Dark Times: When the Pope Invites Evil into People's Lives (Updated 10.20.2019, 10.21.2019)

This is a photograph of my icon of St. Nicholas of Myra and Lycia - my Orthodox patron saint. My Orthodox Baptismal name is Nikola, a feminized (and Polish, actually) version of Nicholas. He was also a patron of mine while a Catholic. I have felt a great kinship with him and his struggles against evil, heresy, and trying to get people to see what is right and act accordingly. Notably, he slapped the great heretic, Arius, the originator of the heresy that bears his name. Most of the Catholic bishops at the time had fallen into the Arian Heresy. Nicholas was one of the few who did not. He fought forcefully against this heresy at the council called to decide the issue. Ironically, and since I first wrote this original post, Pope Francis seems to have indicated he shares such a heretical view just recently. I have often compared the Texas Bishops' support of Texas' involuntary passive euthanasia law to those who fell into the Arian heresy on my other blog, Kassiblog. My birthday on the new calendar is also the Catholic Feast Day for St. Nicholas. It was on the Vigil of his Feast Day in the Russian Orthodox Church (under the old calendar) that we were received into it as Catechumens in 2018. He is also the patron of the only ROCOR parish in this area, which is where we came into the Church and where we are members. These are not coincidences.

(NOTE: I updated the original post on 10.20.2019 but did not really indicate where I'd done that. Today I ran across an article that really expounds upon what I originally wrote here which I wanted to add. Further updates will be dated and linked after my valediction.) 

Recently, I saw this post on Instagram which really struck me as particularly appropriate for the times. 

View this post on Instagram

"Let us be firm, my brothers, on the rock of faith, in the tradition of the Church, and not remove or change the boundaries established by our Holy Fathers. Let us close the road to innovators and not permit them to demolish the structure of the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God. If we allow, however, the introduction of any innovation, we unconsciously support the collapse of the Church. No, my brothers, you who love Christ, no, you children of the Church, you will never want to surround your Mother, the Church, with confusion." +St. John of Damascus

A post shared by The Eastern Orthodox Church (@orthodoxyforyou) on Jun 24, 2019 at 10:35am PDT

Although when I started this blog, I said I might discuss some religious things - especially as they relate to our conversions to Orthodoxy - I have largely refrained from doing so in any ongoing, substantive way for a variety of reasons. I am new to Orthodoxy and have much to learn. I have also wished to avoid controversy on this blog. It is more devoted to the peaceful things of life. I still have very definite opinions about where the RCC is and is going, but to say much about it publicly is to potentially invite controversy and hurt, especially to my RCC friends and family, who have enough to contend with. However, what happened just yesterday should give pause to everyone who still remains Roman Catholic. And, part of this blog is also just putting my own musings out there for what they're worth, so here it goes.

I still subscribe to Bishop Gracida's blog and consider him a good friend and mentor. He has been very kind to me even after my conversion. This morning, he posted this from another blogger. The Good Bishop's title is "Francis the Merciful Leaves the Catholic Church." It is about the pagan ritual that Francis and others participated in yesterday in the Vatican Gardens as a lead up to the Amazonian Synod which is bound to send the RCC further along the way to utter and total destruction and deeper into spiritual sickness. We've been following it here. It is so much worse than we could have imagined. When we decided to leave the RCC in the summer of 2018, we knew things were going to get bad. We believed Francis to already be a heretic teaching heresy formally which is supposed to be impossible given the Doctrine of Papal Infallibly. I wrote about this, in not so many words, on Kassiblog when I announced our decision to leave the RCC. (In truth, I wrote a memorandum using Vatican I documents where the Doctrine of Papal Infallibility was first introduced and explained and applying what they teach to the change in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that Francis made regarding the death penalty, but have only shared that with a few. I do not intend to publish it. It is what helped us make our decision - which we did thoughtfully and carefully and prayerfully - or further confirmed it, as others were scurrying to try to explain away what had just happened. Nothing that has happened since has changed anything we thought then. We've only been further confirmed in our analysis of things, the effects of them, and our decision.)

