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Worst Pope Ever? / Is Pope Francis The Worst Pope Ever?

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Worst Pope Ever? / Is Pope Francis The Worst Pope Ever?

By C.O.

In my last article ("'Great' Popes: When a Pope Should Be & Should Not Be Called Great"), I went against popular opinion to make a case against calling a recent particular pope 'Great'. At the time I wrote that article, I thought that particular pope [John Paul II] was the 'worst' pope ever - not because he was a sinful man or that everything he did was bad (on the contrary, I know he did some good things), but because his papacy was, as a whole, IMHO, a terrible & unprecedented disaster for the Church (see above referenced article for details). Now it seems that a subsequent pontiff [Pope Francis] has given this previous pope some strong 'competition' for this unfortunate appellation, IMHO. And once again, my opinion is not formulated because I think the reigning pope is a sinful man or that everything he does is bad, but rather I have come to this conclusion because of his actions in his truly disastrous pontificate. My opinion is based on facts that should be manifest to anyone paying attention.

Before proceeding, let's first address the matter of respect. I mean no disrespect in this article to either of these popes. It is, of course, open to opinion which pope in the history of the Church has been the worst. However, it is NOT open to opinion that one of the popes has to be (or has to have been) the worst. It's not a matter of disrespect or not, just a matter of truth, a matter involving facts. Someone has to be best, someone has to be worst. A simple matter of logic. Each pope made his own public decisions which are manifest for all to see. Like the scripture passage says, "Some people's sins are public, preceding them to judgment; but other people are followed by their sins." (1 Tm. 5:24) Likewise for acts of the pontificate - some acts are public, preceding them to judgment.

It is also well-known that the Blessed Virgin Mary allegedly told a seer at La Salette that "Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist." I don't wish to debate the veracity of this point. I certainly do NOT want to make this accusation against anyone, especially a pope. What I do want to do is point out some facts and ask a simple question. Fair enough?

First two facts...

1. The pope is supposed to be the defender of the true Catholic faith and her traditions. As Pope Benedict XIV stated, "The vigilance and pastoral solicitude of the Roman Pontiff are principally and above all manifested in maintaining and conserving the unity and integrity of the Catholic faith, without which it is impossible to please God."

2. Mortal sin is evil, leads people to hell, and should be both stopped and hated. As Holy Scripture says, "...hate what is evil" (Rom. 12:9). St. Cyprian states, "Mortal sin destroys the merits of good works, corrupts every faculty of the mind, and leads the sinner on to certain death." As the Baltimore Catechism states, "Those are punished in hell who die in mortal sin; they are deprived of the vision of God and suffer dreadful torments, especially that of fire, for all eternity."

With respect to the first fact above, it is well known that the reigning pope has...

* not defended the faith in various important aspects, even ignoring dubia presented by Cardinals

* waged 'war' against tradition (including 'attacks' and persecution of tradition-minded Catholics)

* increased confusion about the Catholic faith due to his writings & off-hand remarks

Books have been written about various 'daily scandals' & novelties of his disastrous/scandalous pontificate. People have noted his 'puzzling behavior', his 'disdain for tradition', his unjust PERSECUTION of faithful Catholics, his bad government and abuses of papal power, his 'dictatorial behavior', and his 'blatantly erroneous teachings' and resulting 'doctrinal chaos' & 'radical decline' in the Church. Well-known are his insults against the flock of Christ, his 'open contempt' for the Church's traditional liturgy, and the 'many' remarks that seem contradictory to the true Catholic faith. Some have noted that he 'attacks what he is supposed to defend.' There have been charges involving heresy - even causing some to pose the question 'Is the Pope Catholic?' for the first time in a very serious way. There have been 'a huge litany of offenses' from this 'name-calling pope', often requiring Catholics to 'guard themselves against his teachings.' It has been charged by some of the faithful that his pontificate is 'catastrophic', that there is 'a font of error' emanating from Rome, and references have also been made to this pope as a 'human wrecking ball', his 'tyrannical regime', and his pontificate as the 'stuff of nightmares'.

He has made personnel changes to effect his plans (including demoting of conservative prelates), he has broken up communities, and he has taken drastic & unprecedented actions against those who love the Church's traditions. The 'humble pope' has not even spared the 'Our Father' prayer - a prayer which came directly from Christ - because it didn't sit right with him. Again, books have been written about shocking aspects of his pontificate. One could go on ad nauseam with such examples, but I think the above suffices to make my point about the first fact above, so I will move on.

With respect to fact #2 above, I would propose that our age suffers from several rampant and GRAVE sins such as...

* Eucharistic abuses - direct abuse against God! (for example: sacred particles on church floors, persons receiving Holy Communion unworthily, etc.)

* Abortion

* Contraception

* Divorce

* Homosexual sins / 'transgenderism'

While the pope HAS 'waged war' against various faithful, tradition-loving Catholics, I ask: has he also 'waged war' against serious SINS like those above in a valiant effort to stop them? Or has he rather...?

* fostered Eucharistic abuse by issuing a document which may ultimately allow those in mortal sin to receive the Holy Eucharist (Amoris Laetitia)

* hampered anti-abortion efforts (including 'heartbreaking changes' made to the Pontifical Academy for Life)

* subtly encouraged couples to sin via contraception (his breed-like-rabbits "Rabbitgate" comments come to mind)

* promoted the evil of divorce (Amoris Laetitia)

* supported a sin that 'cries out to heaven for vengeance' (e.g. 'who am I to judge?', 'homosexual blessings', receiving/supporting 'transgenders', etc.)

Isn't it true that he has instead (at least indirectly) FOSTERED these grave sins instead of waging war against them? In addition, how can it be denied that he has sowed confusion about God (e.g. with Francis' 'God of Surprises'), promoted religious indifferentism, supported leftist causes, and even promoted immoral and potentially dangerous vaccines while allowing Masses to be shut down?

So now my honest question. Again, no accusations here. Just a question...

If Rome were ever to be the seat of the anti-Christ as it is claimed the Blessed Virgin Mary predicted, what exactly would he do differently?

What exactly would he do differently?

Signature: C.O.

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