The papacy is not a plaything that can be passed between 'liberal' and 'conservative' factions every time there is an election. Only men who fulfill the criteria that Our Lord established can ever occupy it. The pope must be Catholic. The pope is always Catholic.
It is evident that by these precepts we are bidden to seek for inner gladness, lest, by running after that reward which is without, we should become conformed to the fashion of this world, and should so lose the promise of that blessing which is all the truer and more stable that it is inward, that blessing wherein God hath chosen us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. In this chapter we will principally consider the fact that vain-glory findeth a ground for its exercise in struggling poverty as much as in worldly distinction and display; and this development is the most dangerous, because it entices under pretence of being the serving of God.
He that is characterised by unbridled indulgence in luxury or in dress, or any other display, is by these very things easily shown to be a follower of worldly vanities, and deceiveth no one by putting on an hypocritical mask of godliness. But those professors of Christianity, who turn all eyes on themselves by an eccentric show of grovelling and dirtiness, not suffered by necessity, but by their own choice, of them we must judge by their other works whether their conduct really proceedeth from the desire of mortification by giving up unnecessary comfort, or is only the mean of some ambition - the Lord biddeth us beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, but by their fruits, saith He, ye shall know them.
The test is when, by diverse trials, such persons lose those things which under the cover of seeming unworldliness they have either gained or sought to gain. Then must it needs appear whether they be wolves in sheep's clothing, or indeed sheep in their own. But that hypocrites do the contrary maketh it no duty of a Christian to shine before the eyes of men with a display of needless luxury the sheep need not to lay aside their own clothing because wolves sometimes falsely assume it.
(LifeSiteNews) — The White House will reportedly host an Ash Wednesday Mass this morning.
“The White House is observing the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday Mass this morning in the Indian Treaty Room, per an email to staff viewed by [The Daily Wire],” Mary Margaret Olohan, a White House correspondent, wrote on X.
More: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/trump-white-house-to-host-ash-wednesday-mass/
A local source in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has confirmed that jihadists left the dead bodies of 70 Africans in a church – many of whom had been beheaded.
Speaking to catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need,the source, who asked to remain anonymous because of fear of reprisals, corroborated reports that at least 70 trussed up corpses were discovered in North Kivu Province last week.
The source said: “On 15th February, 70 bodies were discovered inside a Protestant church.
“Many of them had been bound and some beheaded. Among the victims were women, children and the elderly.”
According to the source, last weekend terrorists from Islamist group Allied Democratic Forces seized around 100 people in Maiba village in North Kivu’s Lubero region.
The source said: “It is likely that these victims were unable to resist or endure the forced march, because when the rebels take hostages, they make them travel with them, either as reinforcements for their group or as forced labour for the war effort.
“When there is loot, they need people to carry it. If you get tired on the way, you’re done. I believe that is what happened to these 70 people.”
The dead bodies were discovered in the Evangelical church in Kasanga just “just a few kilometres away from Maiba”.
Note from LifeSiteNews: This article was endorsed by Bishop Joseph Strickland who wrote on X, “I emphatically urge all Catholics to prayerfully review this article as I believe it to be very important and extremely pertinent at this time in the Church. LifeSiteNews has done an excellent job in preparing this introduction to an outline of the Cardinals and their positions, and this introduction will be invaluable as far as a guide in assessing that information and in preparing the faithful for the next conclave. I would state also that, not only is this article useful in understanding what is to come, but it also will give much needed clarification regarding many things that have already occurred.”
This Church has had an unbroken line of succession from Peter himself; these legitimate pontiffs are the heirs and defenders of the same teaching, rank, office and power. And the Church is where Peter is, and Peter speaks in the Roman Pontiff, living at all times in his successors and making judgment, providing the truth of the faith to those who seek it. The divine words therefore mean what this Roman See of the most blessed Peter holds and has held.
For this mother and teacher of all the churches has always preserved entire and unharmed the faith entrusted to it by Christ the Lord.
– Pope Pius IX, Qui Pluribus, No. 10 -11
(LifeSiteNews) — LifeSiteNews recently reported that the health of Francis is feared to be worse than previously believed. This raises the possibility of a conclave in the near future. In any case, the day will come when the current college of cardinals will gather with the intention of electing a new pope.
There are many, coming from a variety of perspectives, who would deny or doubt that the present college has the capacity to carry out such an election. In this article, I wish to set aside those questions – as important as they are – and focus on the most important question of all – who is actually capable of being elected to the papacy. (For more detailed consideration of who can be legitimate electors see this article).
As a conclave approaches, there will be intense debate over the qualities the next pope should possess. Those who call themselves Catholic will be profoundly divided; opposing factions will each seek a pope after their own heart. Some will seek a “liberal” pope who will continue the radical revolution advanced by Francis, while others will long for a “conservative” pope who will turn the clock back to 2013, or some other period in the past. Some groups will focus on a candidate’s geopolitical vision, while others will emphasize his political views, moral conduct, liturgical preferences, and other defining qualities.
Surprisingly, few will acknowledge that the papacy is not in fact a political office – like a presidency or the head of an international NGO – but a sacred institution established by Our Lord Jesus Christ during His time on earth to fulfill specific purposes according to His divine will. The papacy is not a plaything that can be passed between “liberal” and “conservative” factions every time there is an election. Only men who fulfill the criteria that Our Lord established can ever occupy it. The pope must be Catholic. The pope is always Catholic.
To approach the election of a pope as we approach the election to a political office, or view it as a contest between “liberals” and “conservatives,” fundamentally misunderstands the true nature of the office.
Indeed, today we should fear the election of a “conservative” as much as that of a “liberal” – and perhaps even more so if the “conservative” is not a true Catholic, one who fully professes the fullness of the Catholic faith. For a man is a heretic if “he disbelieve even one article out of those which are proposed by the Church as dogmas of Faith.” [1]
More: https://www.lifesitenews.com/analysis/catholics-must-refuse-to-accept-a-public-heretic-as-pope-heres-why/