That said, we could not have predicted, I don't think, how dark a turn things would further take. A pagan ritual - bowing to statues of fertility goddesses in the Vatican Gardens?! (Since I wrote this post and published it initially, that statue has been ever present at all of the proceedings and other rituals with it have occurred. I have been told reliably by one with access to a Catholic Exorcist, that the first ritual was, in fact, a Wiccan ceremony. Of course, Pope Francis has been known to have a stang with him prior to this; almost a year to the day.) Let me repeat with even more emphasis in this update:

You do not open yourself up in any way to allow the darker spiritual forces into your lives. Ever. Even a little. 

The ramifications are such that you cannot prepare for them or even see them coming before you are in a state of self-destruction. But such things are not always confined to those who actively engage in them. No one acts in a vacuum. Do not doubt me on this.

Sound analysis of the pre-Amazonian Synod documents circulating now talk about raising these practices to the level of Sacraments! That simply cannot be. And, yet, those are the written words of the hierarchy in the RCC. That is the intention. They see nothing wrong with it. Lest anyone think that that document was just a few Cardinals going off in left field, Francis swoops in to show us how this might all look in practice. (Notably, there were pictures of him with the statue in front of him as he presided over other synod business; these were not accidents.) And, he invites evil into the lives of all Catholics in so doing. This is very, very serious.

Our conversion was not just about changing doctrines and practices (which are now coming in ways we did not anticipate then but are just as bad), but what we see as a spiritual sickness in the RCC. (I'd update this to emphasize this point because as the synod has continued, no bishops have chastised Francis and the others publicly for what is going on over there. Not that I've seen. Being "personally opposed" but publicly silent is useless. By their silence, they provide tacit approval and further the spread of evil.)

I'm sorry if that is offensive. It is just honestly how we see it. And, it's not new; but it's increasing at a rapid pace. For it to be this bad, it has to have gone on for many, many years. How long? I'd suspect since "the Great Schism" of c. 1054. (That's not an exact date, of course.) Catholics describe it as the other branches of Orthodoxy leaving it. The Orthodox say the Roman Patriarchate left Orthodoxy. Logically, the latter makes sense. The five or so other patriarchates didn't just leave. Rome's bishop at the time made decisions that were not in keeping with the Traditions and with Scripture. Rome's bishop decided he would not submit to fraternal correction and would institute things that had never been before - that were not supported by either Scripture or Tradition. Put very simply and in very newbie terms, Orthodoxy has remained as it is because everyone has to agree to a change. It just takes one no to veto things. Those who go astray are in schism with the rest of us. We see that with the Greeks and Russians now. Ultimately, things get corrected and schisms are healed. That has not, however, been possible with Rome in nearly 1,000 years. The rest of Orthodoxy has largely held it together and faithfully. 

The Introduction to one of our Orthodox Bibles has this passage concerning "The Great Schism" which struck me as quite poignant when I first came across it. As things play out in the RCC, it seems more and more true: 

• As the centuries passed conflict continued. Attempts at union failed and the Roman Church drifted farther and farther from its historic roots. There are inevitable consequences in deviating from the Church. The breaking away of Rome from the historic Orthodox Church would prove no exception. 

Last spring, as I was preparing to come into the Russian Orthodox Church, I read an extremely powerful book called Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives. (My priest has counseled that that book is to be read with caution. In Orthodoxy we are to discuss every spiritual matter with our priests. Our spiritual direction is ongoing at all times. So this is not a recommendation that you go and read it now. Discuss it with your spiritual director first.) But it confirmed some things that I have always thought must be the case. Even as a Methodist, where spirituality is not really taught as it is in the RCC and Orthodoxy, I had a great sense of it. Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica confirmed or affirmed some things I've always suspected about how our spiritual states affect those around us - our families, of course, but this also includes even our entire parishes. Our Saturday Vigil in Orthodoxy is not like a Vigil Mass in Catholicism. It is not a Mass, or Divine Liturgy, at all. It is, rather, a preparatory prayer service for the Divine Liturgy the next day. It is meant to prepare you more fully to participate and benefit from the graces that come from that. We pray the entire time. We pray for peace and repentance. We pray for everyone and everything. We acknowledge our sinful natures and struggles against the passions and the effects of that. The Vigil is for you - but it is just as much for others. Your preparation can aid others. 

