(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of Faith and Reason, John-Henry Westen, Father Charles Murr, and Frank Wright discuss Pope Francis replacing Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City with a much more progressive bishop, Bishop Athanasius Schneider saying that the next pope must “abrogate and condemn” Francis’ errors, Archbishop Héctor Aguer writing that the health of the Holy Father’s soul is at risk, proposed Australian legislation that would send Christians to jail for praying for people with unwanted same-sex attraction, and more.
The panel opened the episode by discussing Pope Francis accepting the resignation of Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, who reached the retirement age of 75 last year. Naumann has been a strong opponent of pro-abortion politicians receiving the Eucharist and recently celebrated a packed Mass of reparation for a satanic “black mass” at the state’s capitol.
Strangely, just weeks after celebrating that Mass of reparation, Naumann’s resignation was accepted by the Holy Father, and he was replaced with Bishop Shawn McKnight. McKnight has falsely claimed that Catholics are morally obligated to receive the COVID jab and signed a letter urging the USCCB to halt discussion of prohibiting the Eucharist to pro-abortion self-identified Catholic politicians.
READ: Pope Francis replaces Archbishop Naumann with bishop who opposed banning pro-aborts from communion
Murr emphasized that Pope Francis has replaced orthodox bishops for the past 12 years, but McKnight’s appointment is especially troublesome.
“[The Vatican’s] been replacing good bishops with mediocre bishops or bishops who are ambiguous on points that there really should be no ambiguity upon,” the priest said. “He doesn’t sound any different than any other Francis bishop – and especially worrying, or troublesome, I should say, [is] his closeness to Cardinal [Blase] Cupich.”
But Murr noted that the faithful in the Diocese of Kansas City appear to be very devout and expressed hope that they can convert their new bishop.
“Maybe the people there would be able to also show something to their bishop of their faith,” he said. “Sometimes when a man is given his own diocese, his own place, and steps out from underneath the shadow of superiors … they can also become their own person.”
Wright underscored that with this move, Pope Francis is reinforcing the modern Church’s alignment with the “international liberal global order.”
“You’re looking at a faithful Catholic being replaced by a figure who is certainly far more aligned with what you might call the ‘international liberal global order,’” he said. “And I would say this is unsurprising because it is a system which is jealous of rival explanatory powers, such as that of the authentic tradition of the Catholic Church.”
Wright echoed Murr’s hope that the diocesan faithful might be able to sway McKnight toward the authentic Catholic faith.
Later in the episode, the panel turned to Archbishop Héctor Aguer’s recent article for LifeSiteNews in which the prelate said that the health of the Holy Father’s soul is failing because he’s an “enemy of tradition.” Aguer’s commentary is noteworthy because he and Pope Francis previously served together as auxiliary bishops in Argentina.
Westen read a bit from Aguer’s article:
“The health of the soul of a Supreme Pontiff consists in taking charge of Tradition. The current Pope, as I have already written elsewhere, is an enemy of Tradition and of those he considers traditionalists. The health of his soul is failing and no longer easy to cure.”
READ: Archbishop Aguer: Health of Pope Francis’ soul is ‘failing’ because he’s an ‘enemy of tradition’
Murr noted that what Aguer really means when he says the health of the Pontiff’s soul is failing is that his eternal salvation is at serious risk.
“[Archbishop Aguer’s] actually talking a little bit deeper than just that his soul [is] in good condition. He’s talking about the salvation of it, which is a startling thing,” he said.
The priest highlighted that Aguer is saying this now because it’s clear Pope Francis is nearing the end of his life, and the archbishop desires that the Holy Father repent for the tremendous damage he has done to the Church, for the sake of his salvation.
“I certainly hope that for [Pope Francis’s] own good, for his own sake, his own health, and I mean that of soul – just as the bishop is talking about – that he does give serious thought to his attitudes in life, what his attitudes have been, how he’s ostracized an incredible amount of people all over,” Murr said.
“We have our Church going with the world, just completely whatever the world says, the Church is right behind,” he added. “This is not what the Church is about, this is not what Catholicism is about. We were the last body on earth to actually have a philosophical stance on things. He has a lot to answer for, personally, for that change in direction.”
For more discussion on Archbishop Aguer’s article on Pope Francis’ spiritual health, the Pontiff replacing Archbishop Naumann with a liberal bishop, and much more, tune in to this episode of Faith and Reason.
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