Pope Francis: "They're all out to get me!"

There were lots of interesting things said by the Pope in his meeting with Jesuits in Bratislava. I think it is a really important meeting, especially, as I noted here, because he makes it clear he knows it is all going to be made very public by Papal "yes man" Antonio Spadaro.

• He attacks tradition.
• He attacks those who question him calling them the devil and accusing them of attacking the Church & the office of Pope
• He pushes full sacramental integration for divorced & remarried people
• He endorses so-called gay marriage again

He also claims that there are members of the curia who want him dead, and, although this has not been mentioned much at all in the English speaking world, the Italians seem to have really latched on to this particular bit of the Pope's meeting with numerous posts on the internet and stories in newspapers.

Antonio Socci has written this piece on it entitled "Why is no one investigating those who want the Pope dead?"

Here is my (likely dreadful) translation of what he says. He starts off by noting that the Pope's statement on the conspiracy to see him dead is so massive, even supporters of his papacy are demanding it is addressed in a serious manner:

"There are only two possibilities regarding the 'conspiracy' denounced by the Pope: it is false, and must be officially addressed, or it is true and then Vatican justice and its laws intervene". This is the long title of an article that appeared yesterday on the Paravatican site “Il Sismografo” and signed by its director Luis Badilla. Keep in mind that this is not a "conservative" or anti-Bergoglian site. Far from it. He is progressive and Bergoglian, very close to the areas of the Curia, so he reveals the air that blows beyond the Tiber.

Socci goes on to say that the Pope's rhetoric in Bratislava demonstrates the increasingly fractious nature of his papacy. I have to say when I watch the Pope and listen to him, he doesn't give this away. He seems very calm and jovial. But it is certainly true that much of what he chose to say in Bratislava was very strange and bellicose.

Pope Bergoglio now seems to be at war with everyone, even against that Curia that wanted him pope and then supported him. Emblematic is the trial of Card. Becciu who has been his devoted supporter and closest collaborator over the years. In the last few hours, the climate has become even heavier, due to the Pope's declarations in Slovakia to which the title of the "Seismograph" alludes. Here are Bergoglio's sensational words: 

"I am still alive. Although some wanted me dead. I know that there have even been meetings between prelates who thought the Pope was more serious than what was said. They were preparing the Conclave. Patience! Thank God, I'm fine ”. 

To tell the truth, it was Bergoglio himself who spoke about the seriousness of his health conditions when he declared: "a nurse saved my life" (he was referring to the health worker who on July 4 advised him to go immediately to Gemelli to be operated on ). In that interview he also said: "When a Pope is sick, a wind or a hurricane of Conclave rises". In fact, it has always been normal in the Vatican and in the Church to discuss the future when you have an 85-year-old pope who is hospitalized with serious problems. So it was also this time. It is that "air of Conclave" which "Libero" reported on 23 August. But in Slovakia, Bergoglio returned to the subject with the unprecedented words we have quoted. 

Never had a pope expressed this way, at least in modern times. 

Giovanni Maria Vian, historian and former director of the "Osservatore Romano", told "Corriere della Sera": "In fact this is new. It's his style. Or it can be said that it is a return to ancient times, when the Popes intervened against their opponents, no later than the sixteenth century ".

We understand from these words that Bergoglio has a monarchical-Renaissance conception of his papacy and perhaps it is precisely from this idea of ​​power that the siege syndrome, the climate of suspicion, the fear of conspiracies and seeing enemies everywhere derive. 

Wow. That's quite a major accusation from Socci there!

He continues by showing that Cardinal Parolin seems surprised or at least unaware of the atmosphere the Pope refers to:

His statement is so disruptive and throws such suspicion on the Curia, that Secretary of State Parolin had to candidly call himself out, declaring: “Probably the Pope has information that I do not have. Honestly, I had not warned that there was this climate… The Pope probably makes these statements because he has knowledge and data that have not reached me ”. 

The media, perhaps hyperbolically, reported this as Parolin correcting the Pope:

His words were interpreted as follows by the media: “Pope Francis denied by Parolin. The cardinal: no conspiracy. Holy See, the secretary of state does not endorse Bergoglio's accusation of plots against him during his illness. 'A serene climate in the Curia' "(title of Qn). From the HuffPost came an attack by Maria Antonietta Calabrò: "The unprecedented counterpoint of Parolin to the Pope. Never before has a secretary of state publicly corrected the Pope". 

I don't think the HuffPost as a political dog in this fight so it makes me wonder if it is in fact an accurate assessment?

Socci continues:

The columnist believes that Bergoglio is also irritated with the Secretariat of State for "the meeting between Matteo Salvini and the Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Callagher". So also card. Parolin ended up in the storm. So what the climate in the Curia is today is shown by the article in the "Seismograph", which defines those of Bergoglio as "surprising, disconcerting and insidious phrases ... which denounce the existence of 'a palace conspiracy' ... 'conspiracy' denounced by the Pope in no uncertain terms and directly. A real time bomb ”. Badilla points out, however, that the pope threw that "bomb" without revealing either the names, the places, or the circumstances. So a serious and generic accusation. Because? 

the pope threw that "bomb" without revealing either the names, the places, or the circumstances. So a serious and generic accusation.

The director of the "Seismograph", to explain the heavy Bergoglian declarations, makes some hypotheses: "an error of the Pontiff who does not always speak off the cuff using the right words (for example, in the last year he has said twice that God in 'incarnation' became sin '- sic) ”. Or "it was a lightness of language because, as we know since he was provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina, he does not always stop the use of not very nice adjectives even towards his collaborators. The man is impetuous and impulsive and in recent times his authoritarian personality has re-emerged, which he himself publicly criticized ".

It seems broadly recognised that irrespective of the motivation, the Pope did engage in open gossip, something he regularly condemns himself:

Third hypothesis: "he wanted to send some messages to certain people or he wanted to distract media attention" from some of his injuries or "from the mess he created with the 'Orbán question', from which, among other things, his image and credibility were damaged ". Finally, it can be assumed that Francis, with the story of the alleged conspiracy, "slipped into the darkness of chatter, which he condemned dozens of times". 

Whatever the right hypothesis, according to Badilla, "the Holy Father at this point has only one possible way out: to deliver to Vatican justice ... all the documentation - names, surnames, places and circumstances of the 'prelates preparing a conclave' - and which serve to give legal support to the very serious denunciation of a crime - presumed for now - that occurs when we organize to carry out an action of this nature ”. Because "in the world of nations and civil communities, based on law, this is called a 'coup'". Badilla draws this heavy conclusion because the pope did not speak "of ecclesiastics and / or lay people who discuss the future Pope (which has been done - legitimately and naturally - every day for centuries)", but used "precise and well-defined expressions . He says: I'm alive 'despite some wanting me dead. I know that there have even been meetings between prelates who thought the Pope was more serious than what was said. They were preparing the conclave '". In conclusion, Badilla affirms, what Pope Francis declared “is either false or true. If 'false', make it clear that it was an imprudent mistake. If, on the other hand, it is true, the evidence is presented before the Vatican Tribunal ”. For now, the complaint of the alleged conspiracy to the Vatican Court has not been seen (and probably never will be seen). However, the ruins of the Church are clearly visible.

Even those who support the Pope seem to be growing tired of his loose tongue and lazy, sweeping accusations which have real repercussions for real people.

To be honest, I find these posts quite extraordinary and not what I expected, but they do make sense. I guess I have just grown numb to the Pope's insults and attacks at this point. Will anything be done? I very much doubt. More's the pity!