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Tuesday, October 22, 2019

A YOUNG BISHOP (YOUNGER THAN ME) FROM THE PROGRESSIVE NETHERLANDS: IS HE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH? JUST WHO NAMED HIM A BISHOP ANYWAY? ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WOW! WOW! WOW! HE'S ARTICULATED EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING AND SO MANY OTHERS TOO! THANK GOD FOR THIS YOUNG BISHOP!

Copied from LifeSiteNews:


NETHERLANDS, October 22, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In two searing blog posts published on September 28 and October 21, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts of the Netherlands voiced his concerns over the Amazon Synod taking place in Rome, accusing it of pushing a “hidden agenda.”

In his column “Paarse pepers” (“Purple Peppers”) Vitamine XP — a Dutch-speaking blog run by several Catholic priests, including Mutsaerts — the bishop wrote that the Amazon Synod is “the most politically correct meeting of all time.”

According to Bishop Mutsaerts, auxiliary bishop of ’s Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), the Church is busy with something other than its “core” mission, which is to lead people to Christ and to obtain salvation and forgiveness for sins.

His pithy remarks are all quote-worthy. Here are LifeSite’s translations of his two recent blog posts on the Amazon Synod.

Pandora’s box (October 21, 2019)

If you follow the daily press conferences of the Amazon Synod, you will hear the same tune being played every time: new paths, listening to the indigenous people, climate change, and Mother Earth. It looks as if no one actually wants to even mention the fundamental problems. This synod is very similar in that respect to the Youth Synod (October 2018).

Is there a shortage of priests in the Amazon? Yes, there is. But the same is true in many areas (Africa, China, the Middle East). But that is not the real issue. Meanwhile, these mantras are being repeated daily, while Catholic vocabulary is almost nonexistent. The bishops and cardinals are discussing the environment, the rise of the sea level; they are saying that above all, we should listen. They speak like politicians, using the same slogans, the same cheap rhetoric. It’s strange that in a synod these kinds of topics should be the subject of discussion. It is not the specialty of the Church, it is not our core business and it is not our perspective. We want to be relevant, apparently, at the expense of our own identity. That is nowhere to be deduced from the lexicon, the jargon, and the vocabulary being used. Now and then, it even feels as though you are watching TV Kantine [a television comedy series mocking well known Dutch people]. Whereas our vocabulary once consisted of words such as “our Mother the Church,” “hellfire,” and “virtues,” now it’s all about Mother Earth, Amazonian fires, and ecology. These points of view are not at all different from those of political parties and pressure groups.

And there’s another thing: missionaries are suddenly being portrayed as imperialists who have imposed their values on the indigenous peoples. Does this mean that these missionaries never meant anything for the indigenous peoples? They risked their lives to proclaim the gospel. How many martyrs are there now? They went into the jungle to obey Jesus’s command to proclaim the gospel unto the ends of the world. The missionaries were all too aware that they had to meet the physical needs of the Amazonian people first. They fought poverty; they built hospitals; they built schools. This attitude led to people becoming curious about what they actually had to say. These missionaries knew that God does not speak through trees (some synod participants make different noises in this regard) and that sacrificing children is a horrible thing. They showed the indigenous people a way out of darkness and fear and gave them access to the sacraments. To suggest that missionaries were not concerned about the welfare of the people but were driven by imperialist motives and self-interest, is truly bizarre. Just as bizarre is the idea that we have now suddenly seen the light and realize that it is all about something else: Mother Earth, global warming, CO2.

All this has nothing to do with compassion for indigenous tribes. It is becoming increasingly clear that the Amazon Synod is being misused to push through a hidden agenda. Celibacy, it is suggested, would be incomprehensible to indigenous men, and that’s why we’re introducing the married priesthood. How strange, after all, that for more than a thousand years, people of all times, races and cultures have accepted celibacy, but the Amazonian people would be incapable of comprehending it? Are they just too stupid? Is that what is being suggested? What kind of strange discrimination is this? Of course, there is also a plea to open up the priesthood to women as well.

