By Father David Nix

Why can there be only one Pope at a time?  Because Christ set up 12 Apostles but only one Pope.  St. Peter is “mentioned 191 times (162 as Peter or Simon Peter, 23 as Simon and 6 as Cephas).”  That is more than all the other Apostles combined.  Thus, Peter’s office (munus in Latin) is singular.  The Pope is much more than “first among equals” as the New Testament clearly proves in the above numbers.  On top of this, numerous Magisterial documents (and saints that stood against anti-popes in history) all insist:  There can only be one valid Pope of Rome at any one time.

Yet a decade ago, the Vatican’s Archbishop Georg Gänswein erroneously believed Pope Benedict XVI could bifurcate the papacy into “an expanded ministry.”  Even the mainstream Aleteia ran a story back in 2016 that quoted Ganswein explaining this:  “Since the election of his successor Francis, on March 13, 2013, there are not therefore two popes, but de facto an expanded ministry — with an active member and a contemplative member. This is why Benedict XVI has not given up either his name, or the white cassock. This is why the correct name by which to address him even today is ‘Your Holiness.’.. on February 11, 2013, speaking in Latin in front of the surprised cardinals, he introduced into the Catholic Church the new institution of ‘pope emeritus.’”

Notice again this was published in 2016—after the alleged-resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, but before his death in 2022.  Clearly Gänswein did not believe Benedict fully resigned the papacy.  Did Benedict?  This might seem like an outdated question, but the answer to it may also reveal nothing short of how God Himself sees the current Church crisis in Rome, now at a fever pitch.

In 2023, I wrote an article about two relatively-unknown aspects of duress under which Pope Benedict XVI semi-resigned the Papacy in 2013.  As you can see in that article, Canon 188 asserts:  “A resignation made out of grave fear that is inflicted unjustly or out of malice, substantial error, or simony is invalid by the law itself.”  The above linked article evaluates the “grave fear” placed upon Benedict from 2010 to 2013.  In that sense, Benedict was the victim of the St. Gallen mafia in his quasi-resignation from the papacy.

But was Benedict also the perpetrator of an attempted bifurcated-papacy upon the whole Church?  Some say yes, and that this was based on substantial error in regards to an understanding of the papacy that preceded his election by decades of his academic career.  Proponents of this theory insist that substantial error could include a false-understanding of the papacy leading to a half-resignation, which would obviously be tantamount to no-resignation at all (at least until death.)

To be sure, some traditionalists today insist that Pope Benedict XVI meant to fully resign the papacy (and they insist they can prove it.)  Others say he did not mean to fully resign. (They also say they can prove it.) The fact is: Both groups can prove it.  But Benedict saw nearly everything through the Hegelian eyes of:  Thesis + Counter-thesis = Synthesis. Basically, two opposite “truths” can be united to create a Super-Truth (or synthesis.)  For most of the last decade of his life, Benedict did believe Francis was Pope.  This is true.  But Benedict also believed Benedict was Pope. This is seen in the overwhelming evidence to follow that Benedict erroneously believed a Pope could semi-resign. ¹

In Pope Benedict XVI’s 2013 Declaratio (considered to be his resignation from the Chair of St. Peter, archived here) Benedict referred first to the papal munus (office) twice at the beginning of that short 250 word document, but later he only renounced the ministry of St. Peter (“plena libertate declaro me…renuntiare…ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri”) translated on the Vatican website in English as: “With full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter.”  Again, at the beginning of the document he clearly refers to the office, but later renounces only the ministry (in that short 250 word document.)

I have studied languages intensely for 20 years.  Anyone who says “munus means the same thing as ministerium” not only reveals they have no understanding how Latin works, but they also reveal they have no understanding how language works.  The first step in learning a language is knowing that each single word reveals reality or a lie.  Yes, there are synonyms, but even synonyms do not mean exactly the same thing.  (Munus and ministerium are not even synonyms, by the way.)   Yes, Pope Benedict XVI was a Hegelian who erroneously believed the truth is found between synthesis and anti-thesis.  However, he was still a German who used words with surgical precision.

