Thousands of priests worldwide are requesting clarification of Amoris Laetitia and thanking the four cardinals, including Burke, who issued the dubia. This request was made public to the media too. From The National Catholic Register ( February 1, 2017) In a statement published Feb. 1, the International Confraternities of Catholic Clergy write that “an authoritative interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia, in line with the constant teaching and practice of the Church, would be of “great value” in light of “continuing widespread divergence of understanding and growing divisions in practice.” They also thank the four cardinals who last year sent Pope Francis the dubia — five questions aimed at obtaining such clarification, arguing that such action “is clearly needed to correct the misuse of the Apostolic Exhortation to undermine sacred Tradition.”
By not responding to requests for clarification on Amoris Laetitia, this pope is sowing the seeds of division. At the time Amoris Laetitia was written, thirty cardinals wrote Pope Francis expressing concern that this exhortation would weaken marriage. Pope Francis refused to respond to any of them. Then came the 4 cardinals with the dubia. Now we have thousands of priests doing the same. At the same time, the German, Maltese, and Argentinian bishops are saying it's okay for civilly divorced and remarried people to receive communion. Hmm, seems to me like the pope's silence is very effective in creating chaos and confusion and division and strife.
A bit like saying that CNN only report on the facts! Nevertheless, as I have already said, the sites do often contain useful information (unfortunately coupled with the agenda driven commentaries) and onepeter5 seems to have got the text of Pope Francis' letter to Cardinal Burke which informs the Cardinal what his task should be with the Knights of Malta. I copy here the the extracts from the letter which the onepeter5 site publishes, leaving out the commentaries which I'm sure others will copy later! After urging Cardinal Burke to vigilance “in carrying out his task of ‘promoting the spiritual interests of the Order and of its members and the relations between the Holy See and the Order’ (Constitutional Charter, art. 4 par. 4),” the pope asserts first of all that “manifestations of a worldly spirit which are contrary to the Catholic faith or are of relativistic character must be prevented from being introduced into the Order, including affiliations and associations, movements and organizations.” The reference is to the alleged infiltration of Freemasonry among the Knights of Malta that the Pope, in private conversations, has recalled several times. “If this is found to be the case,” Pope Francis continues, “the Knights who were possibly members of such groups, movements and organizations will be asked to withdraw their support, since it is incompatible with the Catholic faith and membership in the Order.” The second chapter concerns the problem of the distribution of contraceptives in poor countries: “Particular care will also be taken,” the [papal] letter reads, “that methods and means contrary to the moral law are not employed and distributed in charitable initiatives and relief efforts. If in the past some problems have arisen in this area, I hope that it can be completely resolved. I would be frankly displeased if, in fact, some senior Officials – as you yourself have told me – while knowing of these practices, especially regarding the distribution of contraceptives of any kind, have not intervened until now to put an end to it.” Clearly, then, the objective was set out by the Pope. But what about how to deal with those responsible for the scandal? “But I do not doubt,” writes Pope Francis, “that, following the Pauline principle of ‘practicing the truth in charity’ (Eph4:15), it will be possible to enter into dialogue with them and to achieve the necessary corrections.” I hope that eventually the full text of the letter will be published.
By your own twisted logic, Cardinal Burke must be pulling people away from the Church because he has dared to challenge Pope Francis. In fact, Cardinal Burke has made it clear that it is possible and sometimes necessary to fraternally correct a Pope, that it has happened before in Church history, and that doing so in no way "pulls people from the Church." As far as I know BrianK continues to acknowledge Pope Francis as the Pope, as do I. I have also made it clear to Padraig in an earlier post that I do not believe it is up to the Faithful to determine who is a Pope or who is an anti-Pope. This doesn't mean that we should sugar-coat the current crisis in the Church.
