Mr. Edward Pentin, who is a Vatican Journalist and writer for the National Catholic Register, recently gave a talk at the Catholic Identity Conference discussing the issues that are affecting the Church at the moment. He said it’s important to assume the pope’s motives are only for the good of the Church, even if the facts still might appear otherwise, recounting his distinct impression from watching the pope on papal trips, that Francis genuinely believes he’s doing the best thing for the Church.
Pentin then goes on to state, however, that there are a multitude of issues that plague the Church which have been troublesome such as, a prevalence of homosexual activity in the Vatican, confusion over Amoris Laetitia, the influence of secular ideologies, especially those concerned with climate change, overpopulation and immigration, and a climate of fear that has spread beyond the Vatican to staff in chanceries and vicars general around the world, as well as the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.
Pentin said, “They also say we have a pope and a Vatican that remains silent on crucial issues and so aren’t teaching, this seeming surrender to the world appears to be accelerating. The concerns are real, they’re growing every day,” In summary, Pentin writes, “these are genuine attacks on the Church coming from within, and at least in the Vatican, and appear to be perhaps a full-frontal attack on all that the Church stands for.” Pentin ends his commentary with a quote from one Vatican official aware of these problems: “And he says, apart from the battle and because of it, one thing remains, that the most important thing to remember is to pray, perhaps offer sacrifices, knowing that God does not abandon His children, or His Church.”
