Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of NYS

Folks,

Recently the Bishops of the State of New York (whose Governor is that pro-abortionist, pro-sodomy faux Catholic Andy Cuomo) visited Pope Benedict XVI ad limina Apostolorum. Our Holy Father's address to these Bishops (especially Bishop Hubbard of the Diocese of Albany who officiated at Andy Cuomo's inaugural Mass and who authorized the distribution of heroin needles to addicts throughout the city of Albany using the donations of the faithful) is most noteworthy:

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON THEIR "AD LIMINA" VISIT

A few excerpts bear discussion:

(1) The Pope directly confronts the scandal and sin of sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy.

"I wished to acknowledge personally the suffering inflicted on the victims and the honest efforts made both to ensure the safety of our children and to deal appropriately and transparently with allegations as they arise."

Every Bishop sitting before and listening to the Pope should feel not just embarrassed, but ashamed to have allowed homosexual pedophile clerics to wreak such havoc and mayhem. It doesn't matter that the incidence of homosexual perversion in public schools or among sports coaches in Pennsylvania and Syracuse, NY exceeds on a percentage basis anything committed within the Church. What does matter is that Satan's infiltration ad infestation has for too long not been exorcised from the Church in America.

(2) The Pope directly confronts the need for evangelization.

"A second, equally important, purpose of my Pastoral Visit was to summon the Church in America to recognize, in the light of a dramatically changing social and religious landscape, the urgency and demands of a new evangelization."

Baptists, Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and others put us to shame when it comes to evangelizing. Catholics are downright either afraid or ashamed to speak of their faith in public, or perhaps they simply don't know the faith. If that is the case, then the Bishops have no one else to blame for that than themselves and their ingratiation with the liberal left and the false gospel of social justice, the common good and peace at any price at the expense of preaching the authentic Gospel of conversion and repentance from the pulpit.

(3) The Pope voices concern for the continuation of democracy.

"I consider it significant, however, that there is also an increased sense of concern on the part of many men and women, whatever their religious or political views, for the future of our democratic societies. They see a troubling breakdown in the intellectual, cultural and moral foundations of social life, and a growing sense of dislocation and insecurity, especially among the young, in the face of wide-ranging societal changes."

I disagree with our Holy Father with respect to the use of the word "democracy." This is THE cause of the failure of modern civilization: two wolves and one sheep voting on what's for dinner, in this case the corpses of 60 million aborted babies in these United States since Roe v Wade was decided on by SCOTUS in 1973. But we should give Pope Benedict XVI the benefit of the doubt: he likely means "our free societies" vice "our democratic societies" for a democracy (dictatorship by a simple majority) is by definition enslaving. In this sense, he is 100% correct. The intellectual, cultural and moral foundations of social life are breaking down. The reason is simple: the destruction of the pillar of the Church. Indeed, society is held up by three pillars: a government limited by that contract with the people called a Constitution, a free market where too big to fail is simply too big and must fail, and a Church that provides the moral guidance for the behavior of both government and the free market. When any one pillar cracks and crumbles, that society is doomed. And when the pillar to fail is the moral pillar, then great is that society's demise. As the Pope characterizes it, there is a growing sense of dislocation and insecurity, especially among the young, in the face of wide-ranging societal changes.

(4) The solution that the Pope points to is, as always, that inward renewal which Christ Himself urged upon all of us.

"As with all spiritual crises, whether of individuals or communities, we know that the ultimate answer can only be born of a searching, critical and ongoing self-assessment and conversion in the light of Christ’s truth. Only through such interior renewal will we be able to discern and meet the spiritual needs of our age with the ageless truth of the Gospel."

The answer? Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This reminds me of the story of the Centurion's sick servant in Matthew 8:5-11 in yesterday's Scripture readings. Verses 12 and 13 were sadly omitted, but I have reproduced them below because we must be reminded that the alternative to what the Pope has admonished on us is to "...be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, "Go," and he goes;
and to another, "Come here," and he comes;
and to my slave, "Do this," and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."
but the children of the kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed,
let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.