Pope Francis and the Catholic bishops have been a big help to those who seek to destroy our religious freedoms.
A class action lawsuit has been filed in Maine against vaccine mandates, claiming that such mandates violate religious freedom and the First Amendment, which of course, they do:
Of course the First Amendment gives us the right to refuse a vaccine that has not been adequately tested. News reports show that people have died from taking the vaccine and scores more have suffered severe, life-threatening side effects. Large vax clinics in Raleigh and Denver, for instance, had to be shut down because so many people were suffering severe side effects. Japan just recently had to refuse a shipment of 1.6 million doses because they were found to be tainted with foreign substances. And no testing has been done to determine if the vaccine is safe for pregnant mothers. It is sheer madness to act as if we know that these medicines are safe and effective. This is human experimentation, and it is grossly immoral. And given the high survival rate from COVID infection, there really is no justification for the draconian lockdowns and vaccine mandates that we have been subjected to.
And then there are the moral implications of accepting vaccines that rely, for testing and production purposes, on the cell tissue of aborted fetuses. Naturally, one would expect some protests. But the bad news for us Catholics is that the bishops are getting in the way. Many bishops have openly declared their opinion that there is no valid religious exemption for Catholics concerning vaccine mandates. Some bishops have even issued their own mandates for diocesan employees:
You Ain’t Amish, Buddy.
Thus, while some people may be able to opt out of mandatory vaccines for religious reasons, Catholics may be out of luck on that score. It’s a dynamic of our Constitutional freedom that is often overlooked: Not all First Amendment protections are equal, especially in the case of religious freedom. John Zmirak explains in a recent article:
For this to make sense, we need to remember some history. Through the Vietnam War, Catholics had trouble claiming conscientious objector status. Why? Because their own church did not clearly object to fighting in wars. And US courts look to the official statements of a church to determine whether First Amendment claims are in fact legit.
John Zmirak: The Stream
An Amish conscript on the other hand, would have a much easier time avoiding the front lines. That’s because the Amish are pacifists, as anyone will know who remembers the popular Harrison Ford movie on the subject. The upshot here is that religious freedom is not the same for all Americans. Differences in religious teaching and doctrine translate into different interpretations and applications of the First Amendment.
So when the bishop of San Diego says that religious exemptions for vaccines have no basis in Church teaching, he’s making a political statement with massive legal and Constitutional implications. He’s also lying. And, in the process, he’s taking away your freedom to follow your conscience.
Ohio Case in Point
How all this plays out in the political arena is aptly illustrated by the following video clip. A young priest testified before the Ohio State Legislature against vaccine mandates. Take a look at the clip and note well the nature of the pushback that the priest received. I’ll give you a hint: “But Pope Francis says . . .”:
The Vax Drama Is an Omen of Coming Religious Persecution
This is exactly the scenario I warned about in the final chapter of my new book:
The difficult question that any honest priest would be stuck answering is this: “What gives you the authority to defy the pope?”
Confronting the Pope of Suspicion, p. 93
In my book, though, I wasn’t talking about vaccines. I was talking about sacrilegious intercommunion—the real possibility, based on Amoris Laetitia, that the pope might approve of some form of illicit Holy Communion for non-Catholics and those in a state of mortal sin. He can’t do that. It would be a desecration of the Eucharist to allow non-Catholics or sinners to receive it. We learned that from the Apostles. Thus, Catholics would be obligated to prevent such a profanation of the sacraments.
Tragically, though, the lesson of the present vaccine crisis is that, in the practical worlds of media, law, and politics, actual Church teaching may be less important than the superficial statements of Church leaders. Remember, “Who am I to judge?” on a plane ride with Pope Francis? The present vaccine crisis (along with recent papal plane rides) teaches us that statements made by Church leaders like popes and bishops carry significant political and legal power. Such statements actually hold the power to define and delimit the nature and boundaries of our religious freedoms. So if the pope and other church leaders make statements favoring some form of illicit intercommunion, that could spell trouble for the Church.
Pope Francis Loves Synodality
In my new book, Confronting the Pope of Suspicion, I warned that Pope Francis was using Amoris Laetitia to impose a heretical, pro-homosexual reform on the Universal Church. My thesis was not taken seriously—except by a few—until the German bishops came along and announced the creation of a new national synod that would implement the teachings of Amoris Laetitia. What did this German implementation look like?
