Question 8.128

8.128 What is the best way to understand the shocking statement made by Francis during the press conference on his trip to the Holy Land, comparing the acts of paedophile priests to black Masses?

The pope gave mature reflection to the full scope of such a comparison. Francis decided to make that statement because he thinks that paedophilia is a satanic act. I strongly support the Holy Father’s accusation. How can a priest who has been able to attack an innocent child with such extraordinary violence then celebrate Holy Mass?

After committing such a serious sexual crime, a priest can no longer carry the consecrated Host in his hands. If he decides to continue celebrating Mass, his disrespect for the Son of God has become so great that, consciously or not, he has made a pact with the devil. A pedophile priest who says Mass commits a sacrilege.

A pedophile act ontologically affects the very being of a priest; consequently, the priestly bond that attaches him to Christ is gone. The breach is so extreme that he can no longer enter into communion with Jesus.

How can a priest reach the point of such perversion and forget the sacred, serious, and momentous words pronounced at his priestly ordination: “Receive the oblation of the holy people, to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross.”

Francis decided to denounce black Masses so as to flush out the devil and bring his misdeeds into the light of day. An act of pedophilia is the corruption of innocence, the denial of God’s creation; the battle against divine purity is essentially the devil’s delight. The body of a child is virginal, and Satan cannot tolerate that virginity.

Francis deserves our thanks and gratitude for his courage. For the devil will seek his revenge.