(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Christophe Pierre gave what was likely his last address to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops this week.
Pierre, 79, turns 80 at the end of January and will be forced to tender his resignation as nuncio to the United States. It is doubtful he will return next spring when the bishops convene again.
Like any good disciple, Pierre, who was appointed in 2016, used his platform to promote the legacy of the the man who gave him his job.
“Francis called the Church to speak with a single evangelical voice,” Pierre claimed. “His pontificate was marked not by innovation for its own sake but that it might more fully reflect the vision of the Council.”
“Even if some are inclined to pursue a path that diverges from the pastoral vision of Francis,” he continued, “we know that the way forward is one that does not diverge but advances on the path of Francis is the way of moving forward in the Church.”
It is easy to understand why Pierre would want to praise the man he served for so many years. But it is the height of hubris to say that those who pursue a path that “diverges” from Francis’ vision are wrong to do so and that the only “path forward” for the Church is the path that was laid down by Francis.
The only path “forward” for the Church must and only can be the path laid down by Jesus Christ, who remains the head of the Church while popes come and go. To suggest that the Church after a pope has died must continue to “follow” them as opposed to discerning the way forward with help from the Holy Spirit is downright blasphemous.
Pierre also took the opportunity to remind his audience of the importance of Vatican II.
“The documents of the Second Vatican Council gifted the Church with a map for the journey ahead,” he said. “Yet the territory that this map outlined was in many ways uncharted. The vision of the Council was a vision for the future, the prophetic orientation to a world that was only beginning to take shape.”
Question: Was the Catholic Church founded in 1962? Can a single Ecumenical Council take on more weight than then Nicene Creed or the Dogmas of the Catholic faith? Pierre’s remarks scandalously suggest it does, at least for him.
Pierre then attempted to link Pope Leo to the “vision” that Francis and the Council have put forth.
“In his new apostolic letter on education, Pope Leo … urges educational communities to raise their eyes and know how to ask yourselves, ‘Where we are going and why?’” Pierre said. “The Synod on Synodality invites us to a different way … that makes communion concrete allows dialogue to become servant and catholicity to become shared mission.”
“Polarization too often allows Catholics even within the same parish or family to identify more with tribes and ideologies than with the Body of Christ,” he continued.
So are we to forget all about the monarchical structure of the Church that was bequeathed to us by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Isn’t the duty of all Catholics, especially bishops, to stay faithful to Tradition and the perennial magisterium of the Church? Pierre seems think not. He seems to believe that synodality and dialogue are what will direct the Church in the future. Talk about showing your bias toward the Church as it existed up until 1962.
A Substack blog titled Radical Fidelity captured the real intention of Pierre’s remarks in a post Wednesday. The person who runs the blog wishes to remain anonymous, but their words encapsulate how all Catholics should think about Pierre’s comments:
Which path shall I follow? The path of Francis, or the path of Christ? Shall I navigate by the “map” of Vatican II, or work out my salvation with fear and trembling by the compass of the Gospel?
Shall I kneel before the diabolical altar of dialogue, or before the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world?
…
Cardinal Pierre’s speech was not a call to unity, but a call to further suicidal conformity with a revolution that is reaching its crescendo — one that has already replaced our faith, emptied our sanctuaries, and silenced reverence.
The bishops of America — and everywhere else — would do well to remember that their mandate is not to follow “the path of Francis,” but the path of the Crucified. Not to guard “the vision of the Council,” but the deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles.
For the Bride of Christ does not march to the drums of the age. She kneels before her Lord in fear and trembling — and follows only Him.
