A brief glance at articles analyzing the Pope Francis and Card. Burke saga

I have recently seen two analysis pieces about Card. Burke and Pope Francis and what’s up with this pontificate.

First, there is one by Russell Pollitt at The Daily Maverick.   It seems sort of deep and thoughtful at a first reading.  After reflection I think it is a cliché “journey metaphor”: the Church and the Synod are on a journey. Big deal.

Also, from a couple days ago there is a piece at NRO by Benedict Kiely.  It’s a bit chatty, but the analysis about dynamics in the Roman Curia are a bit more realistic than the dreamy piece, above.

Here is one bit I found interesting and, after listening to younger clergy and seminarians, I think is true:

What does this apparently inter-ecclesiastical dispute matter to the wider world? In the first place, it shows how the only large global institution that represents what might be called the traditional view of the family and society is divided, and that division is clearly bad for those who care about the future of the family and civil society. On a more positive note: This could mark the last rally of a certain Sixties mentality in rapid decline. Unless they are weathervanes tilting with the wind of ambition, the priests and bishops ordained since Saint John Paul II and Pope Benedict have nothing in common with the bell-bottomed theology that, at least for a season, has been revived in Rome.

 
And then there’s this thing in Italian from La Nuova Bussola:

Dal blog Rossoporpora.org curato dal vaticanista Giuseppe Rusconi, veniamo a sapere dell’esistenza del “Cenacolo degli amici di Francesco”, intendendosi per Francesco l’attuale Papa. Si tratta di un gruppetto di giornalisti e intellettuali – che potremmo anche definire ultras – guidati dal vaticanista del GR1 Raffaele Luise e formatosi poco dopo l’elezione al pontificato di papa Bergoglio.

Di tutte le possibili interpretazioni che si danno del magistero di papa Francesco, quella del Cenacolo – e di Raffaele Luise – è sicuramente tra le più progressiste. Non a caso per la prima uscita pubblica tre sere fa a Roma, relatori principali sono stati l’immancabile cardinale Walter Kasper e il cardinale Francesco Coccopalmerio. Vista l’affluenza di pubblico alla serata, probabilmente con il nome Cenacolo si fa riferimento al numero di adesioni (non più di una ventina i presenti in tutto).

[…]

Read the rest there.

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21 Comments

  1. Swanson says:

    “Bell-bottomed theology”? I don’t get the elements of the media that think Francis is a liberal. By any standard he is as conservative as most bishops and that is quite conservative. Is there really a difference between Benedict and Francis? Maybe Francis has a more open style (we saw the actual vote count on the final Synod document), but that’s about it.

  2. ck says:

    “This could mark the last rally of a certain Sixties mentality in rapid decline.”

    Thanks for linking to this. I have been telling my traditionalist friends, particularly my TLM friends concerned about schism, not to be worried. The liberals are on their last legs with the current papacy, and its up to us to bide our time by forming goodwill with our fellow Catholics and supporting our local parishes, and of course, as you recommend, go to Confession.

  3. anilwang says:

    ck, the key problem is that these liberals can inflict a lot of damage in the mean time.

    Yes, the next Pope might be in the same line as Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, but unless the next Pope is unashamedly committed to undoing all the damage and bad appointments, the next generation will almost certainly be harmed. More likely, given what I’ve seen both in politics and in the history of the Papacy what will likely happen is that the next Pope will compromise…fix some issues, leave others aside, and push forward his own preferences. And the longer these “left behind issues” stay unresolved, the damage will continue.

    We need to pray and not be complacent.

  4. rdb says:

    The quote about the last rally of the sixties mentality really resonates with my take with all of this. The struggle that I and many have is not necessarily with what Pope Francis says, but more with how this has emboldened certain people. Like Cardinal George, I would love to sit down with our Holy Father to get more clarification, but I am most disturbed by what is being said by many people here in the US. Actually, I am more surprised than disturbed because I cannot believe anyone could really believe that liberal Catholicism has any real ability to pass on the Catholic faith to the next generation in a dynamic and joyful way. All the same, what tempers my concern and consternation is the fact that the average age of those who are so excited about these times must be in the upper 70s.

  5. Traductora says:

    The last quote (from the Italian blog) is something I think is important. Francis makes bizarre or cloudy statements, but a lot of the disturbing statements have been from people around him – not only the high-profile Kasper and others of his ilk, but the smaller fish whom Francis has actually sought out and invited into his circle (such as the nutty Spanish priest he invited to the Council for Culture, a true throwback to the days when Catholics thought they were really Buddhists or maybe yogis, and, btw, somebody who says women priests are just a matter of time).

    Expect more confusion. Don’t forget that the next encyclical is going to be on the “environment.” Expect the ghost of Teilhard to be presiding over that one, represented by some dinosaur (or throwback) the Pope has dug up and invited into his cenacolo.

  6. Fr. Vincent Fitzpatrick says:

    Do you have a link to the article in La Nuovo Bussola?

    Thanks!

  7. Supertradmum says:

    Well, those of us who have worked in the Church in any way, like myself, saw schism coming since the publication of Humanae Vitae. People, in effect, have left the Church already, and now these divisions are coming to a head. Those modernists who are leaders, such as Wuerl, have been waiting for the opportunity to push their agendas.

