Francis Permits Invalid Anglican Eucharist in Roman Basilica

Archlayman of Canterbury presides…

Francis Permits Invalid Anglican Eucharist in Roman Basilica

Anglican layman Justin Welby raises bread at the ‘Eucharist’ in St. Bartholomew’s on Jan. 25, 2024

Last year, on Apr. 18, 2023, a big fuss ensued over Anglican bishop Jonathan Baker offering a ‘Eucharistic celebration’ at the papal cathedral of Saint John Lateran in Rome. And rightly so, for not only is the Anglican religion (Church of England, known in the United States as the Episcopal Church) heretical and schismatic, but its clergy do not even have valid ordinations.

The nullity (invalidity) of Anglican orders was declared by Pope Leo XIII in his 1896 bull Apostolicae Curae. Even the Vatican II Sect officially accepts Pope Leo’s solemn judgment and does not recognize Anglican ordinations as valid.

In other words, Anglican priests and bishops are mere laymen, and as such they cannot celebrate Mass. If they attempt to do so anyway, the bread and wine remain mere bread and wine. The Body and Blood of Christ do not become present — no Transubstantiation occurs.

Whether the Apr. 18, 2023, liturgy in St. John Lateran had been pre-approved by Jorge Bergoglio (‘Pope Francis’) was not entirely clear. An official Facebook page of the Anglicans had stated that “the Holy See” had given permission, but it did not mention the ‘Pope’ specifically. After enough outrage had been raised, on Apr. 20, the Novus Ordo bishop Guerino di Tora issued an apology on behalf of the Lateran basilica, protesting his “deep regret” and blaming a “lack of communication” for the scandal.

After YouTube influencer Taylor Marshall rashly accused Francis himself of having approved the invalid Anglican worship service, professional ‘popesplainer’ Michael Lofton had a field day: Clearly, someone had dropped the ball to authorize such a terrible sacrilege, but obviously ‘Pope’ Francis had nothing to do with it!

See for yourself how confident Lofton is in his defense of Bergoglio (the first 10-20 minutes suffice), and how serious he thinks it is to accuse the ‘Pope’ of such a terrible crime. The following video was published on Apr. 21, 2023:

But that was then, and this is now.

Today, on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25, 2024, the highest-ranking cleric in the Church of England offered an invalid Mass in another Roman basilica — and this time, without a doubt, he had the full approval of ‘Pope’ Francis!

Justin Welby, the so-called Archbishop of Canterbury, presided over an Anglican ‘Eucharistic celebration’ in the 16th-century Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome (San Bartolomeo all’Isola). During the sermon, he expressed his gratitude to Francis for having given his permission:

The conservative Novus Ordo web site Life Site has the full story with pictures:

• Archbishop of Canterbury leads ‘Anglican Eucharist’ in Catholic basilica with Pope’s approval

Later that same day, Welby and Francis celebrated together an ecumenical vespers liturgy in St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, by the way. The two had also met during the day for a private audience.

So far, Michael Lofton has not reacted to this news, at least not in public.

Perhaps we should add that this Anglican ‘Mass’ at the Roman basilica today was by no means a spontaneous thing that could have caught Francis off-guard. Rather, it had been announced beforehand and was part of the official schedule for the ‘Growing Together’ ecumenical summit during the ‘Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’. The Vatican’s own newspaper, Osservatore Romano, announced it as well:

Welby, alle 11.45, sempre a San Bartolomeo, celebrerà per i fedeli anglicani una liturgia eucaristica sottolineando il valore ecumenico del martirio contemporaneo di cattolici, ortodossi, anglicani, evangelici, uniti nella resistenza al male, con le armi umili del bene e della fede.

[Translation: Welby, at 11:45 a.m., also at St. Bartholomew’s, will celebrate a Eucharistic liturgy for the Anglican faithful, emphasizing the ecumenical value of the contemporary martyrdom of Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and Evangelicals, united in resistance to evil with the humble weapons of goodness and faith.]

(“L’arcivescovo di Canterbury a San Bartolomeo all’Isola”, Osservatore Romano, Jan. 24, 2024; translation by DeepL.)

For Francis, today’s liturgical disaster at St. Bartholomew’s was by no means the first such indiscretion. In fact, it very much fits a familiar pattern.

Over the years, Bergoglio has deliberately undermined the Catholic teaching on Anglican orders again and again by engaging in, and by permitting others to engage in, acts that imply that Anglican clergy are valid. He is a man of action over theory, of pastoral practice over doctrine, for he believes that “realities are greater than ideas” (Evangelii Gaudium, n. 231).

But not only has the false pope permitted a fake Anglican ‘Mass’ to be performed in a historic Catholic church, he even once encouraged Catholics to attend such a frightful sacrilege: In 2017, Bergoglio claimed that it is perfectly fine for Catholics to attend an Anglican ‘Mass’ if there is no Catholic Mass available:

• Francis’ Double Standard: Traditional Latin Mass forbidden, but Anglican Service is fine

In 2014, Francis had received a ‘blessing’ from the invalid ‘Archbishop’ of Canterbury, the same Justin Welby. That very year, the false pope also granted his deceased friend Tony Palmer, an Anglican-Evangelical ‘bishop’, to be buried as a Catholic bishop.

Earlier this week, Bergoglio once again permitted Anglican Evensong (Vespers) to be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, as had already happened back in 2017. (Although, to be fair, simply praying Evensong does not require valid ordinations.)

It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow for Novus Ordo apologists and professional ‘popesplainers’. Reality has a way of getting back at them.

Image source: Life Site
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