CatholicManiacs.com » Papacy

Saint John Paul the Great

Fric — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 16:19:00 +0000

OK. I know it’s not official for us down here.

But, really…

Do we doubt JPII is a Saint in Heaven?

Do we doubt his status as “Great”?

OK. Some may doubt the last. Only the truly obstinate can doubt the first.

One year ago today the Holy Father passed from this life into the next. According to many reports at the time, he died with a prayer on his lips, saying Amen just before passing. Supposedly this coincided with the conclusion of a Rosary or a part of the Rosary being prayed outside.

The Holy Father died as he lived. An example of Christian holiness and suffering. He died with the eyes the entire world watching and with a good many more non-Catholics than I could scarcely believe grieving at his passing along with us. That was part of what I think makes him “Great”. I remember reading a quote from a non-Catholic Christian that said he was their Pope too.

That is utterly astounding to me. Certainly not all non-Catholics believed that. It certainly was true though simply by the nature of the Church and the Papacy. All validly baptized Christians are a part of the Body of Christ which is the Catholic Church. They may not realize it, and they may not like it. But they are. Any Pope is the Pope of all Christians. I think the Holy Father understood this better than any other Pope before him.

As a convert in 2002 I never really knew any other Pope. I remember becoming aware of the Papacy and Popes in 1978 when Paul VI died and JPI was elected. Then he died and JPII was elected. He was all I knew. Even though not Catholic, I have always respected the institution of the Papacy because I instinctively understood that the Pope was the successor of Peter. I never really understood the implications of that until I started studying the Church in preparation for making sure my girls would be raised as proper Catholics. If they were to be Catholic, I wanted them to be good ones. I then understood what that succession meant for me.

Because of JPII I was able to respect the office and the Church even when I was ignorant of the true meaning of the Church and its doctrines. I think many must have felt that way. I don’t know how much previous Popes were accepted by the world and times they lived in. I do know that JPII was the conscience of the human race. He was the only one who could speak with such moral authority. No other religious or secular leader could do so.

His legacy will be seen in the fruits of the coming years. I think he planted the seeds that will bring us back from the brink of modernism that has infected the Church since the rubbish of the “spirit of Vatican II” crap that has infected the Church. Though not particularly young, I will be 40 this year, I still consider myself part of the JP2 Generation. This group, including the group of excited and motivated converts of the past 15 or more years, is the strength of the Church. They are the driving force for a return to orthodoxy of doctrine and practice. They are young, producing children and vocations.

We may be going through the desert now. But due to the seeds JPII planted, our children and grandchildren will reap the benefits of his Papacy.

Looks Like I Owe No Apology

Fric — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 05:00:00 +0000

Missed the first half of the “investigation” because Mrs. Fric and I were watching Lost episodes. What can I say?

What I did see was pure crap. The sane people (those that contend Pope Joan is a lie) pointed to things like no gap in the Papal record and Papal coins with correct dates and dated documents signed by a Pope that should not have been Pope if Joan were true.

The Joan proponents made vague allegations about Papal coverups and distortions and the hatred of and suppression of women. They even tied Joan to the celibacy and the all-male priesthood. Apparently Christ didn’t institute these. Joan caused them.

Right.

OK.

Nothing but male bovine excrement.

ABC to Air Pope Joan Investigation

Fric — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 23:24:00 +0000

Tonight on ABC Diane Sawyer will host a special on the infamous and non-existent “Pope Joan”. This so-called Pope was supposed to have lived in the early part of the ninth century during a time when the Church was still united. The story goes that Joan had long disguised herself as a man and entered the priesthood, eventually rising to the Papacy. Her identity was only discovered when she went into labor and gave birth while making her way somewhere (I forget the destination) in Rome. The crowds supposedly killed her on the spot.

Almost as sensational as the Duh Vinci Code, huh?

Too bad it’s not anywhere near the truth.

Too bad for the anti-Catholics that is. As the brief article at World Net Daily points out, the story of Pope Joan didn’t even appear until some 400 years AFTER her supposed Papacy. There have been plenty of books and articles debunking this myth over the years, but it still rears it’s ugly head.

I first encountered it when I was doing research for a paper while studying at Bellarmine College (now Bellarmine University) in Louisville, KY back in the mid 80’s. I went to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to look up some resources they had. Most of the local colleges and universities in Louisville have an agreement about making such resources available to each school’s students. While there I came across an old book containing a listing of the Popes and in it was Pope Joan listed as fact. No mention was made of the controversy surrounding this mythical figure. Being non-Catholic at the time, I had no reason to doubt it.

Now, after doing lots of research and reading about the Church, I realize how much hooey it is. Shame on anyone who presents this either as fact or as something that even COULD be true. It’s been debunked over and over and over. It’s pure and simply anti-Catholic trash put out there as fact or at least as plausible theory.

Those not secure in their faith, those looking for an excuse and those who already dissent from Church teaching will find in this a reason to leave, protest or cry hypocrisy. Those who already hate the Church will point to it as proof of the Church as the Whore of Babylon that lies about its past and makes things up as it goes along.

Some will say that this could simply be an investigation into the myth with the purpose of debunking. However, given that the promotions are treating it as a serious subject whose authenticity could be verified and the MSM’s long history of bias against the Church, I will not hold my breath waiting for that debunking.

However, if I am wrong, I will post here tomorrow my sincere apology.

Somehow I don’t really think it will be necessary though.