[ 0 → 4] TrapCast Express [ 4 → 15] TrapCast Express, it's Tuesday, January 30th, 2024. [ 16 → 20] Being a popesplainer in our times is a dangerous undertaking. [ 21 → 23] You know what I'm talking about, right? [ 23 → 29] A popesplainer, so-called, is basically an apologist for the supposed pope. [ 29 → 34] Specifically, Jorge Bergoglio, otherwise known as Pope Francis. [ 35 → 45] The popesplainer's task is to explain why whatever heretical, blasphemous, idiotic, or otherwise scandalous thing Francis just said or did, [ 45 → 48] he did not, in fact, just say or do. [ 49 → 51] Or if he did, he didn't mean it. [ 51 → 58] Or if he did mean it, he's still not guilty because of a footnote over here or a misunderstanding over there. [ 58 → 64] Or because he's a Jesuit, or his native language is Spanish, or he's well into his 80s, [ 64 → 68] or some other excuse that is meant to get him off the hook. [ 69 → 75] Some hard-working popesplainers of the last ten years have included the Reverend John Zuhlstorf, [ 75 → 77] who's long given that up, [ 77 → 81] Jimmy Akin, who's also stopped defending Francis three times a week, [ 82 → 86] and Dave Armstrong, who is probably still at it. [ 86 → 88] I'm not including Michael. [ 88 → 92] I'm not including Michael Voris in this list because he wasn't really a popesplainer. [ 92 → 98] His strategy for years was basically to spin Francis into an ultra-conservative, [ 98 → 104] apparently thinking that the readers of his website were too dumb to look at other news sources as well. [ 105 → 111] Voris would simply report only on whatever orthodox words of Francis he could find and ignore all the rest. [ 112 → 117] We called it the Voris virus, and his vortex program, the Ignortex. [ 117 → 118] For a record, he was a popesplainer. [ 118 → 118] For a record, he was a popesplainer. [ 118 → 121] It's true that that changed eventually. [ 122 → 127] He did start covering scandals, but for the first few years, that's exactly what he did. [ 127 → 131] Pope Francis talks like a pope, like the successor to St. Peter. [ 131 → 135] At present, however, the popesplainer extraordinaire, [ 136 → 142] who I think is most deserving of the title and even has a shirt with the label popesplainer on it, [ 142 → 147] is no doubt Michael Lofton of the Reason and Theology website. [ 147 → 148] When it comes to popesplainers, [ 148 → 150] when it comes to defending Bergoglio, [ 150 → 153] supposedly the pope, the vicar of Christ, [ 153 → 155] Lofton doesn't miss a beat. [ 156 → 159] Therefore, it's rather curious that there is one recent incident [ 159 → 163] Lofton has ignored completely, and I think I know why. [ 164 → 169] But first, let's go back in time a little bit to April 18th, 2023. [ 170 → 175] On that day, a curious thing happened at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. [ 175 → 178] St. John Lateran is not just any historic, [ 178 → 181] it is the cathedral of the pope. [ 182 → 182] That's right. [ 183 → 185] No, it's not St. Peter's in the Vatican. [ 185 → 187] That's just an important basilica. [ 187 → 190] The papal cathedral is that of St. John Lateran. [ 191 → 193] So, what happened there that day? [ 194 → 200] An Anglican bishop, Jonathan Baker, accompanied by 49 other Anglican clerics, [ 200 → 206] offered a Eucharistic liturgy, a mass, on the main altar of the Catholic cathedral. [ 207 → 208] That's a problem. [ 208 → 211] Not simply because Anglicanism is a false religion, [ 211 → 214] and its rites and ceremonies constitute false worship, [ 214 → 218] but also because Anglican ordinations are invalid. [ 218 → 223] And so, whatever they offered there, it was certainly not a valid mass. [ 224 → 226] And that's not simply my judgment, [ 226 → 231] it's the solemn and definitive magisterial judgment of the supreme pontiff [ 231 → 234] of the Roman Catholic Church, Leo XIII. [ 235 → 238] According to his