As reported in America magazine (Link), Pope Leo XIV is not sitting idle while on his Castel Gandalfo vacation. According to Augustinian Father Alejandro Moral Antón, a longtime friend, Pope Leo plans to draft the framework of his first encyclical during his vacation break, possibly touching on peace, unity or artificial intelligence. “I know he will begin work on his first encyclical.”
Asked whether the title is known yet, the cleric replied: “I don’t think so, the other day he just told me that he will use these two weeks to develop the main structure of the text. Obviously, he is already working on it, but he is forced to do it in the evening or in spare moments and would need more time, which will happen during the vacation.”
Regarding the encyclical’s topic, Father MoraI said: “I can imagine it will be something related to the concepts evoked since the first hours of his election. The theme of peace, social doctrine, unity, artificial intelligence. But these are just my deductions.”
I hope that the primary authorship of his first encyclical will be his, and that he will not continue Pope Francis’ heavy reliance on the input of Cardinal Victor Manual Fernandez, a Modernist. Fernandez has so far been retained by Pope Leo as head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Cardinal was a key figure in shaping Francis’ writings, particularly the two encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti, and in writing the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. In the latter, we have the “heresy in a footnote” novelty (no. 351), proposing that it should be possible in particular cases for divorced and remarried Catholics living in sin to receive the sacraments. This is pure Modernism, asserting that doctrine can change with the times.
In addition, Fiducia Supplicans, the very divisive same-sex blessing declaration, was issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with primary authorship attributed to the Modernist Fernandez, its prefect.
Not surprisingly, Fernandez’ Dicastery issued a feeble statement in February (Link) contending that there is nothing supernatural about the anti-Modernist writings of the mystic Maria Valtorta. No grounds for the decision were given. In fact, in an egregious insult to the 13,000 page opus of Maria Valtorta, commonly known as the Poem of the Man-God, the allegation of non-supernaturality was not presented within an exhortation, or a declaration, or a document, but in a three paragraph press release! The fact that the actions of two popes had indicated otherwise was completely ignored. (Pope Pius XII and the future Pope Paul VI while he was still an Archbishop.)
Regarding other mystics who had analogous revelations, Mary of Agreda and Anne Katherine Emmerich, the Church has refrained from either affirming or denying their supernatural character, so why the exception for the writings of Valtorta – is it because they affirm traditional Catholic Doctrine and the truth of Christ’s miracles? Yes Pope Leo, the breaking of the bread was a miracle of multiplication, not sharing as you recently implied (Link).
I pray that you will avoid the advice of Modernist theologians such as Fernandez, and will not become known as Pope Francis Lite.
