Friday, February 19, 2016

Pope Francis Writes Letter to One of His Bitterest Critics, Antonio Socci


Letter from Pope Francis to Antonio Socci
(Rome) The Catholic journalist Antonio Socci, a persistent  Pope critic, has received a personal letter from Pope Francis. It is not the first time that Francis has shown  his attention to critics. Shortly before his death, he telephoned  the legal philosopher Mario Palmaro in Fall of 2013, who was then one of the most intellectually sharpest critics of this pontificate.  Antonio Socci went so far in his Pope criticism in his 2014 published book "He is not Francis", to challenge the validity of the Pope's election. He was followed in this by neither canon nor other church representatives.  In his latest book, "The Last Prophecy" he corrected [Socci publically disavowed this already?] this position. He has  recognized since then, the election, but maintains his criticism of this pontificate. Now, he's received a surprising letter from the Pope. In the daily newspaper Libero , he reported it:

The letter that the Pope wrote about my book "The Last Prophecy." And my answer

by Antonio Socci
Last Friday, I looked  quickly over the house of my parents, it's full of memories of my father like his best picture: The miners carried one of their mates on a stretcher (my father risked  his life in the mine  and became handicapped).
He taught me that life is a struggle for the truth, and that truth and freedom are more important than  bread. It was he who as a Catholic miner fought for the freedom of our country on April 18, 1948, I owe him the most important lesson: to live without lies.
And I thought immediately of him on Friday, when I received this letter by express delivery. My mother astonished, handed me a white envelope with the stamp of the Vatican City, by whispering to me: "Did the Pope write you?"
And indeed, the handwriting is unmistakable. He has written my address with a fountain pen in black ink  (wherever he has found), on the back was the sender and underneath: "Casa Santa Marta - 00120 Vatican City".
I thought of my father, because he is a symbol for me of those Christian people, who are so despised by the pseudo-intellectual establishment that Pope Francis celebrates (I think of "La Repubblica"). That Christian people that has felt abandoned in the last three years by their  shepherd.
Pope Francis has indeed triumphed among the anti-clericals with a big media success, but has led the Church into great confusion.  It suffices to reflect on the statements yesterday made on the return flight from Mexico, where he "mixed" greatly in immigration policy, but stated that he would not interfere in the Italian debate on gay marriage (though he is Bishop of Rome and Primate of Italy).

The Imperium

On Friday, just when I got his letter, I saw the Holy Father on television because of the jointly signed statement by him and the Orthodox Patriarch Cyril. It involved  memorable historico-political  remarks, which has stuffed the "Obama Agenda" together with the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church,  which the Pope has disastrously circulated.
The declaration brings the Church back on the path of Benedict XVI. and is a true torpedo against "the dictatorship of relativism" of the West and against the dictatorship of Islamism in the East. It is a cry of freedom that allows the celebration of Christian values from the Atlantic to the Urals, and we returns to the big story of the Europe of the peoples and the cathedrals.
It's the opposite of what Francis did in those years.
The explanation takes decidedly (finally)  to the defense of persecuted Christians and religious freedom at all longitudes, and does so with an appeal to a courageous Christian witness in public life. It attacks the nihilistic technocracy of Western Europe, which has denied its Christian roots and excludes the Christian to contempt. Finally, they vigorously defend the natural family and life from conception to its natural end.
However, immediately after the ceremony, carried out before the television cameras, Pope Bergoglio tried to "withdraw" his signature from the publication of this document by playing down its importance. He reduced everything to a proper "photo-op".
What explains this repentant and incredible backpedaling? Obviously, it allowed the Imperium of the "resigned" Benedict XVI. and "cropped" the pontificate of Francis, it impedes him from overturning the geopolitical positioning of the Church.
Therefore Francis (who showed in 2013. a bold  independence with Syria) returned immediately in the assigned limits. It was not difficult for him because of the ease with which he normally speaks, withdrawing and contradictorily depending  on the interlocutor. His Magisterium is often as changeable as the dress Saruman.
Probably one now wonders in the Patriarchate of Moscow, how many  Franzi kisses are actually in circulation. We've asked that for three years. All boats  so guided  capsize, and in fact confusion rules in the Churc.
Perhaps the Pope is begging so emphatically because he wants prayer.
Unfortunately, he has many sycophants, courtiers, shoeshine boys and fans who celebrate him, but few of them pray for him and for the boat of Peter, which threatens to drown in the applause and the laughter of the world.
However, I pray for him.
[...]