Apostolic Constitution, [ 238 → 241] Apostolice Curiae, published in 1896, [ 242 → 244] Anglican ordinations are invalid. [ 245 → 249] That means that Bishop Baker is only Mr. Baker. [ 249 → 253] He is neither a bishop, nor even a priest, but just a layman. [ 254 → 260] The invalidity of Anglican orders is affirmed officially even by the Vatican II Church. [ 261 → 267] In other words, their own Vatican II Magisterium holds that Anglican orders are invalid. [ 267 → 267] Invalid. [ 268 → 271] Okay, so that was a big scandal, [ 271 → 277] but it wasn't entirely clear whether Pope Francis had permitted the Anglican pseudo-bishop [ 277 → 282] to perform this Eucharist in the papal cathedral or not. [ 282 → 285] Certainly, somebody in charge there had permitted it, [ 286 → 289] but whether Francis knew about it and approved it, [ 289 → 292] that was never demonstrated to be the case, [ 292 → 294] and so we cannot affirm that he did. [ 294 → 295] We simply don't know. [ 296 → 298] After enough of a rummage, [ 298 → 299] a ruckus ensued over this. [ 299 → 303] One of the authorities at St. John Lateran released a statement [ 303 → 306] saying there had been some kind of failure in communication, [ 307 → 309] and he expressed his deep regret. [ 309 → 310] Meanwhile, however, [ 311 → 313] Recognize and Resist YouTuber Taylor Marshall [ 313 → 318] had rashly made a video accusing Francis himself of knowing about [ 318 → 322] and approving this without any real evidence. [ 323 → 326] And so that was basically a real feast for Michael Lofton, [ 326 → 327] who was able to, [ 327 → 328] slam Marshall, [ 329 → 330] and defend his supposed pope [ 330 → 333] from those evil accusers [ 333 → 335] who would dare to suggest [ 335 → 337] that he, the vicar of Christ himself, [ 337 → 342] would ever possibly authorize an invalid Anglican mass [ 342 → 344] in a Catholic church. [ 345 → 349] Here is an almost three-minute compilation of various soundbites [ 349 → 351] taken from Lofton's video [ 351 → 356] Taylor Marshall Spreads Lie About Pope and Anglican Mass, [ 356 → 357] published on April 21st, [ 357 → 358] 2021st, [ 358 → 359] 2023. [ 360 → 363] These are different snippets I've stitched together, [ 363 → 366] and I'm separating them with a little accent sound [ 366 → 367] to indicate a skip. [ 369 → 372] Go ahead and listen to how passionately and confidently [ 372 → 374] Lofton defends Francis, [ 375 → 377] and then I'll tell you the rest of the story. [ 378 → 381] Hey everybody, welcome back to Reason and Theology. [ 381 → 382] Your host, Michael. [ 382 → 386] On a Friday, I want to review Taylor Marshall's video [ 386 → 391] spreading the lie that Pope Francis allowed a fake mass [ 391 → 394] by a fake bishop on an altar in Rome. [ 394 → 397] However, I do agree that it would be a fake mass [ 397 → 401] and a fake bishop since it was an Anglican bishop [ 401 → 402] who celebrated the liturgy, [ 402 → 403] which I think is tragic. [ 403 → 407] That certainly should not have been allowed, [ 407 → 408] and however this happened, [ 409 → 411] there was somebody who certainly dropped the ball [ 411 → 414] in light of the fact that Anglican masses are invalid [ 414 → 416] per Pope Leo XIII, [ 416 → 418] due to the invalidity of their order. [ 418 → 420] So this is certainly an issue. [ 420 → 422] It needs to be corrected. [ 422 → 424] It doesn't ever need to happen again [ 424 → 426] because at the end of the day, [ 426 → 427] this is simulating a mass. [ 427 → 429] It's not actually a mass itself. [ 429 → 432] So I agree with the fake mass and fake bishop part, [ 432 → 436] but the claim is Pope Francis allowed it to take place [ 436 → 438] at St. John Lateran's Basilica, [ 438 → 439] and this is a lie. [ 440 → 442] This is spreading a lie, misinformation, [ 442 → 445] and stirring people up in their passions [ 445 → 446] to get people, [ 446 → 450] all angry and upset