Combining these two facts, the outcome is obvious:  Benedict meant munus and ministerium as two different things.  However, these two things (as will be proved later in this article) would become (in his broken Hegelian mind) a contemplative-Pope and an active-Pope.  Of course, in true Catholic theology, neither of these things can exist side-by-side.

Dr. Edmund Mazza discovered that even before being elected Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger believed the papacy endured the following development: “I think we should be honest enough to admit the temptation of mammon in the history of the Church and to recognize to what extent it was a real power that worked to the distortion and corruption of both Church and theology, even to their inmost core. The separation of office as jurisdiction from office as rite was continued for reasons of prestige and financial benefits.”—Cardinal Ratzinger, Principles of Catholic Theology, 1987, emphasis mine.

Thus, when Pope Benedict XVI quasi-resigned in 2013,  he believed he could bifurcate the papacy into a dual-papacy.  Again, his Hegelian-mindset was a curse (not a blessing) upon the entire Catholic Church in all of this.  Consider more proof of this in an interview three years later with Mr. Peter Seewald:

Peter Seewald: “Is a slowdown in the ability to perform, reason enough to climb down from the chair of Peter?”
Pope Benedict: “One can… make that accusation, but it would be a functional misunderstanding. The follower of Peter is not merely bound to a function; the office enters into your very being. In this regard, fulfilling a function is not the only criterion”

Notice that Pope Benedict XVI considered it merely an “accusation” that he fully resigned the papacy in that interview in 2016 (three years after his putative-resignation.)  Yet Pope Benedict XVI knew very well that he left the active-papacy to another (as seen in the above word function) but kept the contemplative-papacy to himself (munus) as he said in that interview above: “The follower of Peter is not merely bound to a function; the office enters into your very being.”

Thus, Pope Benedict clearly believed that in 2005, the office of the Chair of Peter entered into his “very being” until his death in 2022.  Nothing could whisk away that forever-gift of the papacy, he erroneously believed.  How do we know this?  See again the quote from Principles of Catholic Theology that he wrote in 1987 as Cardinal Ratzinger.  In other words, he had a broken idea of the papacy even before becoming Pope.

But in traditional Catholic theology, a resigned-Pope is supposed to be no Pope at all.   Jesus Christ Himself established that there can only be one Pope at any one time in Catholic Church history, as proved in the first paragraph of this article. Any attempt for a Pope to eschew part of the papal responsibility would therefore be null and void. 

Sadly, Benedict did not believe traditional theology on the papacy here.  This theological reality that stands against his legacy is clearly buttressed by the folly of Benedict’s own words during the week of his “resignation.”  These words are still shockingly found on the Vatican website (archived here) for Pope Benedict XVI stated:

“The ‘always’ is also a forever’ – there can no longer be a return to the private sphere. My decision to resign the active exercise of the ministry does not revoke this. I do not return to private life, to a life of travel, meetings, receptions, conferences, and so on. I am not abandoning the cross, but remaining in a new way at the side of the crucified Lord.  I no longer bear the power of office for the governance of the Church, but in the service of prayer I remain, so to speak, in the enclosure of Saint Peter. Saint Benedict, whose name I bear as Pope, will be a great example for me in this. He showed us the way for a life which, whether active or passive, is completely given over to the work of God.”

Notice that when Pope Benedict XVI said “Yes” to the papacy in 2005, he considered that step to be an “always” and a “forever” act that was irreversible (even if resigned.)  Of course, I believe this is substantial error, for he believed this idea even past his unusual attempt at becoming the “contemplative Pope” in 2013.  Hence, in the above quote, he remained both physically and hierarchically within the “enclosure of St. Peter.”  (Some translations call it the “precincts of St. Peter.”)

There was clearly substantial error in Benedict’s understanding of the papacy in 2013 (and many years prior, as seen in his writings as Cardinal.)  In fact, when Benedict was alive, I asked Fr. Paul Kramer on my podcast (at min 30) if the notion of the active-Pope working alongside the contemplative-Pope was exclusively the idea of Cardinal Georg Gänswein or if it was the idea of both Georg Gänswein and Pope Benedict XVI.  Fr. Kramer strongly answered in favor of the latter.   And he should know, for he has had many high-ranking contacts in Rome for decades.  (More evidence of this is presented by an American civil attorney at Catholic Esquire.)

