Incredible story.  Thx. 

I actually re-posted this again in another thread.

I'm obviously drawing a parallel between the time of the Judges, and the current Crisis in the Church.

As "the Church in normal times" recedes into the olden days, and the olden days into the time of legend -- it becomes easier to go off-course, even for those of good will.

The lack of a king in Israel during that time, and our own period of Crisis where we EFFECTIVELY (at least) don't have a pope (or a pope who does his job, or a pope that acts like one, etc.) -- is very similar. Whether the Pope has no office, his office is impeded, on hold, held by someone else in secret, or just needs to be disobeyed when he oversteps his authority -- we mortals can't get to the bottom of that without divine help. Anyone who thinks that mere men are going to solve this Crisis is NEW to Tradition and/or hasn't been paying attention!

Never downplay the Crisis. You can't over-exaggerate how serious it is. We have (apparent?) popes promoting Liturgy and doctrines that tend to destroy the Faith itself, and popes that have -- to varying degrees -- torn down the Church with their own hands. I'm sorry, but that makes the Great Schism, the Arian Heresy, the early Church Roman persecutions, or the Protestant Revolt look like "the good old days". 

Am I Sedevacantist? No, but one doesn't need to be. Don't downplay the "Resist" part of the "Recognize and Resist" equation. The devil is in the details. One can go too far during a time of Crisis. I personally believe disobeying whoever/whatever "Francis" is, is required of every Catholic. I don't know all the nuances of the mystery -- only that we have to survive with our Faith intact.

But that's my point -- everyone is doing "what seems right to himself" during the Crisis. Some thing that entails declaring the Holy See vacant (for 63+ years). Others even go further, saying that we must elect a Pope even if there is little chance he will be universally accepted ("Conclavist Sedevacantists"). Others say we don't need to follow the Pope if that means losing the Faith -- deposing (or declaring him deposed) is neither possible nor necessary. That's me. Others (Indult) think that one must stay on the good side of Authority, accepting whatever scraps the bad guys throw at you, and just hope for the best.

Which of those groups has the right to condemn the others? None of the above. God hasn't endorsed or chosen a side yet. So we are all free to choose whatever path prudence dictates is appropriate for ourselves and our particular family.

Will some men of bad will -- both laity and clergy -- take advantage of this chaos, to make life more convenient for themselves, to enrich themselves, and in general to be selfish? YOU BET. There is no way around that. That is why God will judge each of us. So yes, do your best, do what you gotta do, fight who you gotta fight, attend Mass where you please (or not) -- but remember always that life is short, and God can read your inmost heart. God as your judge will be extremely thorough: He knows all your motivation(s) for each and every one of your actions throughout life, and you won't get *anything* past Him.