Oh Brother! Part 2

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Too many people went wildly loopy when the secular media, fueled by a devious filmmaker's shabby production, seized an opportunity to sow confusion.

On Oct. 21, the documentary film Francesco by Evgeny Afineevsky was released. Afineevsky had not been allowed to interview the Holy Father on camera, but had been given access to Vatican film archives. From the 2019 Televisa interview, he took about 20 seconds from five separate elements of that interview to create a false impression, namely that the Holy Father was open to formal recognition of same-sex unions, perhaps even including the right to adopt children. Afineevsky left out what Pope Francis had said about the “incongruity” of same-sex unions with marriage. (De Souza)

Afineevsky's work brings to mind the 1963 play The Deputy by Rolf Hochhuth. A lot of people fell for that baseless pile of bull excrement, too. For decades, Jehovah's Witnesses have used Hochhuth's fiction to intimidate Catholics. That a group would bully others by adopting lies and representing those lies as history defines such a group as liars worse than the liar who wrote the play.

On an earlier occasion, Fr. Raymond De Souza wrote:

It becomes an imbergoglio when Pope Francis — Papa Bergoglio — is just going about his business and the people around him create an almighty flap. The Holy Father gets sucked into the imbroglio even though the principal decisions were not his. The imbroglio, which is not the Holy Father’s fault, nevertheless embroils him and becomes an imbergoglio. And then it ends in farce. All of which is terribly embarrassing for the Catholic Church and causes criticism to fly toward Pope Francis.


Again, Fr. Raymond De Souza:

Finally, after 10 days of silence, the Vatican issued something of a clarification. Pope Francis did not intend any confusion on the doctrine about marriage, which cannot change. On civil unions the Holy Father was speaking about legal arrangements that might include people — two siblings, an elderly parent and child, two friends — who were not in a sexual relationship. In no way did he advocate for same-sex couples to adopt children.


The secular media long ago lost the ability to transmit religious news with any real depth and breadth.  

Words to the wise:
  1. Don't jump to conclusions.
  2. Don't believe everything you read/hear in the secular press.
  3. Remember: a pope's personal comments do not command unquestioning acceptance. The Pope is our spiritual father; we owe him our respect and we should pray for him. However, if a pope says that the music of the Saint Louis Jesuits is better than that of Palestrina, then we are free to disagree with him.
  4. Before speaking to the secular media, Catholics should recall the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, chapter 7, verse 6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

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