That night in 2013, lightning struck the Vatican twice.  Does that sound like a resignation accepted by God?  Even Benedict himself stated:  “I no longer bear the power of office for the governance of the Church, but in the service of prayer I remain, so to speak, in the enclosure of Saint Peter.”  Yet he kept his word in living as Pope in the Vatican.  Few people doubt this.  But for those who do, Mark at Non Veni Pacem frequently reminds us:  Pope Benedict living in the Vatican from 2013 onwards kept wearing white as the Pope and gave the Apostolic Blessing (as only a Pope could do.)  Benedict even invented the new, fake term:  Pope Emeritus.

All of the above is overwhelming evidence that Benedict purposely attempted a semi-resignation from the Chair of Peter.  Yet even the most basic papal theology over 2,000 years has held that a semi-resignation is no resignation at all.  Pope Benedict XVI now knows (and probably always knew over the last decade) that he forfeit the papacy only at his death in 2022.

When one loves, one does not calculate.

How sweet is the way of Love! True, one may fall, one may not be always faithful, but Love, knowing how to draw profit from all, very quickly consumes whatsoever may displease Jesus, leaving naught but humble and profound peace in the innermost soul.

Do not imagine that love can be found without suffering, for we carry with us our human nature; and yet, what a source of merit it is!

We who run in the way of love shouldn’t be thinking of sufferings that can take place in the work of creation.

It is true that Love knows no such word as “impossible,” for it deems “all things possible, all things allowed.”

I love you, Jesus, and bear in mind the words of St. John of the Cross: ‘The least act of pure love is of more value than all the other works put together.’

St. Therese, pray for us.

by Ed Mazza

Catholic Church: Whore of Babylon or Bride of Christ?

Witch Burning, Jews & Spanish Inquisition, Did Christ establish the Papacy? What about Bad Popes, Bible Banning? Suppressing Science & Galileo, Islam & Crusades, “Worshipping” Mary, Eucharistic “idolatry,” Women’s Rights, Divorce, Abortion, Contraception & IVF, Usury & Slavery, “Pope” Francis, Freemasonry & One World Government

Enroll by October 31st for $225 discounted price.

ENROLL

Weekly Live Classes start Wed Nov 20th, at 6pm PDT/9pm EDT and will run approximately 70-80 minutes. Q&A will follow for 10 minutes or more for those who can stay. I will suggest readings. No tests. No pressure. Content: Ages 13 and up. Recorded video link sent afterwards so you can watch on your own time!  (Projected duration 12-13 weeks)

——-

Ancient World

by Ed Mazza

The ANCIENT WORLD

Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel, The 300, Helen of Troy, Gladiators, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra, The Seven Wonders, Alexander the Great, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Apostles and First Christian Martyrs–and much more! Starting Tues November 19th

Enroll by October 31st for $225 discounted price.

Weekly Live Classes start Tues Nov 19th, at 6pm PDT/9pm EDT and will run approximately 70-80 minutes. Q&A will follow for 10 minutes or more for those who can stay. I will suggest readings. No tests. No pressure. Content: Ages 13 and up. Recorded video link sent afterwards so you can watch on your own time!  (Projected duration 12-13 weeks)

Join us for an adventure Thousands of years in the Making!

ENROLL

“Israel has invaded Lebanon on the ground after decapitating Hezbollah with dozens of powerful strikes across the country. On Friday the zionist forces killed Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah as well as dozens of other Axis of Resistance leaders. Israel has sent preliminary forces into Lebanon and issued evacuation orders for dozens of Lebanese towns as the Lebanese army withdraws…”

Here are the October sky nuggets, h/t Jeff Childers:

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Feast your eyes on this list, and I’m not even sure it includes all of them:

— A wandering asteroid will briefly orbit the Earth, moon-like, for the month of October before heading back out into space.

— Any day now, astronomers expect the “once-in-a-lifetime” re-ignition of a dead star, T Coronae Borealis, which turns on and off on an eighty-year nova cycle. They call it the “Star of Jacob” star.

