Openly Questioning the Pope's Authority and Legitimacy is Being Called Q-Catholic


I can't follow all the characters in the drama but the link suggests something like Jan. 6 in the Capitol is going on within the Catholic Church.

It starts with the same principle, there are no authorities worthy of our respect except those we happen to admire. Those who invaded the Capitol had not respect for the building or those who serve in it. The same is true of a faction of the Catholic faith. They want this Pope gone and their own installed. 

The rebels see a liberal conspiracy behind the change from Latin to local languages. A return to power would be a return to what they think of as "traditional" Catholic practices. Leaving behind these traditions is leaving behind what they see as the real church. It is thought about 11% of Catholics favor a radical reversal of modern worship practices.

While I don't follow this much myself, critics of the right movement say the right is "relentless" in its criticism of the Pope. A couple of years ago there was an outright call for his resignation. Ironically, a priest who is active in this effort recently was arrested to possession of child porn. His fans are confident of his innocence. 

The link reports many of the pro Latin mass and other conservative policies are also active in the pro Trump and QAnon groups. The number of conservative Catholics in QAnon is roughly equal to the number of conservative Protestants. Both are supporters of Trump and believers in the "stolen election."

The Catholic Church has weathered dissident groups at other times in its long history. I don't think it has happened during periods of low birth rates and significant fall away numbers such as is the case presently. 

As is always the case, Christianity, including Catholics and Protestants, reflect the contemporary culture. Right now Christianity is splintering. It only makes sense the two broad divisions would themselves be splintering. . 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make...
Read more

Who Suffers from a "Hardened Heart"

Image
Some years ago on this blog there was a discussion about what the Bible calls "The hardened heart." The "hardened heart" was the explanation given for why people like me cannot accept the tenets of Christianity. We are unable to believe there are floating spirits and gods or imaginary places people go when the die. Now, a prominent Christian preacher and author has given us a way to diagnose the "hardened heart." It contained some surprises.  Rev. John Piper, who spoke about the hardened heart, said we can see this in a person who lacks "ordinary tenderness and compassion." He went on to describe the characteristics of a person without the affliction of the hardened heart. A healthy person displays empathy and sympathy. Those with the hardened heart are like stone. Jesus wanted compassion for the poor. The hardened heart discussion referred to atheists only if they are sinners and then it was indirectly. Sin, Piper said, hardens one's heart a...
Read more

Young Women can see Bull$hit a Mile Away

Image
Republicans including their Forced Birth subgroup is bother by recent election results and polling. All show young women going to the left. A poll shows young women are 30% more likely to be very liberal than young men. The link advises the Forced Birth community to give young pregnant women an uplifting message. The message suggested is, "Buck up. You've got this. You can give birth and have a happy life." Another way of saying this is, "It will be OK if you miss work and/or are fired because of the birth. If you cannot make your rent payment, it's OK. Somewhere out there is another place to live. We don't know where but be optimistic."   This is an add on to the new version of the Forced Birth message, "We're for both the baby and the mother." They are not and never have been for the mother. Their message has always been to condemn women who have abortions. Now, the "thoughts and prayers" message, which costs no money, it the me...
Read more