A Leaden Brain Matched with a Runaway Tongue

A wicked Pope is not the worst misfortune that can befall the Church.

Worse, I believe, is a stupid, incompetent, well-meaning (one hopes) buffoon of a Pope, with a leaden brain matched with a runaway tongue.

Christ, and not the world, is the Light of the Church.

There’s a Friend for little children

Above the bright blue sky,

A Friend Who never changes,

Whose love will never die;

Our earthly Friends may fail us,

And change with changing years,

This Friend is always worthy

Of that dear Name He bears.

Because God is perfect, He does not change.

Those, like large numbers of the current Catholic hierarchy, who wish to change the faith and its "alleged interpretations of dogma", are attempting to tamper with the immutability of the immutable, to rewrite God in their own, or their desired (as more convenient) image.

I am no theologian, only a pig-ignorant layman, but it seems to me that the synod on the family currently taking place, if it intends to bring Church discipline (and thus Faith) into line with current secular thinking, is treading close to apostasy.

Christ, and not the world, is the Light of the Church.

His Holiness, Cardinals Nichols and Kasper, Monsignor Loftus, Tina Beattie,

One of my hopes on becoming a Catholic 25 years ago was that it would be the end of the "misunderstanding and confusion" endemic in the Church of England.

Thanks, your Holiness, Cardinals Nichols and Kasper, Monsignor Loftus, Tina Beattie, and others too many to list, for making the Church such an exciting place of uncertainty.

I would rather be wrong with Torquemada than right with you.

Sacrilege Contemplated or "Lumme! He's at it again!"

Pope Francis continues to astound, and I am learning to love his endearing style as I loved my daughter's when she countered my admonishment, "That's really too bad," with, "No it's not. It's three bad!" 

Father Tracey, S.J. (R.I.P.), who instructed me in 1987, when talking about sacrilege, said that the sin would be committed by some one who assaulted a member of the Catholic clergy (I was happy to accept that) or indeed a heretic, or a pagan "cleric".

I was not so happy with that.

I have now reached the unhappy stage where I would very happily thump not a few Catholic clergy, were it not illegal to do so.

He Loves.....Wagner????

Pope Francis wrote, or said, 

"Among musicians I love Mozart, of course. The ‘Et incarnatus est’ from his Mass in C minor is matchless; it lifts you to God! I love Mozart performed by Clara Haskil. Mozart fulfills me. But I cannot think about his music; I have to listen to it. I like listening to Beethoven, but in a Promethean way, and the most Promethean interpreter for me is Furtwängler. And then Bach’s Passions. The piece by Bach that I love so much is the ‘Erbarme Dich,’ the tears of Peter in the ‘St. Matthew Passion.’ Sublime. 

Then, at a different level, not intimate in the same way, I love Wagner. I like to listen to him, but not all the time. The performance of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ by Furtwängler at La Scala in Milan in 1950 is for me the best. But also the ‘Parsifal’ by Knappertsbusch in 1962."

Oh dear!

Stultitia Infidelium

I have just been reading on Tina Beattie's Blog her post "Pope Francis and the Poetry of Hope". It scared me.

I quote:

These are my reflections during this week when, for the first time in many years, being a Catholic creates a sense of freshness and delight about the Church and its possibilities and promises. In the last few years, and particularly in the last couple of weeks, I've reflected a great deal on the difference between hope and optimism. As we awaited the announcement of the new Pope, I was not optimistic. Who would it be? I read the biographies of the papabili with a heavy heart. I feared that things could get worse, not better. 

and, from her comment:

I think we can hope for many gradual shifts in emphasis. Like Humanae Vitae, the teaching on mandatory celibacy has been breached so often - whether through Anglican married priests who have become Catholic priests or through priests in many parts of the world quietly living with women and having children - that I think it will be a very small step to change it. That's not to underestimate what it will mean for the many people who currently experience that teaching as an almost impossible burden. But I hope that we'll support Pope Francis in wanting a church that is firmly rooted in and focused on the poor, and it seems to me that we should let that agenda come fully into focus before we begin distracting attention to other issues. And I think we should simply stop talking about sex, except in the context of violence and exploitation!

Oh gosh, Tina, you are so.......... wonderful! For me, that is real theology!

Pope Francis on same-sex "marriage".

“Let’s not be naïve, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

Pope Francis I as reported (thanks to Blithe Spirit, Wordpress)