After the 12,000-word interview were more words from all over the world including the Philippines. In the Philippine setting, the spin is that the Philippine Catholic Bishops are acting not in accord with the Pope with its strong opposition to Reproductive Health, Same-sex marriage, Divorce. Naturally, Catholic defenders had to explain it away. Fr. Nono Alfonso, S.J. likewise, also interpreted the Pope on Radio Veritas846.
The article on Rorate Cæli featuring an article of a Conservative non-Trad Spanish writer, Juan Manuel de Prada was perhaps the most touching of all. It reminds me of some heart breaking reactions when Pope Benedict XVI renounced the papacy. The papacy is a vocation of fatherhood and it is of greater import in a fatherless society- a Papa, it must be, to the universal church..
Then, there is the spin on the "parable of the Prodigal Son". The Pope is the good, merciful father who welcomes with a feast the atheists, divorcees, gays, pro-abortion. On the other hand, the Catholics who react negatively to the pope's words are likened to the other son filled with interior sins. Well, there is a prodigal son and the other son in each of us, but the Pope, though the Vicar of Christ, is not God. The Sensible Bond is a great piece. It is neither defensive nor offensive.
Ultimately, we will be confronted with what we are truly convicted of.
Do we really believe that Jesus is God who instituted the Catholic Church?
Do we really believe in Jesus' promise that "the gates of hell will not prevail against it"?
Do we really believe in the teachings of the Church on Contraception, Abortion, Marriage, Family?
It is an ever increasing challenging times for Catholics, demanding white martyrdom and in many places, red martyrdom. Things are not going to get easier. Somehow, I predict this will be a short pontificate but a highly visible one. It is after this pontificate wherein the simmer reaches a boiling point and schism will happen.
Continually, we must pray, reflect, and keep aflame the thirst and quest for Truth. Do I stand with Jesus, Mary, the saints, the Church, the Bible, the magisterium, and the valid Pope?
