Now we know that for those who love God all things work together unto good, for those who, according to his purpose, are saints through his call. Romans 8: 28
When the sex abuse scandal erupted in the Catholic Church during last year's "summer of shame," I wondered how God would work this horror to the good. Like many Catholics, I've experienced confusion, anger, doubt, and despondency. Pope Francis didn't exactly provide the answers his flock were craving. He still hasn't.
To Archbishop Vigano's accusations that the sex crimes of U.S. Cardinal McCarrick were known at the highest levels of the Vatican, that Pope Benedict had in fact put severe restrictions on McCarrick, which Pope Francis subsequently lifted; Francis merely stated, "I will not say a single word" on the allegations of cover-up.
McCarrick has since been defrocked, and the pope eventually claimed that he didn't know about McCarrick, or at least didn't remember being told. He held a meeting of bishops this year in February to deal with the problem of pedophilia in the Church, extending the mission to eradicate crimes of pedophilia worldwide. However, the McCarrick earthquake was only the beginning of a series of aftershocks that have continued to be revealed over the past year. The corruption in the Church goes higher and is more extensive than anyone imagined.
As admirable as Pope Francis' efforts toward addressing the issue of pedophilia are, many were concerned that he needed to clean up his own house before setting out to rid the world of this scourge. And truth be told, pedophilia is not actually the primary issue. Even one case of sex abuse against a child is too many. But as it turns out, 81% of the sex abuse cases perpetrated by Catholic clergy over a period of many decades did not involve children or females at all. Pedophilia as legally defined is a crime against pre-pubescent children. Catholic clergy are no more likely to be guilty of pedophilia than clergy of non-Catholic Christian denominations or other faith traditions.
The fact that 81% of these cases involved adolescent boys and grown men clearly makes this a situation of gross homosexual predation. Homosexual attacks and intimidation perpetrated upon seminarians and a homosexual grooming of the priesthood have been exposed. The Church is blighted with a systemic disorder, and the hierarchy seems unwilling to address it. Only when the secular media exposes abuse against a minor does the Vatican take action.
So in a nutshell, there's the first bad thing in the proverbial series of three. The Body of Christ had not even recovered from the shock of the sex abuse scandal before we were hit with the next blow. The upcoming Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region will meet from Oct. 6 to 27. A significant amount of attention has shifted from the sex abuse crisis to outrage against the agenda of this meeting, which traditional Catholics fear could destroy the Church and her perennial teachings as we know them. The working document of the Pan-Amazon Synod (Instrumentum Laboris), from the portions I've heard via Catholic news outlets, seems like an ode to paganism and the New Age, with phrases like God Father-Mother Creator and the Cosmic Christ (http://www.sinodoamazonico.va/content/sinodoamazonico/en/documents/pan-amazon-synod--the-working-document-for-the-synod-of-bishops.html).
I haven't read the entire document yet, but this is the kind of language I heard when I attended the "New Thought" Unity Church, which did not even have a valid Christian baptism, baptizing in the Holy Spirit only. Its book shop and library were filled with New Age offerings such as Neal Donald Walsh's "channeled" series, Conversations with God, and Eastern teachings, including reincarnation. This is also, I don't think coincidentally, the language used in A Course in Miracles, the "channeled" New Age tome upon which Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson's beliefs are built.
The fear being expressed by some members of the clergy and laity alike is that there is nothing Catholic about these "new paths" of the Amazon Synod. I see a parallel between the fight for the soul of the Church and the fight for the preservation of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness we are witnessing in the United States of America.
The good news is that the sex abuse scandal brought intense scrutiny on Pope Francis, so that he isn't going to be able to slip by under the radar with this Amazonian agenda, like he did with his 2016 papal document, Amoris Laetitia. Though the orthodoxy of its content was being seriously questioned, Catholic news media outlets such as EWTN tried to interpret that document with a hermeneutic of continuity, giving the pope the benefit of the doubt that he was not intent on breaking with Tradition. However, some now believe that Amoris Laetitia was intended to set the stage for the impending October Synod. More and more of the faithful are seriously concerned that the Church is indeed in dire straits.
