(Image Attribution: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service; CC 2.0)
Tomorrow, 6 September, Pope Francis will arrive in Colombia on an official visit. This papal trip has raised opposition from some quarters against both the pope himself and some of his teaching. Additionally, in light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Colombia’s neighbor Venezuela, the pope has received much criticism for his lack of any explicit and sound rebuke of the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro. OnePeterFive has repeatedly reported on the grave and protracted injustices committed by Maduro, and thus the sustained silence of Pope Francis has become striking, particularly since he is known for his readiness to rebuke “unmerciful” politicians.
Of note amongst the voices bringing these questions to light is Giuseppe Nardi, the well-informed and learned German reporter, who has translated statements made on radio with regard to this upcoming papal visit. On 31 August, the Colombian RCN radio station quotes a priest who will meet personally with Pope Francis and who wishes to present him with some points of criticism, saying that there are “many” who believe that Pope Francis “is linked with Freemasonry.” The priest in question wishes to remain anonymous, but claims that “ninety more priests” are in agreement with him in criticizing the path upon which Francis is leading the Church. The priest also says: “In the Catholic Church, there is also opposition to the visit of the pope [in Colombia].” The following quotes stem from RCN Radio’s own report about this priest’s words:
Also Catholic priests are among the people who oppose the papal visit in Colombia, because they believe that Francis, with his statements – especially concerning topics such as homosexuality and the family – has done damage to the Magisterium of the Church.
The radio station reports that this anonymous cleric has been a priest in Bogota for twenty years. He claims to know – in Bogotà, Medellín, and in Bucarmanga – at least ninety priests who think like him and who do not agree with the way the pope handles the Church. The priest says, according to the radio station:
Priests from different dioceses – I cannot name them for different reasons – are praying that the pope will not step on Colombian soil. Many prayer groups are praying that he will not come.
In a new article published today by the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Venezuela’s Crisis Looms Large as Pope Visits Latin America,” we see additional signs that this Latin American pope is not welcome in his own native region of the world. The Journal quotes others who are raising questions about the pope’s visit, especially regarding the way he has handled the Vatican’s intervention into the Venezuelan crisis — a crisis that has led many Venezuelans’ to flee into neighboring Colombia:
Heilyn Rojas, a 21-year-old Venezuelan student, left her country last year, tired of the crime and food shortages back home. She fled to neighboring Colombia in search of a better life.
Now, on the eve of Pope Francis’ five-day visit to Colombia, she stands among many Venezuelans, including bishops and opposition leaders, who hope the pontiff will chastise Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for his role in the nation’s economic collapse and its deep political strife.
The article shows a picture of President Maduro holding up a crucifix that he had received as a gift from Pope Francis himself. As the U.S. journalist and book author George Neumayr recently illustrated, Pope Francis has repeatedly shown sympathies toward revolutionary socialist leaders in South America. When asked in an interview about the papal support for the World Meeting of Popular Movements, Neumayr says:
It is a collection of radicals and socialists. In 2016, they gathered in Bolivia to celebrate among other things that the papacy had fallen into their hands. Pope Francis shared the platform with Bolivia’s Marxist president [Evo Morales], who was wearing a jacket emblazoned with a picture of Che Guevara.
Francis used his speech to urge the attendees to keep agitating against the “new colonialism,” which he equated with budget-cutting, free-market-oriented governments. The speech was catnip for the communists in the audience.
Bolivia’s president said afterwards that he “finally” could follow a pope.
So, too, with Venezuelan President Maduro. As the Wall Street Journal puts it: “Many Venezuelans are angry over the Vatican’s failed attempt to broker a truce between the opposition and Mr. Maduro’s envoys during talks late last year.” In spite of these negotiations, Maduro continues the persecution of his opposition and his unmistakable establishment of an increasingly dictatorial reign. The article continues:
The opposition and some clergy blamed the Vatican for allowing Mr. Maduro to stall for time, thus dissipating protests and ultimately tightening his grip on the country.
“The Vatican’s diplomacy sinned with naiveté. They came unprepared,” said the Rev. Francisco Virtuoso, rector of Caracas’s Andrés Bello Catholic University and a prominent critic of Mr. Maduro’s government. “The government exploited this to the full.”
While the Venezuelan bishops are publicly calling upon the Blessed Virgin Mary to “free our country from the clutches of communism and socialism,” explains the article,
Mr. Maduro accuses the local church hierarchy of joining the political opposition to topple his government and claims the pope supports him, disagreeing with critics including Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
It is in this line of argument that the Wall Street Journal article ends when it says:
Critics have suggested that [the] pope, who has appeared publicly with some of Mr. Maduro’s left-wing allies such as Bolivian President Evo Morales and shares some of their political views, might be holding back out of ideological sympathy.
“I’m a Catholic, but I think that seeing the pope doing these sorts of things pushes me away from the Church,” said Rocksaneth Aguilar, a Venezuelan advertising agent who moved to Colombia last year. “The pope is a communist at heart who doesn’t want to get involved in Venezuela.”
I am planning on cleaning out my pigs stye in reparation here in Chile on the day of his arrival. I will pray as I do my work. Not many warm feelings by the locals here in Chile.
Except for the other commies who do not pray but love to hate our Lord Jesus.
God help us and forgive us all. Ciao from Chile. Jim
You have our full support here in the U.S., Jim. And btw I love how you will [according to the “Universal Call To Holiness” of Vatican II] be ‘sanctifying your daily work’ by offering up your ‘pig slop’ work in reparation for the imminent visit of HolyFrancis, lol. Great stuff. There IS an end to this madness, I promise you. Godspeed, brother.
