Francis’ Birthday: Was It a Coincidence? By Father Brian W. Harrison, OS
The convergence of the following multiple features suggests something more than a blind and meaningless coincidence:
1) Out of several thousand Catholic dioceses in the world, the one where this lightning bolt struck was Francis' former Archdiocese of Buenos Aires.
2) The statue damaged at this Argentinian shrine was of St. Peter, whose successor Francis is.
3) The lightning bolt struck the statue on Francis' birthday, December 17, 2023.
4) As can be seen in the 'before' and 'after' photos, the lightning did not destroy the statue as a whole, but only blasted off certain highly symbolic parts of it, two of which have to do with Peter's sanctity and authority respectively: the halo surmounting the statue's head, and the "keys of the kingdom" in its hand, which signify the authority Christ bestowed on Peter for governing his Church on earth (cf. Mt. 16:19).
5) The third part of the statue cut off by the lightning bolt was that hand that was holding the keys: its right hand, which is the hand every priest and bishop raises in blessing. This occurred on the eve of the most headline-hitting and revolutionary decision we have seen so far in this turbulent, decade-long pontificate: Pope Bergoglio's promulgation on December 18th of the Declaration "Fiducia Supplicans", which “allows” clergy to bless homosexual and 'irregular' heterosexual couples. (Indeed, unless the lightning struck earlier than 7:00 a.m. in Buenos Aires, it was already Monday, December 18th in the world's easternmost lands such as the Cook Islands.)
In view of all the above - that is, taking note of when, where, and how this incident took place - it seems entirely reasonable to see it as a providential sign of strong divine disapproval of papal behaviour that lacks sanctity, abuses Petrine authority, and has now "permitted blessings" that will inevitably cause scandal and confusion.
Indeed, how can we not be reminded of the Lord's words, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away" (Mt. 5:30)?
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