The Pope from the end of the world. And a Catholic Church split between doomsayers and downplayers

…But today Catholics are facing a new fear: the idea that there’s no path for resistance, that things have changed so much that this time the Church isn’t gonna make it. This would be a sign of the End of the World; a world so profoundly corrupt it cannot function anymore. There are two distinct, disturbing trends developing. On opposite sides, and yet showing a striking similarity in a crucial element: fatalism. Two models we could describe as follows: A. Downplayers: “move on, nothing to see here” types, who insist there’s nothing you should do, beyond praying of course. B. Doomsayers: those who can find the Antichrist anywhere and everywhere……

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Brace up, teddy bear

On the very day of the unexpected announcement by Pope Benedict of his retirement, I glance outside my window: a white blanket of snow shrouds the entire landscape. In a way this recalls me of what I read from of the early Church, who described life in Christian Palestine. He wrote with admiration about how the mother land of Jesus seemed to have been preserved in perfect peace and quiet, receiving a special gift of Grace: even nature, exemplified by small birds tweeting on trees, displayed a serene harmony…   I’m the kind of guy who wanted to get (or maybe design) a Ratzinger t-shirt before last conclave even began.…

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