law and Natural Law still have absolute validity, or do they tolerate exceptions in some cases?
The answer concerns the foundations of morality and the Catholic faith. If what was valid yesterday is no longer valid today, then what is valid today, will not be valid tomorrow. If, however, morality can change according to time and circumstances, the Church is destined to perish in the relativism of today's fluid society. If this is not the case, Cardinal Vallini must be exempted from his office, who stated in his speech at the pastoral meeting of the diocese of Rome last September 19 that newly married divorced persons may be admitted to the communion in accordance with an "assessment which is appropriate case by case." His position set out on 2 December in the daily newspaper Avvenire, a media organ of the Italian Bishops' Conference as his own, that according to the Amoris laetitia contains "very clear words" upon which "the Pope has set his imprimatur".
But can the Pope confer on the shepherds' "judgment" the authority to transcend the law of God and the right of nature, the preserve of which is the Church? When a pope tries to change the faith of the Church, he explicitly or implicitly renounces his mandate as vicar of Christ, and sooner or later he will be compelled to renounce his pontificate. The possibility of such an explosive result can not be ruled out in 2017. The self-imposed abdication would allow Pope Francis to abandon the field as a misunderstood reformer, and to attribute to the responsibility for his failure upon the "severity" of the curia.  If this is to happen, it will be more likely to happen after the next consistory, which allows Pope Francis to once again plant a new group of cardinals near him to influence the Holy College, thereby influencing the choice of his successor. The other possibility is the fraternal reprimand by the Cardinals, which, as soon as it becomes publicly known, corresponds to a determination of errors and heresies.
Nothing is more erroneous than the sentence of Cardinal Hummes, in reference to the total number of cardinals: "They are only four, we are 200". Apart from not counting on numbers to demonstrate the fidelity to the Gospel, what are the 200 Cardinals, who are 227 to be exact, to whom Hummes has referred, who have distanced themselves from their four confreres. Have they actually distanced themselves by their silence from Pope Francis?  The first observations in support of the Dubia by Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, President emeritus of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum , and Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Economic Secretariat, are meaningful. Some are beginning to break their silence. There are not 200, but certainly more than four.
Roberto de Mattei , historian, father of five children, Professor of Modern History and History of Christianity at the European University of Rome, president of Lepanto Foundation, author of numerous books, most recently appeared: Vicario di Cristo. Il primato di Pietro tra normalità ed eccezione (Vicar of Christ. The Primacy of Peter Between Normality and Exception), Verona 2013; In German translation at last: The Second Vatican Council - a hitherto unwritten story, Ruppichteroth 2011.
Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG


36 comments:

Robbie said...

Throughout much of 2014, stories occasionally popped up suggesting Bergoglio might resign around the time of his 80th birthday. Fr. Zuhlsdorf mentioned such a possibility, Edward Pentin mentioned the possibility, and Giuseppe Nardi even wrote in the last week of 2014 that rumors of a resignation were ever present. All of this took place as questions about Bergogolio's health were front and center that year.

My sense is these stories were little more than wishful thinking. It reminds me of who those in America who opposed Trump's candidacy and were willing to believe he could be stopped at the convention, he would quit after a damaging video, or be upended by the electors in the electoral college. None of that happened and he, in fact, won.

Given what we've seen these past four years, does Bergoglio really strike anyone as the type who would quit? I don't. This is a man who rules with absolute power and seems to relish crushing and destroying anyone who gets in his way. On top of that, he's on a mission to wreck the Catholic faith and refashion it in his own likeness.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think we're stuck with horrible papacy for as long as Bergoglio draws breath. And if he continues on for another few years, his "Cardinals" will ensure an even more destructive person is chosen as his successor.

I wish I could be more optimistic, but nothing since March 13, 2013 gives me hope.

S. Armaticus said...

No matter how much I would like it to happen, it just ain't gonna...

M. Prodigal said...

Do not hold your breath waiting for a resignation. The goals have not yet been accomplished.

Liam Ronan said...

If Francis resigns the papacy before and without ever having been taken to task for his errors, then any conclave electing the next Pope will be skewed by Francis' hand-picked cardinaliate supporters who would be unrestrained in proposing and electing a papal candidate even more unorthodox than Francis.

Lars said...

Let us pray for long and peacefull retirement, may it start as soon as possible.

big benny said...

This posting on rotate caeli has disappeared now.

susan said...

the likes of a bergoglio will NEVER willingly give up the reins of power.

Plus, as THE probable Biblical false prophet forerunner of the antichrist, he will stay right where he is, wreaking wrack and ruin on the Church until satan calls him home.

Anonymous said...

