Alexander Kissler is a German author and journalist who is responsible for the Culture Section of the German intellectual journal Cicero. He is also one of the few open critics of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Open Door Politics with regard to the immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa. He had, for example, an outcry of indignation after the Cologne incident on New Year’s Eve in 2015, where hundreds of women were aggressively pursued by “North Africans, most of them asylum seekers.”
Now he has directed his indignation toward the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis. The cause of it is Pope Francis’ recent 17 May La Croix interview. First, Kissler commented on this interview on Twitter with the following words: “Relativistic sillynesses which are directed against one’s own Church. A Pontifex as a loose cannon.”
Then Kissler followed up with a 19 May article, entitled “A Relatively Catholic Pope” which has already found wide distribution. This article appeared not only in the journal Cicero, but also in the popular magazine FOCUS, under another title, namely: “This is Why This Pope Does Damage to His Own Church.” In the following, I will quote from the Cicero version of his article.
Kissler says that this pope is “practicing a voluble relativism” which has come clear once more in this recent interview of his. With this, Kissler says, “he is damaging the Church and confusing the world.”
In an ironic tone, the journalist wonders: “Probably, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is exactly such a relativizer who is conscious of his power, voluble and relatively uninterested in the Catholic Faith.” Pope Francis, according to Kissler, appeared on the “pontifical stage” by saying “Good evening,” and then proceeded to always have a joke on his lips. However, says Kissler, these jokes and “grammatical half measures” have now become “stale and wounding.” The German author continues: “This pontificate runs the danger of damaging the Church and of pleasing a world which continues to remain skeptical about everything ecclesial. Francis is offending Catholics without finding new believers among the non-Catholics. The numbers of Catholics leaving the Church continue to remain high, the number of new priests modest, and the extraordinary Year of Mercy as declared by Pope Francis lures only few people to go to Rome.”
In Kissler’s eyes, Pope Francis “relativizes the distinctiveness of the office” by talking so much and by giving so many interviews. He boldly claims that this pope – as proven in this later interview with La Croix – tries, even with the help of sillynesses and “affronts against his own Church”, to get approval from “those tribunes of the world who do not expect anything from him.”
Alexander Kissler is indignant about Pope Francis’ “drawing a direct connection from the mass-murdering terror of the ‘Islamic State’ and its ‘War of Conquest’ over to the mission of the disciples sent by Jesus which could be interpreted in the sense of ‘the same idea of conquest.’” Kissler comments with the words: “The Church as a potential terrorist organization – is this a derailment or more?” and then continues:
In the face of such a counter-to-fact contraction, what might the Christians now think who are running for their lives away from fanaticized Muslims? Do they now feel consoled, understood and strengthened by their Supreme Shepherd – or cynically abandoned? Whoever compares everything with everything, loses the foothold, misses one’s own bearing What does it say about a Church whose own chief has difficulties with the profession of Christ’s salvific necessity?
It is obvious that this man, Mr. Kissler, has a just sense of indignation and desperation about the phenomenon of Pope Francis. He continues in his article to show the irrationality of a pope claiming that there are wars in the world “because there are weapon producers” (“As if mankind did not wage wars earlier with the mere help of bare hands and stones….”); he argues against Francis’ “anti-capitalism which is not well thought through”; he shows how Professor Robert Spaemann criticizes the pope for his “situation ethics”; Kissler also questions with regard to the “female deacons” whether the pope knows what he is talking about; he shows how the pope keeps talking even though he himself constantly warns against “gossip and chatter”; the journalist also is indignant about Francis’ constant “scolding of the priests” (“One does not want to be a priest under this pontificate.”); Kissler sees relativizing tendencies with regard to the papal text Amoris Laetitia (“A pope, however, who turns everything into fluid, is no rock.”); and, finally, Kissler refers to the pope’s words on 24 April 2016 at the “International Earth Day” meeting in Rome – namely, that it does not matter which religion one belongs to – and then comments: “The problem is not, that someone talks like Pope Francis – the problem is that it is a pope who talks like that.”