No mention of Masonic suspects... http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30305839# Italy police hunt anti-pope plotters February 06, 2017 22:44 By Agence France-Presse ROME - Italian police were on the hunt Monday for the authors of anti-pope posters which have been slapped around Rome, amid suspicions the campaign may be linked to an arch-conservative wing of the Catholic Church. Dozens of the illegal fliers appeared mysteriously around the Italian capital Saturday picturing a stern-looking Pope Francis, a list of accusations against him, and the words "Where's your mercy?" -- turning the pontiff's call for a more merciful church back on him. Police were trawling through security camera footage to track down the culprits as Rome city council said it had pulled down 200 posters while those remaining had been covered up. No group took credit for the stunt, but Vatican watchers said the fact the main complaint referred to the "decapitation" of the Knights of Malta made it likely they came from conservative quarters. The posters appeared on the same day that Francis appointed his own special delegate to the ancient aristocratic order, after stepping in to stop the firing of its Grand Chancellor, in a move that left traditionalists spitting. The move publicly sidelined prominent US conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has been outspoken in his disapproval of Francis' efforts to reform Church teaching on questions related to the family, marriage and divorce. "Ah Francis, you've taken over congregations, removed priests, decapitated the Order of Malta and the Franciscans of the Immaculate, ignored Cardinals... but where's your mercy?" it reads. 'Germs of selfishness' The reference to the pope ignoring cardinals is believed to relate to four cardinals, including Burke, who sent a letter to Francis at the end of last year in which they challenged the head of the Roman Catholic Church over his teachings on the family. Burke publicly warned Francis in November it may be necessary to make a highly rare "formal act of correction" if the Argentine did not answer the letter -- a bold and almost unheard of challenge to his authority. The mention of the removal of priests likely refers to allegations that the pope ordered the sacking of prelates from a Vatican department. In terms of the Franciscans, the pope intervened in the religious order early on to restrict the use of Latin mass, Cruxnow.com said. The 80-year old pontiff, who was elected in 2013, has proved a divisive figure, hailed by some for his "progressive" attitude -- refusing to judge those guilty of church sins, such as single mothers and gay people -- but criticised by others for being too "liberal". The climate in the tiny Vatican city state has become increasingly acrimonious and watchers warn of a possible show-down with the conservatives. Francis said at the end of last year that he was "not losing any sleep" over the in-fighting. On Sunday he made no reference to the posters but called on the faithful to stay away from "polluting germs of selfishness, envy, slander". The poster was written in local dialect. The Italian capital has a long tradition of anonymous political expression; protest graffiti was used in ancient Rome and, from the 16th century onwards, criticisms in the form of poems or witticisms were strung up on well-known statues in the city.
The continuing “drama” of the Knights of Malta Leave a reply [The continuing “drama” of the Knights of Malta] From Robert Moynihan’s Letter from the Vatican, 2017, #7 February 5, 2017, Sunday [URL not yet available, as the text is not yet available at insidethevatican.com] Excerpt: (3) But was this really incorrect (as Lamb and others now seem to take for granted)? Are we really in possession of clear evidence about the instructions Pope Francis gave to Cardinal Burke with regard to the moral problems, and the presence of non-Catholic (freemasonic) elements, in the Order of Malta, and what action to take? Strikingly, there has just emerged a new report on precisely this point: giving insight into the instructions that Pope Francis gave to Cardinal Raymond Burke in their private meeting on November 10, and in a follow-up letter to Burke dated December 1. The onePeterfive website has summarized the new evidence here (link). It is based on a fundamental article by Riccardo Cascioli in Italian found here. Those who read Italian should read the whole article in the original Italian. For those who do not read Italian, here are excerpts from the translation provided by Maike Hickson of onePeterfive. In several places I insert my own editor’s notes; otherwise, all the text below is by Riccardo Cascioli; it is his reconstruction of what happened in the case of the Pope’s December 1 letter to Burke: That Letter from the Pope to Cardinal Burke By Riccardo Cascioli 2 February 2017, La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana […] This is the letter [written by Pope Francis to Cardinal Burke] sent after the personal meeting that Cardinal Burke had on November 10 [2016] with Pope Francis, to whom he had explained the delicate situation of the Order concerning the position of Albrecht Boeselager, of which we speak in another article. This letter, was also made known to all the members of the Order’s Sovereign Council, and it has been hitherto used as a (serious) indictment against the same Cardinal Burke. [My editorial note: Cascioli never tells us how he managed to see this letter from the Pope to Cardinal Burke, which he then quotes from. Perhaps Burke showed Cascioli the letter. But, since the letter was “made known” to “all the members of the Order’s Sovereign Council,” it could be that Cascioli was able to learn of the contents of the letter from a source other than Burke.] […] Burke, in reality, has always denied being the instigator of the dismissal or having used the words of the Pope in a fraudulent way, but the letter actually has a much less conciliatory tone than what is claimed by Cardinal [Pietro] Parolin. After urging Cardinal Burke to vigilance “in carrying out his task