Spain: The Misfortune of Having a Foolish Pope

Catholic Sado-Masochism. Last week, Francis wrote a letter to Monterrey Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera López, the President of the Mexican Bishops, on the Bicentenary of Mexico’s declaration of Independence. In one paragraph, Francis engaged in the usual Catholic sado-masochism which was invented by John Paul II. Looking at Mexico’s history, he speaks about “purification of memory,” acknowledging “the mistakes made in the past” which have been “very painful.” He asks for “forgiveness for personal and social sins, for all the actions or omissions that did not contribute to evangelisation.”

No Friend of Truth. Many commentators didn’t like these words. Carlos Colón accused Francis in the Diaro de Sevilla of judging the past – or rather a black legend of it - with criteria of the present. He accused Francis of not making a single allusion to the fruits of evangelisation and told him that eagerness to get along with those ihn power and political correctness are no friends of truth.

Cowardice. Francisco Marhuenda told Francis in La Razon that “acceptance of historical revisionism is moral and intellectual cowardice.” He called Francis the “Peronist Pope who questions the extraordinary evangelising work done by Spain.” For Marhuenda, Francis’ Church is not the Church that defended the faith and truth in the face of the persecution of the Roman Emperors, the Communists or the National Socialists.

Specola noted on InfoVaticana.com that America is the continent with the largest number of Catholics in the world due to the immense evangelising work of Spain and Portugal. Quote: “There must be some merit in this.” And: “We are faced with the bizarre story of an Argentinian Pope, of very close Italian origin, asking forgiveness from a Mexican president, with Spanish grandparents, for the Spanish conquest of five centuries ago.”

Pablo Molina wrote on Libertad Digital the article “The misfortune of having a foolish Pope” in in which he stated that "Bergoglio has seen fit to ask the Mexicans for forgiveness, not for being the most ridiculous Pope in the history of the Church, but for personal and social sins perpetrated by the Spaniards in the conquest and evangelisation of America, one of the most formidable civilising enterprises in the history of humanity".