Purgatory

Back in 2011 my Grandpa suffered a stroke which left him paralyzed on one side of his body. It was hard on my whole family to see this man whom we loved, honored and looked up to, suffer so much. Yet in his suffering he would often say, "I am offering this up for the poor souls in purgatory." 

Many times, at Church I have heard people pray for the "poor souls in purgatory" and what a good practice it is to do so. Even my Grandpa showed me a book once he was reading on purgatory and how some souls were allowed to appear to individuals and during their visit, left a burned hand print on a bed sheet, curtain or even a piece of clothing. Even though most people these days may argue that purgatory is no real place and only an invention of the Catholic Church, signs like this would prove different.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches this about purgatory: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (1030). To most Catholics, this seems very clear that the mere idea of Purgatory makes sense; If you die with unforgiven sin still on your soul, you need to be purified in order to enter into Heaven. Yet some still aren't fully convinced.

Perhaps the best place to start is with the most overt reference to a purgatory, of sorts, in the Old Testament. Second Maccabees 12:39-46 describes how Judas Maccabeus and members of his Jewish military forces collected the bodies of some fallen comrades who had been killed in battle. When they discovered these men were carrying “sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear” (v. 40), Judas and his companions discerned they had died as a punishment for sin. Therefore, Judas and his men “turned to prayer beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out… He also took up a collection… and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably… Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (42-43, 46).

Yet, Protestants believe that Maccabees is not a valid book in the Bible and therefore the purgatory argument is flawed. Yet, proof of purgatory does not only stop in the Old Testament. In Matthew 5, Jesus is even more explicit about purgatory: “Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny” (Mt 5:25-26). We can even look to Revelation that states that "nothing unclean shall enter [heaven]" (Rev. 21:27)

Many other Bible verses also support the idea of Purgatory as well. But if Purgatory exists… What is it? What is it like? Some mystics have said that the fires of Purgatory are no different than the fires of Hell. And let me point out how it has also been said that the fires of Hell are nothing like an Earthly fire. Even the act of living on the sun could not compare to the fires of Hell. Therefore the fires of Purgatory clearly spare no lack of severe suffering.

I have even heard people say, "Well, if I can at least make it to Purgatory… That's fine by me." But why would you ever want to set your eternal goal that low? Why not shoot for the ultimate goal of Heaven?? I think its because none of us have a full understanding of what Purgatory is?

According to this poor soul in Purgatory, this is what he had to say…
"You in the world have no inkling of what we have to suffer! Being abandoned and forgotten by those who have been nearest to us in the world: that is most bitter. Sometimes they stand at the tombs of our bodies and don't pray for us at all. They act as if we don't exist any more. God's justice commands us to be silent. But we stand at the door of their houses, of our former dwellings, and wait. We stand there and wait. Days, years. We wait for them to give us a small sign of their love by prayer and sacrifices. But we stay there in vain. We cry in vain for love. For help! Tell them...Love should not die at death. We are still alive and we are hungry for love! For your love!"
 

 After reading this quote from this poor soul, it really opened up the door to another question that I know my wife and I have often questioned during the time of Halloween about ghosts. According to my brief knowledge of the paranormal, most of what people experience in ghostly encounters is brought on by the demonic. And most likely anyone who would dabble in such thing would probably be experiencing demonic activity, which is why we must stay away from it! But on the other hand is it possible that some ghostly spirits could be the spirits of loved ones who have gone to Purgatory and are suffering and waiting for our prayers, but have been forgotten?

On April 29, 1926, St. Faustina Kowalska was visited three times by a recently deceased nun. During the apparitions, the spirit begged Sister Faustina for help so she could be released from purgatory. Even St. Padre Pio reported that "there were more souls of the dead who come up the road [leading to the monastery] then souls of the living."

There even is an account of a Lutheran minister, who is no believer in Purgatory, is left puzzled by repeated visitations from "demons" who come to him seeking prayer, consolation, and refuge in his little German church. But pity for the poor spirits overcomes the man's skepticism, and he marvels at what kind of departed souls could belong to Christ and yet suffer still... 

Here's another account: After a week of hearing ghostly noises, a man is visited in his home by the spirit of his mother, dead for three decades. She reproaches him for his dissolute life and begs him to have Masses said in her name. Then she lays her hand on his sleeve, leaving an indelible burn mark, and departs...

Is it possible that some of these ghostly spirits are suffering Purgatory here on Earth and want nothing but our prayers to be freed? Even during the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, 10-year old Lucia asked Mary if the they would go go heaven. Mary answered yes, but that Francisco would have to "pray many rosaries". Next, she asked what happened to two young friends who had recently died: "Is Maria das Neves in Heaven?" "Yes, she is" [answered Mary]. "And Amelia?" "She will be in purgatory until the end of the world."

