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Francis is bad, but he is the pope.

Controversy continues swirling around Pope Francis regarding whether he is actually the pope or not.

And these questions are being fueled by online Catholic personalities who are either 1) misinformed, 2) poorly educated, or 3) a grifter happy to profit monetarily by keeping the fires of controversy stoked and all the clickbait they get from it.

Of course, it could also be some combination of those factors, but whatever the case, they keep the question of Francis' legitimacy alive.

And then, every now and then, the controversy erupts in a very pointed way. For example, Catholic internet personality Patrick Coffin has begun an online effort called "Hope Is Fuel," wherein he presents to Catholics (although anyone is welcome, presumably) various topics and speakers about the Faith and its application in all sorts of areas (mental health, for example).

But in the last week or so, various speakers and hosts began dropping out and stepping down from being presenters because of, according to them, Coffin's claim that Pope Francis is not really the pope.

Of course, the problem with that claim — and there are many problems with it — is that if he is not the pope, then who is, or is there a pope at all, and, if not, how would we ever get another pope? The Church would descend into anarchy and completely splinter apart if this were the case.

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Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary. If you also seek the truth, then please consider joining Church Militant today by supporting our work. Sign up for a Church Militant Premium account or simply make a donation. Feel free to contact Church Militant with your questions, comments, or concerns, at anytime. And now, let's begin with today's Vortex...

Woke bishops like Abp. Gustavo García-Siller aren't really shepherds at all.

There are fewer things in the Church more revolting to listen to or see than woke bishops. They are just the latest evolution in the class of men who began as social justice warriors and simply morphed into the next phase.

Take, for example, the archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, Gustavo García-Siller, a poster boy for the woke crap we see everywhere. And before we get into specifics about him, consider that all of these terms are nothing other than dog whistles for communism: woke, social justice, socialism, equity and any other substitute word that comes to mind. It's communism, plain and simple.

And communists create and use and deploy every imaginable weapon they can in their attempt to gain global domination. It's done through a combination of seizing on naturally occurring events, like the weather, and then insisting that global domination must be exerted to gain control of the climate.

Please consider Church Militant Evening News for daily hard-hitting news and analysis through an authentic Catholic lens, covering the latest developments in the Church, across the nation and around the world.

Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary. If you also seek the truth, then please consider joining Church Militant today by supporting our work. Sign up for a Church Militant Premium account or simply make a donation. Feel free to contact Church Militant with your questions, comments, or concerns, at anytime. And now, let's begin with today's Vortex...

Decades of subverting the Faith.

Today's Vortex looks back nearly 15 years ago to 2008, when then-Sen. Joe Biden began his crusade against the Church's teaching on abortion. Year after year, his phony Catholic rhetoric began permeating Catholic culture. And few, if any, dared call him out on it. Michael Voris did.

Please consider Church Militant Evening News for daily hard-hitting news and analysis through an authentic Catholic lens, covering the latest developments in the Church, across the nation and around the world.

Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary. If you also seek the truth, then please consider joining Church Militant today by supporting our work. Sign up for a Church Militant Premium account or simply make a donation. Feel free to contact Church Militant with your questions, comments, or concerns, at anytime. And now, let's begin with today's Vortex...

How to destroy America.

Looking at the collapse of the culture as well as the Church, many people are left scratching their heads — especially those of us who grew up in a very different America.

But just as it's intellectually off base to blame the crisis in the Church on Pope Francis, it's just as off base to blame the collapse of the nation on just one or a few influencers.

The collapse of the Faith stretches back decades — many more decades than most people stop to consider.

For example, Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven were two radical professors of sociology at Columbia University back in the 1960s. The aim of the husband–wife duo was to manufacture a crisis by overwhelming the welfare system with a flood of new applicants.

They correctly reasoned that this would force the government to adopt various policies that were radical leftist at their core, disguised as wanting to "help the poor."

Always beware of those who want to "help the poor," especially when they live in luxury. What we are witnessing in America today is their plan coming to fruition — actually, more than coming to fruition, nearing its completion.

The heart of the Cloward–Piven plan is this: violent revolution for the sake of socialism is not needed when, instead, you can simply so burden the welfare system that it collapses under its own weight.

Please consider Church Militant Evening News for daily hard-hitting news and analysis through an authentic Catholic lens, covering the latest developments in the Church, across the nation and around the world.

Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary. If you also seek the truth, then please consider joining Church Militant today by supporting our work. Sign up for a Church Militant Premium account or simply make a donation. Feel free to contact Church Militant with your questions, comments, or concerns, at anytime. And now, let's begin with today's Vortex...

Where things stand for the pro-life movement.

If we can use a word from the communist propaganda machine, there's a lot of misinformation out there. And, yes, misinformation from communists is always lies, even if there might be some kernel of truth here or there.

But, being honest, there's also a lot of misinformation in the Catholic world as well. And it's not usually told to deliberately lie to you — usually. But that still doesn't make it reliable. One of the things we here at Church Militant have noticed, especially in the last few years, is a proliferation of commentary and stories that have no context, sometimes aren't even true or at best are nothing more than news to tickle your ears.

For that reason, to combat that (as well as to provide you much-needed context to help you better understand the world around you), we have brought back our popular The Download program. The discussions are very wide-ranging, but they help you connect the dots and detect the patterns, the trends that really dictate our lives.

In the couple of years we've had The Download on hold, the sheer amount of news and happenings has increased dramatically. And there is no end to the commentary and personal opinions of people who don't really know that much about what they're talking about.

The producers here at Church Militant have our heads collectively buried in this stuff every single day — so it's almost second nature for us to get on camera and help you understand the interconnectedness of everything.

Please consider Church Militant Evening News for daily hard-hitting news and analysis through an authentic Catholic lens, covering the latest developments in the Church, across the nation and around the world.

Church Militant (a 501(c)4 corporation) is responsible for the content of this commentary. If you also seek the truth, then please consider joining Church Militant today by supporting our work. Sign up for a Church Militant Premium account or simply make a donation. Feel free to contact Church Militant with your questions, comments, or concerns, at anytime. And now, let's begin with today's Vortex...

'Radical Catholic ideology.'

What is "radical Catholic ideology"? The question dominated the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee hearings this month.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.: "What is radical Catholic ideology? Why were we looking into that? What's that about?" 

That's a good question. Unfortunately, the FBI thug trying to avoid perjuring himself since he was under oath sidestepped the entire matter.

Christopher Dunham, acting assistant director, FBI: "I'm not able to speak to specifics of the actual product. I think that's what the internal review that I referenced earlier." 

Van Drew: "Doesn't that concern you?" 

Dunham: "Certainly, I agree with the director's statements that the product was inexcusable." 

...

That Vortex was Feb. 15. Press reports about the leak started circulating about a week earlier. The leak itself occurred a month before that. So if the FBI is so embarrassed and disavowing of their dossier, why has it taken them so long to get to the bottom of it? Do they still not know who, as in what agent, put this together? Really? Three months later?

They can kick down the doors of pro-lifers with almost no notice. They can raid a former president's private residence pretending they finally found the smoking gun within minutes. But within their own agency, they can't figure out who researched, prepared and authorized a report violating the First Amendment rights of faithful Catholics?

Please consider Church Militant Evening News for daily hard-hitting news and analysis through an authentic Catholic lens, covering the latest developments in the Church, across the nation and around the world.