Can anyone figure out what he means?
Francis Answers Jewish Criticism on Obsoleteness of Old Law
On Aug. 25, 2021, we reported that the papal impostor Jorge Bergoglio (“Francis”) had received a letter from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel complaining about his Aug. 11 Wednesday catechesis, in which he (correctly) taught, commenting on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, that the Mosaic Law of the Old Covenant is not capable of giving supernatural life to the soul. Rather, this life is only had through sanctifying grace, which has been merited and made available to us in the New Covenant by our Blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
No one who has read the New Testament could be surprised to hear this, as it is one of the core teachings of the Gospel: “For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:17); “I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10); “For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin” (Jn 8:24).
Since the apostate Second Vatican Council (1962-65), however, this teaching has been obscured, to say the least. Indeed, it has been changed and thereby denied; which is why the Vatican now unabashedly proclaims that “it does not in any way follow that the Jews are excluded from God’s salvation because they do not believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God” (Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, “‘The Gifts and Calling of God are Irrevocable’ (Rom 11:29)”, n. 5).
Thus it was surprising to see Francis present an orthodox explanation of St. Paul’s teaching in Galatians, considering that the Argentinian Jesuit is not exactly known as a beacon of orthodoxy but as a man of Vatican II. In our Aug. 25 post, we provided a possible explanation for this unexpected behavior, one that resolves the apparent contradiction:
As we noted then, the Jews were upset at this sudden change in “papal” doctrine and tone. Reuters reported: “In a letter seen by Reuters, Rabbi Rasson Arousi, chair of the Commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel for Dialogue with the Holy See, said the comments appeared to suggest Jewish law was obsolete. Vatican authorities said they were studying the letter and were considering a response.”
That response has now been given. Before we get to the little that is known about it, however, let us briefly sketch what else has transpired.
On Aug. 30, Vatican News published a brief commentary by “Abp.” Victor Manuel Fernandez (yes, that one) addressing the topic, which appears surprisingly orthodox, arguing that the teaching of St. Paul is not, or should not be, alien to those who believe in the Old Testament.
On Sep. 1, during his General Audience, Francis began with a curious clarification:
We will continue the explanation of the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians. This explanation is not something new, something that is mine: what we are studying is what Saint Paul says in a very serious conflict with the Galatians. And it is also the Word of God, because it entered the Bible. They are not things that someone makes up: no. It is something that happened in that time and which can repeat itself. And in fact, we have seen that this has repeated itself in history. This is simply a catechesis on the Word of God expressed in the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians; nothing else. This must always be kept in mind.
(Antipope Francis, General Audience, Vatican.va, Sep. 1, 2021; underlining added.)
It seems pretty evident that Francis is trying, in some fashion, to allay the concerns of the unbelieving Jews here by saying that his words are “simply a catechesis … nothing else”. And yet, when we consider the surrounding context, this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, because he is at the same time underscording that he is giving a presentation of “the Word of God” and “not things that someone makes up”. So it is not clear how this could pacify his Jewish objectors.
This past Sunday, Sep. 5, at the conclusion of his Angelus address, Bergoglio expressed his greetings and good wishes to the apostate Jews for a number of upcoming feasts they will be celebrating, observing the very Old Law that the false pope himself just acknowledged cannot give life and has been superseded by the Law of Christ:
In the coming days the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, will be celebrated. And then the two feasts of Yom Kippur and Sukkot. I extend my heartfelt good wishes to all my brothers and sisters of the Jewish religion: may the New Year be rich in fruits of peace and good for those who walk faithfully in the Lord’s Law.
(Antipope Francis, Greetings after Angelus, Vatican.va, Sep. 5, 2021; underlining added.)
Not only is Francis blasphemously implying that the observance of these Jewish festivals can bring God’s blessings, when they are in themselves utterly incapable of bringing anything supernaturally good (we are speaking objectively, leaving out of account whatever noble subjective intentions any individual may have), inasmuch as they now signify not simply a false religion but one that deliberately repudiates the One sent by God to redeem mankind: “And if by grace, it is not now by works: otherwise grace is no more grace” (Rom 11:6); “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (Jn 1:11).
