NEWS: September 1, 2014
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Bird’s Eye View of the News
CASERTA, A LANDMARK IN THE FRANCIS REVOLUTION
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Although many things happened in August, such as the papal trip to Seoul, I decided to analyze Francis' visit to the Evangelicals in Caserta on July 28, 2014, and the speech he delivered on that occasion. I believe that in many ways Caserta sets a landmark in the Francis Revolution that needs to be emphasized.
/bev170_Caserta-5.jpg)
My intention is not to accentuate the significance of the visit of a Pope to another temple of a Protestant sect (this one still under construction), because unfortunately these visits have become a gloomy and grimy routine for the post-conciliar Vatican. Indeed, after the first visit of John Paul II to the Lutheran temple in Rome in 1983 to pay homage to the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth, the Conciliar Popes have spared no effort visiting all kinds of heretical, schismatic, Jewish and Muslim edifices of false worship. So, Francis’ visit to the Evangelical/Pentecostal temple in Caserta falls into the same progressivist agenda of building a Pan-religion.
My intention here is to unfold some consequences of the condemnation he pronounced against those who acted in the past against Evangelicals specifically, and all Protestants generically.
After criticizing the brothers of Joseph in the Old Testament who tried to kill him and finally sold him as a slave, Pope Francis said:
“That sad story in which the Gospel was lived as a truth by some who did not realize that behind this attitude there were ugly things, things not of the Lord, a terrible temptation to division. That sad story, in which the same thing was done that Joseph’s brothers did: denunciation, the laws of these people: ‘it goes against the purity of the race…’ And these laws were sanctioned by the baptized! Some of those who made these laws and some of those who persecuted and denounced their Pentecostal brothers because they were ‘enthusiasts,’ almost ‘madmen,’ who ruined the race, some were Catholics…
“I am the Pastor of Catholics: I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the Devil and did the same thing that Joseph’s brothers did. I ask the Lord to give us the grace to admit [our error] and forgive.” (Zenit full text in English, here; Vatican original text in Italian here)
We know that those laws Francis mentioned were made under the Fascist regime that ruled in Italy from 1943 to 1945; therefore, Francis was referring to some specific cases. It is obvious, however, that he was also – and above all – establishing a general rule that anyone who denounces Protestant errors would fall under the same censure: Such person would be repeating the crime of Joseph’s brothers, falling into “a terrible temptation to division,” without understanding that his action would make him fall into “the temptation of the Devil.”
Now, when we take into consideration that the Church convened the Council of Trent precisely to denounce the errors of Protestantism, we see that Francis in Caserta inaugurated a line of attack against an entire era of the Church’s history.
One of the great Saints who enforced the doctrines and practices of Trent was Pope St. Pius V. Before he became Pope he was an Inquisitor, whose mission was precisely to denounce and persecute error. Further, from Trent up to Vatican II, the Catholic Church was defined as the Militant Church, always fighting against errors – which means denouncing them and persecuting them in order to keep the earthly Jerusalem pure and stainless, adorned for the wedding with the divine Lamb (Eph 5:27; Apoc 21:2)
Today we have Francis preaching a Tolerant Church that has nothing to do with that pure and immaculate Bride. Instead, the Conciliar Church could be defined as having in herself all the errors and stains of the false religions with which it is entering into relationships of ecumenism and dialogue.
A censured note
These observations regarding the speech as it was disseminated by the Vatican organs of press do not reflect, however, the whole reality of what happened at Caserta.
/bev170_Caserta-1.jpg)
In fact, the decisive phrase of the speech – “I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the Devil” – is the censured version of what Francis actually said to the Evangelicals. What he said was: “I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were possessed by the Devil.”
The Vatican organs were very quick to distribute the censured version and avoid this embarrassing statement. Most of the press, already accustomed to the constant “corrections” of what Francis said, changed their reports accordingly. Some Catholic organizations, however, kept in their news reports the “possessed by the Devil” of the original speech; the reader can check, for instance, the early reports made by Gloria TV and the Eponymous Flower Blog.
Hence, the commentary I made above on the Vatican-reported speech should be greatly augmented in its gravity when we consider the original intent of the present day Pontiff. He actually meant to state that not only Catholics of the ‘40s who had persecuted Evangelicals – but also any Catholic in the past including St. Pius V and the Council of Trent, for example – were possessed by the Devil when they issued condemnations against Protestantism.
Strong reactions against ecumenism
Although the Pentecostals of Caserta were very enthusiastic about Francis and his radical statements favoring Protestantism, other organizations of the same sect issued public messages of protest against what happened at that meeting.
In Italy, days before the meeting at Caserta, the Federation of all the major Pentecostal groups issued an official statement declaring that the Pentecostal sect and the Catholic Church are incompatible because the latter considers herself the mediator of salvation, setting aside other mediators. They also declared that Marian dogmas and other issues cannot be accepted by the Pentecostals. Therefore, the Italian Federation of Evangelicals refused any ecumenical contact with the Catholic Church. (original in Italian here)
In Germany, the chairman of the Union of Free Pentecostal Churches, Johannes Justus, declared that the Pentecostals who met with the Pope at Caserta were not representatives of the Pentecostal Churches. Complaining about the encounter, Justus affirmed: “Subjects such as ecumenism and the Catholic Church always lead to altercations among Pentecostals. However right and good dialogue with other Churches is, in my view, it cannot and must not be used to strive for church unity or to do away with differences.” (The Tablet, August 16, 2014, p. 27)
/bev170_Caserta-2.jpg)
To conclude, I point out that Caserta is a landmark in the Francis Revolution. Until then he made many attacks against traditionalists, presenting them as “pelagians” “ideologues,” “obsoletes,” etc. He also made some general attacks against the previous Church teaching based on principles, which Francis confusedly called “idealism” and “nominalism.” With these attacks he indirectly targeted almost all the Saints of the past.
