We warned here at TGP that the Vatican’s new doctrine chief was a train wreck waiting to happen – well, it happened.
Most non-Catholics have no idea what a ‘Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’ is – and even that name doesn’t appeal to many members of the Church.
But call it by its original name, and almost everyone will know it: the Holy Inquisition.
It is the oldest of the departments of the Roman Curia, which was established to protect the Catholic Church from heresy – and is the body responsible for ‘the propagation and defense of Catholic doctrine’.
Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome.
In 1965 it came to be known as Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith before receiving its present name – but it is still informally known as the ‘Holy Office’.
It is a very prestigious office, having been led by former Pope Benedict XVI – then called Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger – with great success during the papacy of John Paul II.
It is the Pope’s ‘doctrinal watchdog’ responsible for ‘guaranteeing that Vatican documents and Catholic theological publications meet minimum standards of orthodoxy’.
Pope Francis is out to ‘reform’ (many say destroy) Catholic doctrine, so he chose the ‘perfect’ man for this ‘job’.
In July, I published an article called TGP here Pope Francis appoints controversial Argentinian bishop as new head of discipline and doctrine – Monsignor Fernandez wrote book about ‘the art of kissing’, and is accused of covering up sex abuse allegations in his archdiocese.
Below is an excerpt from it to remind us:
“Globalist Pope Francis continues in his struggle to remake the Church according to his very unique Look Now Argentina’s pontiff has chosen a controversial countryman for one of the most powerful posts in the church’s hierarchy, in a move that has generated opposition both inside and outside the church.
associated Press informed of:
“Pope Francis on Saturday chose a bishop who is a trusted theological adviser from his native Argentina to one of the Vatican’s most powerful posts – the head of the watchdog office that ensures doctrinal orthodoxy.
Francis named Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernandez, Archbishop of La Plata, Argentina, as prefect, or head, of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
“The dicastery, or department, enforces the orthodoxy of Church teaching and disciplines theologians deemed to have deviated from Catholic doctrine in their lectures or publications. But in recent decades, its importance to the common people has increased significantly as the stigma of priests committing child sexual abuse has spread around the world. The department’s duties include evaluating and processing allegations of sexual abuse against clergy.
ABC News informed of:
“A U.S.-based group that monitors how the Catholic hierarchy deals with allegations of sexual abuse by clergy says Pope Francis committed a ‘troubling act’ by appointing an Argentinian priest to a powerful Vatican office. ‘Wala’ option which handles such cases.”
In 2019, Fernández ‘refused to believe’ victims who accused a priest in the La Plata Archdiocese of sexually abusing boys and disregarded the allegations.
“This is troubling, given that a bishop is charged with the responsibility of judging and punishing priests who abuse children.”
“Francis ‘made a shocking and disturbing choice’ in how Fernandez handled the case,” the group said in an emailed statement late Saturday in the US.
BishopsAccountability.org said, ‘In response to the allegations, he strongly supported the accused priest and refused to believe the victims.’ Fernandez ‘should have been investigated, not promoted to one of the highest positions in the global church.'”
And criticism also comes from inside the Church, as many conservative Catholics have reservations about his religious actions and his adherence to the orthodoxy he purports to defend.
Catholic news site pillar informed of:
“Fernandez is the author of more than 300 religious works, including 1995’s ‘Heal Me with Your Mouth.’ ‘The Art of Kissing’ was not included by the Vatican in its list of publications released on 1 July.
The Holy See press office said the archbishop’s writings were marked by ‘a significant biblical basis and a sustained effort to create a dialogue between theology and evangelizing culture, mission, spirituality and social issues.'”
Fernandez himself half-admits in the first paragraph of his book that such a book is inappropriate for someone in his position: “I want to clarify that this book is not written based on my own experience, but on the lives of people who kiss. In these pages I want to synthesize popular sentiment, what people feel when they think about kissing, what mortals experience when they kiss.
So, knowing the man, it’s easy to understand why fiducia suplicans It’s a huge flop. After all, who wants the author of ‘The Art of Kissing’ to reformulate the millennium theory?
Christopher R. Altieri wrote Catholic World Report,
“The Fiduciary Prayers are full of admonitions and admonitions, many of which are very carefully crafted, to the tune of over 5,000 words. It is clear that both the author of the announcement and his commissioning principal knew it would cause a stir. “But it is unlikely that Fernandez or Pope Francis expected the tsunami of reaction that would come in such a short period of time.”
Some dioceses in liberal-decadent Western Europe pretended to embrace the profession enthusiastically.
“From other jurisdictions – many of them geographically located in the Global South – the reception ranged from indifferent to actively hostile, with many national bishops’ conferences flatly refusing to implement the declaration.
Cardinal-President of the Seminar of the Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Fridolin Ambongo, issued a call in mid-week for talks among African bishops with a view to formulating a unified “continental” response.
Ambongo is said to be a member of Pope Francis’ C9 “small council” of cardinal advisors.
Fernandez said pillar There has been no change in the principle on marriage – man-woman, exclusive, inseparable, naturally open to the generation of new life.
“It is good for the DDF Prefect to go on record saying that there has been no change in the said points of principle, but the fact that he had to say so himself makes it difficult to give credence to the idea that Fiducia’s special proposals have changed much. There is clarity or the religious expression it gives them. Now, the practical realities facing both DDF prefects and their principals are challenging indeed.
[…] Pope Francis has put himself in an impossible position. The Pope does this from time to time. This is usually not that big a deal. However, in the age of instant communications and 24-hour news cycles, a major crisis can demonstrate the existence of a papacy to the entire world in real time.
Read more:
Pope Francis faces growing opposition around the world against his ‘gay blessing’ theory