Pope’s Retreat Preacher Speaks on Antichrist as a “pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist”
VATICAN CITY, March 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Papal watchers are wondering what message Pope Benedict XVI was giving when he selected retired Bologna archbishop Cardinal Giacomo Biffi to preach the annual Lenten retreat to the Pope and the top members of the Vatican…
This year’s selection…created a stir since Cardinal Biffi, while he is known for orthodox faith and frank words, is most well known, at least in the secular media, for his preaching on the Antichrist. In fact, the Times of London reported in 2004 that the Cardinal described the Antichrist as “walking among us”.
The Lenten retreat did not disappoint. Cardinal Biffi picked up on his oft repeated theme of the Antichrist, basing his remarks on the works of Vladimir Soloviev, a Russian religious philosopher who has received praise from Pope Benedict prior to his elevation to the pontificate.
Quoting Soloviev, the Cardinal said “the Antichrist presents himself as pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist.”
“He will convoke an ecumenical council and will seek the consensus of all the Christian confessions, granting something to each one. The masses will follow him, with the exception of small groups of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants,” he said according to a Zenit translation of a Vatican Radio summary here: http://www.radiovaticana.org/it1/Articolo.asp?c=120479 (Feb. 20, 2017 – Translation is not longer available on Zenit and the only Zenit report on the 2007 retreat mentions only the first day’s talk and not the later one on the Antichrist)
In his “Tale of the Antichrist” Solovyov foresees that a small group of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants will resist and will say to the Antichrist: “You give us everything, except what interests us, Jesus Christ”. For Cardinal Biffi, this narrative is a warning: “Today, in fact, we run the risk of having a Christianity which puts aside Jesus with his cross and resurrection.”
The 78-year-old cardinal added that if Christians “limited themselves to speaking of shared values they would be more accepted on television programs and in social groups. But in this way, they will have renounced Jesus, the overwhelming reality of the resurrection.”
The cardinal said he believes that this is “the danger that Christians face in our days … the Son of God cannot be reduced to a series of good projects sanctioned by the prevailing worldly mentality.”
The preacher of the Spiritual Exercises added that “there are relative values, such as solidarity, love of peace and respect for nature. If these become absolute, uprooting or even opposing the proclamation of the event of salvation, then these values become an instigation to idolatry and obstacles on the way of salvation.”
Cardinal Biffi affirmed that “if Christianity—on opening itself to the world and dialoguing with all—dilutes the salvific event, it closes itself to a personal relationship with Jesus and places itself on the side of the Antichrist.”
Cardinal Biffi’s reflections, in fact, are very similar to remarks Pope Benedict made last Fall in a meeting with Swiss Bishops. While Pope Benedict did not speak of the Antichrist, he spoke of a new false or “substitute” religion, calling it also a “successor” of religion.
“Modern society is not simply without morality, but it has, so to speak, ‘discovered’ and professes a part of morality”, the Pope told the Swiss bishops. “These are the great themes of peace, non-violence, justice for all, concern for the poor, and respect for creation.”
However, the Pope warned that these “great moral themes” have “become an ethical complex that, precisely as a political force, has great power and constitutes for many the substitute for religion, or its successor.”
“It is only if human life is respected from conception to death that the ethics of peace is also possible and credible,” concluded the Pope. “It is only then that non-violence can express itself in every direction; only then that we truly welcome creation, and only then that we can arrive at true justice.”
And then, twelve years later, this happened:
Pope Francis proposes adding ‘ecological sin’ against ‘common home’ to catechism
Read on at Non Veni Pacem
and more at Catholicism.org
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
“Today, in fact, we run the risk of having a Christianity which puts aside Jesus with his cross and resurrection.”
Yup! Yesterday we were already running “the risk”, but today that sinister “Ecologist”, who puts aside “Jesus with his cross and resurrection” in order to preach his own earthly interests is here among us!! Thanks to the growing infiltration of Masonic and Communist ideology into the Church since the aftermath of the Russian Revolution HE HAS ARRIVED.
Bishop Schneider’s repeated warning about this is the same: Evil (under the guises mentioned by Solovyov in his day describing the Antichrist) has entered the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and is now at the very top!
LikeLike
Yes this is the TRUTH! I was involved closely with animal rights activists or people that rant incessantly about the harm being done to animals and the environment but these same people I became aware over time showed zero interest in Jesus Christ or the unborn human child being protected as fervently if at all. Many of these people were what I consider pseudo Christians or fakers as they really didn’t practice devout faith in Jesus Christ and still worse many others were practicing pagan lifestyles or cult type practices and are members of the LGBTQ communities and militant left-wing organizations, so I dropped all involvement because I woke up to the fact that unless I stand for what Jesus did on the cross and what He instructed me to do as a Christian then I’m against Him; therefore I must pick up my own cross and follow Him doing the Father’s will who is in heaven. I took a stand; even though I love wildlife and household pets I can’t join groups that are hell-bent on serving the interests of a corrupted worldly organization which to them is a noble, heroic and romantic cause, yet they deny the actual Savior or they only give fake lip service to Him! I could see how I would be sucked into the vortex that is rampant around the planet playing this ecological theme and listening to voices of actual professed atheists like the director of PETA. This is all a huge distraction as I see it now, to pull the faithful away from our Lord Jesus Christ. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle which is like no other in any previous time in recorded history.
LikeLike
I totally agree with you, Lawrence. I challenged PETA about their views concerning unborn humans, and their official stance is that they care only for the protection of animals, while taking no official position on the protection of humans.
LikeLike
We must all pray for a real Catholic to become pope – someone like Cardinal Sarah or Bishop Athanasius Schneider. But we must remember that this is God’s Church, and He is looking after it, just not in the manner we would. It is a time of purification- without the sexual assault scandals, we would not have been fully aware of the evils of the homosexual networks within the Church. Without Pope Francis using totalitarian methods to impose his ideology, we might have subscribed to the ‘almost Catholicism’ that had prevailed from before V II. Perhaps it has to play out so that the consequences of not following the faith become apparent and so that the beauty of the true faith is highlighted- to stand in contrast to the facsimile presented by Pope Francis and those on his team, (the criminals, gay clergy, and money embezzlers). Of course, as the contrast becomes more clear, there may be suppression- they will see more people recognising the truth and moving to the true faith and they will try to crush it. We must defend the Latin Mass priests and communities because Francis will hate them. Luckily, Benedict XVI gave a leave-pass when he observed the validity of the Latin Mass by its Apostolic origins. But we must be prepared to step out of our comfort zones and disregard our desire to be liked. This will be a time where we may have to use the gifts we have been given to defend the true faith and other people. The Catholic clergy and faithful fought the Nazi juggernaut and showed such heroism and courage – this is a time when we must stand against the prevailing ideology and again stand for the truth of Christ and resist the convenient versions.
LikeLike
Great comment, Crow!
Darkness could not overcome the Light of the World when He walked among us and His Mystical Body will also triumph over the powers of evil.
LikeLike