I found this article by Roberto De Mateei, a very well respected Italian journalist as 100% accurate. I have a young friend in Rome who is an American girl who went to Rome to become a nun in a traditional Order (1950/s habit, convent boarding schools in Rome and other parts of Italy and 9 other countries), because she couldn't find that traditional life in the USA. She's been there several years. She is professed a few years, and teaches in Rome. But she goes to St. Peter's every Sunday for the Pope's Angelus. She knows that among the Romans...and perhaps the Italians as a whole...Pope Francis is not well loved...or even liked.
Many still remember and revere Venerable Pope Pius XII (even the young have an affection for him). Many remember and love John XXIII...not because of Vatican II, but because he was a good "pastor", but still presented himself as a traditional Pope.
Many respect (but do not love) the memory of Paul VI. Very many love and remember St. John Paul II. Many-especially young priests-love Benedict XVI.
But there is a strange, unfriendly feeling that many (not all) Romans and Italians have for Pope Francis. It is is words, his gestures, his agenda, his initiatives...and the way he presents himself as Pope that they don't like. He is very much resented for being against traditional expressions of Catholicism-especially liturgical- and very unpopular for not using the papal Summer home of Castel Gandolfo.
My friend who is a nun says that Francis has made tremendous mistakes and millions of enemies in Italy for many of his initiatives and gestures. He is resented for not being especially pro-life, or for supporting the pro-family marches in Rome....some of Francis associates even spoke against it...and drew very hostile reactions from the people in the pews for it.
The faithful Catholics are against his allowing communion for the divorced, and are outraged that now he has given priests the power to absolve women of having abortions....they consider that a complete break from the teachings of the Church. They resent Francis for not promoting the Patriarch of Venice, and other excellent archbishops, to Cardinal. They also know why....Francis only promotes the radicals. They hate him for that as well. They hate hom for all his insults directed towards Catholic tradition and the Tridentine Mass. They hate him for being so overtly pro-Muslim, whon the average Roman/Italian recognizes the truth that they are a real danger to Italy and Europe.
By his own admission, Francis says he won't be in office long. He's amost done 4 years. I don't think he will make it to 5. I think he will either be pressured to quit and exposed as a heretic and leave in disgrace along with his supporters, or he will unexpectedly die.
Don't be surprised if 2017 brings either one. Then perhaps we will have a new Pope who is open to Catholic tradition, and who is actually a Catholic!
Damian Malliapalli

Anonymous said...

If only Jorge Bergoglio would resign, I might actually go to Mass, another time.

Karl

Anonymous said...

2017, the 100th year of fatima, gives me great hope.

actually i am very optimistic that this horrible evil will end soon.

but it will get worse before it gets better (eg intercommunion is coming).

god, through the triumph of the immaculate heart of mary, will act soon, as jesus promised that the church will survive until the second coming, regardless of the attempts of gog the destroyer, who is clearly under the control of satan, to destroy what is left of the real catholic church after of 50 years of the satanic infiltration begun at vc2.

btw gog will be in fatima for the 100th anniversary on may 13 for more apostasy and mocking of the mater ecclesiae.

expect lightning.

TLM said...

It is, I do believe, wishful thinking that we will finally have a Pope that is 'actually Catholic'. Francis is (and has) stacking the deck with ravenous, hungry wolves salivating at the prospect of destroying the Church of Christ. They are almost ALL now in place and ready to go. Interesting and quite ominous days ahead.

Anonymous said...

I stoipped going to Mass too, because of Francis and his agenda and his people and appointments. The last straw was allowing for priests to absolve women who have had an abortion...like it's nothing. It once was considered a very grievous sin, almost unforgivable. Now it's presented as nothing....just like stealing a car or something like that.
With a person like Francis, and all his talk about God;s Mercy, it's almost like he is saying there is no sin...that God forgives everything. That's the impression he gives....and that is outrageous.
I feel sorry for one of my uncles, who no longer goes to Mass, and says he own;t as long as we have Francis etc. But he is old (70), and maybe won't be around for a true Catholic Pope. I still have 18 months till I am 30, so, barring an accident etc., I can afford to hold out.
But I feel sorry for so many, young, old, and in the middle, who Francis has alienated so much that they don't go to Mass...or even pray...or have switches to another Church (like cousins in India), or who have become Buddhists( two acquaintences I had when I worked as a model in NYC....young man and woman my age who were once Catholics but both quite because they hated what Francis is doing to the Church.
I hope Francis is gone in 2017....I didn't say dead...just gone.
Damian Malliapalli

Unknown said...

This anti Pope has much to answer for.

Anonymous said...

Resignation? Fat chance.

James said...

Please resign and go away, Your Holiness.

Anonymous said...

The true Catholic Church is alive and keeping the Catholic faith Alive in these mysterious times.
Don't blame someone for your lack of faith and dedication to obeying sacred tradition.
I say this to help you,not condemning you.
If you aren't receiving the Sacraments regularly,you have no life in you.(that is basic catechism knowledge)

Anonymous said...