In fact, in a class this past spring, one of our priests taught something that hit me hard. I guess I should have figured this out long ago, but it was one of those things that just didn't click until that moment. You are under an obligation to pray and prepare for the Divine Liturgy for the sake of others in your parish as well. I was amazed by this. It's far more than praying for others, although it is that as well. Prayer and focus on one's personal spiritual state is something that does not operate in a vacuum. But these things aren't even confined just to one's parish. The overall state of things worldwide affects people, including their spiritual state - the battles they face, the struggles, and even overcoming them. I have come to believe very strongly that this is one reason why even being in the best parish in our Diocese, with the best spiritual direction available, I could find no peace and spiritual growth anymore while remaining in the RCC. The darkness that has overtaken that entire religion - even though not everyone in it has been overtaken; do not misunderstand that distinction - was too much for me. I am, it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, particularly sensitive to such things. (When I used to pray outside abortion clinics and when I now go to hospital ethics committee hearings when they are seeking to involuntary passively euthanize patients in Texas  - see Kassiblog for more - I am not OK spiritually (or otherwise) for quite some time before and afterwards. Even when I otherwise engage in the pro-life battle in any way, the spiritual effects are intense, but that is not something I care to share publicly in any more detail than that. (Incidentally, I know I'm not alone in this; so if you know someone involved in pro-life work, pray for them by name daily.))

I say this all as a preface to the way that Catholics are taught to think about schisms and the effects of sin by certain individuals. The idea is that Francis has left the RCC. I know what they mean. But it's not logical. It also doesn't change the practical reality of things. He's there. He's sitting in what they teach is the Chair of St. Peter. He's running the show. He's officially teaching error. He's appointing Bishops (one wonders what the ceiling falling in St. Peter's means). And, he's running it all not just into the ground - but into yet darker places spiritually - that is going to affect everyone in the RCC whether they participate in this stuff or not.

What has made the rounds since the summer of 2018 as Catholics - most especially the "professional Catholics" - were scrambling to explain away how the Doctrine of Papal Infallibility had not, actually, been proven false despite an official heretical teaching being issued...something that had Toby and I just wanting to beat our heads against a wall given the utter asininity of it all - was also this:

• Even if the Pope were Satan incarnate, we ought not raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom. He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the Pope; we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the Pope. I know very well that many defend themselves by boasting: "They are so corrupt, and work all manner of evil!" But God has commanded that, even if the priests, the pastors, and Christ-on-earth were incarnate devils, we be obedient and subject to them, not for their sakes, but for the sake of God, and out of obedience to Him.

That is from St. Catherine of Siena, a doctor of the RCC, in the book of that title, pp. 201-202, 222. See also.

That, my friends, is what lead to where the RCC is. It was not a week after the proof of the error of Papal Infallibility was published than we had the latest episode in the ongoing sexual abuse crises in the RCC hit. And it hit hard. The depth and breadth of it was stunning. More so, was the utter inability of the RCC to do anything about it. Most so, was the utter unwillingness of the RCC to even acknowledge it in any meaningful way. It was as if the powers that be saw nothing really all that wrong with it. It was not long before some of Francis' great favorites were more than implicated. And he responded, in some cases, with victim blaming and claiming consensual sex. Among other things. Dear God. It has been open season on boys and men of all ages in the RCC, it seems. We wanted nothing more to do with it.

One night Toby asked me, "If this were any other institution on earth and this was happening, would we give it our money? Would we send our children to it? Would we let it teach our children in matters of faith?" Without a moment's hesitation, I replied, "No. Target changed their bathroom policy and we didn't shop there for 18 months. Why would we give a greater benefit of the doubt in the face of proof that people had actually been hurt for decades by an institution that claims to be God's very own?" The decision had been made and re-confirmed. But it was a long time coming.

Further, having said all this, perhaps it is more understandable where we are to those who ask us if we believe that the RCC is the "One, True, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." No, we do not. And, we stopped believing that well before we were received into the Orthodox faith. In our view, it cannot possibly be. These are not just matters of "a bad Pope...and there have been bad Popes before" or "of course, Satan attacks holy men or Christ's church." No, it goes far deeper than that, has gone on far longer than that, and is not that simple. That's dismissive. That's ostrich head in the sand time. No one has that luxury anymore - if we ever did.

