It's Wednesday, December 7th, 2022.
If there's one man who knows how to use words in an inappropriate way, you know who it is.
That's right, Jorge Bergoglio, also known by a stage name, Pope Francis.
You know, I'm talking about expressions like the terrorism of gossip, the paganism of thought,
by which he was, of course, referring to Catholic traditionalism.
Then there is the sacrilege of war, the martyred people of the Ukraine, the blasphemy of beating women,
or the perversion of clericalism, to mention just a few.
Personally, I was always worried.
I was always waiting to hear about the genocide of jaywalking, but so far, no luck.
Well, just the other day, Bergoglio came up with a new one, the magisterium of fragility.
He introduced that concept in his message for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, issued on December 3rd.
Now, I will not pretend that I understand what he means by it.
Something about an awareness of our limits and our dependence on God.
Bergoglio writes that if this magisterium were heeded, it, quote,
would make our society more humane and fraternal,
enabling all of us to understand that happiness is bread that is not eaten alone.
How much would a better awareness of our need for one another help us
to have less hostile relationships with those around us?
And how much would the realization that entire peoples cannot save themselves
prompt us to seek solutions to the senseless conflicts we are experiencing?
Unquote.
Okay, fine, but what does magisterium have to do with this?
In any case, he writes, quote,
This magisterium of fragility is a charism by which you, dear sisters and brothers with disabilities,
can enrich the church.
Your presence may help transform the actual situations in which we live,
making them more human and more welcoming.
Without vulnerability, without limits, without obstacles to overcome,
there would be no true humanity.
Unquote.
Yeah, I mean, whatever.
Look, obviously it's good to emphasize that people with disabilities also have gifts to share.
That they are no less part of the church than able-bodied people and so on.
But what's with the weird terminology about a magisterium of fragility
and it being a charism?
Also, on December 3rd, Francis received a group of disabled people at the Vatican for an audience,
and he told them the following, quote,
I hope that all Christian communities may be places where belonging
and inclusion,
do not remain words to be uttered on certain occasions,
but become an aim of ordinary pastoral action.
In such a way, we will be able to be credible when we proclaim that the Lord loves everyone,
that he is salvation for all,
and invites everyone to the banquet of life without exclusion.
It strikes me greatly when the Lord narrates the story of that man
who had prepared a feast for his son's wedding,
and the guests did not come,
He calls the servants and says,
Go to the thoroughfares and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.
The Lord asks for everyone,
young, old, sick, healthy, small, great,
sinners and without sin.
Everyone, everyone, everyone.
This is the Lord.
Everyone, without exclusion.
We must learn this.
We are at times a little tempted to go along the road of exclusion.
No.
Inclusion.
The Lord has taught us this.
Everyone.
But this one is ugly.
This one is like that.
Everyone.
Inclusion.
Unquote.
Yeah, well, as usual, Francis has managed to tell only part of the story,
thereby distorting it and telling, in effect, a false story.
If we look at the Gospel text Francis cites,
which is Matthew 22, verses 1 through 14,
we read, beginning at verse 10,
quote,
And his servants going forth into the ways gathered together all that they found,
both bad and good.
And the marriage was filled with guests.
And the king went in to see the guests.
And he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment.
And he saith to him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?
But he was silent.
Then the king said to the waiters,
Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the exterior darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Unquote.
So we see here that it's true that everyone was invited, was called,
but not everyone was permitted to partake of the banquet,
because not everyone was properly disposed.
And so it's misleading for Francis to say that everyone is invited,
but not everyone is invited.
We cannot mention this little detail,
which, although the Lord offers salvation to all,
in the sense that all are exhorted to convert and make use of his grace
to become worthy of salvation by means of the wedding garment of faith, hope, and charity,
he does not ultimately save everyone,
but only those with the wedding garment.
And in fact, in that very text,
Christ tells us that the saved are few,
relatively speaking.
Although many are called, only few are chosen.
So while Francis just about blows a gasket emphasizing inclusion,
he is silent on the fact that ultimately there will be exclusion from the banquet.
Not, of course, for the disabled,
but for mortal sinners who prefer to persist in their sins
and refuse to put on the wedding garment offered to them by God.
And those will be cast out,
into the darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Yes, it's legitimate and important to include the sick,
the frail, the elderly, the disabled, the poor, the less privileged.
But notice that Francis lumps people of an entirely different category together with them,
the sinners.
Now, obviously, we're all sinners,
but the church distinguishes some sinners from others.
Because not all sins are the same,
not all sins are equally grave,
not all sins have the same consequences,
not all sins are public,
not all sins are evident on the outside
and have the potential to lead others into sin,
and so forth.
In fact, some sins are so bad
that one is automatically excommunicated for them.
But for Francis, none of this matters.
For him, even the most notorious public sinner
is to be included,
and a blind eye is to be turned to his persistence
in grave public sin.
And that is why Francis can be so lenient,
for example, with public sodomites,
or with politicians who are personally responsible
for helping to enable and legalize grave immorality.
That is Francis' concept of inclusion,
and it is false, dangerous,
and most certainly not rooted in the gospel.
In fact,
the gospel contradicts it.
Here are a few more examples.
In Luke 13, 28,
our blessed Lord says,
That's exclusion.
St. John writes in his second epistle,
If any man come to you and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into the house,
nor say to him, God speed you.
That's 2 John 1, 10.
Sounds pretty exclusive to me.
And listen to the following quote
from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians,
chapter 5, verses 9 through 13.
And I'm using the Monsignor Ronald Knox translation here
because it's easier to understand.
Quote,
In the letter I wrote to you,
I told you to avoid the company
of fornicators,
not meaning everyone in the world around you
who is debauched or a miser
or an extortioner or an idolater.
To do that,
you would have to cut yourselves off
from the world altogether.
No, my letter meant that if anyone
who is counted among the brethren
is debauched or a miser
or an idolater or bitter of speech
or a drunkard or an extortioner,
you must avoid his company.
You must not even sit at table with him.
Why should I claim jurisdiction
over those who are without?
No, it is for you to pass judgment
within your own number,
leaving God to judge those who are without.
Banish, then, the offender from your company.
Unquote.
So much for including everyone all the time.
But, of course, even Francis has his limits.
There are some things he will not tolerate.
And that's typically those things
that pertain to traditional Catholicism.
Then all bets are off.
Then he's done with inclusion.
Proselytism to convert non-Catholics?
You've got to be kidding.
That's a serious sin, you rigid triumphalist.
Including a traditional Latin mass community
in the parishes?
Forget it.
Extirpation is the name of the game.
For all his blustering about inclusion
Bergoglio really is no different
from the very people he criticizes.
He, too, excludes.
It's just a different group of people.
And that goes to show
that the false gospel of inclusion Francis preaches
is so unreasonable
that not even he believes it.
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