Regardless of these stories and what they have to tell us, it is clear that Purgatory does exist and the poor souls that exist there need our prayers. So my brothers and sisters, please… Pray for the poor souls in Purgatory, who long for our prayers so fervently!

God love you all, Pray the Rosary daily!

Are you Saved?

I was once asked by a door-to-door evangelist what I believe happens when you die. So I told him plainly what I believed, expecting that his answer to my response would be something in reference to John 3:16.

I told him that I believe that when you die you will stand at judgement to receive your eternal sentence. If you have lived a good life and made God the center of everything you did in life, kept His Commandments, received the Sacraments, did good to others and rejected evil at every turn, then you would go to Heaven. Yet if you did all these things yet in the end still had sin on your soul, then you may have to spend some time in Purgatory since as Jesus said, nothing unclean shall ever enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. (Rev. 21:27) But on the other hand if in everything you did, you did to serve mankind and not God, and gave into evil things thinking that it wasn't a big deal… Then you would receive the eternal sentence of Hell.

Of course his response was just as I expected, and followed the famous Protestant theme that Luther invented that believes that if you only accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you will be saved… Guaranteed! Ummm… Not quite!

Kenneth E. Hagin, a well-known Pentecostal televangelist from the "Word Faith" wing of Protestantism, asserts that this assurance of salvation comes through being "born again": "Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Though much of Hagin’s theology is considered bizarre in Protestant circles, his explanation of being born again could be endorsed by millions of Evangelical Protestants. In his booklet, The New Birth, Hagin writes, "The new birth is a necessity to being saved. Through the new birth you come into the right relationship with God."

According to Hagin, there are many things that this new birth is not. "The new birth is not: confirmation, church membership, water baptism, the taking of sacraments, observing religious duties, an intellectual reception of Christianity, orthodoxy of faith, going to church, saying prayers, reading the Bible, being moral, being cultured or refined, doing good deeds, doing your best, nor any of the many other things some men are trusting in to save them." Those who have obtained the new birth "did the one thing necessary: they accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior by repenting and turning to God with the whole heart as a little child." That one act of the will, he explains, is all they needed to do. But is this true? Does the Bible support this concept?

Yet scripture teaches that one’s final salvation depends on the state of the soul at death. As Jesus himself tells us, "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 24:13; cf. 25:31–46). One who dies in the state of friendship with God (the state of grace) will go to heaven. The one who dies in a state of enmity and rebellion against God (the state of mortal sin) will go to hell.  

In the world we live in today there seem to be many who would rather accept this easy route of just saying you believe in Jesus and then calling it a day over taking the tough road of actually living out their faith in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). But this is pure ignorance! Have we forgotten that the God of the Old and New Testament is the same God? If you are lukewarm you will be spit out! (Rev 3:16) If we really want to be saved, then it's not going to be easy. We must love as God loves, follow His Commandments, receive the Sacraments, and NEVER NEVER give into the world, the flesh or the Devil. These are fundamental basics of the path to salvation, and if we don't follow them… We will not be saved. We can't serve two masters.

I have even heard it said that "in the end, we will all go to Heaven… God will eventually rescue all His children, even the ones in Hell and bring them home." To which I stand in utter amazement in how demonically crafted this statement is. "Don't worry, Hell isn't actually forever." - LIE! Hell is forever, and we must "fear the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell."

"But how could a loving and merciful God allow any of His children to go to Hell for all eternity?"

It is hard to swallow for some, but we need to remember that even though God is loving and merciful… He is not a push over. Like any good parent who would tell their children to not run in the street lest you are hit by a car, so our Heavenly Father is telling us not to sin and give into evil ways lest we fall into Hell. It is not God who chooses our destiny, but ourselves and our free will that He gave us that ultimately decides our fate. If there was no free will, we know that God would will for us all to be in Heaven with Him… Yet because He wishes for us to love Him freely from our own will, then it is us who have ultimately determined our fates.

Yet at the same time, since He does want us in Heaven with Him so badly, He does throw us "life vests" of salvation to help us along the way. These "life vests" are the Sacraments, Graces, Indulgences, the Rosary, Holy Water, Scapulars and much more. And let us not forget that our biggest advocate of all is Our Blessed Mother who also desires all of us to be with her Son in Heaven and will do everything she can to help save us. And we know that Our Lord will never deny her request.

We must remember to live out our salvation in fear and trembling, because our salvation is not guaranteed! And if we have sinned, we must remember not to fall into despair which is an agent of the Devil. Remember, Peter denied Jesus 3 times and came back to be forgiven. Judas betrayed Jesus and hung himself, and was never forgiven. It is never too late to seek the Sacrament of Penance and start over.

It may not be easy to live as a Catholic in this world, but it is easy to die as a Catholic in this world.

