You might think this sort of thing doesn’t affect us Lutherans, but if you did you’d be wrong. What goes on in the Catholic Church always finds a way to influence even the most confessional of Lutherans. Always. You can thank them for the common and customary use of the three-year lectionary, the free standing altar, the distribution of the Sacrament into the hand of the communicant, and even, arguably, the profusion of “contemporary” worship practices, to name a few. If Rome hadn’t done those things, it’s unlikely that we would have.

So the disaster of a Pope that Francis has become should be a matter of grave concern, not only for that reason, but also because our poor Catholic neighbors are now in a terrible fix.

Very recently Francis issued a fiat that forbids the use of the traditional mass except if the local bishop should permit it. The edict is what Bp. Rob Mutsaerts, Auxiliary Bishop in the Netherlands, calls “evil,” commenting that “the Church has never abolished liturgies. Not even Trent [did so]. Francis breaks completely with this tradition.” (https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2021/07/liturgy-is-not-toy-of-popes-it-is.html#more. HT: John Stephenson).

But the Pope brashly says the traditional Latin Mass an impediment to unity. Now that’s rich, given what in his view is not an impediment. Abortionist legislators partaking in the Sacrament, and affinity for LGBTQ influences, such as what you see in the ghastly nearby photo, which comes courtesy of Rorate Coeli, the home of the traditional Catholic blog.

Our own John Stephenson has written an incisive and important exposé you may expect in our next print issue, Michaelmas, which is due out in just over a month. Subscribe, or renew your subscription today.