And all of this to give people more opportunities to participate in the Eucharist. Is that so? What about Japan, where for 250 years there was not a priest to be seen and Holy Mass could not be celebrated? After 250 years, the vitality of the Japanese Christians was amazing. The catechists had done an excellent job. No one had had the idea to admit married men or women to the priesthood. Indeed, it is not the Catholics from the Amazon who are asking for this, but Western cardinals and bishops. By the way, why do these pretend that the people in the Amazon all live in the jungle and worship trees? Eighty (80!) percent of the indigenous population live in big cities, just like you and me. And like you and me, they wear jeans and T-shirts, not grass skirts.

If your heart really goes out to the Amazon, you tell the truth — namely, that it is Jesus Christ who saves. That’s the reason why you proclaim the unadulterated gospel. The call to repentance, and the promise of forgiveness associated with it, is that not the summary of the whole Bible? But the word “sin” did not cross anyone’s lips, so forgiveness and mercy didn’t, either. Yes, they did talk about it once — sin against Mother Earth. The environment is considered more important. This fits in perfectly with the core concepts of the new theology: integrated ecology, diversity, synodality, building bridges, global warming, new paths, change, and all that kind of nonsense.

This synod is truly the most politically correct meeting of all time. It’s a relief that Greta Thunberg has not yet been chosen to be a cardinal. Is there anyone left who is actually worried about saving souls? But isn’t that why Christ died on the cross?

If sacraments, sin, justification, and hell are no longer relevant, why should you be having a synod at all? If the Church has apparently been wrong for 2,000 years — that is the impression that is being created — why would you still listen to the Church’s views on ecology or on anything at all? What does the Church intend to do about the rise in sea level and CO2 emissions? Ordaining women as priests doesn’t really help. It turns out once again that one has nothing to do with the other, but must and will be implemented at all costs. By the way, when the water level rose in Noah’s time, it didn’t work out so badly.

Everyone knows that global warming is not the real problem of the Amazon, but — if we can’t be talking about Jesus — it’s drugs and the drug gangs, the drug wars, and the innumerable drug victims. Why don’t we listen to drug victims and drug addicts? That’s a much bigger problem. In South America, an estimated six million children are victims of abortion. That too is a much bigger problem than global warming. Wouldn’t a synod about this problem be much more appropriate?

To conclude: At the press conference last Friday (October 18), Sister Daniela Adriana Cannavina stated that the arrival of female deacons is likely to be one of the results of the synod. Archbishop Rino Fisichella went on to say that accompanying the new evangelization pagan input should be expected, so that “indigenous people can express their faith in accordance with their customs, thus giving the Church an Amazonian face.” And just to put a tin lid on it, the introduction of a new rite, the Amazonian rite, was also announced — of which, it should be understood, pagan elements are a part. In short, Pandora’s box is wide open. This is clear from the words of Bishop Mario Antonio da Silva, who said that we — oh yes, don’t let’s forget — need priests, so (so?!?) we will look at the possibility of married priests, delicately adding that this synod should not be considered as a synod limited to the Amazon region, but has consequences worldwide.

The final words of da Silva summarized it nicely. He considers the synod “an opportunity to get in touch with life, forests, water, animals, minerals, but especially communities that are filled with wisdom” (quoted from the Vatican website). Even Luther and Calvin would be shocked by this nonsense. Because that’s what it is. And the pope is looking on...

Amazon synod (September 28, 2019)

If you read the working document of the so-called Amazon Synod, it really seems that the intention is for the synod to wind up in a new religion. A kind of eco-socialism, an amalgam of ecology; climate change; ecumenism; viri probati; consecration of women; and, as an afterthought, sometimes a mention of Jesus, but then not as the Son of God and Redeemer: Jesus the philosopher, revolutionary, and hippie. Jesus gets his little spot in the Pantheon, as one of many. The Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazonian Region will take place, remarkably enough, not in the Amazon, but in Rome. It is also remarkable that countless bishops and cardinals — all of the same ilk — from outside the Amazon region have been invited. And then there’s something else: you’ll find many secular goals in the document. Integral ecology is one of them.

