Evangelii Gaudium - Analysis And Opinion - Part 1

Evangelii Gaudium is Latin for the joy of the Gospel. [1]  This document published recently by the Vatican has 224 pages in total. [2]  This version has an index: Evangelii Gaudium.

This entry will quote selected passages from the Evangelii Gaudium.  Following each quoted passage in italics will be my analysis and opinion.

"27. I dream of a 'missionary option', that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. The renewal of structures demanded by pastoral conversion can only be understood in this light: as part of an effort to make them more mission-oriented, to make ordinary pastoral activity on every level more inclusive and open, to inspire in pastoral workers a constant desire to go forth and in this way to elicit a positive response from all those whom Jesus summons to friendship with himself."

This sounds exciting [3] but decentralization can give rise to inconsistencies and conflicts and conflicts often result in ruin rather than resolution.  Without uniformity, a Catholic who attends Mass celebrated by missionaries at a particular church with one set of customs could find himself without any familiarity or comfort attending Mass at another church with a different set of customs.  If the current Church can be likened as a home away from Home (Heaven), then under this new evangelization, a church is no longer a home away from Home but a shelter with characteristics unique to its local customs foreign to a visiting Catholic.  The feeling of safety and comfort that a Catholic seeks and is able to have by stepping into a church anywhere in the world at present could be replaced by a jarring experience.  That would alienate Catholics from the Church rather than welcoming them as the current system has for centuries. [4]

Under this Evangelii Gaudium, what Jesus had asked His disciples to do in "remembrance of me" [5] theoretically no longer have to be done or done in accordance with Church tradition, because this pope wishes modern day missionaries to do things in ways as they see fit that comport with today's world even at the risk of destroying the cohesiveness and the universality of the Church.  That is exactly what Satan wants to do to the Church.

"32. Since I am called to put into practice what I ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of the papacy. It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization."

In this instance, this pope is almost  not a hypocrite (see paragraph below the next) by saying he is to practice what he asks of others.  Why would anyone want to be a hypocrite when he is himself?  Why would Satan need to deceive when it has revealed itself in its entirety?  Speaking of Satan, who, I wonder, would be the most keen on converting the papacy?  Certainly not just any bishop of Rome but a minion of Satan seated upon the rock of Peter.

With regard to the conversion of the papacy, I ask how any pope can exercise his ministry "more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization" than Jesus Christ Himself by His words and His deeds?  Are the words and deeds of Jesus Christ no longer relevant or meaningful in today's world so that a fundamental change in the ministry of this pope is required?

The flowery language in paragraph 32 of Evangelii Gaudium quoted above camouflages a preordained sinister agenda in humility ("open to suggestions") and masks hypocrisy by pretending to acknowledge Jesus Christ, referring to Him by name, when in reality this creature never intended the referral to have substance but instead wishes to put his own words into the mouth of Jesus Christ for diabolical reasons.

This creature is truly slimy, and I would not be the least bit surprised when he becomes the superstar of popes in the eyes of many, many people.  He has already been named Time Magazine's person of the year 2013.

I cringe, and I pray that God will have mercy on us and forgive us for our blindness and our sins. [6]

Let me break here and continue another time.


[1] http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/pope-francis-new-document-evangelii-gaudium-9-things-to-know-and-share
[2] http://www.vatican.va/evangelii-gaudium/en/index.html#3/z
[3] Allowing any self-designated pastoral worker without the grace of God or any theological background to speak and act on behalf the the Catholic Church can be fun and heady for some people.  As much as I would like to be a pastoral worker and partake in this new evangelization, I refuse to do so, because I am not schooled in theology, nor am I so arrogant as to think that I have the grace of God to speak on behalf the Church.  In this blog, I present my personal views and conclusions from a layman's perspective and as such, they have no authority whatsoever.
[4] If the number of Catholics who go to church has dwindled in recent years, the phenomena has nothing to do with the Church in its pristine state but has everything to do with those at the top handling, or rather mishandling, pedophilia, financial corruption and hypocrisies, to name just a few of its many, many issues.  The Church in its pristine state is still drawing the faithful.  The Sanctuary of Our-Lady of Lourdes in France is an example, but it is far away for most Catholics.  Finding one locally maybe difficult but do not lose faith or hope.  Until then, pray and be in communion with the pristine Church that lives in the heart.
[5] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+11%3A23-26&version=NIV
[6] I could be the one needing the most mercy for I could be the most blind of all for having written this entry, and for planning to write even more on Evangelii Gaudium in the near future.