Press review: Cardinal Bergoglio and Pope Francis

Two months after Pope Francis’ election, people are still wondering about the new pontiff. As well they may, when on April 16, at the Mass he celebrated for the intentions of his predecessor, the Sovereign Pontiff stated that Vatican II “was a beautiful work, a work of God,” that John XXIII “obeyed” the Holy Spirit, and asked whether 50 years later “we have accomplished all that the Holy Spirit told us at the Council? We have celebrated its anniversary, we have made it into a monument, but we don’t let it bother us. We do not want to change.” Worse still, he said, are those “voices saying we should go back.” “This is called being hard-headed, this is called wanting to domesticate the Holy Spirit, this is called becoming ‘foolish and slow of heart.’”

Father Régis de Cacqueray, district superior of France, stated in the editorial of Fideliter no. 213 (March-April 2013): “We regret to say that our fears are great with regard to the actions and gestures reported of the former Cardinal Bergoglio. Let us examine three examples:

-The New Mass is in itself already a serious transgression. Not only does Cardinal Bergoglio celebrate it but he drew attention as a bishop and a cardinal for youth liturgy of a particularly degraded and desacralized nature.

-While he was bishop and cardinal of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio also agreed to kneel to receive a false “blessing” from Protestant ministers.

-Lastly, he allowed the Jewish community to use the cathedral of Buenos Aires for a Judaic festival in which he participated.

“If his theology did not make it clear to him, when he was a bishop and a cardinal, that the blessing given by a Protestant minister is really only a parody and that Jewish ceremonies are toxic and insulting to the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Catholic Faith, what will it do for him now that he is pope? How can this question be avoided?

“Cardinal Montini’s theology was the theology of Paul VI; Cardinal Wojtyla’s, the theology of John Paul II; Cardinal Ratzinger’s, the theology of Benedict XVI. Our fear, which already seems justified, is that the theology of Pope Francis will remain that of Cardinal Bergoglio.”

Fr. Christian Bouchacourt, superior of South America, wrote along the same lines in the editorial of the magazine Jesus Christus no. 141 (March 2013), under the title “A new era?”: “A few weeks ago the famous “Habemus papam!” resounded from the loggia of St. Peter’s in Rome. Francis I had just been elected pope. From this point on, the media has been explaining non-stop that a new era has begun in the Church. With the new Sovereign Pontiff, they proclaim, Christ’s Church will return to the clear and refreshing springs of true poverty and evangelical simplicity. Farewell to the mozetta and richly embroidered vestments; farewell to triumphalist pontifical ceremony, and welcome back the return to simplicity of the “Church of the poor, for the poor.” The world applauds deafeningly and has already cast his predecessor Benedict XVI alive into the depths of oblivion. (…)

“So, must we despair and lament on the misfortunes of our times? Certainly not! This would be sterile and opposed to the spirit of Catholicism. For, as the Scriptures say, “abyssus abyssum invocat,” the depths of trial call upon those who love God the superabundance of His grace. He gives it today to those who wish to remain faithful, special grace that He did not give yesterday.  Therefore, be of good hope! As Our Lady at Fatima asked, let us pray more than ever for the pope and offer up penance for him that the Holy Ghost may illuminate and guide him, and give him the strength to restore Tradition, which will save the Church. It is a duty for each one of us, both priests and laymen.”

On the website of the American district, May 8, 2013, an article was published called “Will Pope Francis be able to rebuild the Church?”:  “’Francis of Assisi, whose name the new pontiff has taken, heard the crucified Savior say to him, "Go, Francis and rebuild my Church.’ With these words Bishop Fellay offered his best wishes to the newly-elected Pope for a successful pontificate. Lien sur le communiqué.  Now that the spotlight is off the Vatican, and ordinary life has resumed, we offer our readers some thoughts about his ecclesiastical career  and possible insights into his pontificate. If his work at the head of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (Argentina) is any indication of the future, it is difficult, perhaps even presumptuous, to be hopeful. Very conscious of the dilapidated state of his clergy, he was unable to improve vocations, seminary training, or continuing formation. Never has the seminary of Buenos Aires had as few seminarians as today. (…)” [Several examples follow which have already been mentioned by Fr. de Cacqueray and Fr. Bouchacourt.]

“There is no doubt that the pontificate of Pope Francis will blaze new trails. It seems at the opposite end of the spectrum from that of the two previous Popes who were university professors. The reigning Pontiff may be more concerned about practical results. Such a desire could be for the good of the Faith and Tradition if the results desired were the rebuilding of the Faith and thereby the Church; although we have many reasons to fear that the results he doggedly pursues will prove more detrimental to the Church than Benedict XVI’s moderate reforms proved favorable. So, more than ever, this is a time for all traditional Catholics to pray for Peter, for the gift of fortitude in fulfilling his mission of "confirming his brethren in the Faith."

(Sources: Fideliter – Jesus Christus – sspx.org – DICI no. 275, 17/05/13)

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