The working document embraces pantheism (which the Church has always rejected) and recognizes pagan superstition as a source of revelation (alternative ways of salvation; this implicitly means that Christ’s work of salvation is not unique; He is just one of many). All in all, the document — approved by Francis — gets rid of the Church’s identity as she has always understood it. There is not a single word about Jesus’s work of salvation, about conversion, the sacrifice of the Mass or that which is sacred. Embracing trees is more highly appreciated.

The pope has recently said once again that he is prepared to engage in debate with everyone. Unless your name is Burke, or Müller. Burke and Brandmüller are still waiting for answers to some simple questions (the so-called “dubia”). The strange thing is that even the media will not tolerate any criticism of the pope. Burke, et al. are condemned by the press. This is extremely surprising when you know that the same media considered criticism of John Paul II and Benedict to be a matter of course. However, anyone who criticizes Pope Francis is dismissed as part of a conspiracy to get rid of the pope, even though such people have only asked a few questions. Why not just answer them, and get rid of them? In response to questions from journalists about Archbishop Viganò’s statement, the pope replied that they should find out for themselves. And he considers criticism from America to be an honor. He doesn’t fear schism, either, as he told journalists on the flight back from Africa to Rome. If that’s the outcome, so be it.

Well, I do fear a schism. It really is the worst thing that can happen to the Church. On his return flight from Mauritius, the pope added that criticism is beneficial. He went on to say: “It is not only Americans who criticize me, but there are also criticizers within the curia.” Why didn’t the pope just invite the four dubia cardinals to talk it over? He would have been more credible as a bridge-builder (pontifex), and he would have been able to avoid a lot of confusion. However, the pope chooses to dismiss them in the eyes of the press as rigid moralists and degenerate ideologues.

Finally, I would like to mention this. How often do I hear that it’s all a matter of mercy? But I do not believe them. It is false mercy. We want to liberalize celibacy not in order to sanctify the priesthood, but to do away with a rule that requires holiness. They want to change the doctrine on homosexuality not because they want to be merciful toward the heavy burden of sin, but to say sin is no longer sin. They want to allow extra-marital sex not because they are positive about sexuality, but because they don’t want to recognize marriage (a man and a woman) as the only marriage covenant recognized by God. Be honest and stop pushing hidden agendas.

18 comments:

Carol H. said...

Thank you for sharing this, Father. It is good to know that not everyone at the top is drinking the Amazonian Cool-Aide.

Joseph Johnson said...

This is excellent!

TJM said...

I would worry what "Pope Mercy" and his gang might do to me, if I were this young bishop!

I admire this young prelate's courage

George said...

It is straining credulity to use St John Newman's words to justify a pagan figure by co-opting and corrupting what the late Cardinal has written. Structures such as temples, and things such as incense, candles, and votive offerings, don't forever become marked as pagan just because hence and thither in the history of man they were used in idolatrous practices.

it is one thing for the Church to consecrate and make new what was once a Roman temple; it would be quite another thing to do so while retaining within it a statue of Caesar and proclaiming it to be the figure of Jesus.

It has been(and should continue to be) the mission of the Church to convert indigenous peoples by using those things in their traditional practices and beliefs as a bridge, over which to leave behind the ways of paganism and to come to an understanding and acceptance of the one True God and His revealed truth-the way to holiness. I don't know what the intentions,motives,and expectations of the Synod organizers are, but is what has recently transpired in Rome really the way to accomplish this?

Православный физик said...

This prelate (God bless him), has ensured that Team Mercy will be knocking on his door very soon.

Mark Thomas said...

I am leery of anything that LifeSiteNews reports. They have a history of slanting their translations of interviews to fit their anti-Pope Francis agenda. They attempted to slant Cardinal Sarah's recent rousing defense of His Holiness.

I have good reason not to trust LifeSiteNews.

Pax.

Mark Thomas

John Nolan said...

I am getting rather tired of American Catholics castigating Europe for its supposed episcopal failures, given that they have plenty of their own.