Kissler concludes his article with the piercing words that the pope should not try to become a “UN General Secretary with a Pectoral Cross” or a “Dalai Lama turned white” but, rather, to do the “essential duties of a pope,” namely: “to herd the sheep and to lead mankind to Christ.”
“Offending Catholics without finding new believers” is a fabulous summary of the current situation. The call to conversion is utterly missing in everything coming from the Chair of Peter, rather a please the world approach is used. Therefore relativizing the absolute truths as promulgated by the Catholic faith is perfectly consistent with that *defective* ecumenical approach (there is a true ecumenism – think apologetics).
Well put, but he is utterly incapable and completely disinterested in doing that. He is not terrible by accident, he is terrible by intention. He clearly dislikes Catholicism and Catholics. Why have Cardinals foisted this anti-pope on the people. He is destroying the church.
And that nails it. Crafty. Cunning.
Which is whyVoris’s conclusion that the Pope is being used by the left is utter nonsense.
Very bracing! I’m glad to see that a German has finally gotten into the fray.
Actually, I meant a German other than Maike! She has always been a wonderful blogger, translator and analyst.
Bravo! Fresh Air At Last, Praise God and we must pray for this man who is standing up and defending the Church. Thank you for sharing this.
Bingo, he nails it. Do you think you’ll ever hear such frankness from a Catholic prelate? Not likely.
We can pray that we do! I know I have been.
Indeed, prayer is the answer. But……I am not overly confident…..as our Blessed Mother said: ” Those who should speak shall remain silent.”
I have heard several speak like this but they don’t name Pope Francis because they know they will be removed if they do. Sometimes they are removed anyway. It is a sad time in the Church. I try to evangelize but when they hear Pope Francis, they don’t see the need. They are fine where they are (according to Pope Francis anyway).
Not a surprise. However, he’s right in summing this pontificate.
This is one the most awesome articles I have read. By the way. This website is my favorite. Out of the tradition websites I’ve been on. This by far kills them all! Keep them coming! Loving it!!!
Much appreciated!
You deserve it! It’s awesome.
It breaks my heart to hear the chatter on other websites, calling Bergolio the antichrist, or the false prophet. The avocation of the chair of St. Peter by Pope Benedict was bad enough, but to hear the heart-broken Catholics saying the pope is destroying the church. . I sincerely hope that the Bishops and Cardinals will listen to the church crying out in the wilderness, and step up, and help those Christians being persecuted. Finnaly, important decisions need to be made, concerning Bergolio, Either by the hierarchy, or the church. Great article. Encouraging.
Truer words have never been spoken. “Offending Catholics without finding new believers” It’s a perfect slogan and summation of the entire pontificate of His Humbleness.
It’s a direct hit. Bulls-eye! What do our Neo-Catholic friends not understand about them?
Such astute clarity is a much needed breath of fresh air. This line of journalism will develop momentum .
Maybe Alexander is the little boy calling from the crowd the attire of the Emperor!
Page 117, of the pope’s book, On Heaven and Earth, in regards to same-sex unions
“If there is a union of a PRIVATE NATURE, THERE IS NEITHER A THIRD PARTY NOR IS SOCIETY AFFECTED. Now, if this union is given the category of marriage and they are given adoption rights, there could be children affected. Every person needs a male father and female mother that can help them shape their identity. – Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Approval of same-sex sexual unions is approval of same-sex sexual acts.
This is truly incredible. God is the third-party, so to speak. Thus, there are no victimless crimes. How could our Holy Father not know that?
Just like most in the world, it seems this Pope believes his own wisdom trumps that of God, God’s word the Bible, and the two thousand year Traditions of the Church. Human wisdom is so worthless that we can’t even understand why God made the ‘commandments’. Even though we see those societies that have ignored Gods laws ALWAYS fail.
