Is Pope Francis the Antipope?

[Norm d'Plume]

I've seen in several threads in this forum people refer to Pope Francis as the Antipope, so I thought I would create this thread.

How can he be the Antipope if he was elected by the cardinals who prayed to God for guidance? That would mean that the leaders of the Catholic Church were all deceived, in spite of their prayers. Or is the Church rife with Anticardinals, too? Seems extraordinary to believe that Satan is now in control of the Church. I'm more inclined to think God had his reason for Francis's election. He seems to be cleaning house, creating a more welcoming Church to many who need it. He had my attention the moment he shunned the traditional luxurious pope's quarters in favor of a small apartment.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

I'll message you my answer since we are not allowed to talk about the topic really. You will find the answer surprising

!

 

[The Gregorian]

Perhaps this latest pope is simply putting greater emphasis on the overarching message of the bible (love and inclusion), rather than an obsession with dogma?

I haven't kept track of what he's been doing much, but I've heard more good things about this one than the last couple.

 

[Albion]

I've seen in several threads in this forum people refer to Pope Francis as the Antipope, so I thought I would create this thread.

How can he be the Antipope if he was elected by the cardinals who prayed to God for guidance? That would mean that the leaders of the Catholic Church were all deceived, in spite of their prayers. Or is the Church rife with Anticardinals, too? Seems extraordinary to believe that Satan is now in control of the Church. I'm more inclined to think God had his reason for Francis's election.

It doesn't really turn on any of that. He was elected by the College of Cardinals and no one else was, so he's not an antipope, period.

 

[SolomonVII]

The theory of his being the antipope is that Pope Benedict was forced out of office under duress.
The duress came through increasing calls to bring Pope Benedict to international court on charges of enabling child molestation, and in the days before he resigned, some kind of 'credit embargo' on the Vatican by Italy because of links to the Mafia, which is always big in Italy of course.

That kind of duress was real enough, I suppose, but all part of the job of being a pope. The theory goes further though that the efforts to remove him were coordinated efforts by George Soros and President Obama. While definitely American Democrats have no use for Catholic teaching on morals, and would desire a more liberal pope, any evidence that these were the people in charge of creating the atmosphere of duress that forced Benedict out of office is lacking.
There have been many antipopes in Catholic history btw. It ought not to be confused with the term antichrist. In former times, who was pope and who was antipope was not always clear, with different factions all claiming the papacy for themselves.
It is nothing like that now. For sure there are some cardinals who are miffed enough by the election of the kind of pope that Francis turned out to be, but there are no other pretenders to the throne, so to speak.
The papacy is a political office, and certainly Pope Benedict did have pressures put on him, especially over the Catholic sex scandals. But it is not as if the scandals and the cover-ups did not take place. It was the corruption of the Church itself that left Benedict exposed to these attacks, whether or not they were ultimately politically motivated.
Either way, that does not make Francis an antipope. Procedures were followed, and this is who the college of cardinals ultimately chose for the job.

 

[Norm d'Plume]

Great summary. Thank you.