Monday, March 18, 2013

FRANCIS REASSURES THE SYNAGOGUE


The last several pontificates have started off, almost immediately, with the newly-elected Pontiff making obsequious gestures to the synagogue, even before more pressing matters in the Church are considered, assuring these men that the pontificate will continue the new orientations in discussion that have emanated from Nostra Aetate.  Twenty-four hours into his position of Vicar of Jesus Christ (a dignity he has not yet publicly acknowledged to be the case, preferring the more generic title, "Bishop of Rome") Pope Francis sends a notice to the chief rabbi of Rome informing him of his eagerness to continue a fruitless dialog, a dialog pursued also by Pope Benedict XVI.  Benedict too made it his first order of business to reassure the rabbis that Vatican Council II's new orientations toward them would continue uninterrupted.

Those new orientations include a ceasing of any efforts to convert the Jews to the only Faith that can save them.  The Church's twenty century history of true charity - teaching all nations to embrace Jesus Christ and the Church He founded while He lived on earth - effectively went by the boards with flawed documents like Nostra Aetate and it has resulted in an almost complete collapse of all missionary effort.  The conversion of the Jews is spoken of only in small circles in hushed tones if it is ever spoken about at all in Rome.  There are prelates who will even speak of the Jews having their own Covenant which they intimate will save them (so much for the life, suffering, death and Resurrection of Christ).  Why has the official Church ceased to have concern for the souls of these people who are living in darkness and Original Sin?

The answer to that question, I maintain, would explain much about the diabolical disorientation that the Catholic Church has been plagued with for a very, very long time.  That disorientation eventually horrified St Pius X who would retaliate by ordering an Oath Against Modernism.  It was a brave gesture, even though it was doomed to failure.  The good Pope Sarto believed that men taking an oath before God would not dare to break it.  He did not reckon with the perfidy of some Bishops and clergy who took that oath and then merely went underground for awhile patiently awaiting Sarto's death.  When St Pius X died they sensed a new freedom under Benedict XV and began again, mole-like, to renew their destructive activities.  Pius XI did not stop them, either out of ignorance or naivete, and Pius XII when he was handed some God-given opportunities to crush them did not act.  Under jolly Pope John XXIII they were fully out in the open, even obnoxiously so, and have continued to go from strength to strength with each succeeding Papacy.  Benedict XVI threw them temporarily into disarray with this Summorum Pontificum but he essentially gave many of them their head, appointing some of the worst offenders to higher ecclesiastical office.  If the early indications are anything to go by the Modernists will seem to have little to be fearful about with the new Pope.

This anxiety not to offend the synagogue has led to two of the most disastrous papal decisions in the entire history of the Church: the recognition by the Vatican of the criminal state of "Israel" (aka Palestine) by Pope John Paul II, and secondly Pope Benedict's shocking revision of the Good Friday prayers for the conversion of the Jews in the ancient liturgy.  With these two acts we see the triumph of forces inimical to the salvific mission of Christ's Church.

The recognition of the "state of Israel" by Rome was, at Jewish demands, to be preceded by a public humiliation of Christ's Church wherein Pope John Paul had to publicly apologize(!) to the Jewish people for the supposed crimes committed against them by the Church over 2,000 years.  It is always the same; the Church makes unwise gestures which are quickly followed by even more demands and impudence.

