Summary and Commentary by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
On Thursday, Pope Francis reaffirmed the ancient tradition of the Apostolic See regarding its property rights.
Since ancient times, the Roman Pontiffs have vindicated the rights of the Apostolic See to acquire and manage goods, properties and offerings for the common benefit of the Faithful.
But in recent centuries, many working in the Roman Curia have taken a cavalier attitude toward the Church properties and monies entrusted to their care under the authority of their benefices or titles.
The struggle against corruption and the misuse of the goods the Faithful entrust to the Church for the pastoral care of all is an age old one.
On Thursday, Pope Francis reaffirmed with modern precision this perennial view, giving it new clarity on the ethical plane, by defining the Church’s right to these properties received from the Faithful as a public entity, such that no administer has a private right to their use or benefit.
This is the first in a series of documents, which I predict will show that the man now ruling the Apostolic See, has the grace of Saint Peter and the benefit of Christ’s High Priestly Prayer.
Let’s hope and pray he modifies the nefarious and draconian “Cor Orans,” a dagger plunged into the praying heart of the Mystical Body.
That document does not exist, as someone without the petrine munus has no authority to issue it. If it afflicts anyone, it is because they continue to insist Benedict XVI validly resigned. That is not the fault of the individual who believes it.
Ok, but it is normal that we should expect Pope Francis to rectify his past errors as Antipope now that he is Pope. Part of being doing reparation is correcting ones past errors, or at least trying to.
Here we should not confuse the person who is the pope from the person of the pope. The person who is the pope, is the individual human being, who is culpable for sin from the age of reason. He is obilged to repent of his sins, but he may not be totally aware of his sinfulness. The reason why most popes go to hell, is that they do not weigh properly the depth of personal reform and reparation necessary for sins which they do in pubic and which are the source of the deprivation of others rights or the giving of scandal. A pope could be the perfect saint, but not repent of one venial sin which scandalizes the world, and thus merit to go to hell for ever. Whereas the average Catholic joe, would get off with very minor time in purgatory precisely because no one pays him any attention.
As to the person of the pope, he is not guilty for the personal sins of the man who is the pope, nor can we demand that as pope, he make reparation for the sins he committed before he was pope. Nor can we judge him as pope for the sins he committed before he was pope. Remember, to judge the pope as a sinner, as pope, for being the pope, is a mortal sin, since he has no judge but Jesus Christ.
As for the effect of Christ’s High Priestly prayer: there have been popes who were fornicators. John XXII did so with many wives at Rome. Yet their husbands still went to Mass with the name of their wives fornicator named at Mass as the pope. There is no record they left the Church or went into schism. Some how the Catholics of past ages were able to distinguish the office from the man, and not sit around demanding that the office repent for the man, before they would show obedience and reverence for the office. I guess they were more sane and intelligent back then.
Have to say, your commentaries are knocking the ball out of the park IMO.
You are getting traction with ordinary Catholics (though I mix almost exclusively with those who attend TLM). Your timeline of articles leading to January 30 2023 is particularly valuable. I think you should make it “sticky” and leave it there for the foreseeable future.
hello br. the media is putting pressure on the public to pressure the church in ireland to give up property to compensate abuse victims. do you think francis will now refuse to give up any sales of churches etc? and what other options are there for him to pay compensation?
The liability of a diocese in Ireland is its own affair. Unless the concordat with the Irish republic states otherwise, the Apostolic see cannot and will not intervene, other than perhaps appoint as bishops men who are expert lawyers in legal property controversies. I think the Vatican system for appointing bishops is totally incompetent in recent decades to appoint reliable honest men. Even B16 said in his postumous book that most bishops are functionally not catholic. What any pope does on this issue depends more on his personal grace, because the grace of office does not guarantee or provide that the person who is the pope is learned or competent or even honest, only that he does not transgress the ultimate barriers of faith.