Simple Foolishness Or A Communist Tactical Move?

     It has frequently embarrassed me that Jorge Bergoglio, elevated to the Throne of Saint Peter some years back, chose my name for his papal appellation. The man is so demonstrably unfit for his position that the entire College of Cardinals should do severe penance for electing him. And as the successor to Pope Benedict XVI, the foremost Catholic intellectual of modern times! What on Earth were they thinking?

     Bergoglio’s latest emission has me wondering whether he’s a dupe, a victim of ingressive senility, or a socialist tactician:

     ROME — Pope Francis said Sunday that military disarmament is not optional but constitutes a “moral obligation” for all nations.
     Following his weekly Angelus address in Saint Peter’s Square, the pontiff recalled that March 5 marks the second International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness.
     “How many resources are wasted on military expenditure, which, because of the current situation, sadly continues to increase!” he told the estimated 20,000 tourists and pilgrims gathered in the square.
     He went on to express his hope that “the international community will understand that disarmament is first and foremost a duty, and that disarmament is a moral obligation.”
     “Let’s get this into our heads,” he added. “And this requires the courage of all members of the great family of nations to move from a balance of fear to a balance of trust.”
     In the past, the pope has suggested that if people are really serious about world peace, the solution is to “ban all weapons.”

     Oh yeah, right. In a world where totalitarian states seek the subjugation of their neighbors, those neighbors should melt their guns and extend a welcoming hand. In a world where more than a billion persons seek to conquer all the rest of us for religious reasons, we should beat our swords into plowshares. And in a world where human predation is the greatest of all threats to innocent life and property, we should put all the tools of self-defense into the incinerator and let the violent and aggressive have their way with us.

     If it isn’t madness or senility, it’s a move in a totalitarian plan.

     At times like these, it can be embarrassing to be a Catholic. Supposedly we owe an absolute allegiance to the Holy See. At least, that’s what the Holy See says. It’s not true, but even smart Catholics can be befuddled by the notion.

     The Vicar of Christ on Earth – that’s the pope, for those of you without a program – has only limited authority. His doctrinal pronouncements cannot contradict the teachings of Christ. If you need an example, imagine a pope issuing an encyclical sanctifying murder or adultery. Imagine a pope proclaiming that it’s a Catholic’s religious duty to convert his non-Catholic neighbors by force. Imagine a pope blessing same-sex marital unions. Oops! Bergoglio did that, didn’t he?

     Other commentators have called Bergoglio an “antipope.” I’m unsure of the technicalities here. I’d thought that an antipope was one who claimed the office without having been elected to it by the College of Cardinals. Whatever the case, Bergoglio is a bad pope, whether by dint of stupidity, senility, or a desire to remake the Church as a religious version of the Comintern.

     However, there’s no way to pull a sitting pope off the Throne against his will. Catholics can only hope that the next Conclave learns from the last one’s mistake.