Close Papal Advisor: Some Cardinals Might Regret Electing Bergoglio, But It's Too Late Now

Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?

Three weeks ago Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández gave an extraordinary interview to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Bits of it have been written about and commented on, but I suspect the full impact of it was reduced by the fact that the interview is still hidden behind a pay wall (Update: it now appears to be freely available.). This post is based on quotes gathered by LifeSite News.

Fernandez is a close advisor of Francis from Argentina. He is thought to be the primary ghostwriter for Evangelii Gaudium as well as the upcoming encyclical on climate change. He also appears to many to be somewhat eccentric as evinced by his authorship of a kissing manual.

For those of us who believe the Francis pontificate is weakening the Church, the Archbishop's frank words in this interview are remarkable...and chilling.

On the Pope's careful strategy for changing the Church:

The pope goes slow because he wants to be sure that the changes have a deep impact. The slow pace is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the changes. He knows there are those hoping that the next pope will turn everything back around. If you go slowly it's more difficult to turn things back…You have to realize that he is aiming at reform that is irreversible.

On the Pope's belief that the changes will be permanent:

No, there’s no turning back. If and when Francis is no longer pope, his legacy will remain strong. For example, the pope is convinced that the things he’s already written or said cannot be condemned as an error. Therefore, in the future anyone can repeat those things without fear of being sanctioned ...And then the majority of the People of God with their special sense will not easily accept turning back on certain things.

On the danger of schism:

No (there is no such danger). There's a schism when a group of important people share the same sensibilities that reflect those of a vast section of society. Luther and Protestantism came about this way. But now the overwhelming majority of the people are with Francis and they love him. His opponents are weaker than what you think. Not pleasing everyone does not mean provoking a schism.

On whether the majority of cardinals, knowing what they do now, would vote to elect Bergoglio today:

I don't know, possibly not. But it happened…. If some (cardinals) now have regrets it doesn’t change anything.

Among other things, one gets a sense of the hubris of this supposedly "humble" pope--who claims to want nothing more than to just be remembered as a "good guy"--and those around him.

One suspects (fears? hopes?) that all of this may be coming to a head, perhaps sooner than we imagined. After all, this "pace" is anything but slow. Already we're seeing things most of us would have found unthinkable just a a few years ago--anti-pro-life venom from within the Vatican itself, blatant Catholic dissidents appointed to high-level positions, a pending encyclical sympathetic to pseudo-scientific paganism and population control, and an evil Synod with an Orwellian title.

I say hopes it may be coming to a head in the sense that hubris is often most pronounced before a fall. Perhaps they have overplayed their hand. They say, "the people are with us..." but we've heard that one before.

God will save His Church.

But when...