Friday 4 October 2013

NY Times article trashes Pope Benedict: Fr. Rosica thinks it is "great"

The New York Times has published another strange innuendo riddled attack on the papacy of Pope Francis' revered predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. A few quotes suffice to demonstrate the perversity of the writer's thinking. 

"Francis has substituted a reluctance to accept papal office — a reluctance that led the cardinals to opt for Mr. Ratzinger, the German cardinal who became Benedict XVI, in 2005...The new pope promises new takes on homosexuality...Italians, whom the pope regards as neighbors, are dumbfounded. Resigned to watching high-ranking clerics play down the excesses of Silvio Berlusconi — a dreadful role model but an obsequious ally — they are astonished to see the pope distance himself from politics. They are used to the pro-business mentality of popular ecclesiastical movements like Comunione e Liberazione, and they struggle to believe that Francis honestly prefers good works to good dividends...parishes are quick to welcome a pope who thrills believers and inspires respect in nonbelievers.

Francis likes people at least as much as Benedict XVI liked books. The German pope gave Catholics an unremitting theology lesson. The Argentine gives them reassurance and understanding. All you need is love. Don’t be surprised if Francis starts quoting John Lennon.


The article is of no importance: it is insipid and exquisitely stupid. The real question is why would a Catholic priest latch onto it as something to laud?. 

The real question becomes: why is Fr. Thomas Rosica promoting it on his Twitter account? It is misleading, disingenuous, childish, and - most importantly - denigrating and insulting to the papacy of the much loved Pope Benedict. 


2 comments:

Jonah said...

The Deanery of Windsor needs a massive exorcism. Who knows, Assumption College might return to the land of the living.

Susan Fox said...

Honestly, when Pope Benedict was elected, I had no hope that Cardinal Ratzinger might be pope. He would have been my first choice, but my husband and I were at the UN lobbying for the pro-life cause when the cardinals were secluded. And the Nigerian delegation asked us who we wanted as pope, and we said, "We'll take a Nigerian," referring to Cardinal Arinze. They were surprised we knew of him. But then we got God's Rottweiler, and we were grateful to God. Also Pope Benedict's election was a way for God to tell the liberals, "you shall not pass!" (for those of you who like "Lord of the Rings). Now Francis is the same as the two previous popes, but he's a smart evangelist and I think all this confusion about who he is will be to our benefit. We might get the liberals back to reading encyclicals, hey?