of ‘promoting the spiritual interests of the Order and of its members and the relations between the Holy See and the Order’ (Constitutional Charter, art. 4 par. 4),” the Pope asserts first of all that “manifestations of a worldly spirit which are contrary to the Catholic faith or are of relativistic character must be prevented from being introduced into the Order, including affiliations and associations, movements and organizations.” The reference is to the alleged infiltration of Freemasonry among the Knights of Malta that the Pope, in private conversations, has recalled several times. “If this is found to be the case,” Pope Francis continues, “the Knights who were possibly members of such groups, movements and organizations will be asked to withdraw their support, since it is incompatible with the Catholic faith and membership in the Order.” The second chapter concerns the problem of the distribution of contraceptives in poor countries: “Particular care will also be taken,” the [papal] letter reads, “that methods and means contrary to the moral law are not employed and distributed in charitable initiatives and relief efforts. If in the past some problems have arisen in this area, I hope that it can be completely resolved. I would be frankly displeased if, in fact, some senior Officials – as you yourself have told me – while knowing of these practices, especially regarding the distribution of contraceptives of any kind, have not intervened until now to put an end to it.” Clearly, then, the objective was set out by the Pope. But what about how to deal with those responsible for the scandal? “But I do not doubt,” writes Pope Francis, “that, following the Pauline principle of ‘practicing the truth in charity’ (Eph4:15), it will be possible to enter into dialogue with them [emphasis added] and to achieve the necessary corrections.” [My editorial note: This is evidently the passage that will be picked up again in the December 12 and 20 letters from Secretary of State Parolin to the Knights of Malta, when he writes that the Pope did not instruct Burke to expel anyone from the order, only that there should be a “dialogue” initiated to resolve any problems.] There is a clear directive here, but above all a wish. What happens if, instead, those responsible do not intend to resolve the problem? As we have explained in the main article, in fact, this is not about a small isolated problem but rather about practices which were carried out at least until very recent times and above all, which were shared ideologically by those responsible like Boeselager, who up to 2014 was directly responsible for these projects. From all the re-tellings of the story it seems clear that there was the Grand Master’s attempt to call Boeselager to his responsibilities, which was rejected [emphasis added] prompting the Grand Master then to dismiss Boeselager, and the sovereign Council to elect his successor as Grand Chancellor. [My editorial note: Cascioli says here that Boeselager rejected the Grand Master’s attempt to call him to his responsibilities, which then led the Grand Master to dismiss Boeselager. We would have to have a transcript of the December 6 meeting of the Knights’ leadership to determine what really happened.] How things went from there is recent history, but reading the clear directives of Pope Francis, one cannot but wonder that the end result is that the one objectively responsible for the projects condemned by the Pope has been reinstated and proved to be the winner, while those who tried to follow the Pope’s orders were ousted, humiliated and subjected to the media attacks. [My editorial note: In the following, three final paragraphs of his report, Cascioli makes two main points: (1) that there was a slight difference in emphasis between what the Pope wrote to Burke (more focused on solving the problems) and what Cardinal Parolin wrote to Grand Master Festing (more focused on dialogue and very intent on keeping Boeselager in his post); and (2) that no light is being shed on the bequest of 120 million Swiss francs left to the Order of Malta in a fund now in Geneva.] The letter also confirms that different positions on the case of the Order of Malta have come about between the Pope and his Secretary of State, with Cardinal Parolin quite resolved to support Boeselager as the true and proper commissioner to the Order. A fact which raises some curiosity has been augmented by another detail not yet reported. The Holy See has, in fact, decided to nullify and invalidate all the acts of the Grand Master and the Sovereign Council since this past December 6. In this way, not only is the dismissal of Boeselager rendered null, but also – and here is the detail – the appointment of an internal investigative committee commissioned by the Grand Master to investigate the mysterious inheritance of 120 million deposited in Switzerland – of which [matter] so much has been spoken in recent weeks and about which the Grand Master was essentially left in the dark. Informed (and interested), it seems, on the other hand, was Boeselager. Now this investigative commission will be no more. [end of Cascioli’s article] * * * Still, if Lamb’s report about Grand Master Festing is accurate — that is, if the story of the Knights of Malta conflict is “by no means finished” — we may have new surprises in the days and weeks ahead. In the midst of all this intrigue, of course, we must remember the essential: the essential being, the essential identity, of the Church is to be the mystical body of Christ. What this means is a mystery, of course, but I hope to be able to reflect more on its meaning in future letters. At the very least, it means that our lives are hidden in Christ, and are linked to his resurrection, that true event in which he overcame death itself, so that we too, now and always, may believe that doubt and darkness and death and deceit will not prevail… the very gates of hell will not prevail…
If the esteemed Dr. Robert Moynihan of Inside the Vatican positively quotes One Peter Five, I think we can safely ignore any arm chair quarterback critics here.
