And regardless of what you think of him, he is STILL the Pope.

There are a lot of Catholics who believe that all Traditional Catholics, me included, by definition are anti-Pope.  They are quick to label us “sedevacantists”.

Bwaha ….bwahaha….bwahahahaha…ha!

Boy, are they ever wrong!

Sure, there are a handful of Traditional Catholics who are sedevacantists and are anti-Pope, but anyone who follows any of the TCF platforms will know that I am certainly not a sedevacantist and I take an extremely dim view of any anti-pope sentiment, shutting down any pope-bashing on my platforms swiftly.

While the Pope does indeed occupy the Seat of St. Peter and is in persona Christi ,  it seems that a lot of people forget that the pope is not God.

He is not Christ.  He is not even the Blessed Virgin, who though Immaculately Conceived, was still very much human.

People need to stop idolising the Pope as God and losing their heads over what he says or does.

Disagreeing with some or most of the Pope’s activities is okay.

It does not make you anti-pope and even if the Pope’s activities or writings are contradictory to Biblical doctrine and Catholic tradition, it does not make him less of a Pope. For as long as he occupies THAT chair, he is still the Pope!

For a person to declare that the seat of St Peter has been vacant since whenever, whatever is a form of heresy because you are basically saying that God had no power and does not know what He is doing, allowing certain people to become Pope.

Things may not make sense to us mere mortals, but perhaps this is a time where our faith in God is being tested.

The Pope is still Pope.  St Peter’s chair has never been vacant – ever.

Every single Pontiff that occupied the Chair of St Peter has been allowed to do so by God’s Divine Will and Grace.

There is a saying that we get the leaders that we deserve.

Perhaps, instead of drumming up anti-pope hatred and attacking him, we should look inwards, at ourselves, our homes, our parishes, our communities and ask ourselves, what have we done to deserve such a Pope?

In what ways have we offended and neglected God so much that He chooses to lead us, not with the carrot, but with the stick?

You see, sometimes God would indeed send us “unpopular” leaders in order to wake us up from our complacency and make us run back to Him.

Could this be the case with JPII? Or with Pope Francis?

Is it a coincidence that Traditional Catholicism started flourishing again under their rule?

Nothing happens without God’s say so – nothing!

When beset by tribulations like these, we need to bear our crosses patiently and take individual responsibility for why things are happening the way that they are.

You have no control whatsoever over the actions of another person.  You do have control over your own actions and your attitude, and by changing your actions and your lifestyle, you set up a chain reaction, a ripple effect that goes out into your family, your community and the world.

You want to change the world? Restore the Church?  Begin in your own homes and parishes.

Name-calling and insulting the Pope is a terrible idea, in my opinion.

Sure, you can admonish the Pope or forward any concerns through the right channels, but openly bashing the Pope?!

Do you not realise how bad that looks to outsiders looking in? Why would anyone want to become Catholic, seeing the lays viciously attacking the Head of the Church?

Be careful!  Do not be an occasion of sin or a stumbling block to the salvation of others.

Even God Himself said: “Touch not My anointed and do My prophet no harm.”

Regardless of what you may think of the Pope, past or present, he is still under God’s anointing.  He is still God’s prophet.  He is STILL in persona Christi.

To say that God cannot move or work occasionally through an erroneous leader is to insult that same God who made a donkey speak!

“For My ways are not your ways. Neither are My thoughts your thoughts”, saith the Lord.

Do not presume to know how, when, through whom and in what manner that our Lord moves.

Feeling so discouraged and let down when the Pope says or does something that you consider to be erroneous is a sign that you are not worshipping God, but the Pope.

Sometimes, situations like these could be a test from God to see whether you place your faith in a man or in God and His unchangeable Word

Stay close to the Scripture, Biblical doctrine and Catholic Tradition.

Develop a sound interior life, pray the Rosary, attend Adoration and no one can lead you astray.

And the next time a scandal from the Vatican or its top clerics hits, ask yourself what our Lady would do, and then pray, saying:

“Dear Lord.  Thy Will be done.  In what way have I offended You to deserve this?”

Maria, Sedes Sapientiae, ora pro nobis

Mary, Seat of Wisdom, pray for us.

 

MORE RESOURCES

   

      

 ad Jesum per Mariam

🌹🙏🌹