God love you all! Pray the Rosary Daily!

Our Lady of Peace, Pray for us.

God love you all, pray the rosary daily!

Defend us in Battle!

True story of a Soldier and the Intervention of St. Michael

What follows is a letter written by a young Marine to his mother while he was hospitalized after being wounded on a Korean battlefield in 1950. It came into the hands of a Navy Chaplain who read the letter before 5,000 Marines at a San Diego Naval Base in 1951.

The Navy Chaplain had talked to the young man, to his mother, and to the Sergeant in charge of the patrol. This Navy Chaplain, Father Walter Muldy, assured anyone who asked, that this was a true story.

Dear Mom,

I wouldn't dare write this letter to anyone but you because no one else would believe it. Maybe even you will find it hard, but I have to tell somebody.

First off, I am in a hospital. Now don't worry, you hear me, don't worry. I was wounded but I'm okay. The doctor says that I will be up and around in a month. But that is not what I want to tell you.

Remember when I joined the Marines last year; remember when I left, how you told me to say a prayer to St. Michael every day. You really didn't have to tell me that. Ever since I can remember you always told me to pray to St. Michael the Archangel. You even named me after him. Well I have always prayed to St. Michael. When I got to Korea, I prayed even harder. Remember the prayer that you taught me? "Michael, Michael of the morning, fresh corps of Heaven adorning…" You know the rest of it. Well, I said it every day, sometimes when I was marching or sometimes resting, but always before I went to sleep. I even got some of the other fellas to say it.

Well, one day I was with an advance detail way up over the front lines. We were scouting for the commies. I was plodding along in the bitter cold; my breath was like cigar smoke. I thought I knew every guy in the patrol, when along side of me comes another Marine I never met before. He was bigger than any other Marine I'd ever seen. He must have been over 6 feet 4 inches and built in proportion. It gave me a feeling of security to have such a body near me.

Anyway, there we were trudging along. The rest of the patrol spread out. Just to start a conversation I said, "Cold ain't it." And then I laughed. Here I was with a good chance of getting killed any minute and I am talking about the weather!

My companion seemed to understand. I heard him laugh softly.

I looked at him, "I've never seen you before. I thought I knew every man in the outfit."

"I just joined at the last minute," he replied, "the name is Michael."

"Is that so," I said surprised, "that's my name too."

"I know," he said, and then went on saying the prayer, "Michael, Michael of the morning..."

I was too amazed to say anything for a minute. How did he know my name, and a prayer that you had taught me? Then I smiled to myself, every guy in the outfit knew about me. Hadn't I taught the prayer to anybody who would listen? Why now and then, they even referred to me as St. Michael.

Neither of us spoke for a time, and then he broke the silence.

"We're going to have some trouble up ahead." He must have been in fine physical shape for he was breathing so lightly I couldn't see his breath. Mine poured out in great clouds. There was no smile on his face now. Trouble ahead, I thought to myself; well with the commies all around us, that's no great revelation.

Snow began to fall in thick great globs. In a brief moment the whole countryside was blotted out, and I was marching in a white fog of wet sticky particles. My companion disappeared.

"Michael!" I shouted in sudden alarm. I felt his hand on my arm, his voice was rich and strong, "This will stop shortly."

His prophecy proved to be correct. In a few minutes the snow stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The sun was a hard shining disc. I looked back for the rest of the patrol. There was no one in sight. We lost them in the heavy fall of snow. I looked ahead as we came over a little rise. Mom, my heart stopped. There were seven of them, seven commies in their padded pants and jackets and their funny hats. Only there wasn’t anything funny about them now. Seven rifles were aimed at us.

"Down Michael!" I screamed, and hit the frozen earth. I heard those rifles fire almost as one. I heard the bullets. There was Michael still standing.

Mom, those guys couldn't have missed, not at that range. I expected to see him literally blown to bits, but there he stood, making no effort to fire himself. He was paralyzed with fear. It happens sometimes, Mom, even to the bravest. He was like a bird fascinated by a snake. At least that's what I thought then. I jumped up to pull him down and that was when I got mine. I felt a sudden flame in my chest. I often wondered what it felt like to be hit. Now I know.

I remember feeling strong arms about me, arms that laid me ever so gently on a pillow of snow. I opened my eyes, for one last look. I thought I was dying. Maybe I was even dead. I remember thinking, “Well, this is not so bad.”

Maybe I was looking into the sun. Maybe I was in shock, but it seemed I saw Michael standing erect again, only this time his face was shining with a terrible splendor.

As I say, maybe it was the sun in my eyes, but he seemed to change as I watched him. He grew bigger, his arms stretched out wide, maybe it was the snow falling again but there was a brightness around him like the wings of an angel. In his hand was a sword. A sword that flashed with a million lights.