The letter

When I opened the envelope, I saw that it came from him entirely. I understand the meaning of certain details: the popes communicate through the State Secretariat (in the past I have already received a papal letter of this kind).
That this was even handwritten by the Pope and a directly forwarded letter, without going through any Vatican office, has a precise meaning: It is intended to be of a familiar character, a fatherly gesture of affection and of Community.
Although I know how happily Pope Bergoglio leaves formalism behind, I would not have expected it. I sent him a copy of my book from the publisher Rizzoli. In it there is a dedication with which I tell the Pope that the book contains what my conscience requires me to tell him.
I was therefore very surprised to see his letter and read his truly informal words.
Vatican, February 7, 2016
Mr. Antonio Socci
Dear Brother:
I have received your book and the accompanying letter. Thank you for this gesture. May the Lord reward you.
I started to read it, and I am sure that many of my things in it will bring good things. In reality, critics help Us also, to walk in the right way of the Lord.
I really thank you very much for your prayers and those of your family.
I promise you that I will pray for you all and ask the Lord to bless you and the Blessed Mother, to protect you.
Your brother and servant in the Lord,
Francis
These are words  that do not leave me indifferent. There are things this Pope does that move me deeply (as I have written in the book).
His evangelical freedom and his simplicity inspire me, his standing outside the clerical schemes. It is moving when he speaks of the view of Jesus, or as in the past few days in Guadalupe from the maternal eyes of Mary. And he recalled that Our Savior wants that no one is lost and is ready to invite everyone on His shoulders.
But ultimately, there is in his pontificate primarily from his Magisterium and from the government of the Church, and  the face of disorientation and confusion that have entered the Christian people in these three years,  so I wanted to tell the truth, even at the cost of professional and moral suicide.

Parrhesia, not hypocrisy

I've thrown into the nettles what the world calls by the name of 'Prestige,'   built in decades of work, to be an outcast of the Catholic world, which is my home. I was, with one blow thrown among  the "lepers."  In those two years I had to digest a lot of verbal abuse. The most common were: "You are possessed by the devil" and "You're crazy."
Others called for an exorcist for me or even a judgement of excommunication. They even have assumed that I was in some sect, under some guru or an obscure "power" under a fog, but in any case outside of the Church.
I was banished from their media and my book has been placed on an index in certain Catholic bookstores, which probably has no problem having Augias and Mancuso for sale.
Today, however,  the words of Francis gives justice for months and months of defamation. They are above all, for each one of us, an example of humility and fatherhood.
The legitimacy of the "criticism of the Pope", which is contained in the letter, also seems to teach that we should be bold and not fearful or opportunistic Christians. One should talk of parrhesia and not calculated hypocrisy.
In my book I quoted the words of the Spanish Bishop Melchor Cano (1509-1560), a great theologian of the Council of Trent:
"Peter does not need our lies and our flattery. Those who defend blindly and indiscriminately any decision of the Pope, are those that undermine the authority of the Holy See:. They destroy its foundations  instead of strengthening it."
Francis knows, moreover, that for him, the danger does not come from the sincerity of the children of God, but from his court: one day he went so far as to say that "the Court is the leprosy of the papacy."
Incidentally, it is also true that a climate of real terror reigns in the Roman Curia and the other Curias during his pontificate, a never before experienced oppressive inquisitorial air. And for that he is responsible.
The way he has led Church affairs in these years and the recent Synod, unfortunately, shows that next to the paternal and understanding Francis there is also one who uses the power in a very hard way. Sometimes, in order to impose the Church heterodox teachings.
He is the one who raises an iron fist against large religious families  and orthodox faith and then praises those who promotes the chasing of the winds of secular ideologies.
I continue to hope and pray that he will put an end to this climate and call for all to stay in the freedom and dignity of the children of God in the Church, as well as the Council teaches (without fearing purges, revenge and humiliation).
I hope above all that he remains faithful to  the mission of Peter and defends the Catholic faith and neither sells it and nor  tips it over: this is not permissible for him. He can not do it.
For even the Pope can not do what he wants, as Joseph Ratzinger has said. He is not an absolute monarch, as once some rulers were. He is the exact opposite: He is the guarantor of obedience.  He is the guarantee that we are not of his opinion or the opinion of whomever, but profess the faith of all times, to defend it against the opinions of the moment. 
Introduction / Text: Giuseppe Nardi
picture: Antonio Socci
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

28 comments:

  1. Good. Keep on criticizing his nonsense and keep on praying for him.

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  3. I hope Socci doesn't fall for this shrewd slight of hand. I see this letter as a manipulative move. What true Catholic wouldn't be touched by a letter from the Pope? However,he doesn't answer any of Socci's many questions...only with a generic "In reality, critics help Us also, to walk in the right way of the Lord." It's a kind of a deft way of trying to "round him off" an emotional blackmail. Socci has "gaps" in his Catholicism as he still likes Vatican II...but he was getting closer to the real state of things. But because off some blindness there,he's a sitting duck for the Manipulator in the Vatican

    This of course is only my opinion...

    Prayers for him, he has been a voice for many confused Catholics, I sure hope he won't stop being so outspoken out of deference to this Pope , who hardly merits it as he is like a tsunami with his non-Catholic actions and words...every blessed day practically.




