Saturday, January 09, 2016

"Denzinger Bergolio: Suprising Contributions by Francis to the Magisterium" (Wow!)

A few minutes after eight o’clock in the evening, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica announcing to the world the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church. A few weeks before, Benedict XVI had surprised everyone with his sudden resignation from the office as Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter. This happening was as unexpected as “a lightening bolt in a clear sky”, as Cardinal Angelo Sodano commented in his address to the renouncing Pope directly following the shocking news.

The first appearance of the new Vicar of Christ was sufficient for all to perceive that a new era had begun, characterized by his unusual way of living and projecting the papacy. Ever since the first day of his pontificate, Francis surprised everyone by his words, as well as his gestures. This change — which some perceived as a positive breath of fresh air in the ecclesiastical circles, supposedly lacking during the last months of Benedict XVI’s reign — quickly went from perplexity to concern, then to blatant disorientation for many who perceived that the most undeniable Catholic truths were being questioned, both from within and without.

The audacity of his gestures — which some see as calculated with ominous goals — together with an ambiguous and confused way of transmitting doctrine, in contrast with the crystalline Magisterium of the previous popes, has raised concern among many sheep of the Lord’s flock. Who is Francis? What is his goal? The fervent, or even hysterical applause of those who in previous pontificates attacked the Church for its fidelity to the Truth of Christ, was coupled with an impression that something new was being transmitted. Soon an abundance of news items tried to give the faithful the idea that the Vicar of Christ would soon be applying radical changes to the deposit of the Faith, to its moral precepts and to the already bi-milennary pastoral practice … In response to the turmoil, there were only perplexing words for the faithful — not to mention directives with a ambiguous connotation that few could really understand — coupled with smiles, hugs, and gestures of approval for those who had attacked the Church earlier. Disorientation, perplexity, indignation, scruples, worries and desperation…. the faithful reacted in the most varied manners with regards to the situation created by “Hurricane Francis”.

Faced with this state of affairs, the shepherds in contact with the ‘little flock’ had to struggle to clear up the doubts of their sheep in the midst of such chaos. With this objective, there was no better recourse than the most secure source, the Magisterium of the Church. Consequently, the “Denzinger-Bergoglio” was born, bringing together a group of acquaintances — Spanish priests, who were undergoing the same difficulties, and who shared the same concerns. With the blessings of the Lord, we admit that our network of friends has grown more than we ever imagined. Amongst these are an ever-growing group of English speaking clerics – that started out from an initial core of US priests – who are behind the English DzB.

After several months, we have reached a centenary, with one hundred studies analyzing diverse affirmations of Francis, in contrast with the two thousand years of Church teaching; from the Sacred Scriptures to a total of 54 popes, 10 Councils, 25 Fathers of the Church, 15 Doctors and several fundamental Church texts, as well as the pronouncements of Roman Congregations, the Episcopal Magisterium, and various Saints.

We would like to thank our many readers and followers, as well as those who have helped us by sending documentation with less divulged affirmations of Francis, or priceless videos which are difficult to find, all of which has been useful for the consolidation of our theses. We wish to greet the many priests from around the world who belong to our network, and those who have sent words of encouragement and prayers.

So much has occurred since March 13, 2013… And we are already on the way to a second ‘centenary’….But as you can imagine, this is a slow and painstaking task. However, given the volume of our studies, and to facilitate apologetic research, we would like to commemorate the hundredth post of the “Denzinger-Bergoglio_EN” with a compilation of the studies in PDF format. Once again we especially request your collaboration, with the most valuable assistance — your prayers, but also by the promulgation of this digital book. Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam!

Read the entire work in PDF here.

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