Some OROGs may be displeased because the Gringo Viejo refers to the Bishop of Rome as the Bishop of Rome. "His name is Mr. Pope," they protest. Yes, to the misinformed who are not enlightened Episcopal sticks-in-the-mud, and antique antiquarians, responds EGV. The true Episcopalian....any real fire-breathing Anglican....knows that the Christian Church must be Apostolic in succession and based upon the passing of Church authority by way of the construction of Dioceses. Each Diocese is presided over by a Bishop, and an important man is he. He must be elevated from the common priesthood by now fewer than three other Anglican Bishops.
The Church of England is headed by an even more very special Bishop. He is the Archbishop of Canterbury who is elevated to his chair by the Monarch of England, be he or she whosoever. The present Monarch is a Monarchette named Elizabeth, and she shall soon be naming a new head priest for the entire Church of England, the official church of the Realm.
As bishops are certainly important, the Archbishop of Canterbury is really important because he is also the head of the entire assembly or "communion" of Dioceses known, quite simply, as The Anglican Communion. That is, all churches and organisation of such churches that extend from the original Church of England, founded and/or recognised by Saint Augustine in the latest days of the 6th Century. However, Saint Augustine (not of Hippo) the great emissary of Pope Gregory was a bit flummoxed by his mission, because, as he informed HSH Gregory, "I have found the church alive in Britain and the fiel at worship of our Saviour. What should I do?"
His Holiness directed Augustine to allow them to continue to worship in their way and to direct their attention to the greater Church and the communion of all Christians. That tie of the present to the past, and the present to the future became the foundation of a Roman Catholic-like orthodox church....still speaking Latin....still drawing on the ancient Celtic and, to a lesser extent Nordic, mythology and mysticism. Merlin would have felt at home in any Church of England then, and quite probably in most of the conservative ones to this day.
To bring a long story to a mercifully short end, the Anglican Communion recognises that there is Roman Catholic Church as one of many Orthodox, Apostolic churches within the Body of Christ. But it recognises the authority of the Bishop of Rome only as that, and for one other purpose, that of representing the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church in affairs of business and negotiation with other members and churches of the Christian Religion. The Bishop of Rome has no authority beyond his own denomination. His infallibility in interpretation of the dogma and liturgy is not accepted in the Church of England or the Anglican Communion.
Otherwise, the Anglican tradition is such that any baptised person can receive communion at the rail in an Anglican Church of any sort...ie, a Roman Catholic can take communion at St. Georges' Church, Episcopal in Dog Paddle, Texas. But, an Episcopalian cannot, correctly, receive or be granted communion or rites of the Roman Church, even if baptised and confirmed.
So, now we arrive at this visit by the Bishop of Rome to Mexico. The foreign leftist press has been stunned at the spontaneous turnout and reception. They were certain that the "with-it" young people have had enough of the priest sex-scandals, the obvious corruption within the Church, and the even worse alternatives presented by the protestant and Mormon and Episcopal churches active in Mexico. But....oh! no! There are huge crowds. There are even events that parallel the Pope's and intertwine with his mission. The Vicar of Christ is in a Popemobile wearing a touristic sombrero charro...! Oh! No! He's speaking out about how communism has failed Cuba....HOW INSENSITIVE CAN HE BE???? And with every careful word he points to the need to re-establish faith and goodness, and to turn away from the easy money and casual relationships that result in the dehumanizing of the the human race.
El Gringo Viejo is a bit surprise himself about the warmth and reception that Benedict has received. But it is encouraging in terms of the election coming up and in terms of underscoring the commitment to bring the War of the Cartels to a successful end. While it is true that the average Mexican in the street with any functional IQ at all is not enamored of this war, the overwhelming majority want the Army and Naval Infantry to continue the search out, encounter, and destroy efforts. Mexico is prospering right now, in gross national economic terms, and if it could eliminate the plague of this cartel thing, and if we could stop using the miserable drugs, it would seal the power of North America as a Citadel of Prosperity and good works for generations to come.
Now, Benedict heads for Cuba, where he will probably be conciliatory yet scolding. His Church in Cuba is full of liberation theology advocates, priests who are communists first and then parish vicars third. It is dominated by the horridly marxist Mary Knoll nuns and other pseudo-Catholic operatives who are no more Christian than the pseudo protestant "Pastors for Peace" communist-adjuncts who lobby on behalf of the corrupt Communist regime.
