Two years ago, I asked what if the antichrist wasn't a liberal as is usually portrayed in Apocalyptic fiction. What if he turned out to be someone seeking to deceive the faithful into rejecting the true Church and the Successor of Peter?
Back then, I asked this in a speculative sense of what if we end up looking in the wrong direction? Now, I find myself wondering if it would explain the discontent among some faithful Catholics with Pope Francis.
Pope Francis is the legitimate Pope with the protection from teaching error in matters of faith and morals and he has the authority:
Not only in matters which belong to faith and morals, but also in those that appertain to the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world; so that the Church of Christ may be one flock under one supreme Pastor, through the preservation of unity, both of communion and of profession of the same faith, with the Roman Pontiff. (Pastor Aeternus)
Yet we do have Catholics who stood up for Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI who treat the Holy Father with suspicion and doubt. It makes me wonder, if a conservative anti-pope appeared, would many be tempted to follow this anti-pope?
And might some be tempted to follow a conservative antichrist who sounds very holy, but makes small corruptions that lead people to emphasize ideology over the faith?
Pope Francis does do things differently than his predecessors, and it is natural to be surprised on occasion. But when people question his orthodoxy, that is a temptation to make oneself the measure of the Church.
That is essentially a victory for Satan to separate a person from the true Church out of pride.
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