From the Diocese Of Wenchoster

Image from Pharisaios.

Recently, I received the latest update from the Diocese of Wenchoster on a new features included on the diocesan web site. The Frankly Unfriendly Catholic section is one innovation:

Welcome to the web page of the Frankly Unfriendly Catholics, upholding the one true apostolic anglo-catholic faith.

On this site you can learn about the appalling apostasies we oppose and those we affirm:

Frankly Unfriendly Catholics was formed to promote the one true apostolic anglo-catholic faith unpolluted by modern apostate liberals; tone-deaf simpering evangelical blasphemers; or women.

You can join us and become a F[rankly] U[nfriendly] C[atholic] buddy or read about and nominate a heretic.

While you are here why not take the F[rankly] U[nfriendly] C[atholic] quiz and discover if you are a Frankly Unfriendly Catholic Wit?

I debated whether to post this, because, although I left the Roman Catholic Church some 11 or so years ago, I have tried to keep my critical statements to a minimum. I learned much that was good while I was in the fold, and I want to give credit where credit is due. Many members of my family and many of my friends remain members of the Roman Catholic Church.

But the recent statements from the pope regarding other members of the Body of Christ are of a piece with statements which embarrassed me greatly by their arrogance while I claimed membership in his church. I say "his church", because I cannot for one minute imagine Jesus making exclusionary statements like the pope's.

The man in the red hat, pictured above, has been frankly unfriendly to Christians who are not members of the Roman Catholic Church. Whether the views he expresses are old or new, they manifest an unseemly pride, which is hard for me to line up with the teachings of the Gospels.

From the BBC:

Pope Benedict has approved a new text asserting that Christian denominations outside Roman Catholicism are not true Churches in the full sense of the word.

....

Other Christian denominations, it argues, cannot be called Churches in the proper sense because they cannot trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles.

The rest of us who call ourselves Christians and attend what we call churches, are, alas, not really attending church at all. Those of us who have bishops are deluding ourselves if we think they are truly bishops, and our priests are not "real" priests, because they were ordained by bishops who are not "real" bishops.

It would follow that we do not have the "real" Eucharist, because the Eucharistic services are presided over by one who is not a "real" priest.

Many respond that this is nothing new, and I agree with them. This is what I was taught as a child many years ago, but I had hoped that the pope would have distanced himself from this type of language, which I find frankly unfriendly.

I thought it best to respond with borrowed humor.

UPDATE: Dennis in the comments informs me that the section is about Anglo-Catholics, and I have got this all wrong. He is correct. But it's funny, and it works - sort of, even though it's not about the pope's church. Certain of the Anglo- Catholics think that they are "real" Catholics, but, of course, the pope does not agree.

Judgment sometimes falls upon us in this life on earth. For ridiculing a fellow Christian, I am hoist on my own petard.