Benedict knows these are dangerous vipers who hide in the dark pantry of the house of God, and it is best not to stir them up. It is better to speak over the vipers and remind the common people that they have an advocate on this Earth as well as another advocate in Heaven. It is the common folk who will save the churches, Protestant and Catholic, and the beautiful country that Cuba was. It will be again. It is the dissidents, it is the Ladies in White, and those who know the soul sapping drudgery of a socialist dictatorship, who actually constitute a majority of the population. Hopefully this visit might be the last spark before the whole resistance ignites and Cuba can be placed back into its rightful path to liberty and prosperity.
Benedict's head-fake, his setting of low expectations, and his ability to turn the pictures of a mean old man into the image of a kindly old grandfather, with the right to guide his "family" to a better path has made this journey something very special in the movement of liberty and Faith.
El Gringo Viejo
His Holiness directed Augustine to allow them to continue to worship in their way and to direct their attention to the greater Church and the communion of all Christians. That tie of the present to the past, and the present to the future became the foundation of a Roman Catholic-like orthodox church....still speaking Latin....still drawing on the ancient Celtic and, to a lesser extent Nordic, mythology and mysticism. Merlin would have felt at home in any Church of England then, and quite probably in most of the conservative ones to this day.
To bring a long story to a mercifully short end, the Anglican Communion recognises that there is Roman Catholic Church as one of many Orthodox, Apostolic churches within the Body of Christ. But it recognises the authority of the Bishop of Rome only as that, and for one other purpose, that of representing the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church in affairs of business and negotiation with other members and churches of the Christian Religion. The Bishop of Rome has no authority beyond his own denomination. His infallibility in interpretation of the dogma and liturgy is not accepted in the Church of England or the Anglican Communion.
Otherwise, the Anglican tradition is such that any baptised person can receive communion at the rail in an Anglican Church of any sort...ie, a Roman Catholic can take communion at St. Georges' Church, Episcopal in Dog Paddle, Texas. But, an Episcopalian cannot, correctly, receive or be granted communion or rites of the Roman Church, even if baptised and confirmed.
So, now we arrive at this visit by the Bishop of Rome to Mexico. The foreign leftist press has been stunned at the spontaneous turnout and reception. They were certain that the "with-it" young people have had enough of the priest sex-scandals, the obvious corruption within the Church, and the even worse alternatives presented by the protestant and Mormon and Episcopal churches active in Mexico. But....oh! no! There are huge crowds. There are even events that parallel the Pope's and intertwine with his mission. The Vicar of Christ is in a Popemobile wearing a touristic sombrero charro...! Oh! No! He's speaking out about how communism has failed Cuba....HOW INSENSITIVE CAN HE BE???? And with every careful word he points to the need to re-establish faith and goodness, and to turn away from the easy money and casual relationships that result in the dehumanizing of the the human race.
El Gringo Viejo is a bit surprise himself about the warmth and reception that Benedict has received. But it is encouraging in terms of the election coming up and in terms of underscoring the commitment to bring the War of the Cartels to a successful end. While it is true that the average Mexican in the street with any functional IQ at all is not enamored of this war, the overwhelming majority want the Army and Naval Infantry to continue the search out, encounter, and destroy efforts. Mexico is prospering right now, in gross national economic terms, and if it could eliminate the plague of this cartel thing, and if we could stop using the miserable drugs, it would seal the power of North America as a Citadel of Prosperity and good works for generations to come.
Now, Benedict heads for Cuba, where he will probably be conciliatory yet scolding. His Church in Cuba is full of liberation theology advocates, priests who are communists first and then parish vicars third. It is dominated by the horridly marxist Mary Knoll nuns and other pseudo-Catholic operatives who are no more Christian than the pseudo protestant "Pastors for Peace" communist-adjuncts who lobby on behalf of the corrupt Communist regime.
Benedict knows these are dangerous vipers who hide in the dark pantry of the house of God, and it is best not to stir them up. It is better to speak over the vipers and remind the common people that they have an advocate on this Earth as well as another advocate in Heaven. It is the common folk who will save the churches, Protestant and Catholic, and the beautiful country that Cuba was. It will be again. It is the dissidents, it is the Ladies in White, and those who know the soul sapping drudgery of a socialist dictatorship, who actually constitute a majority of the population. Hopefully this visit might be the last spark before the whole resistance ignites and Cuba can be placed back into its rightful path to liberty and prosperity.
Benedict's head-fake, his setting of low expectations, and his ability to turn the pictures of a mean old man into the image of a kindly old grandfather, with the right to guide his "family" to a better path has made this journey something very special in the movement of liberty and Faith.
El Gringo Viejo
