Pope vs. Pope: How Francis and Benedict’s Simmering Conflict Could Split the Catholic Church

[Tbs77]

When he retired, the ultra-conservative Pope Benedict XVI was expected to disappear from view, clearing the way for his liberal successor, Francis, to clean house in the notoriously corrupt Vatican. Instead, he stayed, setting the stage for a de-stabilizing brawl over morality, theology, and the Church’s horrific legacy of sexual abuse.

 

JOHN CORNWELL

 

OCTOBER 31, 2018 5:00 AM

 

Some Strong Language in this Vanity Fair article:

 

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/pope-francis-benedict-conflict-catholic-church

 

Excerpt from article:

 

It stands to reason that Pope Francis would excoriate the gossip-mongers, for he is often the object of their sharp tongues. Today, the Catholic Church is riven by an internecine power contest between conservatives and liberals that rivals the battle of the angels in Milton’s epic Paradise Lost. Who are the powers of light? Who are the powers of darkness? It depends whose side you take in the onslaughts of texts, tweets, and blogs, as well as the trumpetings of the Catholic media. In the conservative National Catholic Register, the prominent Catholic writer Vittorio Messori accused Francis of creating a Church in which “everything is unstable and changeable.” In the liberal National Catholic Reporter, Catholic-studies scholar Nancy Enright observed that Pope Francis resembles “Jesus in conveying the gaze of mercy to millions in great need of it.”

What makes this prospect of a division within the Church more severe, and far riskier, than the usual bickering is the presence of two Popes, both resident in the Vatican, each with his own loyal and vociferous following. The liberals have Francis, but the conservatives have his predecessor, Benedict XVI. If Francis is the living, reigning Pope, Benedict is his shadow, the undead Pope emeritus.

 

 

 

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[Dages]

There is already a split in the Catholic Church : because of the Traditionalist groups like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Saint_Pius_X

[Tbs77]

There is already a split in the Catholic Church : because of the Traditionalist groups like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Saint_Pius_X

Two opposing Popes living in Vatican at same time... I find intriguing. Who's going first?

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[hatcheckgirl]

Well, they didn’t do their prestudy for this week’s Book Study 😜

Every kingdom divided against itself comes to ruin, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.-Matt 12:25

[tucker]

Abraham Lincoln was quick to recognize that fact in connection with the United States Civil war. Any country that has experienced a civil was must see the wisdom in avoiding, or at least cutting short, any such conflict.