The Disastrous Pontificate: Pope Francis' Rupture from the Magisterium

by Dominic Grigio

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.

1885 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2025

Reviews

[booklady]

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!

[Greg Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.