Are things getting better or worse in the Church?

[DrBombay]

The pope is not now, nor has he ever been, a monarch with absolute power who can impose his will by fiat.

I've asked this question before and have not yet received an answer.  What if the pope decided to remove the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles and the Cardinal refused to vacate his see?  What would the pope do...send in the Swiss Guard to forcibly remove him?  Ha. 

Actually the Swiss Guard would go though if he told them to.  He would obviously be replaced, he would be an apostate occupying stolen property and the lawsuits would begin.  Catholics would be forced to choose between him and the Pope.  Every bishop in the world would be applying pressure.  Every possible avenue of financial pressure would be exerted to put the Cardinal back in line.  Catholics would be pouring into Los Angeles to make the Cardinal's life miserable.  The Cardinal lives for his mission of destruction inside the Church.  He will fall on his sword rather than be excommunicated.  He can't do any real damage excommunicated. 

Really?  Every bishop in the world applying pressure?  Catholics pouring into LA to defend the papacy against the Cardinal?  Really?  You think that's what would happen?

Hmmm....then I guess the crisis isn't quite as bad as you think it is, now is it? 

No, it is not.  Thank you, and good night.  :tiphat:

[Baskerville]

The pope is not now, nor has he ever been, a monarch with absolute power who can impose his will by fiat.

I've asked this question before and have not yet received an answer.  What if the pope decided to remove the Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles and the Cardinal refused to vacate his see?  What would the pope do...send in the Swiss Guard to forcibly remove him?  Ha. 

Actually the Swiss Guard would go though if he told them to.  He would obviously be replaced, he would be an apostate occupying stolen property and the lawsuits would begin.  Catholics would be forced to choose between him and the Pope.  Every bishop in the world would be applying pressure.  Every possible avenue of financial pressure would be exerted to put the Cardinal back in line.  Catholics would be pouring into Los Angeles to make the Cardinal's life miserable.  The Cardinal lives for his mission of destruction inside the Church.  He will fall on his sword rather than be excommunicated.  He can't do any real damage excommunicated. 

Really?  Every bishop in the world applying pressure?  Catholics pouring into LA to defend the papacy against the Cardinal?  Really?  You think that's what would happen?

Hmmm....then I guess the crisis isn't quite as bad as you think it is, now is it? 

No, it is not.  Thank you, and good night.  :tiphat:

Not now no. Back in the day yes. I have a feeling the rest of the worlds Bishops would be silent and the laity would support the Cardinal. Heck when a Priest gets nabbed for rapping little boys the laity side with him.

[Bonifacius]

None of us are God, so none of us could possibly answer really whether things are better or worse right now.  I am relatively certain that there are more Catholics in this country right now -- and perhaps even a higher percentage of Catholics among all those who claim the name -- who understand how corrupt the American culture is on account of Protestantism, Freemasonry, and the Enlightenment.  I don't mean people who are aware of anti-Catholicism, I mean people who know that the First Amendment itself is *at best* a stop-gap, at worst a conscious act of indifferentism.  I bet a lot more concerned Catholics know and believe that now than did in the 1950s.  Now people know that it is not enough just to be "pro-God" and "anti-Communist" but to seek a Constitution that acknowledges the Church.  Who *anywhere* (with the exception of Fr. Feeney and St. Benedict Center) in the 1950s went around saying that defeating Communism was pointless if a Protestant-secularistic-ecumenical indifferentism prevailed?

[ggreg]

Also right now I am unable to attend my SSPX Church so I dont have the TLM to relieve my fear. I dunno. Maybe I am just an ekklesial  hypochondriac. :)

Could be worse.  You could be like me!

-No Catholic friends anywhere near my age living within 100 miles
-working 16-hour shifts on the weekends, thus unable to fulfill a steady Sunday obligaion, and forced to go to Mass on a weekday
-most parishes in the city are NO, save one which holds Mass on Sundays
-the parishes you can go to are usually run by priests who are seemingly indifferent to tradition and the conditions of souls
-no one in your family is Catholic, and they support you in no way whatsoever

Try holding your faith in this environment!


Then again, I'm sure some folks will just call good ol' Laramie a cry baby.  Back to work I go.

You appear to be single and don't have much to lose by moving.  Why don't you consider hauling yourself to somewhere else in the world, changing location, jobs etc?

[ggreg]

The pope is not now, nor has he ever been, a monarch with absolute power who can impose his will by fiat.

The Pope being a man obviously does not have absolute power by nature, but being the Vicar of Christ he could conjure 12 thousand legions of Angels. also the Office of the Vicar of Christ considered an absolute Monarchy by the Church herself. It is much more also though.
[/quote]

He could start by simply doing what Our Lady required of him at Fatima, rather than lying to the whole world about the serious consequences of avoiding it and pretending it has been done already.

Given his unwillingness to do what Our Lady asked for, I cannot see God co-operating with him very much.  Heaven has given a clear instruction for these times and for 50 years it has been ignored and buried.  It might just be as simple as obeying God and His mother and then all the piece will fall into place.  Until then we suffer.

[Baskerville]

[quote='GodFirst' pid='491869' dateline='1261891765']


He could start by simply doing what Our Lady required of him at Fatima, rather than lying to the whole world about the serious consequences of avoiding it and pretending it has been done already.

Given his unwillingness to do what Our Lady asked for, I cannot see God co-operating with him very much.  Heaven has given a clear instruction for these times and for 50 years it has been ignored and buried.  It might just be as simple as obeying God and His mother and then all the piece will fall into place.  Until then we suffer.

:tiphat:

Yep

[Vetus Ordo]

DrBombay,

You need help.

[DrBombay]

DrBombay,

You need help.

You can say that again.

[Vetus Ordo]

DrBombay,

You need help.

You can say that again.

DrBombay,

You need help.

[DrBombay]

DrBombay,

You need help.

You can say that again.

DrBombay,

You need help.

:tiphat: