{"id":16803,"date":"2015-06-16T00:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T06:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=16803"},"modified":"2017-12-07T13:51:00","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T19:51:00","slug":"the-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Testing","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"Gideon, sifting his men,<\/span><\/em> by James Tissot (1806-1932)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As we prepare\u00a0for the release of a new\u00a0encyclical this week, my thoughts have been drifting back to the Synod and the series of writings I did then, particularly\u00a0<\/em>The Five Corrections<\/a> and this one below. What I find most notable in this pontificate of Pope Francis, is how it is drawing, in one way or another, fears, loyalties, and\u00a0the\u00a0depth of\u00a0one’s faith into the light. That is, we are in a time of testing, or as St. Paul says in today’s first reading, this is a time “to test the\u00a0genuineness of\u00a0your love.” <\/em><\/p>\n

The following was published October 22nd, 2014 shortly after the Synod…<\/em><\/p>\n

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FEW<\/strong> fully grasp what took place over the past couple weeks through the Synod on Family Life in Rome. It was not just a gathering of bishops; not only a discussion on pastoral issues: it was a test. It was a sifting.\u00a0<\/em>It was the New Gideon<\/a>, Our Blessed Mother,\u00a0further defining her army…<\/em><\/p>\n

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A WORD OF WARNING<\/p>\n

What I am about to say will upset some of you. Already, a few are angry with me, accusing me of being blind, deceived, oblivious to the fact that Pope Francis is, they say, an “anti-pope”, a “false prophet”, a “destroyer.” <\/em>Once again, in the Related Reading below, I have linked to all my writings related to Pope Francis, to how the media and even Catholics have distorted his words (which have admittedly needed contextualization and explanation); to how some contemporary prophecies regarding the papacy are heretical; and last, to how the Holy Spirit protects the Church through the infallibility and grace bestowed upon “Peter”, the rock. I have also posted a new writing by theologian Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi who responded to my question on whether a pope can be a heretic or not. [1]<\/sup><\/a>cf.\u00a0Can a Pope Become a Heretic?<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span>