The Pope's Prayer Intentions

Some thoughts on the Pope's Monthly Prayer Intentions published by the Vatican and promoted by what used to be the Apostleship of Prayer, now the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. 

From the website of the USCCB:

Each year, the Holy Father asks for our prayers for a specific intention each month. You are invited to answer the Holy Father's request and to join with many people worldwide in praying for this intention each month.

January

True Human Fraternity

We pray for all those suffering from religious discrimination and persecution; may their own rights and dignity be recognized, which originate from being brothers and sisters in the human family.

Am I the only one who sees the utter hypocrisy of this? To ask us to pray 'for all those suffering from religious discrimination', at the same time that he is mounting a campaign of persecution and marginalisation against a group of faithful Catholics would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

However, whilst we can obviously pray for this intention, against what he is actually doing, in September, we are invited to pray

that the death penalty, which attacks the dignity of the human person, may be legally abolished in every country.

This, of course, is a favourite hobby horse of his despite the fact that it is the immemorial teaching of the Church that the death penalty, carried out by the State, is a moral action. To deny this is to call Holy Scripture, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and every Pope before him that has addressed the question liars.

However, since one of the conditions of obtaining a plenary indulgence for oneself or for the Poor Souls is to pray for the Pope's intentions, what are we to do when faced with an intention like September's?

Here is the answer. No matter how liberal and modernist the published intentions are, we can still pray for the Pope's intentions as Fr Zed explains here, Ask Father: What To Do About Strange Monthly Intentions Designated for Gaining Indulgences?, and as I wrote in a post I wrote encouraging prayers for Francis, Praying for the Pope's Intentions and for Him.

So, whilst we pray for the Pope's Intentions, according to the Raccolta (which can be purchased in its last English edition of 1957):

1. The progress of the Faith and triumph of the Church
2. Peace and union among Christian Princes and Rulers
3. The conversion of sinners
4. The uprooting of heresy,

let us also pray for his soul which he seems to be putting in danger of hellfire.