Pope Francis and the Crisis of Confusion: Bishop Gracida

By Patrick Coffin, Catholic Stand, July 15, AD2018 

The Patrick Coffin Show podcast features weekly interviews with A-list influencers and outliers in the effort to recover the Judeo-Christian roots of the culture. Patrick is the Canadian-born former host of Catholic Answers Live, and he has raving fans around the world. He injects these fascinating interviews with his own distinctive blend of depth and levity. If you’re tired of politically correct mediaspeak, you want to see God back in the public square, and you’re not allergic to having a laugh, this is the place to be.

Bishop Gracida

A few minutes into my conversation with Bishop Gracida, bishop emeritus of Corpus Christi, TX, it becomes obvious that he is direct and to the point, evidently allergic to beating around the bush. Yet, he’s kindly and thoughtful. At 95, he is hale and hearty and is one of the very few bishops who regularly blog. His remarks, sometimes trenchant, always readable, are found at www.abyssum.org Abyssus Abyssum Invocat, Latin for “deep calls to deep” (from Psalm 42:7).

Pope Francis

If you feel somewhat disoriented by some of the utterances and writings of Pope Francis, you’re not alone. If the thought of criticizing the Pope makes you uncomfortable (there are plenty of nasty professional Francis Haters online), that’s a good sign of filial devotion to the Holy Father and to the Church, he visibly leads. Sometimes, though, the faithful have “the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful” (Canon 212.3).

In this regards, Bishop Gracida has some questions that fearlessly “go there.” What do I mean? The authorized biography of disgraced Godfried Cardinal Daneels of Belgium describes activities between and among cardinal electors, such as Cardinal Carlo Martini, Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, and Cardinals Karl Lehmann and Walter Kasper—dubbed the St. Galen Mafia. These activities, verified by Austin Ivereigh in his hagiographic biography of Pope Francis, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making Of a Radical Pope involve canvassing other electors to elect Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio.

Well…

Bishop Rene Gracida believes, as do others, that this activity is canonically illegal under the promulgated laws in the 1996 Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, by St. John Paul II. If this is true, then the validity of the papal election may be in doubt. You read that right.

To state the obvious, I am not a canonist nor was I at the Conclave. What I know is that know that the reaction of most Catholic pundits to the notion that the 2013 election may have been invalid is met with a guffaw or a “that’s crazy talk.” It’s a gorilla in the room whose existence needs to be acknowledged before it can be dismissed as harmless.

In this interview you will:

Have a sense of appreciation for what Ordinaries are called to as shepherds of souls Understand the difference between true episcopal authority as it resides in the individual bishop and the largely administrative authority of a national bishops’ conference Get a clear picture of a self-described “one crisis after another” life lived to the full See more reasons to renew your prayers for the life and health of the Church Understand why the sacraments must never be politicized no matter who does it Maybe be shaken up.

Resources recommended in this episode: An Ordinary’s Not So Ordinary Life by Bishop Rene Henry Gracida Follow Bishop Gracida on his blog here:  www.abbysum.org

Website: www.patrickcoffin.media

Speaking: www.patrickcoffin.media/speaking

http://www.catholicstand.com/pope-francis-and-the-crisis-of-confusion-bishop-gracida/