The Italian Vaticanist and author Aldo Maria Valli has clarified an article he published Feb. 23 provocatively entitled “Rome Without A Pope: Jorge Mario Bergoglio is There, but Not Peter,” saying he believes Francis is Pope, but he doesn’t think he’s acting as a pope.
In a Feb. 24 blog post entitled “Peter’s Errors, However Serious, Do Not Give Us the Power to Revoke the Petrine Mandate,” Valli paraphrases a message sent to him about the article from Father Alberto Strumia, an Italian priest and mathematician, who said that whatever mistakes the Pope has made, they do not give the faithful the power to revoke the Petrine mandate.
“Only Christ has the power to intervene and knows how to do so,” Father Strumia wrote, adding that we must never forget that “the temptation to detach oneself from the Church in the name of scandal triggered by doctrinal errors and to justify someone who, in the name of these errors, triggers a schism, cannot be followed without objective damage being done by the one who gives in to it, harm that has repercussions on him and for those who follow him.”
“Therefore, stay in your place,” Father Strumia continued, “because the fate of your soul depends on it.”
Valli said he was sincerely grateful for Father Strumia’s care for the fate of his soul (a priestly concern, he said, not to be taken for granted nowadays), and added:
“I would just like to make one clarification. Perhaps because of the title I gave it, my intervention was taken by many as a reflection dedicated to the question of whether or not Bergoglio is pope, and my words were considered to have a sedevacantist flavour. In reality, the question that I wanted to put at the centre of the article (with all my limitations, but with the passion that comes with baptism) concerns another issue, namely what kind of God is proposed to us by Bergoglio? In my very humble opinion, he proposes to us a diminished God, a watered-down God, a God who is not a father but a companion. A God who does not forgive, but exonerates, a God who does not want to save man, but acquits him, a God who does not point to divine law but seeks extenuating circumstances. Whereas God, the God of the Bible, is patient, but not lax; he is loving, but not permissive; he is caring, but not accommodating. In a word, he is a merciful father in the fullest and most authentic sense of the term, because the first and highest form of mercy is not to justify everything, but to show the way to Truth and holiness.”
He continued:
“I then wrote that this insidious distortion carried out by Bergoglio was culturally rooted in the crisis of the father figure and therefore has its roots in 1968. This is the point. As for the rest, I have no competence to say whether Bergoglio is or is not pope. I believe he is, but that he does not act like it. Whether not doing so also implies not being so is a question I leave to the specialists. I repeat: What grieves me is to see that the pope, the supreme pastor, distorts God and bends him to the logic of relativism so prevalent in the world. This is confirmed by the fact that the world applauds Bergoglio. And all this just when, entangled as we are in feel-good treacle and relativistic quicksand, we would need a firm guide, able to show us the Truth.
The title of my article (‘Rome without a pope’) is probably misleading. My fault. Perhaps it would have been better entitled: ‘A companion God we do not need. We need God the Father.’ Or ‘To forgive is one thing, to exonerate another.’ Or ‘Real mercy is to show the way to the Truth, not to exonerate.’ In formulating the headline, I succumbed to sensationalism, a grave sin for a journalist.”
Another possible title: “A Pope Who Rewires Nicene Creed: ‘Father Almighty’ or ‘Really Cool Dude’ “?
Bergoglio is most definitely the supreme Pontiff. Indeed, he has shown by his actions that he is in fact the first Pope Judas. And being constrained by the Holy Spirit, he will not call himself the Vicar of Christ.
agree 100%
If Pope Francis was not validly elected then he would not be the Pope. Aldo Valli’s
article titled “Rome without a Pope” could very well have been an appropriate title.
I am aware that there are differing opinions on the validity of the election of Francis and there is more than one reason given as to why his election may have been invalid.
Is there or has there been an inquiry investigating that election? and if not why not? If there has been or is an inquiry then the results of such should be made public or at least told to the Catholic world to stop scandal or justify scandal if it can bejustified
I believe that the title of the article was not sensational and that history might prove it to be accurate.
I have confessed in the confessional l that I do not like the confusion this Pope sows throughout the world.
My Priest told me it is not a sin but I had to pray for him for 7 days. I did so but I still find he is too political and elevates the deviants! Not my way of “not being part of this world”.
The bottom line is : how can a pope who is not in line with Catholic dogma be removed?
Jorge Bergoglio by his own admission does not wish to be called the Vicar of Christ. If this is so, then who is he?
Can he claim to occupy the Chair of Peter ?
Does he have the authority to change the structure of the Church by bringing in women?
His comment : “Who am I to judge?” does not sound like the leader of the Catholic Church.
Three questions for Fr. Strumia
1) How would he interpret Lumen Gentium paragraph 37 which demands lay people speak up if they see problems in the church?
2) Does he think that lay people are not allowed to challenge Catholic leaders who act illegally, cause confusion or spread error, even if that leader is the pope?
3) Given the confusion of Amoris Latitia (note: the dubia), the secular ideology of Laudato Si (note:input of Jeffrey Saks), the uncorrected Pachamama scandal (note: the first commandment), the promotion of LGBT lifestyles (“who am i to judge?”), the many head-scratching statements from Scalfari interviews (Note: “Jesus didn’t know he was God”), the lack of transparency of the Vatican/China deal (note: Cardinal Zen), the contempt for large families (Note: “breeding like rabbits”), whose soul does Fr. Strumia really think is in danger?
“A pope who is a manifest heretic automatically (per se) ceases to be pope and head, just as he ceases automatically to be a Christian and a member of the Church. Wherefore, he can be judged and punished by the Church” (St Robert Bellarmine).