February 5, 2017, Sunday -- Posters against the Pope "Ah, Franky [referring to Pope Francis using a Roman dialect form of Francis which suggests great familiarity], you've put Congregations under supervision, removed priests, decapitated the Order of Malta and the Franciscans of the Immaculate and ignored Cardinals... But where in all this is your compassion?" —Words addressed to Pope Francis written on dozens of posters in Rome which appeared in about 40 locations in the city center on Saturday morning, February 4. The posters show Pope Francis with a stern, rather unmerciful expression on his face, and the words above form the caption for the photo. The words are in Italian, but in the Roman dialect, as if to give the suggestion that the posters are an expression of the common people of Rome. The posters are not signed. There is no indication of who made them, or who paid to have them made. The city of Rome said no permission had been granted for the posters to be displayed, that they were "abusive," that is, unauthorized. For this reason, the posters soon began to be covered up with white posters carrying the words "affissione abusiva" or "unauthorized advertisement" (it is hard and time-consuming to completely scrape off a poster once the glue has dried, quicker and easier to simply cover it with a blank poster). The world's press quickly picked up the story, attributing the posters, most often, to conservative or traditional Catholics who oppose the reforms of Pope Francis. It was seen by many as the most visible sign yet of an opposition to the Pope, who is now close to completing the 4th year of his pontificate. Note: the letters "SPQR" above the poster (below) refer to the Latin words from more than 2,000 years ago: "Senatus Populus que Romanus" meaning "The Roman Senate and People," that is, the government of Rome, meaning these spots are for official posters and advertisements approved by the city... Posters of a stern-looking Pope Francis appeared on walls around Rome on Saturday morning, February 4, listing the Pope's actions against some conservative Catholics and concluding, "Where is your mercy?" Written in local Roman dialect, the posters lamented that the Pope had "removed priests," "decapitated the Knights of Malta" and "ignored Cardinals," echoing some of the major complaints some conservative Catholics have about Pope Francis' recent decisions. The poster reads, "A France', hai commissariato Congregazioni, rimosso sacerdoti, decapitato l'Ordine di Malta, e i Francescani dell'Immacolata, ignorato Cardinali... ma n'do sta la tua misericordia?" The word France' with an apostrophe is typical Romanesco (Roman dialect), where the last part of the name is dropped off (in this case, the "esco" of "Francesco"), almost as a form of endearment, as with a child or dear friend; it is a very familiar way to address a Pope, almost shockingly so. So from these very first two words, from this form of address, the implication is of an appeal to Pope Francis from those who are either close to him, or are mocking him, that is, speaking of hi in a satirical way, like the satirical, anti-papal placards posted on statues in central Rome 200 years ago. In other words, from the first words, those citizens of Rome who saw and read these posters knew that this was either a direct appeal to, or a direct attack -- in a satirical way -- on... Pope Francis. The text continues: "You've put Congregations under supervision, removed priests, decapitated the Order of Malta and the Franciscans of the Immaculate, and ignored Cardinals... But where in all this is your compassion?" The posters were not signed by any group. Police immediately launched an investigation to discover who were responsible, aided by closed-circuit cameras, the ANSA news agency said. And various Catholic blogs in Italy exploded with comments on the matter, some expressing great indignation at such a public attack on the Pope (link), others saying that Francis needed to realize how his actions have left many more traditional Catholics feeling he has abandoned them. One Italian blogger by the name of "Enza" on veteran Vaticanist Marco Tosatti's web site, went so far as to say that he would not be surprised to learn that the posters were not put up by conservatives, but by devilishly clever enemies of the Church, non-believers, atheists, who want to divide and weaken the Church. Cardinal Marc Ouellet echoed that view, saying the posters were a "work of the devil," designed to sow greater division in the Church (link). The blogger "Enza" continued his speculation by saying he would not be surprised even to learn that the posters were