with Pope Francis. [ 452 → 453] And of course, [ 453 → 457] this lie is spreading all over social media, [ 457 → 459] and now, as you can imagine, [ 460 → 461] the orthobros, [ 461 → 465] that is some of the more toxic online orthodox apologists, [ 465 → 468] are trying to use this against Catholics [ 468 → 469] and saying, [ 469 → 473] look, your Pope approves of fake Anglican masses [ 473 → 474] and stuff like that. [ 474 → 476] And so, [ 476 → 477] they're, of course, [ 477 → 480] watching radical traditionalist Catholics [ 480 → 481] who are spreading this lie, [ 481 → 483] and they're trying to use it against us. [ 483 → 484] So once again, [ 484 → 488] the radical traditionalists are wreaking havoc upon the church, [ 488 → 490] stirring people's passions up [ 490 → 493] and falsely accusing the Holy Father. [ 493 → 494] Truly tragic. [ 496 → 498] The enemies of the church [ 498 → 501] are now using this against the Catholic Church [ 501 → 502] to mock the Catholic Church. [ 503 → 504] They are watching this stuff, [ 504 → 506] and they're using it as ammunition, [ 506 → 508] against the Catholic Church. [ 510 → 512] Looks like the people who are in charge [ 512 → 514] of booking at St. John Lateran's, [ 515 → 515] yeah, [ 516 → 518] whoever made this mistake probably needs to be fired, [ 519 → 521] and you need to get somebody more reliable. [ 521 → 522] Just FYI. [ 523 → 526] If you're booking people who aren't actually [ 526 → 528] valid priests and bishops [ 528 → 531] to celebrate liturgies on a Catholic altar, [ 532 → 536] you might need to get somebody else in charge. [ 536 → 536] So, [ 536 → 540] there's certainly some fault here with whoever did it, [ 540 → 544] but it can't be blamed on Pope Francis [ 544 → 546] or any of the high dicasteries that represent him, frankly. [ 548 → 551] Let's just make sure this doesn't happen again. [ 551 → 552] Can we do that? [ 553 → 554] That'd be helpful. [ 554 → 557] Yeah, wouldn't that be helpful? [ 557 → 559] Well, I already said it's a dangerous job [ 559 → 563] being a popesplainer in our day under Jorge Bergoglio. [ 563 → 566] Lofton was foolish enough to go all in for Francis. [ 566 → 569] He didn't just say that there is no evidence [ 569 → 571] that Francis knew about this [ 571 → 574] and that it's wrong to rashly accuse the Pope, [ 574 → 576] but no, he went much further. [ 577 → 580] He said that Francis would have given a firm no [ 580 → 583] if he had been asked for permission in advance. [ 584 → 586] Here's another soundbite from the same video. [ 586 → 587] I think the dicastery, [ 588 → 589] one of the dicasteries, [ 590 → 591] if not the Holy Father himself, [ 591 → 593] should have been involved in making this decision, [ 593 → 594] which would have been a firm no. [ 594 → 596] But since they weren't involved, [ 596 → 598] and this shows you they weren't involved, [ 598 → 599] Pope Francis wasn't involved, [ 599 → 602] and none of the dicasteries were involved, [ 603 → 606] you know, you can't blame this on Pope Francis [ 606 → 610] or any of his direct representatives in the dicastery. [ 610 → 614] Oh, well, that was on April 21st, 2023. [ 615 → 620] But now let's fast forward to January 25th, 2024. [ 620 → 624] As part of the annual week of prayer for Christian unity, [ 624 → 626] a bunch of Anglicans were visiting, [ 626 → 629] including Justin Welby, [ 629 → 631] the so-called Archbishop of Canterbury. [ 632 → 635] He's the highest-ranking clergyman in the Anglican Church. [ 636 → 638] But having only Anglican orders, [ 639 → 642] he too is not valiantly ordained. [ 642 → 645] In other words, the Archbishop of Canterbury [ 645 → 649] is in reality only the Archlayman of Canterbury. [ 650 → 654] And once again, that is so even for the Vatican II Church. [ 655 → 656] Wouldn't it be a good idea to have a church like this one? [ 656 → 659] Wouldn't it be a shame now if Pope