The Church wisely refused in the past to give formal recognition to a criminal state that has occupied the Holy Land unjustly and has been ethnically cleansing its historic population since 1948.  Indeed the Church in the past condemned it.  But now that voice for justice in the Holy Land has been effectively muted by this Rome-Tel Aviv Agreement (far, far more deadly to the Faith than the famous Rome-Moscow Agreement between Rome and the Communists) with consequences which have only begun to come to light.  This recognition acted as a knife in the back of the Arab populations (Muslim and Christian), and severely hampered the work of the Catholic (and Orthodox) hierarchies in the Middle East.  This recognition was correctly seen by the Arab nations as a disaster.  Incredibly, after such a betrayal, there are many non-Christians in the Holy Land who still revere the Pope.  How long that attitude will remain depends upon the future actions of the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church.  In this respect the new papacy has, so far, been showing signs of even more abandonment of these oppressed peoples.  Nearly the entire world has begun to protest the human rights abuses of the arrogant Israeli "state";  only the USA (not surprisingly) and the Vatican fail to utter the necessary forceful condemnations of this blatant fascism, or demand justice for the Palestinians.  When Rome does bestir herself to utter protests against Jewish misbehavior in Palestine it is usually stated in the most delicate diplomatic niceties.

Benedict XVI's tampering with the Good Friday prayer, despite the glowing reports of many Catholics of a traditionalist bent, signalled yet again that the conversion of the Jews to Catholicism was not going to be too aggressively sought, in fact not even attempted.  The rabbis made it very clear to the Popes that they will not tolerate any attempts to convert them from their Jewish religion.  The Popes have taken that warning to heart and we can witness the results.  In a sort of "trickle down" manner of thinking this fear of offending them has led Bishops and priests to embrace the most outlandish "ecumenical" events which include but are not limited to seder meals among  Catholics, constant self-flagellation when it comes to discussing the anti-Jewish activities of the National Socialists and an ever increasing tendency to avoid mentioning the Holy Name of Jesus in front of them for fear of "insulting" them.  We have now reached the point when mentioning the name of Jesus Christ is looked upon by Catholics as an insult.

The Jewish response to the changing of the Good Friday prayers, predictably, was insolence.  The repellent Abraham Foxman of the Jewish Masonic organization known as the Ant-Defamation League was, also predictably, unsatisfied with the Pope's changes.  As he and his brethren were the ones who pressured Benedict into making the change in the first place one would have thought that the Pope's actions were sufficient.  They were not sufficient.  For the synagogue they are never sufficient.

This tragic road of fear and appeasement is, apparently, one which the new Pope is intending to travel down.  His past relationships with the Jews as Archbishop, as referenced in the article linked above, indicates a man who is, as one reader on this blog well said in a recent comment, "worshiping at the wrong altar."  Only time will tell if this Pope recognizes the folly, the suicidal nature of this relationship.

One wonders how these demeaning gestures made by the Vatican towards those who utterly deny Christ sit with the Orthodox, the only group that historically, morally and religiously we should be having dialog with.  These are our real brothers, tragically separated for far too long, with whom we should be together and at peace, in the manner that Christ demanded of His Church.  How will the new Pope deal with this urgent matter?  I do not know.  But I do know that all other overtures to Protestants, pagans and Jews need to be put on the back burner, and that our wounds with the Orthodox need healing.  That healing must be the only legitimate ecumenical effort; it is the only one worth making, for with the Orthodox we are dealing with Christians who love and revere Christ and His Holy Mother.  With others we are dealing with those who hate Christ and His Holy Mother.  I also believe that our Orthodox brothers are more interested in truth and Liturgical beauty, less so with ostentatious statements about a new, poor Church.

Prayer and sacrifice can bring about wonders.  It can even set Popes on the right course.

St Paul, ora pro nobis.

UPDATE: 20 March 2013: Abe Foxman blesses the Pope
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/03/20/3122636/poe-francis-tells-jewish-leaders-they-have-special-spiritual-bond

Oh, great.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

dear Aged Parent I put my whole heart into my comment and it just disappeared. I'm nearly grieving. Thank you so much for this very good post. You are my new best friend. I hope you don't mind. I will come around later and try again. Lord hear our prayers + .

Aged parent said...

Dear Anon:

I don't know why your comment disappeared, but please feel free to re-post it whenever you like.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Aged Parent. Perhaps tomorrow I'll have recollected my thoughts. Don't really know why I should need to since I've given this problem considerable thought. Problem is very much an understatement.

