Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis: et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis. (Mattheus 16:19)
To quote a former (Deo gratias!) president: “Elections have consequences.” Thus the election of a Pope will surely have consequences as the actual action of electing is the passing of the Keys of Peter to a new occupant who will reign upon the Holy See, a new Vicar of Christ, a new Pontifex.
I bring up this matter of the Keys because I happened to be an after the fact witness of a strange event —one that I personally deem supernatural— that took place in the town of San Nicolás, in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
It was December 2023 when I read an article signed by Andrea Cionci in sfero.com (a site now defunct) describing how a bolt of lightning had destroyed some metallic parts of a St. Peter’s statue located on the north side of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary located in San Nicolás. The missing halo seems to have been removed some time before but the blessing hand and two keys were obliterated by the bolt. That took place on the birthday (December 17) of Jorge Mario Bergoglio at the time, the occupant of the Throne of St. Peter. (See Morning by the Paraná)
History is replete with lessons. One lesson will help us understand how the experience of the Church precedes the experience of the world at large, like a seed precedes the full fruit. If the Church thrives, the world will thrive as well. It is important to remember, that “elections have consequences” because the Church will thrive if a good Pope is elected and the opposite is also true: the Church will decline if a bad Pope is chosen. To my eternal detractors and naysayers: this is not my idea but Christ’s. See Matthew 7:15-20 and discern:
‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.
For the last 12 years the Catholic Church operated in a spirit that had little to do with the spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This appalling era of lawlessness began (in my humble opinion) with another reformist pontiff: Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, John XXIII (pp. 1958 – 1963) strangely known as il Papa buono (?) as if being good was not the rule among popes but the exception.
John XXIII inflicted upon the Church the age of aggiornamento. The term means “updating” or “bringing up to date” and it seems to me a poor choice of a word. Humans can’t possibly bring up to date what God has made eternal. Since God is outside time, how one could update His work? The apostolic dictum applies: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) regardless of the intentions of Luther, Calvin and a myriad other reformers bent on improving what Christ sent into the world: “Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.” (Luke 10:3 cf. whole chapter 10) Since the work of the eternal God is perfect … how could an imperfect mortal bring it up to date, correct it or reform it?
For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, His work is perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is He; yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with Him, a perverse and crooked generation. (Deuteronomy 32:3-5)
Pope John was the intellectual and political leader who called for the Second Vatican Council. Observe carefully the language of his discourse.
“We are happy to announce the upcoming celebration of an Ecumenical Council, which we hope will usher in a great renewal of the Church. It will be a propitious occasion for the Church to adapt its structures and discipline to the needs of our time.” (Mater et Magistra)
“In the daily exercise of our pastoral ministry, we sometimes hear, certainly not without displeasure, the voices of some who, although burning with zeal, lack discretion and balanced judgment. In modern times, they see nothing but prevarication and ruin… They say that our time, compared to the past, has been worse; and they behave as if they had learned nothing from history, which is, nevertheless, the teacher of life. We feel it necessary to say out loud: we oppose those prophets of doom, who always announce the worst, as if the end of the world were imminent.” (Inauguration, October 1962)
Those words prepared the way for wild decade of the 1960’s —that resonates even to our days— not long after that, the first Catholic President of the United States was assassinated in Dallas. A lawless age fell upon the world like a sledgehammer bent on destroying every institution but it all began in the Church.
John XXIII died of stomach cancer during the opening days of the II Vatican Council. Some sources report that his last desperate words were “Fermate il consiglio!” (“Stop the council!) Of course, such reports were dismissed as incorrect but I still wonder if the poor man saw a supernatural vision showing the consequences unleashed by his “fervent” ideas.
About the same time in a small town in Cantabria, Spain, Our Lady of Mount Carmel announced to four young girls that an era of confusion was going to affect the Church. How precise and truthful that motherly announcement was! Liturgical, moral, theological confusion cut through the Church and continued to impact the flock in manifold ways.
Fifty years after the death of John XXIII, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio ascended the throne of St. Peter, perhaps the first to praise him with far greater enthusiasm than his predecessors. The similarity is evident at first glance. Francis was a faithful successor to his aggiornamento, as well as to his appearance and character, using very similar words, emphasizing social solidarity, interventionist policies, social justice, and also combating more conservative sectors. (Francis, the aggiornamento of John XXIII and the Church to come. E. Bottini, La Prensa, Buenos Aires, April 30, 2025)
The consequences of the age announced by Our Lady in Garbandal are quite evident to yours truly.
This is a train wreck in slow motion. We are entering a global 100 year cycle of de-growth that seems to have completely surprised the experts. What Detroit lived in the late 2000’s will now affect the whole world. The seed were the empty pews and the churches demolished after the II Vatican Council. The fruits are terrifying. One anonymous blogger put it this way when commenting on the depopulation trend almost all nations are going through:
Imagine not needing new cars, new houses, new appliances (because we already have enough). The economy implodes, jobs disappear etc. There is no historical example or economic model for how to handle this. Some say this “will solve itself”, but it is very unclear how brutal the solution will turn out to be.
That reminded me of the “great tribulation” that Jesus talks about (Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13). A period of purification that will affect the whole world is beginning to show in statistical projections of population decline, production of goods, government financing, failing agriculture, climate, industrial environmental pollution, etc. As a consequence we will all get to taste the bitter fruits of too much technology, absolute sexual freedom, gluttony, the pill, degraded art, etc. etc. one could include many other things.
After the apostasy that will bring about the Great Tribulation prophesied by Christ Himself, mankind will experience a rebirth in God —like the Prodigal Son— and (hopefully) we will all bury the devilish ideas of Liberals, Modernists, Marxists, etc. and move on to a better, blessed age. That reminds me of Ezekiel’s prophecy about seven months of burying the dead. (Ezekiel 39:12-16)
Aggiornamento (ma miglioramento non fu)
The bringing up to date did not result in any improvement. Aggiornamento (ma miglioramento non fu). The entrance of Marxism, Modernism, and esoteric ideas in the Church did not bring any good fruits. God will see that we learn from this experience. The blunder not only affected the Church but resulted in pain and suffering for the whole world. We must learn the lesson: if we want to save the world we have to fervently live the faith. The Church is God’s way to bless the world and not the other way around. Now we have to drink the bitter cup of worldly ideas to the dregs knowing full well that the fruit of every Good Friday is a Glory Sunday.
Brace for the darkest hour before the coming glorious dawn.
Quod scripsi, scripsi 