Well, that's the last thing I remember until the rest of the fellas came up and found me; I don't know how much time had passed. Now and then I had but a moment's rest from the pain and fever. I remember telling them of the enemy just ahead.

"Where's Michael?" I asked. I saw them look at one another. "Where's who?" asked one.

"Michael, that big Marine I was walking with just before the snow squall hit us."

"Kid," said the sergeant, "you weren't walking with anyone. I had my eyes on you the whole time. You were getting too far out. I was just going to call you in, when you disappeared in the snow."

He looked at me, curiously. "How did you do it, kid?"

"How did I do what?" I asked half angry, despite my wound. "This Marine named Michael and I were just..." "Son," said the sergeant kindly, "I picked this outfit myself and there just ain't another Michael in it. You are the only Mike in it."

He paused for a minute. "Just how did you do it, kid? We heard shots, yet there hasn't been a shot fired from your rifle, and there isn't a bit of lead in them seven bodies over the hill there."

I didn't say anything; what could I say? I could only look open-mouthed with amazement.

It was then, the sergeant spoke again. "Kid," he said gently, "every one of those seven commies was killed by a sword stroke."

That is all I can tell you, Mom. As I say, it may have been the sun in my eyes, it may have been the cold or the pain, but that is what happened.

Love, Michael

St. Mary Magdalene, Pray for us!

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In an emotional ceremony filled with tears and applause, a 70-year-old Kentucky woman was ordained a priest on Saturday as part of a dissident group operating outside of official Roman Catholic Church authority.

Rosemarie Smead is one of about 150 women around the world who have decided not to wait for the Roman Catholic Church to lift its ban on women priests, but to be ordained and start their own congregations.

In an interview before the ceremony, Smead said she is not worried about being excommunicated from the Church — the fate of other women ordained outside of Vatican law.

"It has no sting for me," said Smead, a petite, gray-haired former Carmelite nun with a ready hug for strangers. "It is a Medieval bullying stick the bishops used to keep control over people and to keep the voices of women silent. I am way beyond letting octogenarian men tell us how to live our lives."

To read the full article, Click Here.

Sigh… Last week I came across this article on Facebook and I couldn't stop shaking my head. This is very sad. As I had written in a previous article on the Catholic Vita, I honestly can't believe this still exists, especially after Blessed John Paul II's infallible statement in his 1994 Apostolic Letter: Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. Yet there still exists women like these who wish to defy Rome. Very sad.

Here are my comments on the points made in this article. First and foremost, the comment that these women are not waiting "for the Roman Catholic Church to lift its ban on women priests" is completely misguided. There is no so-called "ban" on women priests. Thus would suggest that it was once allowed and now has been banned, which is on the contrary. As the late Holy Father made it clear, the Church herself "has no power to ordain women", therefore throughout all it's history has kept with this tradition set forth by Jesus Himself. Even though this argument is often countered with the idea that Jesus didn't ordain women as priests because of the times, which as I stated previously is a very lame and uneducated statement! We know that Jesus did many things that went against the times and norms of the culture He lived in, and therefore to say such a thing is really preposterous! The Church throughout all time has never once ordained a woman and never will. It's not a "ban" that can be lifted… Its just the way it is because that's how it was set up.

In this article they also made the comment that Jesus "chose women, like Mary Magdalene, as disciples, and that the early Church had women priests, deacons and bishops." This again is way off. For one, Mary Magdalene was a disciple, that is true… But she was not an Apostle. There were only 12 Apostles and they were the first Bishops of the Church, and they were all men. Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus like you and me, and is most noteworthy in the Bible because she turned away from sin and followed Jesus and His teachings. In the Roman Catholic Church she is Saint, which is no small recognition from the Church. She is one of many Holy Women that the Church looks at very favorably. And you know what is the most interesting fact about every single one of these Holy Women… Not one of them were priests, nor did they ever want to be! As I've stated before, the mere fact that Jesus didn't even ordain His own Mother who herself was the only perfect woman who ever lived, is clear-cut proof that Jesus wanted this to be a male thing only. And if Mary is the model for all women, why wouldn't these women want to live like her? Do they think they are better?

In the second point they state that there were once women priests, deacons and bishops. Again… This is not true. There were such things as women deaconesses, yet they were not ordained. Rather the women "deaconesses" were rather appointed during the time in cases where the sacrament of Baptism or Extreme Unction were to be carried out to an woman who may have been in an indecent condition for a male priest or deacon to minister to.

Council of Nicaea I:
"Similarly, in regard to the deaconesses, as with all who are enrolled in the register, the same procedure is to be observed. We have made mention of the deaconesses, who have been enrolled in this position, although, not having been in any way ordained, they are certainly to be numbered among the laity" (Canon 19 [A.D. 325]).


