Monday 6 October 2014

POPE FRANCIS WARNS "EVIL PASTORS"

POPE FRANCIS WARNS "EVIL PASTORS"

The Synod

IN HIS OPENING SPEECH TO THE WORLD'S CATHOLIC BISHOPS GATHERED FOR THE SYNOD IN ROME POPE FRANCIS SHOT A WARNING SHOT ACROSS THE HEADS OF THOSE HE CALLED "EVIL PASTORS".

Using yesterday's Sunday Gospel about the tenants of the vineyard taking over the vineyard for their own greed the Pope reminded bishops and priests that they are where they are to SERVE and not to LORD IT OVER the People of God.

This will have been a severe blow to those priests and bishops around the world who are not men of faith, prayer and true pastor-ship.

Sadly there will be many cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests around the world today who would not be sorry if Pope Francis took a heart attack and died!


Pope John Paul 1 - who wanted to reform Curia


There may even be a small number of "evil pastors" in the Vatican today wondering if they would get away with killing another pope a mere 35 years after killing a first one!




Here is Francis' homily with my underlinings:

Today the Prophet Isaiah and the Gospel employ the image of the Lord’s vineyard. The Lord’s vineyard is his “dream”, the plan which he nurtures with all his love, like a farmer who cares for his vineyard. Vines are plants which need much care!
God’s “dream” is his people. He planted it and nurtured it with patient and faithful love, so that it can become a holy people, a people which brings forth abundant fruits of justice.
But in both the ancient prophecy and in Jesus’s parable, God’s dream is thwarted. Isaiah says that the vine which he so loved and nurtured has yielded “wild grapes” (5:2,4); God “expected justice but saw bloodshed, righteousness, but only a cry of distress” (v7). In the Gospel, it is the farmers themselves who ruin the Lord’s plan: they fail to do their job but think only of their own interests.
In Jesus’s parable, he is addressing the chief priests and the elders of the people, in other words the “experts”, the managers. To them in a particular way God entrusted his “dream”, his people, for them to nurture, tend and protect from the animals of the field. This is the job of leaders: to nuture the vineyard with freedom, creativity and hard work.
But Jesus tells us that those farmers took over the vineyard. Out of greed and pride they want to do with it as they will, and so they prevent God from realizing his dream for the people he has chosen.
The temptation to greed is ever present. We encounter it also in the great prophecy of Ezekiel on the shepherds, which St Augustine commented upon in one his celebrated sermons which we have just reread in the Liturgy of the Hours. Greed for money and power. And to satisfy this greed, evil pastors lay intolerable burdens on the shoulders of others, which they themselves do not lift a finger to move.
We too, in the synod of bishops, are called to work for the Lord’s vineyard. Synod assemblies are not meant to discuss beautiful and clever ideas, or to see who is more intelligent… They are meant to better nuture and tend the Lord’s vineyard, to help realise his dream, his loving plan for his people. In this case the Lord is asking us to care for the family, which has been from the beginning an integral part of his loving plan for humanity.
We are all sinners and can also be tempted to “take over” the vineyard, because of that greed which is always present in us human beings. God’s dream always clashes with the hypocrisy of some of his servants. We can “thwart” God’s dream if we fail to let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us that wisdom which surpasses knowledge, and enables us to work generously with authentic freedom and humble creativity.
My Synod brothers, to do a good job of nurturing and tending the vineyard, our hearts and our minds must be kept in Jesus Christ by “the peace of God which passes all understanding” (Phil 4:7). In this way our thoughts and plans will correspond to God’s dream: to form a holy people who are his own and produce the fruits of the kingdom of God.



What are the "evils" Francis is referring to?

1. Bishops and priests being on pedestals instead of being down with the people as servants and fellow travellers.

2. Bishops abusing their power in the dioceses - and priests abusing their power in their parishes.




3. Bishops and priests abusing their powers over teachers, parents and children, in the schools over which they have control.

4. SINNER bishops and SINNER priests being judgemental and refusing the Sacraments to fellow sinners.

5. Bishops and priests abusing their power in the state and telling people how to vote.

6. Bishops and priests using the money belonging to the People of God to build themselves magnificent palaces and houses.




7. Bishops and priests alienating minority groups in society.




8. Bishops and priests being promiscuous and using men, women and children as sex objects.




9. Bishops and priests doing the minimum of work and spending their days and nights on golf courses and in fine restaurants and far too many weeks a year on expensive holidays.

10. Bishops and priests preaching one thing on a Sunday and living hypocritical lives from Monday to Saturday. 

11. Bishops and priests who have no faith and who never pray, continuing in their "jobs" because it is a cushy number. 


Hey You Guys!

You are always talking to us about the Roman Catholic Church being the one true church.

You are always talking to us about being "in communion" with Rome.

You are always talking to us about obeying the Pope - the successor of Saint Peter.

Now its YOUR turn.

Listen to Pope Francis - or do the decent thing!



+Pat Buckley
6.10.14.


21 comments:

  1. AMEN, Bishop Pat

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  2. We have a very brave Pope taking on the "stench of evil" that has invaded the episcopate and priesthood. Please pray for him Bishop Pat. He is hated by many here. His life is in danger ! Vatican Servant.

