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The Pope and Remaining in the Bark Fr. Jordi Rivero, November 5, 2020 –updated 7/2021  Jesus gave Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and, even though He had to severely 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 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 supreme authority of the pope in matters of faith. As the storm becomes more threatening, sometimes due to the confusion generated at the Vatican, we may be tempted to abandon the bark or to close our hearts to anything that comes from the Pope.  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 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 without trusting in God. 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 who 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 then comes to set the trap by offering false solutions. 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.  Archbishop Viganó, for example, says true things, but 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 a nutshell) in the Conciliar Acts,” thus accusing the Council of overt error.[1] He also refers to Pope Francis as “Bergolio” to avoid referring to him as pope. Let us be clear: If we only accept the popes we like we have become judges over the Church and do not believe that the Holy Spirit guides the Church. Even though the Second Vatican Council was pastoral and did not declare any new infallible doctrine, it is part of the Church’s magisterial teaching. The Catechism teaches: Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an...