UPDATED:
This Tweet by Antonio Socci was made on June 28, 2016, shortly before the public celebration of his priestly ordination. My thanks to two readers for this.
"There is currently, heavy pressure on Pope Benedict XVI and to obtain from him, an act of uncritical submission (acritica sottomissione) to Bergoglio. Let us pray for him."
If this is true and it is known about by any men of faith left in that wretched Vatican, then they are obligated to come to his aid and to make public this evil to the Catholic faithful. If they do not, then they will be held accountable before God for this dereliction.
As for Joseph Ratzinger, yes; let us pray for him. Let us pray that he will find the courage and a way to speak to us, his children who love him, his children, whom he abandoned!
In a stunning report at La Stampa, Andrea Tornielli is reporting on an interview with Pope Benedict XVI, the Emeritus.
The question we need to ask is this, "was this really Joseph Ratzinger."
If it was, "was he drugged to say such idiocy? Was he threatened? What could he be threatened with?
Or rather, "is it someone from Francis' cabal creating, for them and their Peronist, some kind of cover?"
Or is it even more clear. "Joseph Ratzinger was not the Pope we believed him to be?"
Oakes Spalding asks, "What new deviltry" is this? Indeed!
“There were numerous commitments which I felt I was no
longer able to carry through, notably, the World Youth Day which had been
scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the summer of 2013. I was
very certain of two things. After the experience of the trip to Mexico and
Cuba, I no longer felt able to embark on another very demanding visit.
Furthermore, according to the format of these gatherings, which had been established
by John Paul II, the Pope’s physical presence there was paramount. A television
link or any other such technological solution was out of the question. This was
another reason why I saw it as my duty to resign.”
“The visit to Mexico and Cuba had been a beautiful and
moving experience for me in many ways. In Mexico I was struck by the profound
faith of so many young people who communicated their joyous passion for God. I
was equally struck by the great problems afflicting Mexican society and by the
Church’s efforts to seek a faith-based response to the challenge posed by
poverty and violence. I need scarcely remind you of how impressed I was in Cuba
to see the way in which Raul Castro wishes to lead his country onto a new path,
without breaking with the immediate past. Here too, I was deeply impressed by
the way in which my brothers in the Episcopate are striving to navigate through
this difficult process, with the faith as their starting point. However, during
those visits I became acutely aware of the limits of my physical strength.
Above all, I realised that I was no longer able to face future transoceanic
trips due to jet lag. Naturally, I discussed these problems with my doctor,
Professor Patrizio Polisca too. It thus became clear that I would not be able
to take part in the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, there was the
obvious jet lag problem. From that moment on, I had a relatively short amount
of time to decide on the date of my withdrawal.”
If this is true, then it is quite clear to this writer that Joseph Ratzinger is not worthy of the respect which this writer previously gave him.
For World Youth Day he resigned and not even for "Wales"? Praising a murderous villain such as an unrepentant Castro? This was said by Joseph Ratzinger?
Joseph Ratzinger was wrong. He did not need to resign and he never should have. He made a prudential error and the reasons do not matter. What matters is that he plunged the papacy into chaos and the Church into crisis.
He could have stayed. He did not need to go to Rio, or Krakow. He did not ever need to do another trip. Nothing compelled him to ever offer a Mass in St. Peter's Square. He was not obligated to do an Easter Triduum for thousands. He could have stayed for the rest of his life in his apartment and garden. He could have offered Mass daily in his chapel and on Sundays, delivered an Angelus from the window and a homily every Wednesday to the masses in an audience below. He could have appointed a Papal Legate or Vicar to do everything he wanted at pain of arrest by the Swiss Guards for disobedience. He could have sanctified himself and us, the sheep, by doing this and offering up his suffering as Karol Wojtyla did - an action which may have saved his soul from his papal errors.
"Pray for me that I do not flee for fear of the wolves," he said, Well, he abandoned his children to those same wolves he feared and a father does not abandon his children.
God is truly punishing us.