In Caserta, however, the attack against those who fought for the Church against Protestantism was made with an unprecedented violence: Those militant Catholics are considered by Pope Francis as “possessed by the Devil.”
I believe that Francis’ words at Caserta may be the bugle sounding a general cavalry charge against the militancy of the Church, identifying it as a work of the Devil. The consequence: Whatever was from the Devil until now becomes holy; whatever was holy becomes a work of the Devil. It is a complete revolution in the concepts of good and evil.
Does this not sound like the terrible situation predicted for the battles of the end time where we are told that the forces of evil will wage war against the Saints? (Apoc 13:7)
While Francis showed great warmth for the Pentecostal preacher, he strongly condemned Catholics
My intention here is to unfold some consequences of the condemnation he pronounced against those who acted in the past against Evangelicals specifically, and all Protestants generically.
After criticizing the brothers of Joseph in the Old Testament who tried to kill him and finally sold him as a slave, Pope Francis said:
“That sad story in which the Gospel was lived as a truth by some who did not realize that behind this attitude there were ugly things, things not of the Lord, a terrible temptation to division. That sad story, in which the same thing was done that Joseph’s brothers did: denunciation, the laws of these people: ‘it goes against the purity of the race…’ And these laws were sanctioned by the baptized! Some of those who made these laws and some of those who persecuted and denounced their Pentecostal brothers because they were ‘enthusiasts,’ almost ‘madmen,’ who ruined the race, some were Catholics…
“I am the Pastor of Catholics: I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the Devil and did the same thing that Joseph’s brothers did. I ask the Lord to give us the grace to admit [our error] and forgive.” (Zenit full text in English, here; Vatican original text in Italian here)
We know that those laws Francis mentioned were made under the Fascist regime that ruled in Italy from 1943 to 1945; therefore, Francis was referring to some specific cases. It is obvious, however, that he was also – and above all – establishing a general rule that anyone who denounces Protestant errors would fall under the same censure: Such person would be repeating the crime of Joseph’s brothers, falling into “a terrible temptation to division,” without understanding that his action would make him fall into “the temptation of the Devil.”
Now, when we take into consideration that the Church convened the Council of Trent precisely to denounce the errors of Protestantism, we see that Francis in Caserta inaugurated a line of attack against an entire era of the Church’s history.
One of the great Saints who enforced the doctrines and practices of Trent was Pope St. Pius V. Before he became Pope he was an Inquisitor, whose mission was precisely to denounce and persecute error. Further, from Trent up to Vatican II, the Catholic Church was defined as the Militant Church, always fighting against errors – which means denouncing them and persecuting them in order to keep the earthly Jerusalem pure and stainless, adorned for the wedding with the divine Lamb (Eph 5:27; Apoc 21:2)
Today we have Francis preaching a Tolerant Church that has nothing to do with that pure and immaculate Bride. Instead, the Conciliar Church could be defined as having in herself all the errors and stains of the false religions with which it is entering into relationships of ecumenism and dialogue.
A censured note
These observations regarding the speech as it was disseminated by the Vatican organs of press do not reflect, however, the whole reality of what happened at Caserta.
"Catholics who accused Protestants were possessed by the Devil"
The Vatican organs were very quick to distribute the censured version and avoid this embarrassing statement. Most of the press, already accustomed to the constant “corrections” of what Francis said, changed their reports accordingly. Some Catholic organizations, however, kept in their news reports the “possessed by the Devil” of the original speech; the reader can check, for instance, the early reports made by Gloria TV and the Eponymous Flower Blog.
Hence, the commentary I made above on the Vatican-reported speech should be greatly augmented in its gravity when we consider the original intent of the present day Pontiff. He actually meant to state that not only Catholics of the ‘40s who had persecuted Evangelicals – but also any Catholic in the past including St. Pius V and the Council of Trent, for example – were possessed by the Devil when they issued condemnations against Protestantism.
Strong reactions against ecumenism
Although the Pentecostals of Caserta were very enthusiastic about Francis and his radical statements favoring Protestantism, other organizations of the same sect issued public messages of protest against what happened at that meeting.
In Italy, days before the meeting at Caserta, the Federation of all the major Pentecostal groups issued an official statement declaring that the Pentecostal sect and the Catholic Church are incompatible because the latter considers herself the mediator of salvation, setting aside other mediators. They also declared that Marian dogmas and other issues cannot be accepted by the Pentecostals. Therefore, the Italian Federation of Evangelicals refused any ecumenical contact with the Catholic Church. (original in Italian here)
In Germany, the chairman of the Union of Free Pentecostal Churches, Johannes Justus, declared that the Pentecostals who met with the Pope at Caserta were not representatives of the Pentecostal Churches. Complaining about the encounter, Justus affirmed: “Subjects such as ecumenism and the Catholic Church always lead to altercations among Pentecostals. However right and good dialogue with other Churches is, in my view, it cannot and must not be used to strive for church unity or to do away with differences.” (The Tablet, August 16, 2014, p. 27)
The ecumenical meeting of Caserta was rejected by the official organs of the Pentecostals
In Caserta, however, the attack against those who fought for the Church against Protestantism was made with an unprecedented violence: Those militant Catholics are considered by Pope Francis as “possessed by the Devil.”
I believe that Francis’ words at Caserta may be the bugle sounding a general cavalry charge against the militancy of the Church, identifying it as a work of the Devil. The consequence: Whatever was from the Devil until now becomes holy; whatever was holy becomes a work of the Devil. It is a complete revolution in the concepts of good and evil.
Does this not sound like the terrible situation predicted for the battles of the end time where we are told that the forces of evil will wage war against the Saints? (Apoc 13:7)
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