Thursday, March 14, 2013

Pope Francis: Trads Are Panicking (And So Is The Left)

Every time the media calls Pope Francis a traditionalist, remind yourself that the media has likely never met a traditionalist.  These are traditionalists.  And I'd love to know what exactly causes them to fear and despise Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, one of the lead authors of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and related materials.  I mean, I grant the existence of huge problems in the way Vatican II has been interpreted and implemented throughout the world, but to be true to the documents is not in any way to be in breach of the tradition of the Church.  For pete's sake, it was an ecumenical council, convened by the Holy Fathers John XXIII and Paul VI, gathering most of the bishops throughout the world, and teaching with the full force of their collective authority.  Vatican II is authoritative, or no council of the Church is authoritative.

Here's a healthy response from a self-described traditionalist (who's also, by all accounts, written some pretty good books), calling his fellow trads to be proper traditionalists and honor, love, and serve the pope by prayer and obedience.

A beautiful response from Father Z.

A very interesting piece of news from George Weigel.  Excerpts:
...The 2005 runner-up takes the checkered flag in 2013? Well, not really. Cardinal Bergoglio was used in 2005; he knows precisely who used him and why; and while he is a man of the Gospel who is not looking to settle scores, he is also a man of prudence who knows who his friends, and who his enemies, are. Here’s the story:

In April 2005, the progressive party (which was a real party then) came to Rome after the death of John Paul II thinking it had the wind at its back and clear sailing ahead — only to find that the Ratzinger-for-pope party was well-organized; that Ratzinger had made a very positive impression by the way he had run the General Congregations of cardinals after John Paul II’s death; that he had deep support from throughout the Third World because of the courtesy with which he had treated visiting Third World bishops on their quinquennial visits to Rome over the past 20 years; and that, after his brilliant homily at John Paul’s funeral Mass, he was indisputably the frontrunner for the papacy.

Confronted with this reality, the progressives panicked. Their first blocking move against Ratzinger was to try to run the aged Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J., emeritus archbishop of Milan, who was already ill with Parkinson’s disease and had retired to the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem. The idea was not to elect Martini pope; it was to stop the Ratzinger surge. Then, when Ratzinger blew past Martini with almost 50 percent of the vote on what was assumed to be the “courtesy” first ballot (where some votes are cast as gestures of friendship, esteem, etc.), and subsequently went over 50 percent the following morning, the panic intensified. Martini was summarily abandoned (or may have told his supporters to forget it). The progressives then tried to advance Cardinal Bergoglio — who was very much part of the pro-Ratzinger coalition; who embodied “dynamic orthodoxy,” just like John Paul II and Joseph Ratzinger; who had been persecuted by his more theologically and politically left-leaning Jesuit brethren after his term as Jesuit provincial in Argentina (they exiled him to northern Argentina, where he taught high-school chemistry until rescued by John Paul II and eventually made archbishop of Buenos Aires); and who was doubtless appalled by the whole exercise on his putative behalf.

It was a last-ditch blocking move, perhaps constructed around the idea that a Third World candidate like Bergoglio would peel off votes from Ratzinger. In any event, it was a complete misreading of the 2005 conclave’s dynamics and a cynical use of Bergoglio, who would almost certainly have been abandoned had the stratagem worked — and it failed miserably.

Thus it may be safely assumed that the coalition that quickly solidified and swiftly elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as pope in 2013 had little or nothing to do with the eminent cabal that tried to use him in 2005. Pope Francis was elected for who he is, not for taking the silver medal eight years ago.

The first Jesuit pope? Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. Bergoglio is an old-school Jesuit, formed by classic Ignatian spirituality and deeply committed to an intelligent, sophisticated appropriation and proclamation of the full symphony of Catholic truth — qualities not notable for their prevalence among members of the Society of Jesus in the early 21st century. I suspect there were not all that many champagne corks flying last night in those Jesuit residences throughout the world where the Catholic Revolution That Never Was is still regarded as the ecclesiastical holy grail. For the shrewder of the new pope’s Jesuit brothers know full well that that dream was just dealt another severe blow. And they perhaps fear that this pope, knowing the Society of Jesus and its contemporary confusions and corruptions as he does, just might take in hand the reform of the Jesuits that was one of the signal failures of the pontificate of John Paul II...
And more from another commentator.  Excerpts:
...I first met him many years ago in Buenos Aires in 1993, less than a year after his predecessor, Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, rescued him from the ecclesiastic exile he was confined to by his congregation, the Jesuits, after he dared to try to reform them while being their provincial.