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  3. I have only experienced this "evil" at a local level and it is scary enough. I cannot imagine how intense it is at a universal level !

    I do pray for Francis. He is in a very vicious and aggressive hornet's nest. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can protect him.

    Pat

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  4. How sad it is when EVIL parades as GOOD.

    FR JOHN - USA

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  5. GOOD FOREVER ON THE SCAFFOLD,
    EVIL ALWAYS ON THE THRONE.
    BUT GOD STANDS WITHIN THE SHADOWS,
    KEEPING WATCH UPON HIS OWN.

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  6. Bishop Pat you are so right to draw attention to the stunning words of Francis at yesterdays Mass. I was present in the Basilica near to the Altar and I head the gasp when the pope spoke of "evil pastors". There were also many clerics murmuring afterwards to the effect that "he's really lost it now." There are many of us who are very worried for the safety of Francis. I don't think that they will be able to get away with what they did with poor Pope John Paul I. The world is a different place than it was in 1978, and remember poor Papa Luciani was isolated and alone in the Apostolic Palace with only Father Magee and Father Lorenzi for company. No, I really think that they will arrange for Francis to be assassinated, maybe even during the up and coming visit to Turkey? God forbid that this happen. But when power is really challenged then the men who have so much to lose really do get rattled and act. Look at the faces of Cardinal Muller and Cardinal Burke at yesterdays Mass. Like Thunder. Let's not forget what the great saint Pope Paul VI said about the "smoke of Satan" having entered into the heart of the Church. We must all pray for Pope Francis.

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  7. You are mad Buckley. How dare you comment on the Pope. Who are you? What are you? You are the evil he talks about.

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry. PopeFrancis is not MY "Line Manager".

      He is YOURS.

      He is talking about YOU

      Delete
  8. Buckley, you are some independent whatever. You are nothing more than a Pope watcher. Get a life.

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    Replies
    1. I am not a pope watcher. It actually takes a special pope to attract my attention.

      Francis is attracting my attention. He seems to be "on to" HIS guys - guys like you maybe???

      Delete
  9. Dear Pat,
    an interesting analysis of what is happening in the Vatican. Pope Francis is "right on the money" when he challenges "evil pastors".
    I've said openly for years, that the greatest challenge to the church comes from within it's own ranks.
    Wrestling corrupt power from certain hands is a monumental challenge for this Pope.
    Pharisees (21st century) do not give up power without one hell of a fight !

    Priest of Down & Connor.

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    Replies
    1. Good on you D&C Priest.

      I think, from inside, you know what Francis is talking about.

      How do you cope???

      Pat

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  10. Some months ago you were quite hostile here to Pope Francis. Now it's different. Is your change of heart due to the fact that he now falls into line with your world perspective? Or could it be that he is unconditionally a good man?

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    Replies
    1. You are quite correct. I was suspicious of Francis. I was wondering if Francis was a PR stunt by the "evil ones" after the disasters of John Paul 11 and Ratzinger.

      But I said I would keep an open mind.

      I am hopeful.

      Pat

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  11. I see the evil "Anonymous" ones have returned LOL! How perfectly horrid it must be to feel the breath of the Holy Spirit swirl 'round one's person. I do wish I might have heard that "gasp." What Francis said in his opening reminded me of the American poet Walt Whitman's "I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world." With my layman's experience in Southern California, I think of John XXIII's comment: "we are not on earth to guard a museum, but to cultivate a flowering garden of life." The only remedy I can offer is that all RCC clergy step aside and let the laity do the FIRST pruning. Otherwise, the garden will remain a place of stunted growth and weak hybrids because the religious caretakers do not know how or what to prune. And, as my grandmother used to say, you do your pruning when the saw is sharp.

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    Replies
    1. It now seems that a determined "Rat Catcher" is in charge of the Barque of Peter.

      What will the rats do?

      They will not jump ship for the deep seas and drown.

      So, they will surely turn on the Rat Catcher.

      The battle has started.

      Pat

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  12. Pope Francis speaks words of wonder but will they ever amount to anything. My mother used to say talk is cheap. Sean

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  13. Appoint yourself Pope Buckley. You can make your own pronouncements to yourself! Hypocrite!

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  14. I agree Sean, talk is cheap. Pope Francis also called on religious and diocesan priests to renew and relive their original vows and promises. I 'wonder' will Buckley ignore this call? Talk is cheap or indeed, blogs are cheap!

    Cheap blog indeed.

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    Replies
    1. I am not part of your organisation.

      I am not obliged by your rules and obligations.

      Pat

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  15. Dear Pat,
    The weak point with the Family Synod is that it appears that no real doctrinal change is under consideration, but only a different interpretation of existing doctrine. This is insufficient to bring about an authentic change in how people view certain issues, especially in the area of sexual teaching.
    The Church needs to be more courageous. I feel Pope Francis senses this, but the "Pharisees" in his court are firmly in the Status Quo camp, and therein lies his problem !

    Priest of Down & Connor,

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