TrapCast Express
TrapCast Express, it's Tuesday, February 18th, 2020.
Alright, it's time to pick up where we left off in the last episode, number 103,
talking about Pope Francis' new exhortation, Carita Amazonia.
The document consists of a total of four chapters, and we covered Chapter 1 last time,
so this time we'll look at Chapter 2.
Now remember, Chapter 1 was the social dream that Francis is suffering from,
and Chapter 2 now is the cultural dream.
In paragraph 29, he says the following, quote,
The Amazon region is host to many peoples and nationalities,
and over 110 indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.
Their situation is very tenuous, and many feel that they are the last bearers
of a treasure doomed to disappear, allowed to survive only if they make no trouble
while the postmodern colonization advances.
They should not be viewed as uncivilized savages.
They are simply heirs to different cultures and other forms of civilization
that in earlier times...
were quite developed, unquote.
So what Francis seems to be saying here is that all cultures are more or less equal,
and that there are no uncivilized savages anywhere,
only heirs to different cultures and other forms of civilization.
So I guess that's one way to repudiate the fairy tale of the noble savage
by simply denying that there exist any savages and everyone's noble.
Okay, well, let's see.
Let's see what Pope Leo XIII said about that.
Writing in 1886 in his encyclical I Am Predem on Catholicism in Germany,
this true Holy Father wrote, quote,
No less serious or useful is the work which Catholic missionaries,
animated by the spirit which the Church inspires in them,
bring to distant, uncivilized countries.
Several European rulers have in our time begun to establish colonies there.
The German government also seeks to establish colonies,
increase its possessions, and open new avenues to commerce and industry.
What will make its reputation among the nations
is its effort to civilize the savage tribes.
But to conciliate the minds and to win the confidence of these uncivilized nations,
they should teach them the salutary precepts of religion right from the beginning, unquote.
Now, to be clear, the idea is not to be unkind,
to dismiss these people or to talk down to them and condemn them and walk away self-righteously.
No, in fact, the objective here is to communicate to them the natural law,
true right and wrong, and, of course, the divinely revealed gospel.
And this is clear in what Pope Leo says next.
This is the same paragraph 14 from the encyclical I Am Predem, quote,
They, meaning the missionaries,
should bring them to understand the true notion of what is just and honest.
Finally, they should explain what it means to be children of God,
for they too have been called to this, thanks to the merits of our Savior.
This is what the popes had in mind when they sent so many missionaries to barbarian nations.
This is certainly not the affair of armies, nor of civil magistrates,
nor of conquerors, although they may certainly,
reap abundant fruit for it.
Rather, as history attests, it is the task of those men who go forth from the camp of the church,
embracing the labors and dangers of missionary expeditions.
These men do not fear to travel among barbarian nations as messengers and interpreters of God,
ready to pour out their blood and their lives for the salvation of their brothers, unquote.
Beautiful.
This is real Catholicism.
To go out and proclaim the gospel to all because Christ died for all and wants to save all.
The souls of barbarians, of savages, are just as precious in the eyes of God
as the souls of Europeans or Asians or Africans or anyone else.
But what we cannot do is simply act as though there were no uncivilized cultures,
as though all cultures were practically of equal value.
Well,
no,
of course not.
A culture is as good and valuable as it comes close to the right order of things,
especially to moral right and wrong.
And let's always remember as well that we ourselves were once savages,
if not physically,
at least spiritually,
before we were regenerated in sanctifying grace.
And we become savages every time we fall into mortal sin,
which God forbid.
So the idea is not to look down on uncivilized cultures with disdain,
feeling superior because we're not like them,
but to help them get out of their savagery,
knowing that we ourselves would be in no better state had God not had mercy on us.
But to do that, you first have to acknowledge that savagery exists.
Next, we move to paragraph 31 in Corrida, Amazonia,
where Francis shares with us,
a stanza from a poem written by one Javier Iglesias.
Quote,
Make the river your blood,
then plant yourself,
blossom and grow,
that your roots sink into the ground forever and ever.
And then at last become a canoe,
a skiff,
a raft,
soil,
a jug,
a farmhouse,
and a man.
Unquote.
Uh, hello?
You still there?
Okay, good.
Um, yeah.
So that poem now appears in the celebrated document
of a man most of the world unhappily believes is the Pope of the Catholic Church.
Think about that.
All right.
Moving on to paragraph 33,
we find one of those whatever statements from Bergoglio
that he never justifies and expects everyone to accept simply because he says so.
