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Remaining with Peter in the storm. Jesus gave Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Even though Jesus had to rebuke him, he confirmed his call. We need to remain with the pope in bark, even if we are troubled by some of his statements. The Pope & Remaining in the Bark Fr. Jordi Rivero, November 5, 2020 The Lord has spoken to us many times about “remaining,” but not in the sense of remaining in the lazy comfort of a couch. St. Paul urges us to remain in the race to win, giving ourselves fully, even while facing what may appear to be impossible opposition. The tendency of the flesh, the temptation, is to give up or to despair.  Today I want to focus on a particular doctrine of our faith that is under attack: the papacy. As the storm becomes more threatening, we will be tempted not to remain in the bark with Peter.  The devil is a brilliant strategist. St. Ignatius teaches that he studies our defenses to discover our weak points. The devil learns what doors are easiest to pry open in order to enter our hearts. If we are firmly pro-life, he is not going to attack us there. He knows where we hurt, what is disturbing us, and that is where his lies are most effective. He will then cause a problem and will try to make us react in fear. When the Israelites saw the Babylonian army advancing on Jerusalem, they were terrified, so they went to Jeremiah seeking guidance from the Lord. He told them: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.” Jer. 42,15-16. The Israelites did not listen. They saw a real danger and did not trust in the Lord. They did not remain in Jerusalem.  Today many Catholics are troubled by some shepherds who seem to be asleep as the wolves ravage the flock. They feel abandoned, and the enemy seizes the opportunity to plant doubts in their hearts. The result is that Catholics that not long ago would say, “we are with Christ if we remain with the pope,” are now separating themselves from the pope. What happened? They are being shaken by the storm within the Church. They were ready to battle against the world, but now they are facing a storm within the Church. Many are troubled by some of the pope’s statements. Satan comes in to set the trap by offering a false solution. I’m receiving messages of people who are aware of the spiritual battle going on and, finding no guidance from their shepherds, are seeking solace in messages that resonate with their concerns. But some of those messages are themselves problematic, and down the road incite anger and separation from the bark of Peter.  An example is the declarations of Archbishop Viganó. He says things that are true, but he also claims that, at the Second Vatican Council, “hostile forces” caused “the abdication of the Catholic Church” through a “sensational deception.” He further claims that “The errors of the post-conciliar period were contained in nuce in the Conciliar Acts,” thus accusing the Council of overt error.[1] He also refers to Pope Francis as “Bergolio” to avoid recognizing him as pope. In this way, the Archbishop is inciting schism – the rupture of the unity of the Church.  Schisms have been, at times, a reaction to something wrong in the Church. Luther protested against the abuses and corruption among the Church’s shepherds, but pride blinded him to become the judge of how reform should take place. The result was the great schism that remains to this day.  Schisms begin like cancer growing in the heart, planting contempt, pride, condemnation. They are a false solution to a real problem. Then one begins to secretly find satisfaction when those bad shepherds are vilified. One is tempted to read those...