Francis is a symptom and his departure will change nothing in the Novus Ordo.

Liam Ronan said...

Whatever your sentiments are with respect to Francis, for your own soul's sake and those for whom God has made you accountable do not stop going to Mass.

Anonymous said...

Damian,

Neither you, nor I, are examples to follow with respect to our behavior regarding going to mass.
But for me to criticize you over this would only show a lake of character on my part. I wish that I had the faith to overcome my disenchantment. I do not want to be the cause of someone following my example, but to pick up the pieces is easier said than done.

Anonymous said...

So,we traditional Catholics (some call us Sedevacantist) who keep the Catholic traditional faith alive are held in contempt by some well known catholic bloggers and commentators.
Do you think its better to attend a traditional Catholic chapel and obey sacred tradition/scripture or leave the novus ordo and pray to false idols?
I'm not being sarcastic or rude.This question is sincere because adults and families are losing their souls and nations are losing their homelands & identities due to apostasy. (That means leaving the Catholic faith just in case someone doesn't know the definition)
Tancred will you please allow this comment to post?
We are slowly imploding into the dustbin of history.We don't have leaders to speak for us.
What's better,being a Roman Catholic who obeys Jesus Christ or losing our nations families and souls just so we can lawfully obey heretics who are leading us into a nightmare living hell?

Anonymous said...

Perhaps "hate" is a strong word to describe the situation....

Anonymous said...

You stopped going to Mass? The Mass does not become invalid just because you don't like the pope. The Mass is the Sacrifice of Calvary whether you like it or not. It is a requirement. End of story.

How can a Catholic who doesn't attend Mass in turn spew such diatribe?

That's like quitting the battlefield and complaining about not enough soldiers defending the country.

Anonymous said...

Please don't stop going to Mass. We can little afford to quit receiving Our Eucharistic Lord because the person occupying the Chair of Peter is dubious.

Barnum said...

Liam, you are much more up on these matters than I am, so let me see what you think:

1)Isn't there some sort of legislation requiring administration by a Chamberlain or Master of the Papal Household or somesuch to carry on administration in the event of Papal incapacity? I seem to recall this being a big deal after the assassination attempt through JP II's old age.

2) Doesn't having Benedict around kind of gum up Francis' retiring, you know, 2 emeriti, orders or precedence, and whatnot?

I recall that when gallant JP II was fighting the ravages of old age, he relied more on his, for lack of a better term, staff, and curial appointees. a) What prevented Benedict from doing the same? b) Why wouldn't Francis revert to the JP II household model since it seems more suitable to his goals?

Tony V said...

I don't understand why someone would stop going to Mass because they don't like the pope. The pope isn't more Catholic than anyone else and it isn't his church. It just doesn't make sense.
Obviously people who say things like that are really just lazy and want to lie in bed all Sunday morning.

jac said...

Damian, I am afraid that you are a bit too optimistic. Though I agree that 1917 might end his papacy in an.unexpected way, I cannot imagine that a better pope will succeed him, except through a supernatural action since the college of cardinals is indeed a big majority of modernists whom he himself made cardinal a number among them.
Modernists cannot elect but another modernist worse than this one if that was possible.

jac said...

Let us pray that our Lord will soon recall Francis to His celestial Kingdom or wherever He wants if Francis isn't worthy of it.

Ivan said...

Francis has successfully given the Church a Jesuit orientation. The Dubia will become a catalyst for change. A resignation is very likely.

Anonymous said...

damian

Please go back to mass.
The only winner is the devil when catholics stop assisting at the daily sacrifice.

Soon francis will order the changing of the words of that consecration, ipso facto the abomination of desolation.
Receive the body of christ while you still can.

if i did like you, i would have stopped going to mass in the early 80's, when the horror that is the vc2 deception finally set in:

liturgical dancing,
altar girls,
women on the altar,
lay ministers of the eucharist,
communion in the hand,
the tabernacle moved aside,
nobody going to confession,
everyone going to communion,
priests preaching every sort of heresy under the sun,
priests saying jokes,
priests saying horrible humanist "god love everyone" "all church are equal" sermons,
priests facing the congregation,
blasphemous horrible music and singing,
people raising their arms during our father,
people not genuflecting,
people not kneeling, even after communion,
2nd and 3rd rite of confession, sorry in vc2 sect that's called reconciliation,
people talking in church as if jesus is not there,
nuns doing the jobs of priests,
no kneelers, bizarre shaped modernist churches,
catholics babbling thinking they can speak in tongues,
parish councils led by uncatechised ecumenical catholics who never pray the rosary or fast removing the authority of the priest (the blind leading the blind),
bizarre post vc2 blasphemous heretic groups such the neocatechuminal way that pass around the chalice, never kneel, use leavened bread for the consecration,
effeminate priests,
butch nuns,
the farcical sign of peace,
catholics who dont use holy water when entering, dont genuflect when crossing the tabernacle,
horrible satanic bishops,
even more horrible satanic false pope, the false prophet of the apocalypse.

crusadertt

Robbie said...

