Aloha kākou. Some people say change is frightening. Some leaders might describe change as suicidal. Others will say change is inevitable. Others say embracing change is natural and should be accepted. An evolution to placate the changing societal beliefs. Beliefs that are often transitory as fads that come and go. Like fashion, music, and arts that rise and fall to entertain the masses temporally, if not to fool them into compliancy. What does common sense tell us about the healthiness of change?
When the people are told that 2,000 years of religious tradition is not keeping up with changing whims of society, then what is tradition anymore? When someone reads the bible, the largest collection of written history books, written and interpreted into many languages, what do they learn? The life Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived upon this world and gave his life to bring salvation to mankind. The biblical stories and their meanings have never changed nor reinterpreted to meet the needs of today’s dialectic mania. The bible holds the word of God as absolute. Truth must have consistency in order to remain authentic.
When someone is born into Roman Catholic Church and follows through with the Christian rituals; Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation, to be what is known as a cradle-to-grave Catholic. Anyone who has been educated by the church knows about the gospels. They know the teachings of Jesus Christ, and have performed the ritual elements to nourish, strengthen and give expression to their faith in God.
That’s not to say that the church is inflexible to changes in society. The youth of today are instructed by educational standards that have changed moral values with political winds. The church has always been there to refocus Christian beliefs back into the core teaching of God Almighty. Sometimes called the ten simple rules to receive eternal life are the Ten Commandments. Follow those rules and a room in God’s house will be granted. That’s why the bible is there to provide the instructions to eternal life in heaven.
Of course, reading the Bible is not like reading stereo instructions. But it does provide all the knowledge to understand what purpose God has for us. Where we came from and why we are here. Why were we granted the fruit of knowledge above all other creatures God created upon this planet, this world, in this time? We can choose to either accept those beliefs or not. People are not infallible, and neither is the Pope.
In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” Pope Francis described his conservative critics within the U.S. Roman Catholic Church as having a “suicidal attitude.” He defined a conservative as someone who clings to the past and refuses to look beyond it. The Pope emphasized the difference between valuing tradition and being trapped in a rigid, dogmatic mindset, NDTV has reported.
Pope Francis distain for Conservative Americans is well documented. The extreme socialist illiberal Pope has welcomed America’s extremist Catholic political leaders. Nazi Piglosi and Pedo-Joe Biden both proclaim to be devout Catholics. Yet, they support abortion at any time during and after pregnancy, euthanasia, and LGBTQ lifestyles. All beliefs that are contrary to traditional Catholic teachings and the Bible. Last year the Pope dismissed a conservative U.S. bishop who was a withering critic of his papacy and said the conservative wing in the U.S. church was “reactionary.” He also stripped a conservative American cardinal of some Vatican privileges. A priest was defrocked for disagreeing with the Pope. The Pope is purging conservatives from the church.
It makes this Catholic wondering what is going on within the church and with this Pope. Over the years, the church has seen declining attendance. Does this decline in attendance correlate with the church moving more to the left? Changes in traditional church teachings or changes in church influences. Church attendance seems to be more related to changes in illiberal lifestyle. Comfort and style over faith and tradition. The Pope seems to have abandoned the tenants of the church and begun a reformation of a new Church of Gaia. The First Commandment says, thou shall not have other gods before me.
The Pope wrote a message on this year’s made up “Earth Day” holiday, “Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguarding peace. We are called to become artisans and caretakers of our common home, the Earth which is ‘falling into ruin.‘” Pope Francis went on to say that climate crisis has “gotten to the point of no return” and world leaders have an even greater responsibility to act before the planet is consumed by warmth. Or consumed with idiocy.
Meanwhile, in African countries, thousands of Catholics are murdered by Muslim IslamoNazis. Christians are persecuted in China, Ukraine, and in the Holy Land. The Pope has little to say about those atrocities. In Africa’s most populous country Nigeria, Muslim IslamoNazis assailants set ablaze a Nigerian Catholic Priest burning him to death. Women and Children are kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam or face death. Many women and children are turned into slaves. These atrocities have been going on for years, but the Pope has little to say about the persecution of Catholics around the world. Instead, the Pope claims that climate crisis is an existential threat to the planet. The Third Rock from the Sun where Christ’s church is built upon is being threatened by some plastic bags and aluminum cans.
The liberal left Catholic Cardinals that voted to elevate Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to Pope Francis are also far-left idiots in the church. If there were any reason why the church cannot put butts in the pews, then this is the reason why. Leftism is driving conservatives from the church. Catholicism has always been conservative leaning. Conservatives hold onto traditions. Once traditions are no longer important then the rock turns to sand. The foundation of the church fails.
When Jesus Christ was on this earth, he lived a humble and austere life. The Pope lives a life of luxury and opulence. Protected by guards and living in a walled compound. So much so, it’s hard to imagine the sincerity of the man who is the leader of the Catholic church. He performs rituals like the washing of feet, but that’s mostly symbolic. There is real suffering in the world that the Pope seems to be oblivious. The Pope says illegal immigration is good and borders are evil. That has encouraged human trafficking and exploitation of people whose expectations are being destroyed by the false promise of a better life.
Conservative political commentator, Michael Knowles analysis of the Pope’s “60 Minutes” offers a different perspective from my views. I too watched the entire 60 Minutes interview, and I came away with a different opinion. It’s always good to hear a different perspective and I’ll admit there’s parts of the interview that I did miss and didn’t take into consideration.
A couple of things I need to be critical about. Being the leader of the Catholic church, I would expect the Pope to be critical about those Catholic charities that are doing more harm than God’s good work. The Catholic charities that are helping illegal immigrants seeking a new life in America. Only to find a promise that is broken once reality sets in. A nightmare of human trafficking and dangers for those struggling to reach the United States. The Pope claims open borders are good, but he’s not here to see the suffering. The Pope’s dismissal of conservatives in the priesthood and tradition still troubles me. The Pope’s silence over the persecution of Catholics around the world also troubles me.
What have I learned? As a Catholic conservative I’m feeling somewhat excluded from the church which I was raised in. I question whether I’m still welcomed in this version of Pope’s church. I cannot pretend to know everything about what the Pope’s message means. I can only interpret what I heard from the Pope in the 60 Minutes interview. It makes me question the Pope’s leadership in the Church. Am I suicidal conservative as the Pope claims, or is the socialist leftism Pope suicidal to the church? I cannot fully understand what is in this Pope’s message. But it has me wondering — Has the rock on which the church was built upon turned to sand?
— MAGA —
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E Māua Ola i Moku o Keawe 