    Barbara

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    1. It's a ray of hope. If we believe in the importance of truth, the mission of the Church and the real possibility of miracles, there will be good that comes out of this, but we must be patient and trust God's providence. I don't think Socci is planning on letting up, moved by the letter though he is.

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    2. So true, Barbara. The words, "... critics help Us also..." were the same words he used with Palmaro.

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    3. Agreed, very manipulative maneuver. I too would use the word "shrewd" which indicates a very manipulative posture.

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  4. I agree totally with Barbara above: this is one more ploy from the crafty Francis to, with the personal touch and soft generalizations that say nothing, squash opposition. It is a strategy of emotional manipulation that appeals both to the fidelity of a Catholic journalist and to personal ego. It is in line with the Year of Mercy papal granting of faculties for confession to the Society of St. Pius X---have you noticed how very silent the SSPX and Bishop Fellay have been for the past three years in the face of the almost daily outrages from Francis regarding the liturgy, faith and morals? Francis flatters to soften or eliminate oppositon. I do not think this is being cynical---it is simply being cognizant of the very dangerous and totalitarian personality we are dealing with in the person of Francis. Erasmus

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    1. Agreed. Put the note in a nice little frame and pray for him but never trust him

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    2. Ultimately, we're dealing with a very fallible and unceasingly feeble man here, not an unstoppable, robotic force that moves inexorably toward its malign and devious goal.

      Let's see what he does. I know after the Palmero phone call that he kept up doing what he does, but still!

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    3. I believe your comment is dead-on accurate. He has presented and appeared to be what he is not and knows he is not.
      How on earth did the Cardinals elect him. To what end were they hoping?

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  5. A so called pope just said that people can use contraceptives and my post calling Pope Benedict still pope gets deleted? Give me a break. I can guarantee you 100% if a man who is supposed to be the pope is out there telling people they can use contraceptives he is not the pope.

    John

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    1. A lay man with common sense.

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    2. Who was John the Baptist? Who was Jesus Christ? Imagine Our Lady standing underneath the cross (because you know that is what we are doing according to the Remnant whiners, SSPX, & Vortex spinners--standing w/her as Lourdes & Fatima are turned into sodomite, fornicator & adulterer vacation destinations) saying "Annas and Caiaphas are the REAL high priests." Yeah, sure! That's why she was in the upper room & receiving holy communion from St. John the Evangelist. Because the REAL high priests are...

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    3. They were real high priests and you're not John the Baptist.

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    4. Perfect, I will accept Tancred's grand decree that I am nobody (duly granted by the international high authority of blogpower) vested in Tancred.
      Just as long as I have common sense enough to point out a USURPER, supposedly pope (doesn't even call himself pope btw and has stated he doesn't want to be referred to as such) who says contraception is "okay sometimes". What a fraud.

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    5. I'm just a cog, I don't get to decide who the Pope is.

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  7. At this point,it's freaking obvious what's going on with the novus ordo.I am not being rude or condescending.(actually in a good mood today)
    If you can't see the absolute evil & deception that's taken place in last 50-60 year's,what will it take?

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  8. What's been happening in the past 50-60 years???? Christ is reclaiming his church from you ccorrupt, superstitious fools who have controlled it for too many centuries.

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  9. Listen to the "non-judgmental" liberal above accusing entire generation of Catholics of corruption and superstition. I guess that would include countless martyrs and saints. Further proof, if more were necessary, about the schismatic character of the entire Novus Ordo enterprise and the vipers (such as this heretical writer) who support and promote the decaying and utterly corrupt institution that today passes for Christ's One, True Church. The real superstition, moron, is in thinking that anything that came before you and your corrupt council in 1962 was corrupt and superstitious. Not to speak of the blasphemy implicit in thinking that for centuries the Holy Ghost would have abandoned the Church. Why is such an arrogant simpleton allowed a voice on this web site? Archimago

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  10. Writing a letter must have been a penance for the mad rage he flew into...

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  11. No, it was a pleasure---as defending the Truth always is, you deceived fool. Archimago

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  12. Yes, a very good job indeed. Too bad that it's not only you leftist parasites that can write with a sharp pen, moron. Archimago

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  13. I'm not sure I understand the use of "Us" with a capital U. I don't know why that stands out to me. Maybe just a lack of precision, one hopes.

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  14. a different anonymous from the above.

    To Socci,

    It is not that the Pope claims to be an absolute monarch, but that he is COMPLETELY JESUIT: this was brilliantly explained by the well known in the US Jesuit, Fr Robert Spitzer, at the Franciscan conference on Pope Francis viewed on EWTn;
    just google:
    Fr. Robert Spitzer, SJ The Jesuit Hermeneutic of Pope Francis,
    a must see 35 minute video presentation at the Conference.

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