Epiphanius of Salamis:
"It is true that in the Church there is an order of deaconesses, but not for being a priestess, nor for any kind of work of administration, but for the sake of the dignity of the female sex, either at the time of baptism or of examining the sick or suffering, so that the naked body of a female may not be seen by men administering sacred rites, but by the deaconess" (ibid.).

So there you have it, once again this argument is debunked. Yet sadly, there are those 150 women "priests" out there that don't believe it nor accept it. One would only pray that they would look to St. Mary Magdalene, and turn away from this sinful heresy and follow Christ as she did.

God love you all! Pray the rosary daily!

An Unknown Interview with Pope Francis

The following is a transcript of an interview between and American journalist and then Cardinal Bergoglio. It has been said that this interview took place between MSNBC's Chris Matthews and the then Cardinal, yet sources say it is a fake. Regardless it's a good read! And if it is real, I would suspect the reporter probably doesn't want this interview to surface.

CAMERA ON / BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

REPORTER: Welcome Cardinal.

BERGOGLIO: Thank you. Happy to speak with you.

REPORTER: Well, let me get into it directly. Last conclave, you were almost elected Pope. Can this happen again?

BERGOGLIO: What? That I will almost be the Pope, again?

REPORTER: No. Will you be the next Pope?

BERGOGLIO: Friend, I'm only jesting with you. I understand the question. I will not be the next Pope

REPORTER: Why not?

BERGOGLIO: I chose not to. God has someone else in mind I'm certain.

REPORTER: But you would take the job if it were offered.

BERGOGLIO: I think not.

REPORTER: Why not.

BERGOGLIO: I believe I'm too embroiled in the secular fiasco. It is a spiritual job, and I'm a soldier. Look at the nature of power. In Europe first and now in America, elected men have taken it upon themselves to indebt their people to create an atmosphere of dependency. And why? For their own selfish need to increase their own personal power. I've been a keen observer of the effect this has on the people, especially the poor. They are very good at creating poverty where there is no reason to explain it. My job is try to alleviate poverty and if that means to oppose the cause then I will not be Pope.

REPORTER: But you are worried you would be a spend thrift pope?

BERGOGLIO: Friend. Where did you go to school?

REPORTER: La Salle College High School in Pennsylvania and.

BERGOGLIO: And after that?

REPORTER: College of the Holy Cross.

BERGOGLIO: They told me you were Catholic. Once elected the Pope is by virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope is preserved from the possibility of error. God would change any spend thrift politician into a responsible Pope. I'm just saying I'm not that man.

REPORTER: So what is your job?

BERGOGLIO: My job is to ask you? Why are men creating poverty?

REPORTER: What do you mean?

BERGOGLIO: I mean that poverty is part of the natural condition and that is bad enough. But my task is to prevent the aggravation of this condition. The ideology that adds to the poverty must be denounced. I have and this is the reason I will not be Pope. I have a saying for myself, no more poverty than God originally intended in the fall from Grace?

REPORTER: Oh.

BERGOGLIO: It is a spiritual choice, and I'm a political person. I'm sorry. I know you will make more money from this interview if I'm Pope. Or want to be Pope. But I'm sorry. I can't help you. God has already chosen someone anyway. Right? You learned this in school?

REPORTER: Yes. Well? Where are you on the issues that matter most, issues about contraception, women priests?

BERGOGLIO: This might be a surprise to you, but I am Catholic. We are Catholic. It isn't an issue and for you to pretend that it is being debated goes against God.

REPORTER: If you were Pope, then you would not change anything.

BERGOGLIO: Certainly God would direct the new Pope to have more compassion for these newly created poor. And if there is any social justice in the Church, the new Pope would have a stern word for the creators of the new situation.

REPORTER: But you are staunchly orthodox on the issues of abortion, contraception, and same-sex marriage.

BERGOGLIO: I am catholic.

REPORTER: You were punished for opposed same-sex marriage in Argentina. You opposed free contraception and the government exiled you. What do you have to say about that?

BERGOGLIO: I am catholic.

REPORTER: In the secular world, as you say, you follow the conservative line. You oppose, uh, same-sex marriages, very popular with young people. You are conservative on birth control. Won't that be the doom of the Church, alienating young people who support reality based faith?

BERGOGLIO: Since God created the world, he also created reality. You seem to be arguing that a man can't be Catholic in reality. Son, you are a Catholic?

REPORTER: Yes, of course. I meant no disrespect

BERGOGLIO: You don't have to worry about offending me.

REPORTER: Okay, good. Can a, uh, Pope even be elected if he is pro-choice or pro-love? I mean isn't the election sort of fixed in favor of anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage?

BERGOGLIO: Yes, the election is fixed by God.