    What I am concerned about are those in the media and on the blogosphere who are adding fuel to the fire by extrapolating and falling even into fantastical conspiracy theories. There are enough problems without clear rational analysis.

    We need to pray for the Pope and for those he has chosen to be around him, and for the saintly Burke.

    I am convinced that if we pray and do penance, much harm can be avoided.

  8. bmadamsberry says:

    Father,

    How does this seeming attack on Cardinal Burke and ‘traditionalists’ square with the Pope’s praise/’promotion’ of Cardinal Pell and Cardinal Pell’s proteges?

  9. Pingback: Optics: When realities collide! | The Deus Ex Machina Blog

  10. JonPatrick says:

    Michael Voris had an interesting take on this yesterday in his Vortex title “the razor’s edge” where we have to strike a balance between being critical of the Holy Father’s actions but still respecting the office. He also calls out some Trads that are talking about schism:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrVi_yHSFFQ&feature=youtu.be&list=UUX17igkZ9JhU64JoTBVSWeQ

  11. gloriainexcelsis says:

    This morning I read ” Post Card from the Fringe: Right-Wing Dissidents Against Pope Francis” from HuffPo by Charles J. Reid, Jr. Did that get my dander up! The last sentence reads: “For in the end, Burke’s way is a dead end, a retreat into clericalized grandeur, Catholicism transformed into grand opera, perhaps, or a museum exhibit. it is, in the end, spectacle, not a living faith.” This from a (c)atholic professor. Check it out.
    huffingtonpost.com/charles-j-reid-jr/cardinal-raymond-burke.

  12. Latin Mass Type says:

    Cardinal Napier tweeted:

    “Don’t forget Pope Francis’ urging: speak openly, honestly but humbly, without fear of offending the Pope. We took him seriously!”

    https://twitter.com/cardinalnapier/status/532962098524209152

  13. Mike says:

    As was the case with their protestant and modernist predecessors, the sole common cause of those who gather under the specious “Spirit of Vatican II” is the dismantling of the patrimony and tradition of Holy Mother Church. Were they to succeed, which please God they cannot, there would be nothing to be schismatic from.

    That sedevacantists and their ilk cry Non serviam! in a different key from the modernists does not mitigate the evil of either. No amount of chest-thumping or highchair-banging can replace humble submission to the Savior’s grace as a member of His Mystical Body.

  14. Amerikaner says:

    While I can understand folks’ agitation, it’s not like the Church has never had her share of turmoil within. A glance back over the last two thousand years reveals times more frightful than that of today. Can things get worse, yes of course it is possible. Should one pray and support the Church? Absolutely. But we should avoid intense hand-wringing and mental anguish over media reports and the schemes of Judases. God never promised that we’d live in a time where things would always be pretty and smooth. He only promised that the Church would never be fully destroyed. And so, just soldier on and pray with a calm heart.

  15. Timbones says:

    This looks like a good one on Cardinal Burke too Father Z, by a Dominican theologian, Father Giovanni Cavalcoli but it needs to be translated into English : http://isoladipatmos.com/il-caso-del-cardinale-burke-il-diavolo-fa-le-pentole-ma-non-i-coperchi/

  16. jhayes says:

    Cardinal O’Malley on Bishop Finn and the LCWR.

    HERE

    This is a preview of a program to be broadcast Sunday night.

  17. Amerikaner

    “While I can understand folks’ agitation, it’s not like the Church has never had her share of turmoil within. A glance back over the last two thousand years reveals times more frightful than that of today. Can things get worse, yes of course it is possible. Should one pray and support the Church? Absolutely. But we should avoid intense hand-wringing and mental anguish over media reports and the schemes of Judases. God never promised that we’d live in a time where things would always be pretty and smooth. He only promised that the Church would never be fully destroyed. And so, just soldier on and pray with a calm heart.”

    Amen

  18. jhayes says:

    Bishop Cupich

    BC I think the key to understanding this pope. It’s about how he looks at people. How he sees them. He doesn’t see them as a problem, a challenge, as people who should be judged by whether or not they’re orthodox or not orthodox, whether or not they have sinned or not sinned. But he looks at them with respect that they’re children of God. That’s where he begins. And that God wants to offer his mercy. People pick up on that. That’s why he’s wildly popular. He’s telling people their lives count. And I think that that’s created an enormous positive feedback that people are responding to.

    AC: And where do you think that is leading us? Where do you think it’s leading the church?

    BC: I think that it’ll make us more human and divine at the same time. (LAUGH) We need real human kindness and generosity. And we also need the divine spark that says “There’s some things that we’re not going to figure out ourselves and we need God to help us.” We need God’s mercy in a situation. So let’s, as the Pope says–walk together. Let’s accompany each other. I think that’s probably where it’s going to lead us. I think this is a great moment in the life of the church. I think it’s as significant, even more so, maybe, than the Second Vatican Council– because he’s taking– the Pope is taking– a lot of the insights of the Council and really making it happen. I think John Paul II worked at that in his own way. So did Benedict XVI. But this pope is doing something different. Somebody said it this way: “John Paul II told us what to do. Benedict XVI told us why we should do it. Francis is saying, ‘Do it.'” So I think that’s the contribution he’s making.

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