Cardinal Quarracino, who was fond of then-Bishop Bergoglio’s humble origin, keen intellect and down-to-earth nature, made him his coadjutor in 1997.
Bishop Bergoglio struck me as a man whose humility and simplicity could not hide a dry, sometimes ferocious sense of humor, and a sharp, quick intelligence.

Most importantly, Bishop Bergoglio was as clearly at ease in pastoral environments as he was almost mortified with any pomp and circumstance.
Therefore, it was admirable but not surprising when, after being installed as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he traded the magnificent episcopal palace for a small apartment in a downtown parish and kept his habit of taking the bus or the subway to move about the city, much to the surprise and admiration of his flock.

In February of 2001, when he was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Bergoglio requested that the large number of Argentinean Catholics who wanted to join him at the consistory in Rome instead use the money they were planning to spend on the trip to help the poor. As a consequence, Cardinal Bergoglio’s delegation at the consistory was one of the smallest ones, totally at odds with the size and relevance of Buenos Aires.

Also, unlike his recent predecessors, Pope Francis decided not to wear the pontifical red cape when he appeared for the first time in the loggia. He was instead in plain white, just like St. Pius V, the Dominican Pope who did not want to trade his order’s white robe, thus starting the tradition of the Papal white.

Despite being the first Jesuit to sit at the chair of Peter, the Pope has chosen the never-before used name of the beloved saint of Assisi, who led the reform of the Church in his time by calling for a faithful return to simplicity and holiness.

Rest assured, Pope Francis is bringing interesting times for the Church...

The left and the right are freaking out at Francis's election?  That's a very good sign.  And then there's this signal from the new Holy Father himself.  Excerpts:
...The very first thing Francis does is go to St Mary Major to pray at the tomb of Pius V.

So who was Pope St Pius V? He was a reforming pope who reigned from 1566- 1572. He cleaned up the curia, excommunicated heretical bishops, cleaned up the immorality in the church and swept the church clean– paving the way for the great surge in the church we call the Counter Reformation. He also excommunicated the tyrant Elizabeth I of England and formed the Holy League–a confederation of Catholic armies which eventually defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto. Pius V also instituted the Feast of Our Lady of Victories (nor the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary).

St Francis lived during a time of corruption, wealth and power in the church. He heard Christ say to him, “re-build my church.” Will Pope Francis also hear the call from Christ to “re-build my church” and not only be a new Francis but a new Pius V? I think we will see some high drama in the months to come. Certainly if his reputation in his native Argentina is anything to go by, we may well see a Pope who is uncompromising in his proclamation of the fullness of the Catholic faith. He stood up against an aggressive secular authority when they tried to impose same sex marriage and abortion. He also stood up to his clergy and led by example with an austere life committed fully to the gospel. He also stood up against the clergy who wanted to get involved in politics. He has said ambition and power seeking are a sin...
And from the wonderful Simcha Fischer, the reaction of the Catholic geekchick. Links in the original.  Excerpts:
...let me just pass along this Chesterton quote (via, of course, Mark Shea):
If you hear a thing being accused of being too tall and too short, too red and too green, too bad in one way and too bad also in the opposite way, then you may be sure that it is very good....
After he was done meeting the people at St. Peter's Square yesterday, he took the bus home. When he was already pope. And then this morning, he snuck out to fulfill a promise to pray at Maria Maggiore, where Ignatius of Loyola said his first Mass. HA. This kills me, that he just goes. How did this happen? Did he insist and kick up a fuss until they let him do it his way, or did he just slip away? Talk about Vatileaks! Whoops, there goes the Pope again! He moves pretty fast for a guy with one lung.

This going where he wants to go to do what he needs to do is clearly not a fluke, either. Here, from a pre-conclave profile, is what he says about his approach, in a broader sense:

It is true that going out onto the street implies the risk of accidents happening, as they would to any ordinary man or woman. But if the Church stays wrapped up in itself, it will age. And if I had to choose between a wounded Church that goes out onto the streets and a sick withdrawn Church, I would definitely choose the first one...

Hey, if you're interested in pawing through his disastrous reactions or shameful non-reactions to your favorite historical document, or if suddenly you're willing to pretend you're an instant expert on the Dirty War and if you had been Archbishop of Argentina, then this is how you would have done, then be my guest. I, for one, am going to bask in the joy and excitement of getting to know our new pope. We've got plenty of time ahead of us, and if these first days are any indication, he is going to keep us on our toes. Viva il Papa!
It's a very good day today.

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