Holland, for example. Willem Eijk, Cardinal Archbishop of Utrecht, has been a staunch defender of orthodoxy, at the risk of offending progressive elements. We have come a long way since Willebrands.

Germany. A year ago I posted a list of German bishops who did not sign up to the Marx agenda and have openly criticized it (not least Woelki of Cologne).

France. Since the bad old days when the French hierarchy closed ranks against Abp Lefebvre and Villot poisoned Paul VI against him, we have seen a resurgence of tradition in France, with many bishops sympathetic towards it.

England and Wales. The 'magic circle', a self-perpetuating oligarchy of progressive prelates, was broken ten years ago, and younger bishops are free of the dead weight of Vatican II assumptions.

Just to give a few examples.

TJM said...

MT,

I feel the same way about your comments - I do not trust them. You also have an annoying habit of not responding to facts which paint PF in a bad light, but since you are a lefty, I have come to expect your difficulty in confronting the truth. Your road show has become tiresome

Dan said...

MT - HILARIOUS. On the one hand we are supposed to listen to our bishops... but not this one.

I kind of think one could find his viewpoints expressed elsewhere besides lifesite news, what then MT?

DJR said...

Mark Thomas said... "I am leery of anything that LifeSiteNews reports. They have a history of slanting their translations of interviews to fit their anti-Pope Francis agenda. They attempted to slant Cardinal Sarah's recent rousing defense of His Holiness. I have good reason not to trust LifeSiteNews. Pax. Mark Thomas"

Lifesite News article May 1, 2017: Pope Francis praises pro-life cause: "There is no more important work"

https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/pope-francis-praises-pro-life-cause-there-is-no-moreimportant-work

Lifesite News article August 3, 2016: Pope Francis: "Teaching kids they can choose their gender is terrible"

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-denounces-idea-of-gender-choice

Lifesite News article June 17, 2014: Austrian bishop: "Pope Francis told me gender ideology is demonic"

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/austrian-bishop-pope-francis-told-me-gender-ideology-isdemonic

"We can employ traditional Catholic terms without having to resort to name-calling and the spewing of venom at sinners." Mark Thomas, April 7, 2016 at 3:45 PM

"The right-wing Catholic blogs are utterly pathetic. They are cesspools. They are satanic." Mark Thomas, July 11, 2017 at 11:22 AM

TJM said...

DJR,

Great detective work. Since MT is a lefty he may be a Soros paid troll

Mark Thomas said...

Dan said..."MT - HILARIOUS. On the one hand we are supposed to listen to our bishops... but not this one."

Dan, is the good bishop exercising his role, in unison with His Holiness Pope Francis, as a teacher of the Faith? Or has the good bishop expressed merely his opinions?

The answer is obviously the latter.
=============================================================================

"I kind of think one could find his viewpoints expressed elsewhere besides lifesite news, what then MT?"

That is fine. I just don't trust LifeSiteNews. They have been caught in many lies. They have a history of having misrepresented interviews.

For example, they had for years misrepresented Cardinal Sarah as having stood in opposition to Pope Francis.

LifeSiteNews attempted to misrepresent Cardinal Sarah's recent interview in regard to his support for Pope Francis.

I have every reason to distrust LifeSiteNews.

Pax.

Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas said...

DJR, LifeSiteNews is two-faced when it comes to reporting upon Pope Francis's unwavering commitment to the Culture of Life.

You cited a LifeSiteNews headline that presented in positive fashion Pope Francis' unassailable support for Church teaching that pertains to abortion.

I guess that you had overlooked the following from LifeSiteNews:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-says-abortion-is-like-hiring-a-hitman-but-has-repeatedly-prais

VATICAN CITY, Italy, October 12, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Caution is in order before taking Pope Francis’ condemnation of abortion Wednesday at face value, considering the pontiff’s praise for abortion’s purveyors and supporters, and his inconsistency when it comes to the life issue.

Typical nonsense from LifeSiteNews.

