In a startling move, a Romanist priest has preached a homily in which he relayed an imprecatory prayer for Pope Francis, contingent upon Francis’ obedience to God.
An imprecatory prayer is a statement to God asking for judgment upon another individual. The word, “imprecate,” is a verb that means, “to invoke harm upon or curse.” We see examples of imprecatory prayers in Scripture, and they include Psalm 55, Psalm 69, and Psalm 109, in which David or another Psalmist petitions God to distribute justice upon his enemies. Christians may occasionally pray imprecatory prayers, so long as they petition that God’s will (as opposed to their own) be done, and done cautiously in accordance to what we believe is God’s ultimate will, keeping in mind the hopeful desire of repentance and restoration for sinners. Jesus said “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. Bless those who abuse you.” In light of this exhortation from Christ, we may be permitted to pray imprecatory prayers, so long as they are praying for judgment (which may correct), rather than full-blown damnation for those who oppose us.
According to reports, Edward Staniek, 77, is a patristics scholar and rector of the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków from 1993 until 2001. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1965 by Karol Wojtyła, now known as Pope Saint John Paul II, and has authored over 40 theological or catechetical books. He preached the message on February 25 in Kraków, and he claimed that the Pope had authority from Jesus by virtue of his obedience, and should his obedience become disobedience, he would have no authority. Ostensibly, on the mind of Staniek was Francis’ departure from historic Romanist teaching on divorce, remarriage, and human sexuality.
Staniek said:
I pray for wisdom for the pope, for his heart to open to the influence of the Holy Spirit, and if he doesn’t do it, I pray for his swift departure to the house of the Father. We can always ask God for a happy death for him because a happy death is a great grace.
Ouch.
With critics of Pope Francis sounding increasingly Protestant, Staniek said:
You cannot be given real authority, you can just grow up into it. The only authority in the Church is Jesus. Not the pope, not the hierarchy…it’s Jesus. And the Church lives on the basis of His authority. Whoever in the Church … acts like Jesus, then this person is radiating with His authority. A high position gives power but not authority.
With Francis’ Marxism, Globalism, and disrespect for historic Romanist teaching earning him criticism from all parts of the world among conservative Roman Catholics, it leaves us hopeful that they might start to see the inherent flaws with their religion. While viewing the Papacy as an (or the) Antichrist isn’t synonymous with Sola Fide Justification, we might remind ourselves that the Protestant Reformation did not begin by theological disputes about Justification, but about the authority of the Pope and corruption within the Romanist church. It was the scandal-laden simony and sorcery of the Vatican that first made the proto-Protestants question Rome’s authority, and then led them to question Rome’s doctrine.
We pray this trajectory continues…
