The Devil’s Fingerprints
Does the Pope read the NOR?
We wouldn’t presume that he does. So we’ll gladly chalk it up to coincidence that on June 10 the Holy Father in essence echoed a point we made in this section of our May issue.
Our point was that the “wickedly impeccable timing” of the latest revelations of clerical sexual abuse in Europe was “too perfect to ignore.” It smacked of the demonic.
At a time when the Church is poised to receive an untold number of groups of Anglican converts, the global media’s smearing of her reputation kicked into high gear, potentially postponing or even jeopardizing some of those conversions. Moreover, the Pope himself, the author of Anglicanorum Coetibus, the apostolic constitution that paves the way for these group conversions, was personally — and wrongly — implicated in the scandal (see our New Oxford Note “The Timing Is Just too Perfect,” May).
Coincidence? We think not.
You May Also Enjoy
The Synod was part of a larger struggle between two opposing camps, both of which are led by men who've dominated the post-Vatican II ecclesiastical landscape: Joseph Ratzinger and Walter Kasper.
Let us acknowledge that there is a Hell, and that there are souls in it. Is there a way to reconcile that reality with the concept of universal salvation?
How do we renew our beloved Holy Mother Church? We must begin with how we worship -- on our knees, before God, who is really God.