A Trumpian Pope?
The following article by Austin Ruse appeared on February 28 on the website of Crisis Magazine. It is entitled The Trumpian Pope. It pretty much summarizes what I personally would like to see happen in the Church.
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A
meme is making the rounds:
a bull in a china shop has destroyed every plate, saucer, and cup. We
are asked, “Is this what you voted for?” As a matter of fact, it
is.
It
is also what I voted for in 2016. The problem in 2016 was that
politicized Democrat Deep Staters in the FBI, DOJ, military, CIA,
federal judiciary, and Congress were in that china shop and illegally
prevented the bull from doing his work. And they were cheered on by a
thoroughly corrupted gutter press.
This
time around, however, the bull has neutered and/or taken over all
those agencies, including the media, and hired a lot of lesser bulls,
but bulls who know precisely what to do. These bulls have a plan, and
they are moving fast and breaking things, and, in the words of Pope
Francis, making a mess.
And
as we pray for the Holy Father in his final agony, we wonder who the
next pope will be and pray he will be a Trumpian pope, a bull in the
china shop who will “make a mess.”
What
would this coming Trumpian pope do?
Recreate
the Pontifical Council for the Family the way it was created.
Recreate the Pontifical Academy for Life in the way it was intended.
The
rise of Francis and “who am I to judge” gave courage to heterodox
professors, especially on the gay thing at pontifical universities.
They giddily identified themselves. We know who they are. Fire them
all within days of the conclave.
This
will get a lot of attention. Ignore the shrieks from the usual
suspects around the world. Proceed with your work with all due
dispatch.
There’s
more, much more.
Synodality?
It’s over. Thanks for your work.
Any
bishops must be chosen from those ordained to the priesthood in the
last 10-15 years.
Abrogate
the motu proprio that gutted personal prelatures, restoring the
harmony and existence of personal prelatures as they existed when
Francis became pope. Make the prelate of Opus Dei a bishop again.
Immediately
rehire the very talented holy men the pope fired, including and
especially Cardinal Müller, Cardinal Burke, and Cardinal Sarah. Give
Burke back his stipend and Roman apartment. Give them all their old
jobs immediately.
Take
the boot off the neck of the Knights of Malta and Communion and
Liberation.
Immediately
begin an investigation—inquisition?—into the homosexuals in the
Vatican. Fire them. Laicize them.
Turn
your attention to the wider Church.
Reestablish
the Traditional Latin Mass everywhere. Everywhere. No priest needs
permission. It is open to all priests and all dioceses.
Immediately
cancel Amoris
Laetitia.
Immediately cancel same-sex blessings. Immediately take
“inadmissible” out of the catechism on the question of the death
penalty. What did that mean anyway? Excommunicate a number of
politicians who support abortion.
While
you are at it, cut the USCCB in half.
Make it clear that the committees of the USCCB do not speak for the
Church. The USCCB is not in the hierarchy. Let the bishops speak to
us once or twice a year when they meet as a body.
Expand
the number of dioceses in the United States. We need 400 of them or
more. How can a bishop be a shepherd to 500,000+ souls? For instance,
four hundred would still be far fewer bishops per Catholic than in
Italy.
Close
any office or program called “Justice and Peace.” Justice is
good. Peace is good. But together, not so much.
Institute
an annual collection for pro-life. Make it two.
Close
some seminaries in the United States. Any whiff of the gay thing, or
other heterodoxies, close them down. Send some of our seminarians to
Africa. Bring 1,000 African priests to the United States.
Fire
every bishop who ignored credible reports of priest sex abuse. We all
know of at least one who would qualify.
I
am out of breath just writing this. I wake up every morning in
Trump’s America, and it’s Christmas every day. He fired the head
of the Kennedy Center. Whoa! Who even thought of that? He appointed
Dan Bongino as number two at the FBI. I don’t even like Dan
Bongino, but it’s fantastic.
What
Trump understood was that there was a permanent bureaucracy lying in
the deep weeds, waiting to stop any and all reforms. The only way to
beat them is to move fast, flood the zone, make everything so fast
and furious that they cannot catch their breath, cannot really mount
a response. Make a mess.
Who
would be able to do such things? Who
would be a Trumpian pope? I am not a prognosticator. Others are. We
have a small pool of cardinals who would be considered. Maybe the
conclave needs to go beyond the College of Cardinals. I don’t know,
but whoever thought Trump would be president? Hardly anyone. Pick a
bishop hardly anyone knows. Pick Msgr. Shea from University of Mary
in North Dakota. Don’t know him? Look him up.
I
remember when the last conclave met. I was at a Holy See meeting at
the U.N. when the white smoke rose. As we sat around a conference
table, our phones started to buzz. I caught the eye of the Nuncio. We
exchanged meaningful glances. Later, in the U.N. cafeteria, all the
lefties were in a tizzy about who this Bergoglio might be. Early
reports were that he was solid on gay and marriage.
None
of us were prepared for what happened. We spent years explaining the
pope. “Well, he may have said something like that, but what he
meant was….” Some of us gave up after a few years. I tried to
adopt the role of a 13th-century peasant: There is a pope somewhere
far off. I love and pray for him, but I don’t know what he does or
says. I have my priest and my bishop.
Many
of us are still confused about certain things that happened under the
reign of Francis. Do we really have to give religious assent to the
scientific claim of “climate change?” How is it possible that
something that was a sin on Monday—taking Communion in a sinful
relationship—becomes perfectly fine on Tuesday? How is it possible
that something perfectly fine on Monday—the death penalty—becomes
a sin on Tuesday? None of this really affects me, but it is
confusing.
Pray
for two things: That our beloved Pope Francis experiences a holy and
happy death and is welcomed into the Beatific Vision. And pray for
the coming of a Trumpian pope.
Austin
Ruse is a contributing editor to Crisis
Magazine.
He is president of the Center for Family and Human Rights in New York
and Washington DC. He is the author of several books including, Under
Siege: No Finer Time to be a Faithful Catholic
(Crisis Publications). He can be reached at austinruse@c-fam.org.
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