I was awakened early this morning by my wife informing me that Pope Francis has died. “Wow,” was my instant verbal reaction. I grabbed my bedside rosary ring and did a Divine Mercy Chaplet for his soul. It was probably the best I could muster at that moment. That was followed by a text from a friend and Vaticanista plugged into all things Francis, who watched with great alarm what has unfolded in the Catholic Church during this pontificate. I told him I was a little surprised by the news because Francis had somewhat rebounded from his long hospital stay and was somewhat active over Easter weekend. I asked my friend if he and his sources had expected this. His response: “Definitely.” His concluding words: “It will be all chaos and arguing now.” In truth, it has been all chaos and arguing since Francis took over the papacy in 2013. No pope in modern times has sowed this much confusion in the Chair of St. Peter. Both liberals and conservatives alike should concede that. In the first year of his papacy, Francis infamously urged a group of young Catholics to “make a mess of things.” He said that with a grin to a group of Argentine pilgrims: “I want to tell you something. What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess.” That was hardly the only time Francis said this. Just last September, he implored yet another group to “wreak havoc, make a mess.” That became a metaphor for this papacy. The chaos was so bad that at one point I conceded that the single best summation of the papacy had been offered by Cardinal George Pell before his death in January 2023. “[T]his pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects,” said Pell, “a catastrophe.” I urge those reading this to please understand that I haven’t said these things publicly until now. Quite the contrary, for years, I only defended Francis in public. In March 2019, halfway through his papacy, I wrote an extraordinarily lengthy piece defending Francis in Crisis Magazine. That piece was widely read. Even as I defended him, I conceded the chaos and confusion. My public defenses, however, soon ended. The Francis papacy became overwhelming, inexplicable, baffling. When Francis had his long hospital stint and appeared to be near death’s door, I declined media requests. I’m declining again. I don’t want to spend the coming weeks speaking negatively about the pope at his death. Many of you reading this now likely assume that I’ve had this obituary pre-written. No. I didn’t want to devote the time. I long ago had enough. My frustration had turned to anger and then almost indifference. What can I say at this moment? At the risk of sounding uncharitable, which I always feared, I’ll make a few observations. The Fox News headline article this morning opened with this lead: “Pope Francis … worked to instill progressive influences on the global church while maintaining unity with conservatives amid years of turmoil.” That’s not accurate. Francis did not want unity with conservatives, nor especially with traditionalists. To Francis, “traditionalists” became a dirty word. They were modern Pharisees. He lambasted their “rigidity.” They felt targeted and persecuted by him. His appointments to the American Church were outrageously political and ideological, stacking the cardinals with staunch leftists, particularly with his stunning elevations and promotions of Cardinal Robert McElroy. (Some feared that his final move might be to replace Cardinal Timothy Dolan in New York with the LGBTQ priest Fr. James Martin. Inconceivable as that might sound, I wouldn’t have been surprised.) (RELATED: What Cardinal McElroy Gets Wrong on Immigration) Francis always condemned politics and ideology, but his appointments, certainly in America, were political and ideological. The only question was to what extent he personally knew what he was doing. Was this his initiative or the doing of “progressive” advisers? I’ve never been able to figure that out. Francis talked incessantly of mercy, but such was not his treatment of traditionalists. Last Saturday evening, I attended a Traditional Latin Mass for the Easter Vigil service. It was four hours long, with every word in Latin. The thriving parish was teeming with young families, babies, altar boys, and future priests and nuns — unlike the vast majority of old, dying parishes. I couldn’t help but think of Francis at that moment, and how his papacy was not charitable to these members of the flock. I’ve thought a hundred times about the warnings of The American Spectator’s fearless Catholic journalist, George Neumayr, who very unexpectedly died in January 2023. In 2017, George wrote the aptly titled book, The Political Pope: How Pope Francis is Delighting the Liberal Left and Abandoning Conservatives. He predicted that rather than leading a reinvigorated Catholic Church, with exploding numbers, the first Jesuit pope would preside over a shrinking Church, as he had in Argentina. George assured that the “Francis effect” would be just the opposite of what liberal media advocates were predicting. From the outset, I argued with