==================================================

An additional misleading headline/story from LifeSiteNews in regard to Pope Francis and abortion:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-calls-italys-foremost-abortion-promoter-one-of-nations-forgotten-great

Pope calls Italy’s foremost abortion promoter one of nation’s ‘forgotten greats’

Here is the truth in regard to LifeSiteNews misleading headline/story in question:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/scottericalt/life-site-news-gets-a-pope-story-wrong/
===================================================================================

Here is an additional garbage story that LifeSiteNews promoted. The story was so misleading that LifeSiteNews was forced to acknowledge their nonsense.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-meeting-with-homosexual-activist-fr.-de-paolis-the-unanswered

-- Pope kisses the hand of, concelebrates mass with pro-homosexual activist priest

LifeSiteNews acknowledged:

Editor's note: "LSN’s intention in publishing the story below was to present the known facts about a public meeting between the pope and one of Italy’s leading Catholic dissidents – a newsworthy event in itself.

"However, in retrospect we recognize that in the absence of certain necessary clarifications and contexts the facts alone, as presented, unnecessarily lend themselves to misinterpretation.

"We have since published an explanation, which should be read in conjunction with this article. It can be found here."

Pax.

Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas said...

DJR, here is another lie, via ChurchMilitant, that LifeSiteNews promoted. Did LifeSiteNews apologize for the lie in question that they promoted?

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 30, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has directed Cardinal Donald Wuerl to leave the United States “before being arrested” by authorities, Church Militant’s Michael Voris reported this evening.

The Washington, D.C. cardinal – successor to disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – and former bishop of Pittsburgh, where a recent grand jury report says he helped shuffle around and cover for sex abuser priests, is in hiding while “final plans for sneaking him out of the country are executed,” Voris reported.

===============================================================================

What absolute, utter trash.

Anyway, DJR, feel free to pretend that LifeSiteNews possesses integrity.

Pax.

Mark Thomas

Dan said...

MT keep maintaining your increasingly absurd position. Meanwhile I would like to know how anyone would KNOW they are in unison with your 'holy father.'

This guy doesn't clarify anything and has allowed bishops and cardinals to Express contradictory interpretations of your 'holy father's' verbalcoprolalia

Mark Thomas said...

DJR, here is another fake news story — lie — promoted by LifeSiteNews.

Did LifeSiteNews apologize for having promoted the lie in question?

Vatican rumblings: Pope Francis aiming to end Latin Mass permission

ROME, July 26, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Sources inside the Vatican suggest that Pope Francis aims to end Pope Benedict XVI’s universal permission for priests to say the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. While the course of action would be in tune with Pope Francis’ repeatedly expressed disdain for the TLM especially among young people, there has been no open discussion of it to date.

"Sources in Rome told LifeSite last week that liberal prelates inside the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith were overheard discussing a plan ascribed to the Pope to do away with Pope Benedict’s famous document that gave priests freedom to offer the ancient rite of the Mass."
==========================================================================================

It is mind-boggling that to LifeSiteNews, journalistic integrity consists of...

LifeSiteNews' "sources" overheard "liberal prelates" "discussing a plan ascribed to the Pope" to overthrow Summorum Pontificum.

It is beyond belief that a so-called news outfit — in particular, a Catholic outlet — would promote such garbage designed to agitate against His Holiness Pope Francis.

Pax.

Mark Thomas

TJM said...

MT,

You still have not refuted DJR's evidence, using your OWN words, of your own rank hypocrisy.

Do you lack the intellectual firepower to do so?

DJR said...

Mark Thomas said..."DJR, LifeSiteNews is two-faced when it comes to reporting upon Pope Francis's unwavering commitment to the Culture of Life."

Mark, the point is that your statement regarding "right wing bloggers" was a blatant falsehood.

Your words: "However, the right-wing bloggers in question will never...ever...ever promote Pope Francis' condemnations of abortion...right-wing bloggers refuse to publish Pope Francis' Apostolic Blessings in support of pro-life marchers.

I showed numerous examples that refuted your false statement. You said "they will never ever ever."

Demonstrably false.

And you have never apologized to them for the falsehood, have you?