Oh, but that isn't all, my friends. Come May 14, 2020, we will be faced with determining the meaning of Pope Francis' "new humanism" agenda, with a meeting titled "Reinventing the Global Educational Alliance." From what I've heard, Pope Francis has already indicated that Catholics must fall in line with the socialist ideology of the United Nations, and this Global Education Pact might just seal the deal. Wait, doesn't the Catholic Church teach that parents are to be respected as the primary and principle educators of their children? Indeed she does. So why does it seem that the pope wants the "global village" to raise our children?
If the saying is true that bad things happen in 3s, there you have it: 1) the scourge of homosexual predators that has infiltrated the Church;
2) The ambiguous agenda of the Pan-Amazon Synod which some believe aims to destroy traditional Church teaching and replace it with paganism and New Age mumbo jumbo;
3) The Global Education Pact to seal the deal by taking possession of the upbringing of our children.
Unfortunately, I've become so disturbed and distracted by all of this that I've become less diligent in doing those very things that are directly in my control as a response to any and all worries; such as praying the Rosary, going to Mass whenever possible, going to Confession, and fasting. We especially need to pray for Pope Francis. His intentions might be good and pastoral, but misguided. Perhaps certain men that wish to influence him do not have the best interests of the Church at heart.
I recently learned that Francis is the first post-Vatican II pope. In other words, he received his priestly formation after the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965. At this point in history the infiltration of unorthodox ideas that had been brewing for some time broke the surface, and much chaos and confusion in the Church ensued. The '70s and '80s are famous as an era of poor catechesis and a watering down of the Faith. Yet Francis remains the Vicar of Christ, and we must respect his holy office.
Jesus said, "And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 6: 18). Herein lies our hope. I converted to Catholicism because I came to believe that this Church is the one, holy, catholic (meaning universal) and apostolic Church built by Christ himself. I have seen the Lord work in not only mysterious ways, but with methods that seem downright bizarre.
I don't know how he's going to work these bad things to his purposes, for the good of those who love God and answer the call to be his saints, but I have faith that he will do it. Our Lady also promised at Fatima that her Immaculate Heart will triumph. Satan will not prevail in the end, but we need to gear up for one hell of a battle.
Numbers 2 and 3 in my list of Bad Things have not yet transpired. There is still time to turn the tide. This is what I'll be exploring further in upcoming posts. To the men, I implore you to suit up, grab your lance, and mount the horse. You are the head of your family as Christ is the head of his Church. You MUST lead the way out of this quagmire. This means that you will need to reclaim traditional Christian manhood.
Likewise, we women need to clean the dust off the men's armor and let them wear it. Allow them to sharpen the lance. Encourage them to ride the steed. We MUST reject feminism and reclaim traditional Christian womanhood. The connection may not seem clear, but I promise to elucidate the pattern of dots. The antidote to the infection is to cling ever more diligently to the cross and the true Tradition of the Church.
It's about the principle of subsidiarity, people. We have to begin with our own homes and communities before we can affect a wider change. And this isn't just for Catholics. Only today I read that the United Methodist Church is going into an official schism over the LGBT issue. That church will no longer be able to call itself United. The Catholic Church is the last bastion of traditional Christian teaching. She's the largest, most influential church in the world, and if she falls too far into darkness, the rest of Christendom will likewise plummet.
The symptoms of heresy, apostasy, and immorality touch all Christians. We have to put our differences aside, not to pretend that they don't matter, because they do; but we need each other to have a hope for the future of our country and our children, wherever in the world we might live. God only works together for our good if we are saints, so it's imperative that we unite as such.
I will be speaking most directly to Catholics in many instances, when I explore what actions we might take and what attitudes we can adopt as saints, but I think that many other Christians will be able to relate. Let's build a community to restore the Church right here at Organic Mothering. Are you in?
(P.S. Please see my follow up to this post, the article dated Oct. 12. More recent information is included, and developments have led to my reconsidering some of the views brought out in this post. I'm now questioning the narrative pervasively being put forth by certain members of the conservative Catholic news media and commentary.)