George. I could fill this article with statements from him. I won’t, but one series of exchanges with George always struck me. I marveled to George at the mystery of why Francis had not visited his home country of Argentina. Not once. The fact that he didn’t is extraordinarily striking. This pope was picked in part because he was a non-European. Surely, figured many 2013 Conclave members, Bergoglio would bolster the Church’s sagging numbers in its onetime stronghold of the Western hemisphere. Nope. Just the opposite happened — as George foresaw. Most mystifying: Jorge Mario Bergoglio never once returned in triumph to his native nation. How could that be? Think of Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. The first Polish/Slavic pontiff repeatedly returned to his native land, each time greeted like a hero by his proud countrymen. And yet, Francis never once went back. Why? George insisted that Francis wasn’t welcome in Argentina, and that he would be embarrassingly booed rather than cheered. I found that difficult to believe. But alas, Francis never once set foot back home. That really was incredibly revealing. My last comment: I came back into the Catholic Church in April 2005, during the death of John Paul II. I could always count on the latest from the Vatican to feed my soul. I would awake in awe to fulfillment and wisdom from the Chair of St. Peter. That ended in 2013. In that sense, it felt like the chair was empty for much of the last 12 years. The number of Catholics, especially conservative ones, who left the Church under Francis is no doubt astonishingly high. I’ve had to talk many into hanging in there and staying. Moreover, I could name various prominent non-Catholics who would have converted these past 12 years if not for Francis. But wait, did Francis not bring liberals into the Church and grow it that way? No. Liberals want to remake the Catholic Church in their own image, only for the purpose of taking it down, not joining it. Francis endeavored to please them, but there’s no pleasing them. Catering to them is a fool’s errand, a destructive one. I’ll finish this statement with sincere prayers for the soul of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who I’ve prayed for regularly these 12 years, and especially for the cardinals as they choose his successor. I ask forgiveness for any lack of charity in this piece. Above all, my prayers are for the man who will need to clean up the mess. READ MORE: Catholicism on the Decline in the US Poland Sees Surge in Anti-Catholic Sentiment The post The Death of Pope Francis appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The Catholic Church has suffered the passing of another Pontiff. Early on Easter Monday, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, according to Vatican authorities. The Pope was hospitalized on Feb. 14, over concerns about worsening bronchitis, and was later diagnosed with double pneumonia. He spent 38 days in the hospital and was discharged on March 23. Shortly before he died, Pope Francis met with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Rome, and blessed crowds gathered at the Vatican for Easter. The date of Pope Francis’s requiem Mass has yet to be announced, but the Mass will be followed by nine days of mourning, each featuring the celebration of a memorial Mass. Instead of being interred in St. Peter’s Basilica, the final resting place of 91 Popes, including Popes St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, Pope Francis has requested to be buried in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, the burial place of Popes Honorius III, Clement VIII, Clement IX, Sixtus V, and St. Pius V. While the late pontiff did much to promote the Catholic understanding of mercy and laid a particular emphasis on the “pastoral” role of the Pope, the Holy Father’s legacy, unfortunately, will be one of ambiguity and confusion. Over the course of his nearly-12-year-long pontificate, Pope Francis promoted numerous progressive prelates, initiated stringent restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, surrounded himself with problematic allies and advisors, and, notably, oversaw the explosive revelation of the crimes of disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. (RELATED: RIP Theodore McCarrick) At the outset of his papacy, Pope Francis raised concerns when he eschewed some of the more traditional trappings and customs of a newly elected pope. For example, he chose to greet the College of Cardinals not seated upon the papal throne but standing. He also opted not to wear the traditional red, ermine-trimmed mozzetta during his first appearance as pope on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, but a simple white cassock instead. Those decisions seemingly set the tone for the remainder of the Francis pontificate. Pope Francis saw himself as a reformer, and there is no doubt that many of the “reforms” he initiated originated in a heart inspired by mercy and charity. It is possible that the pontiff’s history as a Jesuit influenced how he