'Mad-Dog' Maradiaga Lays Out the Next Decade of Disaster

High-fives all round for the social gospel...but what's the agenda for souls?

A friend of mine alerted me to what is being touted by Rocco Palmo as the 'programme' under the papacy of Franciscus coming from his inner circle and frankly, if you don't mind me saying, this speech is a foreboding one to say the least.

You might think a tabloid style header including the words, 'Mad-Dog Maradiaga', is a little bit disrepectful to a Prince of the Church and you'd be dead right, but I can imagine that when Michael Voris's beady eyes get sight of the Cardinal's recent speech in the US, he's going to hit the roof. And then some! Why? Because this agenda is insanity!

I'm becoming something of an acolyte of Michael Voris undoubtedly because in the near absence of Bishops teaching the fullness of the Catholic faith, and with a small, if vocal, minority of priests doing so, hey, where do you turn for the message of Eternal Life? The man, as they say, tells it like it is and to the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Truth, clarity and unqualified love for truth are qualities that are hard to find and, when found, are refreshing to the soul.



And herein lies the crisis. I - and others, I expect - are tuning in every day or two to hear the opinions of a lay man on the state of the Church with pithy and incisive statements that encourage the hearer to deepen his faith. The speech of Cardinal Maradiaga is disturbing. It is even more disturbing when heard on Rocco Palmo's site.

It is the infectious enthusiasm that is most off-putting. Its the presumption and the downright denial of the Church's reality that comes across with the 'we are Church', 'yes we can', 'we're gonna be alright' political sloganeering that reminds one of that awful Sheffield Labour rally in which Neil Kinnock told us his party were on the verge of a massive landslide only to lose to John Major. Its the raw triumphalism, something condemned by the Pope, in fact, that has me running for the hills. It is not even liberation theology. It is no theology at all. Jesus Christ is entirely unnecessary to this vision of the Church.

Kinnock: We're not 'alright'...

On paper, it seems a bit long-winded and tedious, but listening to it gives me the chills. It's not what the Cardinal has to say about the poor and the Church or the poor Church for the poor or about the social mission of the Church or what the Church can contribute to the political and economic sphere. It's not that. It's the very near total exclusion of the Church's primary reason for Her existence that is deeply disconcerting.

It is about everything but Jesus Christ and the Salvation of souls. It does not even really require Jesus Christ and the Cross upon which He shed His blood at all. It is a perversion of the Catholic Faith. There need be no Heaven, since we're bringing it down to Earth, if not by force, then by sheer wishful-thinking while the Cardinal ignores the terrible realities that Our Lady of Fatima, even in those secrets that are known to be fully published, explicitly informed us about.

These are, namely, the existence of Hell, Purgatory, Heaven, the reality of Judgment, Divine Justice and, apparently, if rumours of the unpublished, inconvenient secret be true, a Chastisement set upon the earth so devastating that it could outdo the times of Noah, as God presses the 'reset' button on mankind in such a manner as to leave the living envious of the dead. This life, whether we be rich or poor is a preparation for the life to come. If the Church does not have man's spiritual condition at the top of the Her priorities, not just mankind is threatened, but She Herself, is doomed to irrelevance in every age. Almighty God will judge the poor with equity and knowing we are to be judged by Almighty God, we should treat them with utmost respect and dignity.

Lived Lumen Gentium centuries before Lumen Gentium 

And yet, when you read what this Cardinal has to say, you would think that the Church's message about the poor and the Church was something invented in the 1960s, conveniently forgetting that St Francis of Assisi and St Anthony of Padua and other medieval Saints entire lives lived this aspect of the Gospel message, while blazing a supernatural fire of love for God across their Assisi and Padua! Yes! Oh how they loved and respected the poor, but oh, how they loved Jesus Christ before and above all others!

The social teaching of the Catholic Church is indeed a jewel - a veritable gem - in the Crown of the Bride of Christ, but it is not, in itself, the essence of the message of the Gospel. It is one aspect of a whole. It is the overflowing of God's love in the soul. If it is not that, it is probably of little worth. It is an effect. It is not the cause. Our greatest need and desire is for the Salvation that comes from the grace and mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else - e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that is good flows from our salvific relationship with Him in His Church.

Read it and weep for the insanity that is about to take over the Catholic Church now that the 'errors of Russia' are emanating from the very heart of Rome! What Cardinal Mardiaga is teaching did not work for Latin America. It will not work either in the United States, or in Africa, or in Europe. What we thirst for is God. What we truly desire is Salvation. Only the Catholic Church can offer it to the World. So why on Earth would a Prince of the Church hide the Church's very Light, Jesus Christ Himself, under a bushel and offer to the World 'something else' instead? Do yourself a favour, readers. Buy yourself a pair of flares now. We're a-going right back to the 70s. These Princes do not get it yet, after forty years in a spiritual wilderness, that this agenda wins admiration, but not converts or people who desire the Lord Jesus Christ. Cardinal. You may just as well hand the keys of the Vatican over to the UN. Have readers ever noticed that the Orthodox Church does not suffer this kind of insanity? Why? I'll tell you why. It is because the Devil has zero interest in destroying the Orthodox Church.

Note to Cardinal Maradiaga. God help you and us. If you do not address the real crisis of Faith and the schism that is opening up within the Bride of Christ - if you do not read the riot act to those in rebellion against the Faith of Christ, they themselves will think you are on their side. By ignoring them and trying to shift attention to some social work project, you are ignoring the reality of apostasy and very likely schism within the Church.

People can find everything but Jesus Christ outside of the Catholic Church. Why would they wish to come and unite themselves to the Bride of Christ if they can find what you desire to offer them outside of the Catholic Church? Is that not, Your Eminence, the story of Latin America, 'all over'? The evangelicals are taking over because you did not give to your people the Lord Jesus! Spare the Vatican some needless work. The laity do not require a 'Congregation for the Laity'. The laity need holy, sound, Catholic magisterial teaching from wise, prudent and faithful Shepherds - those who Christ has appointed to be Successors to the Apostles - to do exactly that and not a great deal else. Grrr!!! When will they learn?!