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The Disastrous Pontificate: Pope Francis' Rupture from the Magisterium
Nine years into Pope Francis’ reign on the throne of St. Peter, one of his closest collaborators anonymously circulated a memorandum among fellow cardinals that delivered a stark “Commentators of every school…agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe.” The critique focused on the pontiff's undermining of the Church’s bedrock of magisterial clarity and consistency, supplanting the time-honored maxim Roma locuta, causa finita est—“Rome has spoken; the case is closed”—with a prevailing ethos of erroneous teaching and Roma loquitur, confusio augetur—“Rome speaks; confusion grows.” In a time when the Deposit of Faith demands unwavering guardianship, this book stands as a solemn act of fidelity to the apostolic charge on all the to preserve the integrity of faith and morals for the sake of the salvation of souls. Spanning the breadth of sacred doctrine, it rigorously juxtaposes the teachings of Pope Francis with Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the perennial Magisterium.
- GenresCatholic
1885 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2025
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August 8, 2026Excruciatingly painful and arduous read and at 1885 pages it wasn't exactly short either. Not that I read all those pages. The last 1000 or so are reference for the previous 800. How did the author do all that research I cannot begin to imagine except that in this time of Internet, computers and AI, he was greatly aided by instantaneous information. Even more incredible to me was how the accumulation of destruction to the church did not overwhelm him as it did me who was only reading about it. I had to step away countless times to gain control of my emotions.
I am glad this book is over. Sadly, the results which it describes are just beginning. As with most books like this, I cannot give it a Goodreads rating because it does not fit any of the standard star ratings. It certainly was not a 5-star "amazing". It was a horrendous read! I cannot give it 3 or 4-star, "liked or really liked it" because I did not like this book at all. I read it because I felt obliged to. It wasn't a 2-star "okay" because I don't know what that would mean in the context of this book. A 1-star "did not like it" would be appropriate to the events which have happened but not to what the author has presented and how well he has explained The Disastrous Pontificate of Pope Francis' Rupture from the Magisterium. He has done this extremely unpleasant job in a manner which will serve History for ages to come. God bless him for it.
The rest is up to us; we are left to carry on. Jesus told us two thousand years ago that the enemy would sow weeds among the wheat and here we see them plainly. Although we cannot quit and sometimes things look bleak, we also know that God will win in the end and He has more allies than enemies. Also, Good is always stronger than evil.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
NOTE: To gain an appreciation of the quality of this book and/or the controversies which occurred during the pontificate of Pope Francis (if you are not familiar with them) I highly encourage you to peruse the quotes I have highlighted from this book. They are only a skimming of the surface of what is there, still most don't have the time to read this book and the highlights will at least give a flavor of what happened under Francis' tenure.
July 11, 2026 update: Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo questioned the authority of Fiducia Supplicans. Archbishop Sturla was elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals by Pope Francis in 2015. Lamenting that it was issued at Christmas, Cardinal Sturla said, You can’t bless a couple that is not married. You cannot bless unions that the Church itself says are not in accordance with God’s plan [.…] What happens is that the same document says that there cannot be a ritual, that it cannot be done publicly either.... It creates a confusing situation. When you bless people, you don’t ask what their situation is. And it is always done and to whomever. We will continue with the current practice until it becomes clear. The document has generated division. In the Churches of Africa they have said that in their countries, no [it will not take place] [.…] In the Church there is a kind of hierarchy of documents. This is not a pronouncement of the pope that has a dogmatic value. Two years ago a document of the Holy See said the opposite. We have to wait a bit and let the situation take its proper course.2238
There are so many objections to and problems with this document that it could fill this review to go into them, but this wise Cardinal who happened to have been appointed by Pope Francis hit on the critical one, i.e., where/what was the authority for it? There was none. It was causing great consternation throughout the church and in direct opposition to guidance issued just two years earlier. He recommended caution, calm and prudent waiting.
