"Fiducia Supplicans"

So, here we go again. If it has not already felt like a roller coaster, then this new one will make you want to fasten your seat belt. The Dicastery for Doctrine has released a document that claims to be orthodox (though it never actually proves that to those of us who appreciate evidence), and yet it really appears to skirt the edge of immorality. Sadly, it is not clear enough for many to recognize, but that is the way of errors. I pray that God will give us patience and wisdom to know how we are to be faithful in times like this when it appears we are being told to disobey God.

We know that the Pope is protected from promulgating errors. We know also that no one else has the same charism that is granted to the Pope to lead the Church. Thus, if the Pope declares--ex cathedra--that the Blessed Virgin was assumed up into Heaven at the end of her life, we are to accept it and believe it. If, however, someone other than the Pope (a layman, a priest, even a cardinal, etc.) says "the Pope said that aliens are living on the moon" we are not obligated to believe it until we know that it has been declared authoritatively as only the Pope can do.

Is it possible that our Holy Father is currently being "held captive" by something of a "deep Church" and being forced to rubber stamp things that they are promoting--even to the point of saying that it is his idea? I think it is at least possible. There is nothing about the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope that says we would never be subjected to an error like this.

I do not look for conspiracy theories, but even Scripture tells us that there are those who do conspire against God and His Church (cf. Psalm 2:1-3). It is certainly possible that this is the result of decades of efforts to subvert the Church, and it would not be totally foreign to things that have happened in the past. There were Popes who said things and then later recanted (e.g. during the Arian controversy) stating that they were forced to say it.

It does appear that Pope Francis is on the liberal side of the aisle, but that does not mean that he necessarily is in agreement with everything he (hypothetically) may be forced into saying. This is not an attempt to excuse him of any error he himself has made, but merely to consider what is going on. This could shed light on many things that we struggle with right now; especially Fiducia Supplicans. It would also mean that we could expect either Pope Francis himself, or a future Pope, to overturn much (if not all) of the things that we have been subjected to in the current pontificate.

Am I saying that I do believe this to be the case? No. I am only saying that it is a possibility, and that I trust Christ to get us out of this mess just like He did in the past for our forefathers. If it is actually what is going on, then we can be confident also that Christ will give us the means to overcome it. Sometimes that even happens as a result of what those who are pushing these lies are actually doing (even though they think it is going to work out for them, God traps them in their own devices).

Regardless of whether Francis is the instigator or not, we must hold to what St. Paul said in 2 Timothy (3:8-9): "As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith; but they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men." Evil destroys itself, but we must be praying that it will do so.

Finally, remember that it is not our place to make the determination about who is the cause of this attack on the faith. Christ has not given the knowledge nor the authority to us in this regard. We may speculate (cautiously) and then allow that to lead us to greater prayer and holiness. We are not to conclude these things as though we had comprehensive knowledge of things above our "paygrade". If Pope Francis is under "duress" then God will protect him (and us). If not, then God is still in charge and will bring this all to a proper conclusion.