REPORTER: Very witty.

BERGOGLIO: Well, you did ask.

REPORTER: It is being reported in America that you are against marriage equality. Is that why you feel that you can't be Pope?

BERGOGLIO: God chooses the Pope, and God also made men and women different.

REPORTER: But you are... a conservative and oppose abortion!

BERGOGLIO: Friend the expression on your face gives you away.

REPORTER: I'm sorry, I'm just trying to do my job.

BERGOGLIO: And what job is that?

REPORTER: I've been sent to interview eight men in line for the papacy.

BERGOGLIO: And I guarantee you that they all oppose abortion. So?

REPORTER: But?

BERGOGLIO: So, you feel like you need to alienate the eight from the flock?

REPORTER: That isn't it. How can the church attract young people when it is opposed to abortion and contraception?

BERGOGLIO: Young people are just as attracted to the truth as they are convenience and expediency. So we will call it a draw.

REPORTER: Doesn't the church need to modernize?

BERGOGLIO: Finally, I've met someone who will advocate publicly painting over the Sistine Chapel with one of the contemporary street artists. Are you sure you support this and in public?

REPORTER: What?

BERGOGLIO: Forgive me, I was rude.

REPORTER: Won't the new pope, don't these cardinals realize what they've gotta do if they want to attract young people to the church?

BERGOGLIO: I am a cardinal.

REPORTER: Won't the new pope, don't you and the other cardinals realize what they must do if they want to attract young people to the church?

BERGOGLIO: I've explained the mysteries of the atom to rural young people and also I've explained the Grace of God. And you know what? They can understand both perfectly well. Frankly, I have more trouble with adults understanding both.

REPORTER: But they have done focus groups; if you want to spread your message you can't have this position that's anti-gay marriage and anti-contraception.

BERGOGLIO: And you treat the church as a political institution.

REPORTER: So we were not gonna see any kind of change when it comes to things that matter like abortion or gay marriage?

BERGOGLIO: All eight of the men you will be talking to are Catholic.

REPORTER: Okay, I understand. Let's talk about your controversial stand on poverty.

BERGOGLIO: You want it to be controversial?

REPORTER: But don't you blame various governments around the world for poverty?

BERGOGLIO: Some. Yes.

REPORTER: But you refuse to blame corporations for their role.

BERGOGLIO: Okay, they also told me you have a degree in economics. No buyer, or seller either, enters into any exchange against his will. It is the nature of the economy. Man is frail, and he makes mistakes and sometimes is greedy and they enter into exchanges that don't help them. Sometimes they become poor, but they made choices. There is nothing the Church can do except try to educate people to become good consumers. Chiefly, for me, it is an education solution on that side. And the Church has more schools around the globe than any other faith. I say teach the people to save their souls, and also teach them how not to become poor. And now not to allow the government to trick them into poverty.

REPORTER: And you blame government.

BERGOGLIO: No, I blame the self-serving politicians.

REPORTER: So your solution to poverty is to change the nature of politics?

BERGOGLIO: Please feel free to broadcast this; I don't want to be pope. Friend, you are a socialist and your friends are socialists. And you are the reason for 70 years of misery in Russia and Europe now is seizing in pain from your policies. You believe in the redistribution of wealth and it makes entire populations poor. You want to nationalize everything and bring every human endeavor under your control. You destroy a man's incentive to take care of his very own family, a crime against nature and nature's God. You want social control over populations and incrementally you are making everything against the law. Together this ideology creates more poverty today than all the corporations you vilify have in the history of man.

REPORTER: I've never heard such from a Cardinal. I'm not sure if you are here to help yourself or disqualify yourself.

BERGOGLIO: Please air this interview. People being dominated by socialists need to know we don't all have to be poor. Some poverty is part of our being cast out of the Garden of Eden. But look at the empire of dependency created by Hugo Chavez. Promising them, tricking them into worship of government and his very own person. Giving them fish but not allowing them to fish. If a fisherman does develop a talent today in Latin America; he is castigated and his catch stolen by the socialists. He stops?

REPORTER: You would be the first pope from the Americas.

BERGOGLIO: He stops fishing. I will not be pope, but yes I am from Argentina.

REPORTER: And you didn't want to be pope?

BERGOGLIO: God didn't want me to be pope.

REPORTER: Perhaps he changed his mind.

BERGOGLIO: Ludicrous.

REPORTER: Okay, I'm sorry. I feel like we are getting off on the wrong path. I'm sorry.

BERGOGLIO: Yes, let's be productive.

REPORTER: You are a classic conservative Catholic theologian?

BERGOGLIO: Of course there's politics clearly in the Curia throughout the Vatican, but in terms of church teaching, it's not a political institution. It's religious.

REPORTER: I heard people, in fact, media people, "Is this cardinal, is he a liberal? Is he a conservative?"