July 7, 2026 update: On the 29th of May 2022, Pope Francis 'announced his intention to create 21 new cardinals in the August consistory, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, notorious for his advocacy of homosexuality and his support for pro-abortion politicians receiving Holy Communion. McElroy had been singled out to receive Pope Francis’ favour, appointing him Bishop of San Diego in 2015, synod father for the 2019 Pan-Amazon Synod, and in 2021 appointing him a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. In 2016 Bishop McElroy called for changes to the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality, including removing the use of the phrase ‘intrinsically disordered’. In 2017 Bishop McElroy concelebrated an LGBT Mass with his auxiliary, Bishop John Dolan (sent to Phoenix to replace conservative Bishop Olmstead), involving openly homosexual politicians and ‘married’ same-sex partners with children.' Four years later plus a few days, the same Cardinal McElroy, now head of the Washington D.C. archdiocese 'removes' the highly respected Monsignor Stephen Rossetti from his position as exorcist of said diocese for 19 years and ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal 'for linking UFO presence to demonic activity', a setback for the Center assuredly but a much graver loss to the souls of the archdiocese. My question is, why do you remove an excellent and effective exorcist who is trying to protect your sheep Cardinal, unless you don't want them protected? The problems created during the pontificate of Pope Francis live on and continue to plague the people of God.
June 27 update: Painstaking, slow, depressing... I feel for the faithful Chinese Catholics most of all. They remain true to the church and are in turn abandoned by her; some become homeless ... who knows what happens after that, or to so many others? Thanks be to God for Cardinal Zen who never stops speaking up for them. I remember when I first learned about them and I am haunted by them still. 😭😭😭 God help them! 🙏🙏🙏
May 10 update: St. Paul’s teaching on Tradition and sound doctrine is critical and summarized as follows:
i) Doctrine by its nature is traditional, ‘hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.’ (II Thess 2:15)
ii) Christians have a duty to safeguard traditional doctrines (I Tim 6:20; II Tim 1:13-14)
iii) Sound doctrine is necessary for salvation (I Tim 4:16)
iv) Upholding sound doctrine is essential to the Christian life (Tit 1:9; 2:1; I Tim 4:6; 4:16; II Tim 4:3; II Thess 2:15)
v) Upholding sound doctrine is necessary in order to identify and reject erroneous doctrine (Rom 16:17; II Cor 11:3-4)
vi) Beware those who seek to introduce novelties into doctrine (II Tim 4:3; Eph 4:14; Heb 13:8-9)
vii) Christians must reject those who teach erroneous doctrine (Gal 1:8; Col 2:7-8; I Tim 6:3-5) p. 201 The Scripture, and other, references fill this book and I am learning SO much! This is like a course in my Catholic faith.
May 4, 2026: I was greatly relieved yesterday to discover that this book is not only accessible but has the mild tone/style of a catechetical document. Indeed, what I didn’t learn, was a refresher in my Catholic catechesis. The book’s title which caused me some consternation when I first read it comes from Cardinal Pell: ‘The Disastrous Pontificate: Pope Francis’ Rupture from the Magisterium’ was inspired by Cardinal Pell’s succinct summation of Pope Francis’ pontificate contained in his famous Demos Memorandum. It was distributed anonymously among his fellow cardinals during Lent 2022 in preparation for a future conclave. Cardinal Pell was in a position to observe the full extent of the disaster rocking the Church due to his role as the Vatican’s Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy and a member of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinal Advisers. Cardinal Pell introduced his highly critical assessment of Pope Francis’ pontificate with the following observation:
The author goes into a detailed explanation of why we are not to judge any pope, that obedience to him is necessary for salvation ‘through Christ’s threefold solemn delegation of authority and jurisdiction, Christ established a permanent mandate and capacity for St. Peter, and his successors, to feed and tend his (Christ's) sheep.’ p. 116. The important thing being that we, the sheep, belong to Christ and not the pope. It is our responsibility to remember this as much as it is his, which is why knowing our faith well is so critical. The author explains the various levels of information the church deals with from the very mundane up to highest level of dogma and how differently we are to understand and respond to each. He wants us, the reader-believer to know these and especially that the Truth, that is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, cannot be compromised, changed or amended by anyone, not even the pope, who is His servant as well. That is why the author is at such pains to help us know and understand who we are as Catholic Christian believers and all that entails. I am a complete amateur at this and bound to make mistakes, but I as love Jesus and my Catholic faith, I highly value learning about/understanding both.
