“The Church doesn’t belong to Bergoglio but to Christ.”

“The Church doesn’t belong to Bergoglio but to Christ.” This assertion was made by the well-known Catholic journalist, Vittorio Messori, fine intellectual, author of a historic, John Paul II interview, at the time when interviewing a pope was not the done thing by newspapers.

“The Church doesn’t belong to Bergoglio but to Christ. Certainly, I’m worried. I have seen many people worried, even desperately. As a believer, nonetheless, I keep in mind that  the Church is not a business, a multinational or a state. In a word, it cannot fail. Certainly, there are plenty of reasons for alarm. I’m thinking, for instance, of the upcoming Synod on the Amazon and its related equivocations; I don’t know what they want to attain – probably the married priesthood.   So, I’m worried, but not desperate because the Church does not belong to Bergoglio or the bishops, but to Christ alone and He governs it with wisdom. The forces of evil will not prevail,”

In your opinion, is there a kind of underlying confusion?

*

“Yes, there is, and it is saddening, bewildering, But I think sooner or later the Father will intervene. God surpasses our limited vision of things”.

*

Do you believe that there is a type of conformism, even informational, regarding Pope Francis?

*

“The conformism you are referring to exists. It is quite palpable in the Church. It is staggering that only two or three, almost ninety-year-old cardinals are speaking up and protesting. Many bishops and cardinals I talk to in private, throw up their hands in despair and dissent, but they are afraid, silent – they keep quiet. For 2000 years, touching the Pope has [always] been discouraged, but such a tendency is accentuated today and one can clearly experience it firsthand. 

It is said that this is the Church of mercy, but is it really so? Those in command are intolerant of any criticism.

*

I wrote a polite article for the Corriere della Sera, in which I posed some questions and reflections and I was covered with insults, especially from certain Catholics in the media. A committee to petition my removal from the Corriere sprung up. This committee includes – to use the fashionable expression –  the “giglio magico”* of the Pope. Well then, how can it be affirmed coherently that this is the Church of mercy, of open and sincere dialogue, of parrhesia. As I said before, I’m worried, but not desperate.   Christ will not abandon His Church.”

*

[Source: http://www.lafedequotidiana.it/vittorio-messori-la-chiesa-non-e-di-bergoglio/ ]

*

According to Messori a committee connected to Francis’ “magic circle” was set up in order to ask the Corriere della Sera to remove him as a collaborator. [See also: Francis “Magic Circle’” Tried Even to Silence Vittorio Messori –  Gloria.tv ]

*

He said a kind of “conformism” about Pope Francis exists, which is “palpable” in the Church. “It’s disconcerting that only two or three almost 90-year-old cardinals speak and protest,” he observed, adding that he knows of “many bishops and also cardinals whom I have dialogued with in private who are pulling their hair out in disagreement.” [Read more of Edward Pentin’s article at the National Catholic Register]