BERGOGLIO: Tell them please, He's a Catholic. It's no more complicated than that. Catholicism is what it is. You don't have to believe it; you may not. You don't have to follow it; you may not go to Mass. But it's not up to you to modernize us.

REPORTER: You see no room for reform?

BERGOGLIO: It's not up to any religion, although some do this, 'cause they want the money. They want the membership. But the Catholic Church doesn't do it. It's not up to them to bend and shape and mold itself to accommodate the shrinking depravity of a worldwide culture. It's to provide the exact opposite. It's to provide a beacon out of depravity, socialism and sin, among other things.

REPORTER: If pope you would be bad news for the left.

BERGOGLIO: I won't be pope. But I am opposed to abortion. I'm opposed to euthanasia. The pro-choice movement is a culture of death. I oppose the demonic same-sex marriage. I oppose gay adoption on the grounds that it is discriminatory to the child. I was exiled by the Cristina Kirchner government, but I hold no grudge. How is this bad news?

REPORTER: John Paul II rescued you?

BERGOGLIO: He made me the archbishop of Buenos Aires. Yes.

REPORTER: And so you feel like you owe the Right some sort of repayment?

BERGOGLIO: There are many values and many types of people. Perhaps it is my interest in mathematics, but I'm the type of human who is interested most in the truth. God gave me a healthy love for the truth. Loyalty is only a virtue if in support of the truth or another important value.

REPORTER: Cristina Kirchner said you held a grudge.

BERGOGLIO: Funny I've never spoken her name. Not once. And it is a battle of ideas not a battle of two or more people. I'm only concerned with ideas.

REPORTER: She said you refused to speak up for civil rights violations.

BERGOGLIO: As a spiritual leader, I opposed cultural modernization, and so I became a political enemy. I understand politics as well as I do mathematics.

REPORTER: And the Jesuits, they were eager to cast you out, which they did.

BERGOGLIO: So you are implying that I'm a vengeful priest?

REPORTER: Do you feel that you need to erase the progress recently made in Latin America?

BERGOGLIO: I say poverty. You say progress.

REPORTER: Let's talk about poverty.

BERGOGLIO: Sure, there is voluntary poverty that is virtuous. Many understood the nobility of making themselves independent of the fleeting things of earth. They are distractions from our pursuit of the truth. I have no problem with this. I only oppose involuntary poverty.

REPORTER: That is what I thought you would say.

BERGOGLIO: Why?

REPORTER: Because you are a capitalist right?

BERGOGLIO: Yes, I think capital is needed to build a factory, a parochial school, or a church or hospital, all. Do you oppose factories or churches or hospitals?

REPORTER: Of course not, but don't you think the capital is sucked out of peoples hands by greedy business types to pay for these factories?

BERGOGLIO: No, I think people agree, through their economic choices, that some of their money goes to build these. Capital building should be voluntary. Only when the politician confiscates their wealth to build government factories, government schools, government hospitals; only then do the people not agree. Money given voluntarily is legitimate to build with. Money coerced from the people is not legitimate to build with, because it isn't given voluntarily.

REPORTER: You are opposed to all government?

BERGOGLIO: No of course not. But it isn't the seat of wisdom in any society I've seen in my life. The best government was created by the Americans, in which they admitted that people are endowed by their creator and most of the administration of society was left to the relationship between God and man. However, slowly that has been eroded by the atheists on the left who would replace man's relationship with God with a new relationship with an opportunist like Hugo Chavez.

REPORTER: I just found it fascinating that you were willing to stand up to an entire government in Argentina. You where cast aside. Didn't you care about your career?

BERGOGLIO: Yes, there are people who cave to worldly authority. Even priests.

REPORTER: But you didn't?

BERGOGLIO: No, I changed nothing. How did I have the power to change anything in church teaching? My opinion? The democrats, seeking votes, only wanted me to change my opinion and legitimize their decadence. I did not, as evidenced by the fact that I was teaching high school math in small isolated town.

REPORTER: I'm sorry that happened to you.

BERGOGLIO: Why don't you feel for others oppressed for their interest in freedom.

REPORTER: Freedom isn't punished anywhere, is it?

BERGOGLIO: Certainly it is.

REPORTER: In Latin America?

BERGOGLIO: I'm afraid Latin America is lost. The people of the entire area are controlled by a bloc of militant socialist regimes in the region, most prominently Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua. They have a gun pointed at their head. So their heart is now captured. Who will save them at this point?

REPORTER: So the game is over. Checkmate?

