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Alas Pope Benedict will have to wait for next month to be included as the calendar had already been made by the time he had died
Of course you can always add him to a day which is what those lines in the full calendar or the blank calendar are for.
So a happy new year and many more to you all.
It occurs to me, now that we are back to one Pope that by become Pope Emeritus Benedict set a pretty good example. There is some advantage to having a Pope Emeritus who basically devotes the remainder of his life to prayer for the Church and the people. The willing surrender of power and authority is an act of humility and having a holy faithful man in constant prayer for the church certainly can’t hurt.
The reins of St. John Paul II & Benedict the XVI were, in my opinion a golden age in terms of solid theology and evangelization. Nothing has made this more clear than the pontificate of Francis You never know how good you have things till they’re gone.
One of the things that Benedict will likely not get credit for in the media was his strong action concerning various church scandals. The standards that were implemented during his pontificate to prevent a repeat of the horrible abuse scandals from the past were rather solid and have made a real difference in the church.
One secular note concerning his death, he was the last living head of state or former head of state have served in the Military during World War 2 having been drafted into and served in an anti-aircraft unit for Germany. He and Elizabeth II, who served in the British military during the war mark the end of an era.
Finally you have to go back to the 7th century and before to see as many consecutive Popes be canonized as you have in the last 60 years. Every pope since John XXIII has been elevated either to Sainthood or to the stage just before Sainthood (Pope John Paul I) (Pope Pius XII St. John XXIII’s predecessor remains at the “venerable” stage likely, in my opinion for political reasons ).
Will Benedict XVI be canonized. I don’t expect Francis to waive the standard five year waiting period for a cause to be opened and I suspect that when those five years are up neither Francis nor any like minded successor will be in any hurry to push forward a cause for sainthood for Benedict. However in the end it comes down to God and if he decides that Benedict should be publicly recognized as a canonized saint it will happen if not under this pope then under a successor in the future.
In the end it doesn’t matter, all who are in heaven are by definition saints and most are not canonized. Canonization only reveals to us what has already happened, it doesn’t rush or push a soul forward out of purgatory nor can it remove a soul from hell that has already been damned. No power on earth can make the judgement of God concerning Benedict XVI any different than it is.
It’s most likely I won’t find the answer during my lifetime so i’ll end up having to find out for myself the hard way. I hope and pray when that happens I’ll be in a state where I can take joy in confirming what I already suspect. Any and all prayers for my soul while I’m still alive to do something about it or when I’m gone will be gratefully accepted.
UPDATE: It hit me about an hour after I wrote this post that Pope Benedict XVI is going to make history in another way.
He will be the first Pope in history to have his funeral presided over by the Pope
Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
“The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice…”
Matthew 23:1-3
Before I begin this series of posts let’s stipulate the following right up front:
The fight against Abortion is just and right and the efforts of Priests for Life in general and the former Father Frank Pavone in particular to oppose abortion and promote life have been to my knowledge a fine and noble undertaking in the best traditions of the Catholic Church and a service to all humanity.
That being said let’s get to the issues at hand.
There is a lot we don’t know about about the Frank Pavone case and the Vatican can take a lot of credit for this. However there are priests who have some background because when he was still Fr. Frank Pavone they were aware of the history between himself and the Bishops over him. His willingness to defy edicts from Bishops would not tend to grab sympathy from people who like him have taken a vow of obedience to such authority nor might the final result be a surprise to them.
But all of this is internal from as one might put it, “inside the club” outside the club this looks very different.
It looks like the Vatican which has over the last few years been very forgiving to those openly flaunting church teachings even to the point of advocating mortal sin while cracking down on the faithful.
As the Vatican letter states Fr. Pavone is a very public figure and creating this image, without explaining to the faithful the background behind it is not only foolish and short sighted, it plays into the hands of every group whose primary goal is to bring down the church, it increases the chance of schism and suggests a double standard for those who follow church teaching on subjects like abortion and those who do not. Given the recent history of the church under this pontiff I suspect very few daily mass Catholic will find such a double standard surprising
The folks at Church Militant put it best, even if all that is alleged by the Vatican is true and correct, and it’s very possible that it is, this was not the way to do things in a media age.
More importantly it illustrates the problem with putting off an issue that was illustrated during the gay pedophilia scandals.
Over and over the church rather than confronting the issue up front when it happened, they punted, transferred and tried to hide the issues. Stalling only made things worse until the scandals exploded much worse then it would have been it they had just been taken care of when they first came up.
If the then Father Pavone was disobeying his bishop back in his days in NY the church would have been better off cracking down at once, punting on the issue and stalling on the issue is one of the reasons why it’s a crisis for the church.
I know and concede that the Vatican by it’s very nature moves slowly and quietly and whenever possibly privately but this is just plain stupid and contrary to the spirit of Christ who when before Annas said:
The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him,
“I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.”
When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
Jesus answered him,
“If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”
John 18:19-23
When you have truth on your side, the thing to do is be open. The church should understand that and act accordingly.
Of course there is the possibility that the folks at the top who made this decision DO understand it and are silent because of it. I hope and pray this is not the case. I honestly don’t know, and frankly I suspect most of the people who read this post don’t know either.
…but I’m going to note that for quite a while St. Faustina’s diary and devotions she advanced were actively suppressed by the Vatican. It was not till decades later than these restrictions were removed and Faustina was eventually canonized.
I find myself suddenly reminded of this passage from the Acts of the Apostles:
We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand 5 as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this, they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, ordered the men to be put outside for a short time, and said to them,
“Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed, and all those who were loyal to him were disbanded and came to nothing. After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census. He also drew people after him, but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered. So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
They were persuaded by him. After recalling the apostles, they had them flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
Acts 5:28-43
I don’t pretend to know the details or the justifications behind this decision, but I do know that under the rules of Holy Obedience Fr. Pavone would be subject to his local bishop and the Vatican and be obliged to obey any such directive even this one. If this is the work of God then there is no point in opposing or resisting it, it must be accepted with humility, and if it turns out it’s the work of man it will fall apart just as the sanctions against St. Faustina did.
I’m sure this is a tremendous blow to him but the best advice I can give is for him to trust in God. He’s knows what he’s doing even if he hasn’t let us in on that knowledge.
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