I would not say relativizes but cheapens it. A certain coarseness has crept into the office.
Is there a full version translation of the cicero article?
Pope Francis is now being indicted by the secular media who is on to his charade. He can now only fool some of the people some of the time. But the real harm is that Pope Francis, by his careless actions and lack of faith, is damaging all the people all the time.
“Mr Kissler calls on Pope Francis to do the “essential duties of a pope,” namely: “to herd the sheep and to lead mankind to Christ.” Amen to that. Unfortunately, Pope Francis is leading folks in the opposite direction as many more are beginning to realize—even the secular media.
The Popes have always led folks to a false Christ. Just learn the “gospel of Christ” in the letters of Paul to understand this.
Nope
Kissler seems to have dotted every “i” and crossed every “t”. Long ago I concluded this papacy is a full blown disaster for the Church, and for the very reasons cited in the essay above. Esoteric questions about the pope’s status and assertions that he is in or out of the seat at Rome leave me cold; they are far above my job description and pay level as a Catholic. But a man would need be blind to miss the mediocrity displayed by the present occupant of the throne of Peter. Not so much in what he says but in what he does, the way he acts, he is indistinguishable from other paltry players on the world’s stage today, the showman Obama in America, the fop Trudeau in Canada, the dull-witted Merkel in Germany, to offer just a few examples. They are busy ruining their respective nation states. Jorge Bergoglio is damaging something far more precious than a mere country.
Perfect synthesis! Bergoglio thinks he has to be Ban Ki Moon. He is shockingly superficial.
Many thanks to Maike for this write-up. When the original was first published, I took the liberty of translating three consecutive paragraphs and posting them to Twitter – with the apparent approval of the author, Alexander Kissler. For those of you looking to get a feel for Kissler’s writing style – which is both impishly playful and scathingly critical – I offer the following:
Thank you, Rad. Catholic, for bothering to translate this! Indeed the “flavour” of this author has been completely captured! Good work!
Thank you so much! Since I am not a native speaker of English, I did not feel competent to translate in its fullness this wonderful German into English.
Maike, you do a wonderful job! I think Radical meant he translated other parts of it. I’m a translator, too (Spanish to English) and there are some great things going on in Spain that I should translate. Cdl Sarah just gave an excellent talk there, and Cdl. Cañizares (a Traditionalist to the core) has been under major attack from the Francis gang.
Dear Isabel! Start translating! We need as much encouraging and strong news as possible!
Maike, thank you so much for the wonderful service you are offering the universal Church. I am reading this from the Middle East, and find it a fresh air. Francis has become what no serious Catholic can understand. A Pope that cannot shut up is a pope that has nothing to say. Who could have imagined a pope comparing the Great Commission to ISIS? What a shame.
Bergoglio is the worst.
You obviously are an extremely capable translator. Why not translate the whole thing? The piece is too good to leave in German.
Wow. Spot on.
Exactly! This Pope appears to be a a secular, enlightened, pluralistic, relativistic, western leader and not a steward of The King’s Realm. He’s more concerned with the temporal than the spiritual and the salvation of souls. Diabolical disorientation of Modernism.
Matthew 18: 6-7
Wow, this journalist sure got it right. Francis is a disaster, the logical fruit of Vatican 2.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and the to the Holy Spirit for this trenchant analysis of the hilarious Pontificate of Bergoglio! He will go down in history as one of the worst popes, who failed woefully in his teaching ministry. What a disastrous teacher. Am shocked that this Pope is so superficial.
Just another sign that we are not crazy or a bunch of axe-grinders. This Pope is objectively a walking and talking disaster for the Church. There has been no other like him in 2,000 years.
I keep having occurring thoughts of this pope being a fore-runner of the Anti-Christ, as the Devil uses all necessary means to deceive ! We went from one of the greated popes in our modern era, St. Pope JognPaul II, the GREAT, to a short-termed, but brilliant Pope Benedict, to this “Vicar of Christ on Earth ???
greatest***