BERGOGLIO: Friend, I've been studying America this month before the Pope chose to resign. You must not have fear at speaking the truth. It is for the salvation of souls and the recovery of Thomas Jefferson's people. America must not fall to the new painted communism. Even the low information voters don't want America to be sold into slavery. I pray they cast out the money changers in their government! What manner of government is there that condones sin? Abomination upon abomination--giving monies for the murder of children, giving monies for the murder of the elderly! You are an American. Your government, My child, has been infiltrated by men of sin.

REPORTER: These are pretty radical ideas.

BERGOGLIO: No. Perhaps reactionary. Radical means something different. But a very long time ago, Khrushchev warned that we cannot expect Americans to fly from capitalism to communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small injections of socialism until they suddenly awake to find out they have Communism. This is what is happening now in an ancient bastion of freedom. How can America save Latin America when they are slaves to the government themselves?

REPORTER: I'm having a hard time digesting most of this.

BERGOGLIO: The truth can be painful. You look angry; do you want to stop or ask a question? But you have created a new type of state, the so-called welfare state. This has happened in order to respond to the needs of the politically created poor. However, intervening directly is depriving the original society of its responsibility. Families escape responsibility in the welfare state. And churches even escape responsibility. People stop giving to charity and see every poor person as the government's problem. I am a Catholic priest and there are no poor for me to take care of, they are made permanently poor and the property of the politicians.

REPORTER: I'm not sure this interview is going to work.

BERGOGLIO: You asked and now you will listen, my son. The social assistance state leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies, which are dominated more by bureaucratic thinking than by real concern for helping people. Needs are best understood and satisfied by people who are closest to them who act as neighbors and parish members to those in need. It should be added that certain kinds of demands often call for a response which is not simply material but which is capable of perceiving the deeper human need. This is not to mention the welfare states excesses and abuses.

REPORTER: I think we are done.

BERGOGLIO: Wait. If I speak on the ordination of women, on celibacy, on divorce, will you air this interview and my message?

REPORTER: No, we are done.

BERGOGLIO: Partially what irritates me to the core is the media's inability to look at anything without looking into the cause of the various problems. People are made poor so they will vote for the very candidates that made them poor.

REPORTER: Have a nice day and thanks for your time.

CAMERA OFF / END TRANSCRIPT

Don't Believe It!

From the moment Pope Francis was elected and it was announced that he was the first Jesuit Pope from the Americas, all eyebrows began to raise. And all began to speculate what is pontificate would be like. Right away we began to see him choose to not wear the red papal shoes, nor wear any of the dazzling papal vestments at his Installation Mass. He began to take the bus over riding in the papal limousine. And soon when he washed the feet of a woman on Holy Thursday, everything about our new Holy Father really started to get skewed. The liberals began to sing, "Finally! A Pope who's for the people!" …"A progressive Pope!" 

Then the media breaks news that when the Pope was formerly the Archbishop of Buenos Aries, he suggested the idea of Civil Unions for homosexual couples. And another story comes out from a woman who is said to be an old "friend" of the Pope's who was married to an ex-bishop comes out and says she is certain the Pope will lift the discipline on celibacy. Suddenly there are people asking if these are signs of things to come?

(Sigh)

I have read the articles and I have seen the documentation and I can tell you this… None of it is for certain. And a lot of it is a bunch of allegations. Nothing directly coming from the mouth of our Holy Father. Even the whole article on his support for civil unions was said by the Vatican to be false. And as for the woman who thinks the Pope will lift the celibacy discipline in the church, her opinion is merely based on her own interpretation of how she was ministered to by him when the rest of the church seemed to ostracize her. Is it based on any truth or a clear sign of what's to come? No.

The one thing I have learned about our Holy Father is that when you hear about him through the media, we often begin to question him and doubt him. But when we hear his words from his very own mouth, you can't help but love him! So this leads me to believe that the truth about our Holy Father between his mouth to the media's broadcast is getting twisted. And its no surprise to me since the Devil controls the media, and will do everything to make even the strongest most faithful Catholics look at our Holy Father in disgust.

Well, I'm not going to fall for it. I will be a doubting Thomas about it. Unless I hear the Pope himself say it, or publish it as an Encyclical or Apostolic Letter… I won't believe it. And even if it is stuff that he said before he was Pope, I won't believe it. Why? Because there is one undeniable truth about when a man becomes Pope, and that is this: when a man is chosen by God to become Pope, whether in his previous life his way of thinking was more liberal than traditional or not… The office of the Bishop of Rome, changes him. Whether it is from divine inspiration or plain just change of heart, that man becomes a new man in Christ, and truly takes a turn for the better for the life and protection of the Church.

To anyone who reads that garbage about the Pope, I tell you to do the same thing as me. DON'T BELIEVE IT! Even if it is true, remember this… This is not the Pope's church, it's Christ's. And through the power and guidance of the Holy Ghost, "the gates of Hell will never prevail against it."

God love you all! Pray the rosary daily!