He writes, quote,
I urge the young people of the Amazon region,
especially the indigenous peoples,
to take charge of your roots,
because from the roots comes the strength that will make you grow,
flourish,
and bear fruit.
Unquote.
What does that mean?
Take charge of your roots.
Does anyone know what that actually means?
I'm not saying it doesn't or can't have any meaning.
I'm saying that different people will ascribe different meanings to that because it's vague.
Does it mean identify with your upbringing by endorsing everything in your early life
and continuing all of the traditions that you received?
Does it mean continuing to practice the religion you were brought up with,
regardless of whether it's true or false?
Does it mean looking with complacency and pride on one's past,
no matter what it was?
What does it mean?
Now, he says,
from the roots comes the strength that will make you grow,
flourish,
and bear fruit.
Really?
Says who?
How so?
This is naturalist garbage.
Notice that he didn't say that the strength that will make you grow comes from God
through faith, hope, and charity.
Through grace.
Oh, no.
That would be supernaturalism.
And that might offend those who don't believe in God,
in faith, hope, charity, or grace.
So, Bergoglio's content to talk about roots.
He probably got that from his Jewish psychoanalyst.
And I say that because the Jews are big proponents of naturalism,
and Francis did admit to getting therapy from a Jewish psychoanalyst for six months,
back in the late 1970s or early 80s, if I remember correctly.
Now, it's true, Francis does say in the very next sentence,
still in paragraph 33,
quote,
For those of them who are baptized,
these roots include the history of the people of Israel,
and the church, up to our own day.
Knowledge of them can bring joy and, above all,
a hope capable of inspiring noble and courageous actions.
Unquote.
But notice that he is subordinating the supernatural to the natural here.
His primary thesis is that what will make you grow and flourish and bear fruit
is taking charge of your roots, whatever they may be.
And hey, if you're Catholic, then great.
For you,
that includes all of salvation history.
More power to you.
Right?
But he makes it relative.
He makes it subjective.
He makes it dependent on whether these are your roots.
And that's what ultimately matters for him.
And the Muslim with Muslim roots is going to find his deliverance in that.
Don't believe it?
Well, that is exactly what Francis told Muslims back on January 19th, 2014,
in Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart Basilica in Rome.
He was meeting with foreign refugees there,
and among them were both Muslims and Christians.
Now, Francis addressed both of them together,
and he said that for the hardships they endured in their refugee journeys,
they should find solace in their respective religions.
Here's what he said verbatim.
Quote,
Sharing our experience in carrying that cross to expel the illness within our hearts,
which embitters our life,
it is important that you do this in your meetings.
Those that are Christian with the Bible,
and those that are Muslim with the Koran,
the faith that your parents instilled in you will always help you move on.
Unquote.
There.
That is Bergoglio's doctrine of roots for you.
It is utter apostasy.
Now, the fact of the matter, of course,
is that there is no essential connection,
between your happiness and your roots,
if we want to use that awful secular naturalist term.
That doesn't mean that your roots can't contribute to your happiness.
Of course they can.
But your happiness isn't essentially tied to them.
And just think about it.
What if your roots,
which you aren't responsible for having, obviously,
what if your roots are in Nazi Germany,
or in Communist China?
What if what was instilled in you,
was the wickedness of these cultures and ideologies,
and your parents were criminals in these regimes?
Would Francis really want you to take charge of these roots,
so you can grow, flourish, and bear fruit?
Probably not.
All right.
Moving on now from roots to bridges.
In paragraph 36,
the Frankster does admit that even the Amazonian cultures have their limits.
And, of course, he's quick to add that so do Western urban cultures,
Now, because of that, he says in paragraph 37,
And then he proclaims another naturalist dogma
that we must accept simply because,
because he says so.
And here is what he does say.
Quote,
Our own cultural identity is strengthened and enriched
as a result of dialogue with those unlike ourselves.
Unquote.
And my question would be,
Why?
Why and how is our own cultural identity strengthened and enriched
by talking with those who don't share that culture?
Can anyone explain that?
Hey,
maybe it's true.
Maybe it is so.
I'd just like to know why and how,
because it definitely doesn't stand to reason.
And lastly, let's wrap it up here
with a sentence from paragraph 40 of Corrida, Amazonia.
And I've probably read this six or seven times now,
and I still don't quite know what it means.
Maybe you can figure it out.
Quote,
Unquote.
All right.
That's all I have for chapter two,
France's culture,
cultural dream.
And in the next podcast,
we'll look at chapter three,
the ecological dream.
Don't say you weren't warned.
Until then,
please do me a favor and don't become a canoe.
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