There are some AMAZING quotes by Tertulian! I think I must read him next!
I am glad this book is over. Sadly, the results which it describes are just beginning. As with most books like this, I cannot give it a Goodreads rating because it does not fit any of the standard star ratings. It certainly was not a 5-star "amazing". It was a horrendous read! I cannot give it 3 or 4-star, "liked or really liked it" because I did not like this book at all. I read it because I felt obliged to. It wasn't a 2-star "okay" because I don't know what that would mean in the context of this book. A 1-star "did not like it" would be appropriate to the events which have happened but not to what the author has presented and how well he has explained The Disastrous Pontificate of Pope Francis' Rupture from the Magisterium. He has done this extremely unpleasant job in a manner which will serve History for ages to come. God bless him for it.
The rest is up to us; we are left to carry on. Jesus told us two thousand years ago that the enemy would sow weeds among the wheat and here we see them plainly. Although we cannot quit and sometimes things look bleak, we also know that God will win in the end and He has more allies than enemies. Also, Good is always stronger than evil.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.
NOTE: To gain an appreciation of the quality of this book and/or the controversies which occurred during the pontificate of Pope Francis (if you are not familiar with them) I highly encourage you to peruse the quotes I have highlighted from this book. They are only a skimming of the surface of what is there, still most don't have the time to read this book and the highlights will at least give a flavor of what happened under Francis' tenure.
July 11, 2026 update: Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo questioned the authority of Fiducia Supplicans. Archbishop Sturla was elevated to the Sacred College of Cardinals by Pope Francis in 2015. Lamenting that it was issued at Christmas, Cardinal Sturla said, You can’t bless a couple that is not married. You cannot bless unions that the Church itself says are not in accordance with God’s plan [.…] What happens is that the same document says that there cannot be a ritual, that it cannot be done publicly either.... It creates a confusing situation. When you bless people, you don’t ask what their situation is. And it is always done and to whomever. We will continue with the current practice until it becomes clear. The document has generated division. In the Churches of Africa they have said that in their countries, no [it will not take place] [.…] In the Church there is a kind of hierarchy of documents. This is not a pronouncement of the pope that has a dogmatic value. Two years ago a document of the Holy See said the opposite. We have to wait a bit and let the situation take its proper course.2238
There are so many objections to and problems with this document that it could fill this review to go into them, but this wise Cardinal who happened to have been appointed by Pope Francis hit on the critical one, i.e., where/what was the authority for it? There was none. It was causing great consternation throughout the church and in direct opposition to guidance issued just two years earlier. He recommended caution, calm and prudent waiting.
July 7, 2026 update: On the 29th of May 2022, Pope Francis 'announced his intention to create 21 new cardinals in the August consistory, including Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego, notorious for his advocacy of homosexuality and his support for pro-abortion politicians receiving Holy Communion. McElroy had been singled out to receive Pope Francis’ favour, appointing him Bishop of San Diego in 2015, synod father for the 2019 Pan-Amazon Synod, and in 2021 appointing him a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. In 2016 Bishop McElroy called for changes to the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding homosexuality, including removing the use of the phrase ‘intrinsically disordered’. In 2017 Bishop McElroy concelebrated an LGBT Mass with his auxiliary, Bishop John Dolan (sent to Phoenix to replace conservative Bishop Olmstead), involving openly homosexual politicians and ‘married’ same-sex partners with children.' Four years later plus a few days, the same Cardinal McElroy, now head of the Washington D.C. archdiocese 'removes' the highly respected Monsignor Stephen Rossetti from his position as exorcist of said diocese for 19 years and ended all affiliation between the archdiocese and the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal 'for linking UFO presence to demonic activity', a setback for the Center assuredly but a much graver loss to the souls of the archdiocese. My question is, why do you remove an excellent and effective exorcist who is trying to protect your sheep Cardinal, unless you don't want them protected? The problems created during the pontificate of Pope Francis live on and continue to plague the people of God.
