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Thoughts on the death of Pope Francis by Constantine Von Hoffmeister
"...He smiled at the men who wore lipstick and lace, welcomed them not as sinners seeking redemption but as misunderstood prophets of a new “inclusivity.” Pope Francis — who once asked, “Who am I to judge?” — became the confessor of the degenerate modern world — instead of hearing sins, deleting them.
Under his reign, civil unions of same-sex couples were praised, not just tolerated, and the sacred institution of marriage blurred into bureaucratic recognition of emotional convenience. He met with transgender activists, blessed their journeys, and with each gesture, chipped away at the old stone altar. The catechism still spoke of disorder, yet his tone drowned it out, soft and merciful, the tone of a shepherd who led his sheep straight into the fog of decadence and decline.
Online, his defenders multiplied like mold in a cathedral crypt. Memes hailed papal kindness, papal humility, papal tweets. He became a brand, a “progressive” pontiff fluent in slogans. He honored Greta Thunberg like a saint. Mystery gave way to spectacle. The digital liturgy replaced the ancient one. Hashtags drifted where incense once rose. He trended for bending the creed. The algorithm sanctified him. Cameras loved him. Atheists received his interviews with delight. He questioned dogma and never ideology. When he spoke of the Devil, he named racism, sexism, capitalism — never the rot that crept under the robes of the Church.
When a pope embraces the world, the Church becomes its puppet. This was his legacy. He proclaimed inclusion while discarding the gospel. His papacy unfolded as surrender. Armor gone. Sword rusted. Fire extinguished. He offered apologies and compromises. While he wept for the wind, the cathedral crumbled. Now that he is gone, smoke rises still — uncertain, heavy. The throne remains occupied yet desecrated. The Church must awaken from delirium. She must recall that love detached from truth is betrayal. And those who still believe must lift the standard again — facing the world not as it demands to be seen but as it hungers to be saved."
Over the years, I have become convinced sunlight is one of the most essential nutrients for the body. Unfortunately, since no one has a financial interest in promoting sunlight (and it hence has no lobbyists), almost everything we hear instead focuses on why it’s terrible for us. For example, dermatology transformed itself from one of the least desirable specialties in medicine into one of the highest paying ones by rebranding its members as cancer fighters, which required scaring everyone senseless about the sun (while omitting that a lack of sunlight is what causes fatal skin cancers). Despite the billions now spent each year on skin cancer, the total death rate from it remains almost entirely unchanged (all of which is discussed here).
A similar story has played out with the light inside our homes. In 2022, the federal government effectively banned the incandescent bulb on the grounds most of its output is “wasted” as infrared, even though a rapidly growing body of research ...
Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.
Psalm 116:15
Rod Dreher asks, "I don’t understand why the government doesn’t deploy the army and shoot rioters until they stop. Philippe Lemoine, a Frenchman, says it’s not that simple."
Excerpt:
"We have let things rot for so long that, at this point, relying primarily on force to restore order would require a degree of violence far greater than what people realize and what is politically feasible.
It's possible to contain a riot using only moderate force when the number of police officers is high relative to the number of rioters, but when riots are so widespread and involve so many people because you have allowed this kind of things to happen for so long, that's just not possible and you have to use extreme violence to make up for the lack of manpower.
I know people on the Internet will say that it doesn't matter and that we should just do it, but the reality is that most of the people in charge are not prepared to use that kind of force and neither would most ordinary people if they saw ...