In the interim, we've seen Catholics now proclaim that they do not have to be in union with the Pope or follow or agree with him. That's not what the RCC has taught. That's not correct. To receive Communion, you are required to be in communion with Rome. Indeed, I stopped taking the Eucharist in the RCC formally as soon as I came to disbelieve these things.

In the alternative, we've seen other Catholics do a more modern - I guess - version of St. Catherine of Sienna and decide that they have to be in communion with Rome and the Pope to be Catholics lest they be damned. There was no other option as they saw it. I followed a whole thread on Twitter one day about this. Not a single person said for days that you need to be in union with Christ. It was only the Pope and Rome that was the issue for them - those things determined one's salvation. One person later added that they were Catholic because of Christ. That was a relief to see.

Now, Orthodoxy teaches there is no salvation outside the Church, but also refuses to condemn to hell those who are not Orthodox. It is not inconsistent. We are taught not to judge others. But we are taught that what we believe is the truth. Not a truth. But the truth. There can be only one. But God is merciful. We do not presume salvation. We work for it knowing that nothing we do can ever merit it, we pray for it, we hope for it. But the focus is faith and loyalty in Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity, not the institutional church as a substitute therefor. Not that I've been taught or read. I was also not taught, nor did I read that, while a Catholic. But as Toby has mentioned, the goal posts in the RCC are ever-changing especially among traditional or conservative Catholics these days. It is hard to know what one is supposed to do to be a faithful Catholic when these things are going on all the time and what you thought you knew just went up in smoke at a pagan ceremony. No one is trying to defend it anymore that I see. I saw one "professional Catholic" say he was no longer going to write books on apologetics until this was all sorted out. I was stunned, but that makes the most sense in light of things. 

And, I'll make one more comment here. I see a lot of attacks on the Orthodox Church by Catholics right now. I saw one person tweet that they prayed that Francis would never do "anything to force me to even a Byzantine Church, let alone an Orthodox one." What a thing to pray! One person replied "Never go to a religion that teaches Mary was stained by original sin." Actually, no. We don't believe in Original Sin at all. This person was corrected on this point and backed down a bit and admitted ignorance. I'd recommend that Catholics that might be hostile to Orthodoxy review what the RCC teaches about it, as being the other lung of the Church as they see it. The RCC teaches that all Orthodoxy Sacraments are "valid." (Orthodoxy, however, does not teach the same about the RCC, although it does not have the concept of "valid" Sacraments; they either are a Sacrament or they are not. If they are not done within the Orthodox Church, they are not really Sacraments as we see them.)

And, along these lines I see criticism of Orthodoxy allowing contraception and remarriage after divorce. Both are far more nuanced than that. Abortifacient contraception is not allowed. Non-abortifacient may be allowed depending upon certain circumstances that are to be discussed with a person and their priest. You priest sees where you are spiritually and your struggles and other circumstances. What you will be told is that ideally, you would not use contraception. However, there are times when it may be allowed. Again, it is nuanced.

Likewise, with remarriage it is not allowed as a matter of course. You must meet with your priest about it. He may or may not allow it. A second marriage is not a joyous occasion. Basically, it's an acknowledgment that this was the less sinful means for you. It's not the same ceremony as the fist marriage. It is different. Again, it is more nuanced. But, before casting that stone, I'd look at annulments. They are a marriage that is - whatever you call it - dissolved and another is allowed. You can use an after-determined fiction of invalidity but it's just a technicality to allow a divorce and remarriage.

But neither of those would keep me in a religion headed by a man who is allowing pagan rituals to go on and who presides over the rest of this deeply spiritually dark and damaging stuff.

Let me be perfectly clear about something else. I do not mean this post as anything coming even remotely close to triumphalism. Do not take it that way. I was appallingly arrogant and triumphalist as a new Catholic. It was prideful and wrong. It harmed me spiritually and did no favors to those around me. I have not approached this conversion this way. It's not about being "better than" others or the "perfect faith" executed flawlessly. First, others don't really factor in to what we decided to do - other than our children. My conversion was mostly about fixing my stuff and so I could be better for my children. And there was - and is - a lot to be fixed. Second, I needed to do that in a different place than the RCC once I came to disbelieve some key things about it in order to fix my stuff. I needed a different spirituality and I needed to go back to the basics. Orthodoxy is the first Christian religion; the original. Yes, it has had problems. But they are different than what we see in the RCC. Ultimately, it has held fast to Tradition, Scripture, and the Liturgy is sound. But having said all of this, I cannot ignore what is going on (and on and on) in the RCC and neither can you really.