June 27 update: Painstaking, slow, depressing... I feel for the faithful Chinese Catholics most of all. They remain true to the church and are in turn abandoned by her; some become homeless ... who knows what happens after that, or to so many others? Thanks be to God for Cardinal Zen who never stops speaking up for them. I remember when I first learned about them and I am haunted by them still. 😭😭😭 God help them! 🙏🙏🙏
May 10 update: St. Paul’s teaching on Tradition and sound doctrine is critical and summarized as follows:
i) Doctrine by its nature is traditional, ‘hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.’ (II Thess 2:15)
ii) Christians have a duty to safeguard traditional doctrines (I Tim 6:20; II Tim 1:13-14)
iii) Sound doctrine is necessary for salvation (I Tim 4:16)
iv) Upholding sound doctrine is essential to the Christian life (Tit 1:9; 2:1; I Tim 4:6; 4:16; II Tim 4:3; II Thess 2:15)
v) Upholding sound doctrine is necessary in order to identify and reject erroneous doctrine (Rom 16:17; II Cor 11:3-4)
vi) Beware those who seek to introduce novelties into doctrine (II Tim 4:3; Eph 4:14; Heb 13:8-9)
vii) Christians must reject those who teach erroneous doctrine (Gal 1:8; Col 2:7-8; I Tim 6:3-5) p. 201 The Scripture, and other, references fill this book and I am learning SO much! This is like a course in my Catholic faith.
May 4, 2026: I was greatly relieved yesterday to discover that this book is not only accessible but has the mild tone/style of a catechetical document. Indeed, what I didn’t learn, was a refresher in my Catholic catechesis. The book’s title which caused me some consternation when I first read it comes from Cardinal Pell: ‘The Disastrous Pontificate: Pope Francis’ Rupture from the Magisterium’ was inspired by Cardinal Pell’s succinct summation of Pope Francis’ pontificate contained in his famous Demos Memorandum. It was distributed anonymously among his fellow cardinals during Lent 2022 in preparation for a future conclave. Cardinal Pell was in a position to observe the full extent of the disaster rocking the Church due to his role as the Vatican’s Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy and a member of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinal Advisers. Cardinal Pell introduced his highly critical assessment of Pope Francis’ pontificate with the following observation:
Commentators of every school, if for different reasons, with the possible exception of Father Spadaro, SJ, agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe. The Successor of St. Peter is the rock on which the Church is built, a major source and cause of worldwide unity. Historically (St. Irenaeus), the Pope and the Church of Rome have a unique role in preserving the apostolic tradition, the rule of faith, in ensuring that the Churches continue to teach what Christ and the apostles taught. Previously it was: ‘Roma locuta. Causa finita est.’ [Rome has spoken. The matter is settled]. Today it is: ‘Roma loquitur. Confusio augetur.’ [Rome speaks. Confusion increases].The author, Grigio, lets others do the critiquing. He quotes Sacred Scripture, Tradition, the Church Fathers, Doctors of the Church, Saints, the Magisterium, Papal documents, etc.
The author goes into a detailed explanation of why we are not to judge any pope, that obedience to him is necessary for salvation ‘through Christ’s threefold solemn delegation of authority and jurisdiction, Christ established a permanent mandate and capacity for St. Peter, and his successors, to feed and tend his (Christ's) sheep.’ p. 116. The important thing being that we, the sheep, belong to Christ and not the pope. It is our responsibility to remember this as much as it is his, which is why knowing our faith well is so critical. The author explains the various levels of information the church deals with from the very mundane up to highest level of dogma and how differently we are to understand and respond to each. He wants us, the reader-believer to know these and especially that the Truth, that is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, cannot be compromised, changed or amended by anyone, not even the pope, who is His servant as well. That is why the author is at such pains to help us know and understand who we are as Catholic Christian believers and all that entails. I am a complete amateur at this and bound to make mistakes, but I as love Jesus and my Catholic faith, I highly value learning about/understanding both.
There are some AMAZING quotes by Tertulian! I think I must read him next!
February 20, 2026
Truly a disaster
What a well researched and presented book. I was truly disgusted by how anti catholic Francis was. The book refutes Francis' statements and presents true Catholicism through the bible, saints and the magisterium. Thank God for the truth of Catholic doctrine.
What a well researched and presented book. I was truly disgusted by how anti catholic Francis was. The book refutes Francis' statements and presents true Catholicism through the bible, saints and the magisterium. Thank God for the truth of Catholic doctrine.
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