Anonymous said...

dear Aged Parent, If you choose not to publish this comment I trust your judgement and intentions.Perhaps you could look at this:paul eisen .blogpot .com .This person is a secular Jew as most are, but in other respects he is not like other jews. You might begin at the Right Sidebar under Recent Posts scrolling to "We Never Know When To Stop". It is very interesting too to scroll down in this particular article to ' this list'. I intend to leave a follow on comment about the all-around approval of Jewish leaders for Pope Francis and Masons in Argentina . And by the way when I said you are my new best friend that was rather an 'ism'. I have I have respected and enjoyed the Eye-Witness since I first visited.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to abbreviate my comments concerning Jewish and Masonic leaders welcoming and some even lauding Pope Francis' 'election'. Perhaps some is just diplomat speak. I was going to reference some articles,books,etc. but perhaps at a later time. There's quite enough going on for now. And I suppose we have to face it that since Vatican II there will not again be any mention of conversion of Jews. There will be continuing 'collaboration' as the Catholic Herald says. It is the Jews who demand that everyone convert to their cause and all that goes with it. The Church has consented.

Anonymous said...

Your courage is admirable.This alliance being pursued is an unholy alliance. I am in unbelief that the One Holy Catholic Church could join in this. I could understand simple holy gestures as to all humanity. But this deference is beyond the Call. I don't know if I am being right about this, but I could understand and be unconcerned that the Church simply give it wholly to God to bring these souls to salvation or to not. But to defer to them as the whole of the western world has and does is ? I do not know. I am not the Pope,so I hesitate to define it. Persoanally I have a lot to say. And I too cannot at all understand the Church recognizing Israel as a state. Why does the Church join the 'World' in this wrong? Why at does the Church collaoborate with Jews to understand what they want so that the Church can defer,accomodate? Why at the Cardinal Bea Center Gregorian University is 2012-2013 The Year of the Shoah? Why did Vatican II invite and confer with Jews and Protestants? Why,Why and Why. What do the Popes say to these rabbis about Palestine? T these Prideful, incorrigeible,... people? Thanks Aged Parent.

Aged parent said...

Anon:

It is one of the great mysteries, at least to me, why Holy Church is so unwilling to lead these poor souls to salvation. The Catholic Church is the birthright of the Jews, yet they refuse it. And the Church seemingly doesn't care. Tragic.

Study the photo above carefully, especially the expressions between the Archbishop and the representative of the synagogue. Their expressions speak volumes.

Anonymous said...

Oh my, I didn't study carefully. I tracked back, looked and had a start, a gasp. I hesitate util I do try to look closely and try to discern. But my gasp was seeing, thinking that I saw it differently than initially I did. I'm going to say what I felt. Our now Pope Francis looks more in a diplomatic posture than a warm friendship posture. The rabbi if that is what he is looks somewhat forward, a bit intrusive, somehow over-bearing. Am I imagining? And of course it could have everything to do with this particular man. If I were the Cardinal I would find it rather off-putting too. I suppose we need to study other photos of the Cardinal/Pope in the company of other Jews. I definitely know as I'm pretty sure that you and so very many people feel that if we should be any public figure, that it is the absolute Rule that we have to indulge them, humor them, defer to them, and not misstep so that we will not be accused of the most dreaded, most awful, the very worst prejudice ever known to man. I would like to make just a brief further comment on this tiring topic. Perhaps you will see it tomorrow or so. Thanks as always.

Finished Passing. Goodnight all. said...

Wolf looking at a sheep he is about to devour for being so stupid as to walk into his den just because he was invited.

I am not responsible for the words that popped into my head when I first laid eyes on Francis. But there were two distinct words. "friendly" and "dopey". I scolded myself but it was my instinctive reaction and I couldn't stay mad at myself for too long. Especially now that it looks like my instincts are proving to be correct.

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