I wish I could share your sentiment, but what's the evidence Bergoglio will resign? I see none. In fact, I see a man who is determined to plow ahead with his agenda regardless of what others think.

If Bergoglio was the least bit persuadable or the least bit concerned about the opinions of others, we wouldn't be in this sorry situation. Had he any concern about the views of his Cardinals and Bishops, he would not have proceeded with his pursuit of communion for the divorced and remarried because both Synods strongly opposed the idea.

Rather than show any signs of true humility, Bergoglio has continued with his agenda regardless of growing opposition. I just don't see how he suddenly decides to resign considering he's shown zero regard for clear opposition to his policies.

I suppose a majority of Cardinals could suddenly encourage him to quit or make clear they've lost faith in his leadership, but that seems totally unlikely. At this point, it's far more likely Burke and the others will lose their red hats.

Anonymous said...

Whenever I hear the words "It will get worse before it gets better" my reason and common sense tell me the speaker or writer is into prophecies and visions---most of which are not trust-worthy. I agree with Robbie above that the nightmare Holy Church has been inflicted with by Benedict and the whole apostate hierarchy since the Council from Hell will continue perhaps until the end of time. The sun, the moon, and the stars will fall from the heavens before Dictator Bergoglio resigns: there is a sure-fire "prophecy" for you!

Prayerful said...

Pope Francis won't resign at 80 unless he has someone worse lined up. Perhaps Cardinal Tagle, perhaps Cardinal Jozef De Kesel (who shuttered a Traditional and highly successful priestly society and its seminary).

A few have spoken of people who have ceased with practice of their Faith due to Pope Francis. Many stopped with the ruinous and erroneous changes of Vatican II with its Protestant Mass. Restoration will have to be far more than another prelate who is friendly to Tradition like Benedict. The New Mass must be suppressed, and the false ecumenism ended.

Anonymous said...

So I guess they have more power than the Holy Spirit, huh? I didn't know they had the smarts or the power to thwart His Will.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Tony,
I may be younger than you and a lot of people who post, because by their commentary they've seen a lot more bad things from Vatican II and priests like Francis than me. But when I saw a "butch" nun....she looked like Rachel Maddow of MSNBC fame...if anyone knows her....telling us that our parish was now going to have a monthly Mass specifically to welcome all LGBTQ people in the area...even non-Catholics, and that we were all going to sit around the altar (rather than in the pews), and that everone could share communion "because this is what Pope Francis wants us to do by his welcoming example" (yuck), then I knew I didn't want; to go to Mass anymore. Every parish in my area is more or less the same....maybe not as radical...but basically the same. Everything is "Mercy, Mercy, Love" as Pope Francis. Everyone is open arms welcoming to LGBT people, and even in one parish...Muslims.
Since LBGT seems to be the new "in" thing in the Church in my area.... I'm out. :)
I do pray though. And when I can get there, I do go to the Greek Orthodox Church, or to the TLM, which I like the best.
Thank you many contributors for your good advice. I appreciate it.
Happy, Merry, and Holy Christmas to everyone.
Buona Festa di Natale a voi e tutti di vostra famiglia nella pace di Gesu Bambino. Felice, Prospero, e Salute Anno Novo 2017.
I would have written it in Hindi, Urdu, or Japanese too (Language is one of my fav studies/hobbies)...fluet in 7...but I think there might be more readers who understand my probably not altogether accurate Italian....than the others I know! Peace
Damian Malliapalli


Anonymous said...

Damian.. Traditio.Com
Send them an email & ask them for a traditional Holy Mass chapel in your area.

Anonymous said...

Damian:
I once read that you live in the Philadelphia area. If so, why are you putting your faith in peril by not going to Mass when you have at least three or four excellent, traditional options? They are: Our Lady of Lourdes in Overbrook, easily reached by Septa (all masses reverent, but a superb high tridentine mass at 9 AM); the church of the Ordinariate in Bridgeport (very near King of Prussia shopping mall) with a beautiful mass in the Anglican Use at 10 every Sunday and a most orthodox priest, Fr. Ousley; the Society of St. Pius X chapel in Eddistone (near the Philly airport, with a low mass at 8 and a high mass at 10, if the times have not changed recently, and with a magnificent chaplain, Monsignor Byrne, who recently left an important educational position in the archdiocese of New York to work with the SSPX). If you are serious about the practice of the Faith, these are excellent, relatively easy options.