Groundswell of Clergy Oppose Pope Francis!

Pope Francis addresses priests of the Diocese of Rome during a meeting at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome March 2. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano, handout)

I have to say I found this very heartening today! The pro-Francis spin-meisters are clearly in overdrive and have pumped out another "scathing" article in the official Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano attacking a "large part" of the community of bishops & priests who it accuses of being resistant or positively hostile to Pope Francis direction of travel. This all feels wearily familiar now.

The article, authored by Italian Father Giulio Cirignano, a native of Florence and a longtime Scripture scholar at the Theological Faculty of Central Italy, accuses clergy of being attached to outmoded traditions and suggests

 “The clergy is holding the people back, who should instead be accompanied in this extraordinary moment,”

This comes a little over a week after the publication of an essay by Italian Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro and Argentine Protestant Marcelo Figueroa, two close friends of Pope Francis, in the Jesuit-edited journal La Civilità Cattolica. In it, Spadaro and Figueroa described what they see was a “Manichean vision” underlying growing closeness in America between Evangelicals and “Catholic Integralists.” See my blog here. Their piece has been characterised as being a bit Dan Brown!

In contrast, Fr Cirignano’s piece didn’t focus on the United States, and appears to be more concerned with Italian realities, though he does not specify which country or region he is addressing. He writes:

“The main obstacle that stands in the way of the apostasy conversion that Pope Francis wants to bring to the Church is constituted, in some measure, by the attitude of a good part of the clergy, at levels high and low … an attitude, at times, of closure if not hostility,” 

Thank God for that I say! I am greatly heartened to hear that Pope Francis isn't getting it all his own way and that we have faithful clergy who are prepared to stand up for Christ and His Church!

I had heard whispers from Rome that no one is happy with Pope Francis pontificate and it was widely considered to be a disaster by all, regardless of their degree of fidelity to the Church of Christ. As predicted at the outset of this pontificate, Jorge Bergoglio has confounded liberals and conservatives alike and, following his own advice to the youth at World Youth Day in Brazil, he has made a big mess. Similarly as I reported here Bishop Forte said during a presentation on Amoris Laetitia back in May 2016, that Pope Francis told him at the Synod on the Family that he didn’t want to speak “plainly” about the question of admitting remarried divorcees to Holy Communion because doing so would make a “terrible mess.”

There is a certain irony in the fact that the Pope is discovering "obstacles" in a decentralised & now increasingly synodal Church. How shocking!

Clearly this is meant as a telling off, but I found it brought me great comfort. A great majority of clergy I know are in despair over this papacy and despite making this known publicly it has seemed at times there were only four cardinals prepared to stand up for the obvious truth in all this. Now it appears there is indeed a great groundswell of opposition, and a majority of clergy loyal to Christ and His Church, Deo gratias!