Pope Francis was an enigma during his Argentinian days. Still Catholic Cardinals worldwide believed that with the help of the Holy Spirit who hovered over the College of Cardinals somehow got it right when they voted him in as the Primate of the Universal Catholic Church.
But after the election, eventually a new period saw renewed puzzlement when Pope Francis chose to entertain criminals at the Vatican in the persons of Putin and Kirill. His lack of humanity for the long suffering people of Ukraine particularly at a time of great peril for them and a bizarre affection for Russian history and its criminal leaders was very disturbing.
Perhaps, now his support for an agency of the Kremlin’s criminal regime is not surprising. The Catholic Church using its own terminology appears to have been taken over by the Devil. Perhaps this is a Biblical realization. The ramifications may have been forecast, but nevertheless to the average believer, the Apocalypse is now and there cannot be anything more frightening. Given his age biologically the situation with the Pope will only get worse. Physically he will become more frail and mentally he will be even more cognitively challenged.
The Russian or Ukrainian (as it now calls itself in Ukraine) Orthodox Churches belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate are “de iure” and “de facto” creations of one of the most heinous killers in history Josef Stalin. It is not a religious institution but an agency of the Kremlin’s special services. The Moscow Church in fact was installed in Ukraine to create a false impression and an alternative to the liquidated Ukrainian Christian churches. Even after Ukraine’s proclamation of renewed independence, the Moscow Church in Ukraine never registered as a foreign agent. That in and of itself was sufficient to have it banned in Ukraine and its leadership brought before the courts. That did not happen because of Ukrainian tolerance.
That Church’s predecessor was not a religious institution either, but an agency of the czarist regime. The criminality has extended for some four centuries and includes the establishment of the Moscow Patriarchy in the late 17th century contrived through criminal kidnapping and holding hostage of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Every significant leader of the Church had to be a member of the Muscovite secret service.
Is Pope Francis familiar with history? Frankly it’s not relevant. He does have advisers. His behavior while bizarre is the product of his unhinged mind. There may be more to it than that, unfortunately.
The Vatican News provided:
“In his words following the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis expresses his fears over Kyiv’s decision to ban the Orthodox church linked to the Moscow Patriarchate. He appeals ‘Let no Christian Church be abolished directly or indirectly.”
Perhaps the problem is with the Catholic concept of Papal infallibility. It is often misplaced and, too often extended to areas where the Pope’s mind cannot reach because of frankly limited exposure to fields of education. No human being is even astute much less infallible on every issue. Even more so when the possessor of this trait bestowed upon him gratuitously is reaching his nineties and is not educated in the first place, especially on matters other than theology such as history and politics. We are all with great many flaws so we should learn to forgive. However, the biography of this Pope is so abysmal that there is no room for forgiveness or even Christian consideration.
This perhaps is both funny and sad. Naturally, the Vatican News report concludes with “Your contribution for a great mission. Support us in bringing the Pope’s words into every home”.
The words of the Pope came a day after Ukraine’s Parliament had enacted legislation later signed by the President to forbid the Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Church in Ukraine. The legislation was a result of at least a year long active discussion by the Parliament and Ukrainian society as to the propriety and even Constitutionality of such legislation. During the course of the war many criminal cases had been brought against the hierarchy of the Church for treason among other crimes. The patience and tolerance both of the Ukrainian authorities and society had been exemplary/ bordering on the ridiculously excessive. Two of the three holiest places of Ukrainian Christianity have belonged with the Moscow Church.
As the discussion ensued, the Moscow Patriarchate Church in Ukraine reached out to the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch in Istanbul to lend its legitimacy to the Church. Only several days before the legislation, representatives of the legitimate Orthodox Church of Ukraine under Metropolitan Theophany met with the Ecumenical Patriarch who stated unequivocally that he would not be lending legitimacy to the Moscow Church in Ukraine.
Both the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch and Ukraine’s Parliament and President sparked outrage in the Kremlin unsurprisingly. The Kremlin has not commented on the condemnation by the Pope as of now.
As a Catholic I suspect that once again the role of the Catholic Church and Pope Francis in particular cannot get anymore outrageous than this. The Universal Catholic Church now carries the same mantra as the Kremlin and the “Representative of Jesus Christ on Earth” Pope Francis and the war criminal under a warrant by the International Criminal Court for kidnapping children Vladimir Putin speak with one voice. How bizarre!
August 26, 2024 Askold S. Lozynskyj