What is more, the false pope is also implying that the adherents of the apostate Jewish religion are capable of walking faithfully in the Lord’s Law, when that is absolutely ruled out not only by St. Paul but also by Christ the Lord Himself: “I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5); “For the law worketh wrath. For where there is no law, neither is there transgression. Therefore is it of faith, that according to grace the promise might be firm to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Rom 4:15-16).
Now, in addition to these public comments, clearly open to interpretation, Bergoglio also directed that a message be sent by “Cardinal” Kurt Koch to Rabbi Arousi in reply to his letter:
Francis then asked Koch to explain that his words on the Torah reflecting on the writings of St. Paul in the New Testament should not be taken as a judgment on Jewish law, the sources said.
Last week Koch sent a letter to Arousi containing a quote made by Pope Francis in 2015: “The Christian confessions find their unity in Christ; Judaism finds its unity in the Torah.”
Jewish sources said they saw the Vatican letter as a sign of reconciliation.
(Philip Pullella, “Pope responds to Israeli criticism over comments on Jewish law”, Reuters, Sep. 6, 2021; underlining added.)
So, according to the “Pope”, when he explains what St. Paul teaches in the New Testament about how the Old Law cannot justify, this “should not be taken as a judgment on Jewish law”. One cannot help but wonder: What is that supposed to mean? Is Bergoglio saying that St. Paul’s judgment on this matter is not valid? Or is it — pardon the irony — “obsolete”? Was it “superseded” by Vatican II? Or was it from the very beginning only a “relative” judgment, one that is “true for Christians but not for Jews”? What are we saying here? As usual, Novus Ordo “clarifications” raise more questions than they answer.
It is truly lamentable that the full text of Koch’s response has not been published, but perhaps this will happen in the future. Francis is trying to play both sides but, the nature of reality being what it is, this is a balancing act he will not be able to succeed in. For either he will please the Jews and contradict the Gospel, or he will uphold the Gospel and anger the Jews. No middle ground is possible: “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other” (Lk 16:13). Of course we know which side must be chosen by a genuine follower of Christ: “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Gal 1:10).
So here we have this double standard that we decried in our last post on the subject, on full display once again. Francis is trying to have one standard for the Jews and another for Christians. But objective reality is not relative. The Gospel is objective and absolute truth. It knows neither Gentile nor Jew: “There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).
The Gospel does not admit of two “parallel” covenants, then, one for the Jews and another for Christians. Rather, there is only one and eternal Covenant, that established by Christ, who is a “light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Lk 2:32). Hence St. Paul asks rhetorically: “Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. For it is one God, that justifieth circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith” (Rom 3:29-30); “For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man may glory” (Eph 2:8-9).
Francis cannot have it both ways — yet that is precisely what he wants. He is, after all, a Modernist, and contradicting onself, entertaining a double standard, is part of the Modernist strategy. Both Popes Pius VI and Pius X condemned it forcefully:
[Speaking in the manner] cannot be excused in the way that one sees it being done, under the erroneous pretext that the seemingly shocking affirmations in one place are further developed along orthodox lines in other places, and even in yet other places corrected; as if allowing for the possibility of either affirming or denying the statement, or of leaving it up to the personal inclinations of the individual – such has always been the fraudulent and daring method used by innovators to establish error. It allows for both the possibility of promoting error and of excusing it.
(Pope Pius VI, Apostolic Constitution Auctorem Fidei, preamble)
This will appear more clearly to anybody who studies the conduct of Modernists, which is in perfect harmony with their teachings. In their writings and addresses they seem not unfrequently to advocate doctrines which are contrary one to the other, so that one would be disposed to regard their attitude as double and doubtful. But this is done deliberately and advisedly, and the reason of it is to be found in their opinion as to the mutual separation of science and faith. Thus in their books one finds some things which might well be approved by a Catholic, but on turning over the page one is confronted by other things which might well have been dictated by a rationalist.
(Pope St. Pius X, Encyclical Pascendi, n. 18)
If Bergoglio’s mouth had three sides, he’d be speaking out of all three of them.
The very fact that today’s Jewish authorities are surprised to find out that (alleged) Catholics believe Catholicism should supersede Judaism, speaks volumes about the success of the apostasy engendered by Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium.
This is not merely a matter of shifting emphasis or of building constructive dialogue — they are preaching a different gospel! And, as the same St. Paul says in the same Letter to the Galatians: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema” (Gal 1:8).
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