Should Pope Francis have taken the name of Pope "Anthony"?

What's in a name?

In the words of Vox Cantoris, "will Pope Francis confound us all"? It looks like Vox's prediction is coming true. A false history of St. Francis puts him as a proto-hippie. This is a totally knavish picture of this rigorous enemy of heresy. May I light-heartedly suggest that perhaps an even better Franciscan name for a Pope who seems to be taking out the "hammer" more and more might be "Pope Anthony" (after all, was not this lovable saint the "hammer of the heretics"?) if the future of this Papacy continues to evolve the way it has over the past month. 

A Pope of Our Lady of Fatima?

Have you noticed the ever increasing silence from those who originally fawned all over Pope Francis? We were told that the Pope would overthrow 2000 years of Christian morality. An an example, "Cardinal" Mahoney has ceased tweeting about the Pope; he has reverted to his usual overtly political self. Perhaps the sad man was devastated when he learnt that Pope Francis approved of the findings against the dissident nuns; possibly distressed to learn of the Holy Father's request that his Papacy be consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima. No doubt the Holy Father's continual references to Hell are disconcerting.... NCR too, has chimed in: the Holy Father was not informed of the fact with reference to the dissident nuns. My, my, and this from the Pope who actually meet "regular" people on a daily basis.

The Reform of the Roman Curia

A second - and very disconcerting  - fact for the internal enemies of the Church is Pope Francis' decision to plough ahead with Curial reform. The formation of his international "cabinet" is the first sign that this man is serious about knocking heads together. This push for curial reform also seems to be about to be implemented at a local level. Read on...

The Intervention in the Homosexual Crisis in the Church in Scotland

Hopefully you will have read about the extraordinary book (Priesthood in Crisis) by the heroic Scottish priest, Fr. Matthew Despard. The initial response of the local authorities - perhaps due to collusion, fear of reprisal, blackmail etc. - was to consider canonical proceedings against Fr. Despard. As we reported, the Diocese of Motherwell backed off this approach and changed to policy of denial, silence and even criticizing Fr. Despard from the pulpit in surrounding parishes (Be warned: Witness has contacts on the ground in Scotland. And, as Montfort has assertively pointed out: we will not be silenced). 

As Montfort has just reported (please see link below), the Roman authorities are taking the gravity of Fr. Despard's book so seriously, that an investigation into gay bullying, violation of clerical celibacy due to perverted sexual acts, etc. will be undertaken. As noted on this blog, it is evident that local church authorities have not taken seriously sexual crimes committed by clergy: outstanding examples include the promotion of Fr. Paul Milarvie in Glasgow, and the continued public display of a photo on the Motherwell website of Cardinal O'Brien. The handling of the Milarvie "case", following his admission of committing homosexual acts, by the outgoing and incoming archbishops of the Glaswegian archdiocese demonstrates to Rome that the local Scottish church is unwilling or unable to clean house. Indeed, based on our on the ground informants (as well as Montforts regular visits to Scotland), confirms the crisis stems back for decades. Pope Francis is now moving to clean this "filth" out of the Church. 

Further Recommended Reading: Fr. Matthew Despard