Francis [ 659 → 663] had given authorization to the Archlayman of Canterbury [ 663 → 667] to offer an invalid Eucharistic liturgy [ 667 → 670] in one of the historic Catholic basilicas in Rome? [ 671 → 673] Not St. John Lateran, granted, [ 673 → 677] but yes, this time Pope Francis himself [ 677 → 679] gave permission for Justin Welby [ 679 → 682] to defile the Basilica of St. Bartholomew [ 682 → 685] with an invalid Anglican Mass. [ 686 → 687] How do we know that? [ 687 → 690] We know it because Welby himself [ 690 → 691] proclaimed it from the pulpit. [ 692 → 694] Gerard O'Connell, a Vatican journalist [ 694 → 698] writing for the Novus Ordo Jesuit rag America, [ 698 → 701] published a tweet with a brief video clip [ 701 → 704] of Welby solemnly processing into the sanctuary [ 704 → 707] to begin his heretical and invalid liturgy. [ 708 → 709] O'Connell writes, [ 709 → 711] Archbishop Justin Welby, [ 712 → 714] the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, [ 714 → 716] arrives to celebrate the Holy Eucharist [ 716 → 720] in St. Bartholomew's Church on Tiber Island, Rome, [ 720 → 724] January 25th, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. [ 725 → 726] He does so, he said, [ 726 → 730] with the permission of the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis. [ 730 → 731] Unquote. [ 732 → 734] LifeSite had a whole article on this, [ 734 → 736] and I'm going to link it in the show notes. [ 737 → 739] It goes without saying that Michael Lofton [ 739 → 742] now has more than just egg on his face. [ 742 → 743] He's got a whole omelette. [ 744 → 746] To show how devastating [ 746 → 748] this news is to Lofton's position, [ 748 → 750] let's replay the three-minute clip [ 750 → 752] in which he takes to task [ 752 → 754] those who would be so evil [ 754 → 756] as to accuse Francis [ 756 → 760] of authorizing an invalid Anglican service. [ 760 → 761] Hey, everybody. [ 761 → 763] Welcome back to Reason and Theology. [ 763 → 764] Your host, Michael. [ 764 → 767] On a Friday, I want to review [ 767 → 769] Taylor Marshall's video [ 769 → 772] spreading the lie that Pope Francis [ 772 → 775] allowed a fake mass by a fake bishop [ 775 → 776] on an altar. [ 776 → 778] In Rome, however, I do agree [ 778 → 779] that it would be a fake mass [ 779 → 781] and a fake bishop [ 781 → 783] since it was an Anglican bishop [ 783 → 784] who celebrated the liturgy, [ 784 → 786] which I think is tragic. [ 786 → 789] That certainly should not have been allowed. [ 789 → 791] And however this happened, [ 791 → 793] there was somebody who certainly dropped the ball [ 793 → 795] in light of the fact that [ 795 → 797] Anglican masses are invalid [ 797 → 798] per Pope Leo XIII [ 798 → 801] due to the invalidity of their order. [ 801 → 803] So this is certainly an issue. [ 803 → 804] It needs to be corrected. [ 804 → 806] It doesn't ever need to happen again. [ 806 → 808] Because at the end of the day, [ 808 → 809] this is simulating a mass. [ 809 → 811] It's not actually a mass itself. [ 811 → 813] So I agree with the fake mass [ 813 → 814] and fake bishop part. [ 814 → 816] But the claim is Pope Francis [ 816 → 818] allowed it to take place [ 818 → 820] at St. John Lateran's Basilica. [ 821 → 821] And this is a lie. [ 822 → 824] This is spreading a lie, misinformation, [ 825 → 827] and stirring people up in their passions [ 827 → 831] to get people all, you know, [ 831 → 833] angry and upset with Pope Francis. [ 833 → 836] And of course, [ 836 → 839] this lie is spreading all over social media. [ 840 → 842] And now, as you can imagine, [ 842 → 843] the orthobros, that is, [ 844 → 848] some of the more toxic online orthodox apologists [ 848 → 851] are trying to use this against Catholics [ 851 → 852] and saying, you know, [ 852 → 855] look, your Pope approves of fake Anglican masses [ 855 → 857] and stuff like that. [ 857 → 860] And so they're, of