Sun, 21 May 2017 | Cover | Page 23

The Last Word…

Lessons of Little Red Riding Hood

By Father Celatus

For countless generations children have grown up hearing and reading folk tales and fairy tales, such as those gathered into a widely popular collection published by the brothers Grimm. One such tale is the story of Little Red Cap, better known to us as Little Red Riding Hood. The story goes something like this: Little Red Riding Hood set out through the woods with a basketful of goodies for her grandmother. Her mother had warned her to stay on the path but the girl disobeyed and so she happened upon a wolf. Not recognizing the danger, the little girl continued her journey; meanwhile the wolf ran ahead and arrived at grandmother’s house before her. Depending upon which version you read, the wolf either swallowed up the grandmother or locked her in a closet and put on her clothes. When the girl arrived the wolf was lying in bed, pretending to be her grandmother. Then follows this ominous dialogue between the girl and wolf:

"Oh, grandmother," she said, "What big ears you have." "The better to hear you with, my child," was the reply.

"But, grandmother, what big eyes you have," she said. "The better to see you with," my dear. "But, grandmother, what large hands you have." "The better to hug you with." "Oh, but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have." "The better to eat you with." And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up red-cap.

In the original version both the girl and the grandmother die; in a subsequent version a huntsman frees them both from the belly of the wolf; and in a third cleaned up version both girl and grandmother escape.

For some reason this fairy tale came to our mind recently, while The Last Word was perusing the web for updates on the most recent outrages of Francis of Rome.

Perhaps this otherwise odd association relates to the homophones Grimm and grim, the latter being one of many words to describe the Bergoglian papacy. Or perhaps it is a connection between two wolves, both of which use their cunning to deceive the innocent for a wicked purpose. In fact, let’s rewrite the original fairy tale and call it Little Red Zucchetto: Once upon a time there was a prelate with a little red zucchetto upon his head who was inspired by Holy Mother Church to deliver a basketful of dubbia to the pope at the Vatican. Little did Little Red Zucchetto realize it but the real pope was being held captive in his quarters while the wily wolf, who had dressed himself in the white garments of a real pope, sat upon the papal throne. When Little Red Zucchetto came close to the wolf in white he said, "Oh Holy Father, what awful insults you speak." "The better to silence you with," he replied. "Oh Holy Father, what heterodox sermons you preach." "The better to confuse you with," he responded. "Oh Holy Father, what confusing exhortations you write."

"The better to mislead you with," he replied. Once he had said this he leapt from the throne and suspended Little Red Zucchetto.

Would that the story of Little Red Zucchetto were merely a fairy tale but unfortunately it is all too real. Even more disturbing than a wolf disguised in the nightgown and night cap of a grandmother is a wolf disguised in the white cassock and white zucchetto of a shepherd. And even more horrific to imagine than a wolf gobbling up a grandmother and a girl is the reality that a wolf on the papal throne is ravaging the flock of Christ and misleading souls into sin and the fires of hell. Where are all the fearless cardinals who wear little red zucchettos? Incredibly only four have dared express any concern at all about the wily wolf.

When I heard as a child the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood I was astounded that Red Cap was unable to more quickly recognize the imposter in the bed as a wolf. By the time she was finally starting to realize that the ears and the eyes and the hands and the mouth of the fraudster under the covers were not those of her dear grandmother it was too late. Even more astounding is that so many clerics and faithful fail to realize or admit that the words and actions of Pope Francis Fraudulosus are not those of a true shepherd.

There is, therefore, unfathomable irony in the fact that a wolf disguised as a shepherd has canonized two faithful shepherd children on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, which marks the anniversary date of the first of the Marian apparitions to three children in Portugal. As traditional Catholics know, despite Vatican assurances to the contrary, the Third Secret of Fatima has never been fully disclosed and the Consecration of Russia has not been properly accomplished. Shame on all the disobedient shepherds! But there is something particularly ominous about the timing of the Fatima centennial anniversary and this particular pope. For if our first conviction is correct, that the hidden Third Secret regards apostasy in the Church at the highest level, as well as our second conviction that the Consecration of Russia has not been accomplished, then we should not be surprised if all hell is about to break loose sometime soon.

After all, it appears that a central figure in any unfolding Fatima drama is now in place. Far beyond any papal predecessor, Jorge Bergoglio has manifested himself as a committed Modernist and a sympathetic Marxist. Clearly there is apostasy enthroned at the top which encompasses lower level leadership as well. As for the spread of the errors of Russia, under Jorge, morality is collapsing and socialism is spreading.

In the fairy tale Red Riding Hood, at least one version ends with a huntsman who comes to the rescue, wielding an ax which he uses to split the wicked wolf wide open, rescuing the girl and grandmother from its belly. Life rarely has a fairy tale ending but we have reason to hope for a supernatural intervention and ending. In this centennial observance of the apparitions at Fatima, let us heed the warning of our Lady against sin and let us pray to the faithful Fatima shepherd Saints, asking for deliverance from the wolves. ■

[image]