“Last Dec. 17, at a shrine near Buenos Aires, where the unnamed [Pope Francis] was archbishop, lightning struck the statue of St. Peter. And what did it go on to incinerate? The halo and the keys. The halo because Peter is no longer holy, because there is a Jesuit Freemason linked to world powers, an anti-pope usurper. And the keys because the good Benedict kept those.”
A priest who said such things of Pius XII or John Paul II or Paul VI or any pre-Francis pope would have faced howls of outrage from his flock.
Battered by a decade of vicious cruelty, scandal and error, Father Guidetti's flock responded quite differently. The faithful "greatly applauded" this message from their pastor. That this occurred in Italy- the country where devotion to the Pope has historically been strongest- is nothing short of incredible.
However, the scene could have been played out almost anywhere in the world. Left and right, bishops and laypeople alike are rejecting Pope Francis's attempts to change Church teaching and scandalize faithful Catholics. Deep-seated antipathy towards Pope Francis has gone global. Only a few loyalists can stomach his attempts to protect serial abusers like Rupnik and Zanchetta and McCarrick, his cruelty towards Cardinal Burke and traditional Catholics, his ambiguous and unclear doctrinal statements. The outrage is not limited to a few American traditionalists, as his loyalists like to think- it is prevalent in France, Italy, Africa, South America, Poland- everywhere there are still faithful Catholics. Francis has so thoroughly debased the office that he holds that, in a perverse way, he unifies the global Church.
Unlike Father Rupnik, the serial rapist, Father Guidetti was swiftly excommunicated. And unlike Father Rupnik, it is unlikely that Pope Francis will intervene on his behalf. The saddest part of all is not the story of Father Guidetti himself- it is the millions of Catholics across the globe who are leaving the Church because of the scandals that Francis has caused by his tremendous cruelty.
In light of the past decade, it is more imperative than ever for all of us to pray and fast, and maintain strong parish communities in this time of confusion and faithlessness.
