#93: Pope Francis The Dictator? —Dr. Henry Sire

The pontificate of the former Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, as Pope Francis has not exactly met the excited hopes of Catholics around the world. Most were happy to learn the Holy Father was from Latin America, and many thought the Church could stand some fresh air and energy.

But things have not turned out so rosy. Never has a Roman Pontiff been the source of so much confusion, ambiguity, and been motivated by such an obviously politicized modus operandi. A spate of books have come out in the last year discussing what can no longer be denied: that the current papacy has been tainted by corruption, scandal, and (to take one example) the refusal to address the stunning allegations by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.

Space here forbids a full account of the problems Catholics around the world are now awakening to, but this interview with Dr. Henry Sire (pen name Marcantonio Colonna), who wrote what is now a worldwide publishing phenomenon, The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy, goes into greater detail, starting with Bergoglio’s handling of predator priests in his native Buenos Aires. If you’ve been wincing along, wondering what the next confusing or vexing papal decision or directive is going to be, don’t miss this conversation.

 

In this episode you will learn:

• How the political philosophy of Argentine dictator Juan Perón, who ruled the country intermittently in the decades after World War II, strongly influenced young Jorge Bergoglio
• Why Perónism, as a strategy for implementing an agenda, is neither conservative nor liberal: it is Machiavellian
• How Pope Francis’s defenders do not answer the evidence, but change the subject or resort to ad hominem attacks
• The ways in which a climate of fear reigns inside the walls of the Vatican
• Specific names, places, and facts that must be confronted when assessing the level of dereliction of episcopal duty
• How to stay hopeful and balanced in the meantime through intensified prayer and renewing the effort at understanding the perennial teachings of the Church

 

Resources recommended in this episode:

• The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy by Marcantonio Colonna (aka Henry Sire)
• Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse In the Catholic Church by Dr. Leon Podles
• Pope Francis In Context by E. Michael Jones
• Lost Shepherd: How Pope Francis Is Misleading His Flock by Philip Lawler
• To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism by Ross Douthat

 

Question of the week

What is one practical thing you can do to strengthen your faith in the midst of the current turmoil in the Church?

 

 

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