“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says Yahweh Sabaoth.
(Zechariah 4: 6)
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The Catholic Church is a Problem, but it is not the Problem
See “The ‘coup’ against Pope Francis”:
Even before Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano called for Pope Francis to resign on Sunday, the two men had a history, and it wasn’t good.
Vigano, the former Vatican ambassador to the United States, angered some church officials in 2015 by arranging a meeting at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington between the Pope and Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to sign same-sex marriage certificates.
During his trip to the United States, the Pope had tried to stay above the country’s culture wars. Vigano foisted Francis right into the fray. The Vatican, which tried to distance the Pope from Davis, was displeased. Two years later, Francis quietly accepted Vigano’s resignation.
On Sunday, Vigano struck back.
In an 11-page “testimony” released to conservative Catholic media, Vigano accused Francis of ignoring his warnings about Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, who led the Archdiocese of Washington from 2000-2006. Under Francis’ orders, McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals last month after accusations that he molested an altar boy and seminarians.
But Vigano said the Pope earlier had lifted restrictions on McCarrick put in place by Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2015.
“In this extremely dramatic moment for the universal Church,” Vigano wrote, “he must acknowledge his mistakes and, in keeping with the proclaimed principle of zero tolerance, Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example for cardinals and bishops who covered up McCarrick’s abuses and resign along with all of them.”
Vigano’s accusations come as Francis and his church are trying to contain a quickly escalating sexual abuse crisis that has spread from Australia to Pennsylvania. In Ireland, a country devastated by its own clergy abuse scandals, the Pope repeatedly apologized last weekend for the sins and crimes of church leaders, lamenting that “some members of the hierarchy didn’t own up to these painful situations and kept silent.”
On the plane ride home, the Pope himself kept silent about Vigano’s accusations.
“I will not say a single word about this,” he said. “I believe the statement speaks for itself. And you have the sufficient journalistic ability to make your conclusions. It’s an act of trust.”
While journalists dig for the truth, and the Pope keeps silent, Vigano’s letter has emerged as a sort of Rorschach test for Catholics: Many conservative Catholics say the Pope must go. Liberal Catholics accuse the archbishop of launching a coup d’etat against his boss.
“This is a coup operation against Pope Francis,” said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of Catholic history and theology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
“It is a stunning convergence between the personal agenda of Vigano and the theological agenda of those who do not like Pope Francis.”
Institutional Religion is the Problem
Pope Francis is a problem, but he is not the problem.
The Catholic Church is a problem, too, but it’s not the problem, either.
Institutional religion is the problem.
Notice that I said “institutional religion” and not “institutional Christianity”. Institutional religion in its myriad forms is the problem.
When human beings put themselves in Yahweh’s place and pretend that our Creator speaks only to and through them, evil ensues. When congregates fall into line behind institutional religious leaders, Satan rejoices.
This is not a new problem.
Read The Trilogy.
Yahweh to Isaiah
Consider something that Yahweh told Isaiah:
Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the instruction of our Elohim, you people of Gomorrah.
“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”, says Yahweh. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.”
“When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.”
“I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. So, when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”
(Isaiah 1: 10-17)
Yahweh was talking about institutional religion. In this instance, He was talking about institutional Judaism.
The rabbis had created a religion. It was not from Yahweh. It was based on strict adherence to man-made laws called Halacha. Sometimes it’s called the Oral Law or the traditions of the Jews. For all intents and purposes, it is contemporary Judaism, and the rabbis are in charge.
Yahweh expects faith in Him and obedience to the leading of His Spirit. In The Trilogy, I call it “the faith of Abraham.” The rituals that Yahweh required in His Law, the real Law, were symbols of things to come. For instance, the sacrifice of the Passover (Pesach) lamb was symbolic of the sacrifice that Yahweh would make when He shed His blood for our redemption and deliverance/salvation.
Human beings inevitably use religion to increase their power, wealth, and influence. Yahweh said that He hates it.
Popes have done it. Rabbis have done it. Imams have done it. False teachers who call themselves “evangelicals” have done it.
Yahweh did not call us to become part of an institutional religious machine, cogs in a religious wheel. He called us to become His faithful followers.
As I said, the pope isn’t the real problem. Neither is the Catholic Church. Institutional religion absent Yahweh is the problem.
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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)