— On October 2nd, Israel’s New Year’s Day, a rare “Ring of Fire” solar eclipse will darken Easter Island and astound its enigmatic head statues.

— Between October 6—10 (peaking on the 8th), the annual Draconid meteor shower will grace the skies just after nightfall each evening.

— Around October 12th, a “Comet of the Century” called Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will appear in the October skies and may even be visible in the daytime. It’s been eighty thousand years since it was last in our Solar neighborhood.

— October 17th features a so-called “Hunter’s Supermoon,” the third of four supermoons this year in consecutive months, another rare configuration.

For more information, here’s a link to a Youtube video titled, “October Record Astronomical Events.”

Four days later and zero FEMA relief sites? Where are Brandon/Harris? Why is no one asking questions?

I must say it’s interesting that 30 inches of rain fell in one hour on the sodomy capital of the eastern US. But Asheville is surrounded by deep red counties, and many, many towns have been wiped out. Don’t be surprised to see the death toll into the thousands. -nvp

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Asheville NC floods: While no government aid distribution sites are up, one nonprofit steps up

By Will Hofmann September 30,2024

ASHEVILLE – While Buncombe County had not yet set up aid distribution stations in the aftermath of the historic floods from Tropical Storm Helene, one nonprofit had taken it into their own hands — soliciting another national nonprofit to send aid.

Asheville Dream Center brought aid to the Asheville Mall on Sept. 29, likely becoming the first mass aid distribution site for necessities in the city. The nonprofit is the local arm of the nonprofit national Dream Center outreach ministry. The nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission was the first to respond to their call to distribute aid in the city, Asheville Dream Center Executive Director Michelle Coleman said…

“We really don’t know how long the water is going to be out,” Michelle Coleman said. “I went through the line here, and I talked to so many people and their fear is how long. Is it two weeks? Is it more than a month?”

I’ve watched the community come together out here. It’s encouraging one another and it’s building hope,” Michelle Coleman said. “We need that right now.”

 

 

“O God, who hast constituted the services of Angels and of men in a wonderful order, mercifully grant, that they who ever stand before Thy face to do Thee service in heaven, may also defend our life on earth.” Collect, Feast of St. Michael

“Bless the Lord all ye His Angels: you that are mighty in strength, that do His will. O my soul, bless thou the Lord: and all that is within me praise His holy name. Alleluia, alleluia. Holy Archangel Michael, defend us in battle; that we may not perish in the dreadful judgment. Alleluia.” Gradual, Feast of St. Michael (Ps. 102, 20, 1)

ORIGINAL PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL, POPE LEO XIII, ~1886
“O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan.

“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory.

“This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be. 

“Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.”

“Thousands of Iraqi protesters are trying to storm the US Embassy in Baghdad, according to posts on social media, protesting Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut yesterday. Videos show protesters clashing with security forces in riot gear. Hezbollah flags and photos of Nasrallah can be seen among the large crowd, along with flags of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Force.Earlier, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the strike on Nasrallah as “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines.”In a statement, he called the Israeli strikes on south Beirut a “shameful attack” and described Nasrallah as “a martyr on the path of the righteous.””

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/thousands-of-protesters-trying-to-storm-us-embassy-in-baghdad-after-nasrallah-killing/

There is no right side in this war. Beware anyone trying to convince you otherwise.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Gunfire sent field hockey players running for safety during a game at Temple University’s Howarth Field on Friday.

Video captured by ESPN showed the crowd sprinting off the field in North Philadelphia.

“Players are running off the field right now. There were some loud noises and it looks like players are evacuating the field right now,” the announcer could be heard saying.

Just after 4:30 p.m. Friday, Temple sent out an alert saying there was gunfire near the 1300 block of North Broad Street, which is right near the field.

La Salle was playing St. Louis University, which issued a statement saying the game was canceled because of a shooting in the vicinity of the field.

No one on the field was injured.

“At this time, no shooter has been identified, and there are believed to be no victims. The shots were fired in the vicinity of an off-campus fast-food restaurant on Broad Street. The Philadelphia Police Department is leading this investigation,” Jennifer Griffin, the vice president and chief for public safety at Temple said in a statement.