course, [ 860 → 862] watching radical traditionalist Catholics [ 862 → 863] who are spreading this lie. [ 863 → 866] And they're trying to use it against us. [ 866 → 867] So once again, the radical traditionalists [ 867 → 870] are wreaking havoc upon the church, [ 870 → 872] stirring people's passions up [ 872 → 875] and falsely accusing the Holy Father. [ 876 → 876] Truly tragic. [ 878 → 880] The enemies of the church [ 880 → 883] are now using this against the Catholic Church [ 883 → 885] to mock the Catholic Church. [ 885 → 887] They are watching this stuff [ 887 → 889] and they're using it as ammunition [ 889 → 890] against the Catholic Church. [ 892 → 894] Looks like the people who are in charge [ 894 → 895] of booking, [ 896 → 897] at St. John Lateran's, [ 897 → 897] yeah, [ 898 → 900] whoever made this mistake [ 900 → 901] probably needs to be fired [ 901 → 903] and you need to get somebody more reliable. [ 903 → 905] Just FYI. [ 906 → 907] If you're booking people [ 907 → 911] who aren't actually valid priests and bishops [ 911 → 913] to celebrate liturgies on a Catholic altar, [ 915 → 919] you might need to get somebody else in charge. [ 919 → 922] So there's certainly some fault here [ 922 → 923] with whoever did it. [ 923 → 926] But it can't be blamed on Pope Franz, [ 926 → 927] or any of the high dicasteries [ 927 → 929] that represent him, frankly. [ 930 → 932] Let's just make sure this doesn't happen again. [ 933 → 934] Can we do that? [ 935 → 936] That'd be helpful. [ 936 → 939] Yeah, some things just don't age well. [ 940 → 942] But okay, let's go ahead now [ 942 → 944] and look at Lofton's reaction [ 944 → 947] to the news that the Archlaemon of Canterbury [ 947 → 948] had papal permission [ 948 → 951] to defile the Catholic Basilica [ 951 → 953] of St. Bartholomew. [ 956 → 961] That's right. [ 961 → 964] Not a word from the professional popesplainer. [ 964 → 966] Not a word. [ 967 → 968] At least not in public, [ 968 → 970] and not as of the recording of this podcast, [ 971 → 972] to my knowledge. [ 972 → 973] And I checked the website [ 973 → 975] and his YouTube channel [ 975 → 976] and his Twitter feed. [ 977 → 979] It's as if the whole thing hadn't happened. [ 980 → 984] Now, Lofton's passionate 2023 video [ 984 → 984] Defending Francis Against the Church, [ 984 → 986] Defending Francis Against the Church, [ 986 → 988] in charge of permitting an invalid Anglican Mass, [ 989 → 991] that video, as of the recording of this podcast, [ 992 → 995] has almost 29,000 views. [ 996 → 997] That's a lot of people. [ 998 → 1000] And I think it would be a real shame [1000 → 1001] if those who watched that [1001 → 1003] weren't now informed [1003 → 1004] that this time around, [1005 → 1007] their pope has approved [1007 → 1009] the invalid Anglican Mass [1009 → 1011] performed by Justin Welby. [1012 → 1014] And so, this little podcast [1014 → 1015] is trying to make its own way [1015 → 1017] and its own modest contribution [1017 → 1019] to help get the message out [1019 → 1021] to at least a tiny fraction [1021 → 1023] of those 29,000 viewers. [1024 → 1025] Since, obviously, [1025 → 1027] Lofton himself isn't doing it. [1028 → 1029] Whoever made this mistake [1029 → 1030] probably needs to be fired [1030 → 1032] and you need to get somebody more reliable. [1032 → 1034] As I said at the beginning, [1034 → 1036] being a popesplainer in our times [1036 → 1038] is a dangerous undertaking. [1039 → 1040] Lofton had put all his eggs [1040 → 1042] in one basket. [1042 → 1043] And now it turns out [1043 → 1045] it was the wrong basket. [1046 → 1048] Tradcast Express is a production [1048 → 1050] of Novos Ordo Watch. [1050 → 1052] Check us out at tradcast.org [1052 → 1053] and if you like what we're doing, [1054 → 1055] please consider making [1055 → 1056] a tax-deductible contribution [1056 → 1059] at novosordowatch.org [1059 → 1060] slash donate.