chose to execute the “reforms” he devised. The Jesuits were founded as a missionary order, and their zeal in that endeavor led them to the remote and far-flung fringes of the world. The order has, unfortunately, become increasingly progressive in recent years, perhaps because its missionaries have spent so long at the fringes of society that they have forgotten to return to the fold with the lost sheep that they sought in the first place. The late pontiff’s “reforms,” however, have mired the Catholic Church in controversy and ambiguity. Age-old moral teachings promulgated, clarified, and defended by the Apostles, Doctors of the Church, and Saints throughout the centuries have not been directly contradicted, per se, but subtly undermined, with greater emphasis being laid on a pastoral sense of understanding, accompaniment, and non-judgementalism than on the mortal peril in which the sins of the modern age place countless souls. There is much with which the next pope will have to contend, including financial corruption in the Vatican Bank, increasingly ideologically and politically vocal priests and prelates, impending schism in nations like Germany, and the infiltration of progressive, modernist theology into seminaries and pulpits around the globe, but the overarching task of the next pontiff will be to dismantle the morally ambiguous “pastoral” spirit fostered under Pope Francis. The world is not in need of more misguided “understanding” and “accompaniment,” but of firm and clear teachings on complex and pervasive moral issues, which far too many today are content to either ignore or else tacitly approve. Catholics everywhere should pray for the upcoming papal conclave and for the next pope, that God may grant him courage and wisdom in the defense of the Holy Catholic Church. Catholics also must remember to pray for the soul of Pope Francis. Yes, his pontificate has been a penance for many of us, and we have watched in pain and anguish as the Church, which we call home, has become embroiled in bitter ideological, theological, and even liturgical arguments, disputes, and conflicts. Many of us have felt ignored, neglected, ostracized, and even punished, at times, for adhering to the teachings, customs, and practices the Church has held to be sacred for centuries. Yet this is all the more reason to pray for Pope Francis and his soul. Whatever one’s thoughts on him, Pope Francis was our Holy Father, and we owe him our filial love and respect. But bear in mind also that for nearly 12 years, he has carried the weight of the entire Catholic Church — and all the souls therein — upon his shoulders. Her will be judged not only on how he lived his life, on whether or not he engaged in gossip or lust, on his private thoughts and musings as the rest of us are and will be, but on how he tended to the flock God entrusted to his care. This is a heavy burden, and no ambiguity will serve in the late pontiff’s defense. We must, therefore, pray for the repose of his soul, that we might someday enjoy the Beatific Vision alongside our Holy Father, in an eternity where all the hurts and divisions dealt and sown over the years are healed and made whole in Christ. READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy: Tolkien’s Eucatastrophe and Easter Poland Sees Surge in Anti-Catholic Sentiment Catholicism on the Decline in the US The post <i>Requiescat in Pace</i>, Pope Francis appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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The surviving members of the original Alice Cooper band — singer Alice Cooper, guitarist Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith — will present “The Revenge Of Alice Cooper” on July 25th. The band’s first album in over 50 years also includes a special appearance by late guitarist Glen Buxton, who died in 1997 at the age of 49. The song “What Happened To You” was based on riff from a demo Dunaway and Buxton made together way back when. “The Revenge Of Alice Cooper” was produced by longtime Alice Cooper collaborator Bob Ezrin, who worked with the band on 1971’s “Killers,” 1972’s “School’s Out” (their breakthrough album), 1973’s “Billion Dollar Babies” (which topped the Billboard 200) and helmed numerous Cooper solo albums. “The Revenge Of Alice Cooper” Tracks: 01. Black Mamba02. Wild Ones03. Up All Night04. Kill The Flies05. One Night Stand06. Blood On The Sun07. Crap That Gets In The Way Of Your Dreams08. Famous Face09. Money Screams10. What A Syd11. Inter Galactic Vagabond Blues12. What Happened To You13. I Ain’t Done Wrong14. See You On The Other Side15. Return of the Spiders 2025 (bonus track)16. Titanic Overunderture (bonus track) The Revenge Of Alice Cooper The Alice Cooper band dissolved in ’74 when vocalist Alice Cooper went solo. The rest of the band launched the short-lived Billion Dollar Babies. ### The post “The Revenge Of Alice Cooper” Drops In July appeared first on RockinTown.

Betting sites have already opened odds on who will be the next pope, with Cardinal Luis Antonion Tagle as the clear early favorite