It seems entirely right that the False Prophet should be a liberal-progressive, leftie git.
The Man of the Revolution, cementing the Revolution’s victory (the victory of Satan) by overturning the virtues as well as common sense, has begun to invoke his Papal authority to force Catholics into accepting the final destruction of Catholicism which is the overthrow of the Ten Commandments and, logically, the licitness of every evil whatsoever.
We know Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother will have something to say about that.
“The pope is a communist at heart…”
’nuff said.
At heart? Seems “in your face” to me.
It is my hope and prayer that the resistance against Pope Francis continues to strengthen until the day he feels it necessary to step down in order to spare the Church further destruction.
” …. in order to spare the Church further destruction.”
You assume that he cares about the Church. He doesn’t give a fig for it. Indeed, he hates it.
Don’t hold your breath – you probably wouldn’t be a pretty shade of blue. Francis’ goal IS the total destruction of the Church. If he could pull it off, it would prove Jesus’ promise to the apostles was false, which in turn would bring about the collapse of any belief in God. Ergo, Satan wins, all become atheists and nobody goes to hell (or heaven), anything is permissable and everyone lives miserably ever after. End of fairytale.
Nope. He’s not going to step down. They’ll have to carry him out.
I just pray that the next pope is truly holy!!!
Pope Francis is an apostle–of Communism.
Was Satan a communist? Because Francis sure seems like his apostle.
Yes, Satan is a Communist as he claims to satisfy all of our material needs.
:-D. Lol
Whether he was a communist or not, Satan was certainly the first revolutionary
Not “was” but “is”. And we along with heaven have been at war ever since he began his revolt.
Well, his revolution is over whether he knows it or not
Yes, his defeat occurred with Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Yet, like his pupil, Adolf, he fights on hoping, thereby, to capture and take with him into the fires of hell as many souls as possible before the last day. Those who claim no one or only a few are damned are either blind or conscioudly promoting Satan’s lie.
I am glad I am not the only person who has made the parallel between Hitler at the end of the war and Satan in these times
During my life time (60+ years), I’ve lived under the reign of 7 (if I’m counting right) popes.
St. JPII, who I consider to be flawed but worthy of the title “Great”. I consider B16 to be a good pope, but an opportunity lost.
I can say that Pope Francis sent shivers up my spine starting the day of his reign. IMHO, he flirts with material heresy and his fake humility drives me crazy.
The silver lining is that I am at no risk of pope-idolatry. A little scary that I now have to determine what is part of the ordinary magisterium.
At one time, I could count on the Vatican. No more.
“St. JPII, who I consider to be flawed but worthy of the title “Great”. I consider B16 to be a good pope, but an opportunity lost.”
Pretty much the way I look at it, though I greatly admire Benedict XVI. My father too, has lived under seven popes. Having been blessed to be born during John Paul’s long reign, I suppose I did, for a while, fall into a bit of pope-idolatry. This pontificate has fixed that, for sure
Bella Dodd warned us this was coming.
There are Communists behind the walls of the Vatican. The very Communists and their Liberation Theology that Pope John Paul II condemned.
Francis’ tap-dancing around the Venezuela disaster is a complete scandal. It takes a really special talent to transform an oil-rich country into an economic basket case but Chavez and Maduro have done it. Yet there’s not a peep out of the finger-wagging hypocrite Francis. Instead, he reserves his sulphuric acid-laced outbursts for Trump. He won’t shut up about his favorite political hobby horses yet when it really matters, he’s missing in action.
While he’s in Colombia, watch him blame the mess in Colombia and Venezuela on “arms dealers”, “foreign powers” (i.e. the USA), “speculators” and all the other tired leftist cliches which spew out of his mouth.
He’s a scandal dressed in a white cassock.
This is quite different atmosphere when he visited in South Korea. I’ve read Maike’s other article, “Have the “Errors of Russia” Now Infected Rome?”, I hope this is not going to happen in South Korea. Unfortunately, I see many signs.
J.M.J.
In Voluntate Dei – Fiat!
The signs are here in the USA and in most of the rest of the world as well. The Beast is surfacing — see the churning of the water. It may not be soviet style communism, but it is its child – not with forced godlessness, but with voluntary atheism, satanism or idolatry and the worship of oneself.
Francis & Spadaro, the kissing expert, had no qualms about criticising traditional American Catholics and by extension Trump as well. They never had better friends or protectors of basic Catholic values in the public square- pro-life, pro family, pro religious liberty! Against all the attacks on sanctity of life: abortion, artificial contraception, surrogacy, euthanasia, assisted suicide, cloning, experimenting with fetal body parts; attacks on family: divorce, remarriage, same sex ‘marriage’ & adoption, ‘choosing’ gender; and religious liberty issues. They should thanking Trump! But they are more interested in politics and criticising capitalism, assisting in mass migration especially of muslims, and ‘saving the earth’ than saving souls…..They will not criticise Maduro, any more than they criticised the Castros, Obama, Chavez, Morales, & his own Kirchner. Francis is a communist after all….
Spadaro is the piece of dirt who threatened Vox Cantoris with the Courts a couple of years ago, then backed down, telling transparent lies as he did so.
The “kissing expert” is Archbishop “Tucho” Fernandez, that other heretic.
Yes, thanks for the correction. I got my heretics mixed up!
It would appear so.