I still do not tell anyone what they should or should not do, including my children who are of age and who have not decided what they will do (but they attend Divine Liturgy with us). What I hope and pray for is that people look at this objectively and honestly. I see people make arguments that lead them to only one logical conclusion, but they stop short in some illogical way, and don't complete the analysis. I get it. It's scary. If you take it to its logical conclusion, what do you do then? There is a great deal to change at that moment. A lot to unlearn, perhaps. Many will say that the Tridentine (Traditional) Latin Mass is the answer or another Pope or something else. It's like holding onto a lucky rabbit's foot. None of that is right. It will not work. It's far more complicated and much deeper than that. It will never be as if all of these things never happened. They did. The bell can't be un-rung. Decisions are being made, statements are being issued, ceremonies are being engaged in - and they all have implications for the spirituality of all Catholics and the future of the RCC as a whole. You will not be able to escape the spiritual influences and the practical realities of these things as they creep - or are forced - into every parish.

I was grateful when my friend, Charlie Johnston, posted on just this very thing: looking for the magic bullet to fix this. He is right; there is no magic bullet. (There never really is for any situation if you think about it.) While we have differing views on where this will all end, I have the utmost respect for him and my RCC friends who are working through this and trying to save themselves and their church. It does NO ONE any good at all anywhere on the earth for the RCC to fall. That will have worldwide ramifications. We need as many people as possible to be on firm spiritual footing in these difficult times.

We must all continue to pray and sacrifice for each other. The darkness of the world is everywhere and it is growing. And, on that note, I'll end it (again).

Thanks for re-reading! 

UPDATE of 10.21.2019: Rod Dreher has a very compelling, if not exceedingly disconcerting, post about the effects of this. It "backs up" much of what I've said here with writing from a Catholic theologian and Catholic lay person who was subjected to some of the indigenous practices in the Amazon that the RCC so proudly wants to raise to the level of Sacramental. The lay person's experience is what I'm trying to tell you here. You do not mess with this stuff. It takes hold of you whether you desire that or not.

What the theologian questions is what everyone really must ask if they are to honestly and objectively analyze the situation. Francis cannot be both the pope of the RCC and the antipope at the same time. If this is the antichurch what does one do? Stay? In the antichurch? How can one do that and call oneself Christian?

I am well aware that some question the legitimacy of Francis' election. The fact is, even Benedict has said it was not only legitimate, but that Francis is the pope. Now I see some claiming that Benedict is being held prisoner and is still the legitimate pope. Also, he used the wrong Latin term in his resignation letter, so God certainly would not have accepted it. Oh my. How far can one take this narrative to avoid admitting that things that were supposed to be impossible have happened which requires one to arrive at only one logical conclusion?

But - a thought experiment - what if Francis' election was illegitimate? What difference does that make now? First, that it could happen - and not a single cardinal that could do something about it did so - is a problem. But, second, say he's gone tomorrow, and a new pope is elected - this stuff cannot be undone. It's been done. Forces have been unleashed here. Rituals have been engaged in. Rites very likely will be changed. Things that are genuinely legitimate have been legitimized.

Or, an alternate second scenario, he's gone tomorrow and Benedict is still alive, but does not want to be pope any longer - as he's said repeatedly. What then? Elect a new guy - by the same cardinals that gave you Francis along with those cardinals he promoted? Or do those go away, too? Who decides that? Are cardinals he elevated if he was not a legitimate pope removed? By whom? The same cardinals who elected Francis but did nothing about his illegitimacy though they could?

Again, how far do you take this to avoid admitting that something about the structure and doctrine doesn't hold up? Something's just not right because it can't all be. It's inherently contradictory. And, as such, it has to be wrong. And what does that mean? Exactly.

And, in the interim - what about the spirituality of Catholics? How are they experiencing Christ in all of this? How are they not being damaged severely? The entire focus is on the chaos and mayhem. It's all a mess. I pray for their peace of mind and spirit as they process this.