- The German bishops asserted that sexual morality should come from science and not the Bible.
- Following “science,” the German bishops also declared that homosexuality should be accepted as natural and normal.
The synod was a complete vindication for my book. On the darker side, though, the implications and potential consequences of German Synod teachings go deep and dangerous. The sinful nature of homosexuality was entirely erased. Thus, according to the Germans, there is no moral or theological justification for excluding active homosexuals from the sacraments or any other dimension of Church life, including positions of leadership. The German reform will mean full inclusion of the LGBT community in the Catholic Church in Germany. Germans will be taught that homosexuality is morally good and that, on the contrary, to exclude gay persons from Church life and the sacraments is and act of bigotry and discrimination.
Indeed, since the pope announced a “Year of Reflection on Amoris Laetitia” we have seen a proliferation of pro-LGBT messaging from Church leaders around the world, including here in the United States. Thus, it would seem there is widespread support in the global Church hierarchy for the heretical German plan to normalize homosexuality.
What will the pope do? That is an important question. Querida Amazonia suggests that he’s going to let the Germans have their way in an endorsement of the “principle” of synodality, which the pope favors. There’s plenty of evidence, however, that the pope is fully on board with gay equality, and that he is merely using synodality as a smokescreen to cover his heretical tracks.
Amoris Laetitia—Trojan Horse for Gay Fascism.
Whatever the case may be with regard to Pope Francis, it is, nevertheless, a virtual certainty that the Germans will go ahead with their gay equality apostasy and that Francis will allow it. The vaccine mandate debate demonstrates the danger of this likely state of affairs. If the pope is seen as open to full LGBT inclusion in the Church, as the tweet below implies, gay activists are likely to show up to our churches and demand equality, and yes—even Holy Communion.
And if churches do the right thing and safeguard the sacraments and the deposit of faith, they are certain to be dragged into courts, as Jack Phillips has for years now. And they will be forced to answer the exact same question they were asked concerning vaccines:
The difficult question that any honest priest would be stuck answering is this: “What gives you the authority to defy the pope?”
Confronting the Pope of Suspicion, p. 93
Timeline to Apostasy
How much time do we have? A good bet is that Francis is waiting for the conclusion of the German Synod before he makes his move. That is scheduled to wrap up at the end of February of 2022. The “Year of Amoris Laetitia” concludes a few months later, at the end of June. So my guess is that a major movement on gay inclusion in the Church is coming sometime in the first half of 2022, but not until the conclusion of the German Synod at a minimum. A major statement from the pope could conceivably be delayed until the conclusion of the recently announced “Synod on Synodality,” in 2023.
LGBT Activists Will Not Stop With the Catholic Church
There certainly does not appear to be much time left before we see the outbreak of a major apostasy. And I agree with John Zmirak that the fall of the Catholic Church will be felt in all Bible-based churches. The movement away from Biblical revelation by the Catholic Church will certainly be seized upon by gay activists to discredit all traditional Christian denominations. They will say that Christians have been hiding behind their Bibles to justify slavery and racism for centuries and that Christian condemnations of homosexuality today are equally spurious. They will say that traditional Christian teachings on homosexuality are discriminatory and that the First Amendment doesn’t protect bigotry and hate. And they will say it in courtrooms with their lawyers—and with the pope as their star witness.
“Christians, Stop Discriminating Against Gays!”
I leave you with two tweets from the ever reliable NewWays bunch. I can always count on them to prove my point!
Mike
Religious liberty is not an error. We cannot be forced to accept Jesus. The Truth stands above all. The devil has been in the Church since the beginning. Even Jesus said so.
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Steve D.
This is exactly the reason why religious liberty is error, and in direct contradiction of the Church teaching of the Social Kingship of Christ. Excellent article, I would have never thought of this possible outcome resulting from Bergoglio’s heresies. Evil never sleeps.
John Gravino
Thank you for your kind words!
Andrew
Hello John
Maybe, the vision of Fatima is the other way around- the good guys are the ones hunting the Pope.
It would explain why no one is willing to release the audio.
John Gravino
Pope Francis definitely raises such questions.