produced and distributed by allies of the Pope, with the goal of gaining support for a future suppression of conservative Catholic positions, once the conservatives are blamed for the disrespectful posters, a sort of "poster false flag" if you will." He wrote: "Oppure: se fosse che chi ha fatto fare ed affiggere i manifesti siano stati ambienti bergogliani, per dargli l’opportunità di attaccare i 'tradizionalisti' e fare rappresaglia? Esattamente come Nerone fece bruciare Roma per dar la colpa ai cristiani. Nerone argentino?" ("Or: is it possible that those who made and put up the posters were from Bergoglio's circle, to give him the opportunity to attack the 'traditionalists' and to retaliate against them? Just as Nero had Rome burned to blame the Christians. An Argentine Nero?") So the blogs, as so often, were filled with all sorts of talk... But even Father Antonio Spadaro, a serious man, a Jesuit, editor of the influential Jesuit journal, Civilta Cattolica, a close friend of Pope Francis, seemed rather emotional when he wrote this on his Facebook page: "There have appeared in Rome fake-popular anonymous posters, highly paid, against Pope Francis. It's the sign that he is acting well and is irritating some people very much. Those posters are threats and intimidations. In faux Romanesco to persuade people that they are from the people. Of course not! The real ordinary people do not debate about the Order of Malta, or the canonistical 'dubia' of cardinals. For heaven's sake! Behind this are corrupt people and there are strong powers that mount strategies to remove the Pope from the heart of the people, which is his great strength. And the result is the opposite effect." Here is the original Italian: «A Roma sono apparsi manifesti anonimi finto-popolari e ben pagati contro Papa Francesco. È il segno che sta agendo bene e sta dando molto fastidio. Quei manifesti sono minacce e intimidazioni. In finto romanesco per tentare di far credere che siano popolari. Macché! La gente vera non discetta sull’ordine di Malta, o su canonistici “dubia” cardinalizi. Ma per carità! Dietro c’è gente corrotta e ci sono poteri forti che montano strategie per staccare il Papa dal cuore della gente, che è la sua grande forza. E il risultato è l’effetto l’opposto». (link) So, we will be expecting news soon of who is accused of having created the poster and posted it throughout the center of Rome. That may come at any moment. So stay tuned The
This might open some minds. I don't want to go down this path. But what if a percentage of the conservative/traditional contingent have homosexual ties. Or worse Masonic ties. And the Pope was forced to clean up the nonsense. You might say I am sinning by even mentioning this. But at the seminary in the late 80's the homosexual contingent leaned conservative. Now I'm not saying everyone is but I am sure a few continued on their vocation. Is this something I should bring up. Maybe not but we have no idea what the Holy Father is currently battling. And he seems to be following the footsteps of St. Francis. I don't say this to bring scandal. That is not my intention. But this battle is bigger then Our Holy Father and Cardinal Burke. Now Our Poor Holy Father has the Australia scandal. We are going to see more cardinals fall. And you guys are worried about the divorced. Evil is growing and the divorced is minor compared to all the rest of the sins currently happening. May Gods Will be Done
Steve Bannon Carries Battles to Another Influential Hub: The Vatican By JASON HOROWITZFEB. 7, 2017 The article is at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/europe/vatican-steve-bannon-pope-francis.html?_r=1 The following is a 'taster' from the end of the article: Discussing a Breitbart article about the new mayor of London titled “Pope Hails Election of Sadiq Khan, Celebrates Mass Muslim Migration Into Europe,” Mr. Bannon suggested that the pope “seems almost to be putting the responsibility on the working men and women of Italy and Europe et cetera, that they have to go out of their way to accommodate” migration. Was the pope a global elitist, Mr. Bannon asked, “two or three steps removed from this?” Many critics of Francis express similar views, but they are often scared to express it for fear of retribution from the pope, who, they say, has eyes and ears all over the Vatican. Instead, the pope’s critics anonymously papered Rome over the weekend with posters of a grumpy-looking Francis above complaints about his removing and ignoring clerics and cardinals. “Where’s your mercy?” it asked. Conservatives and traditionalists in the Vatican secretly pass around phony mock-ups of the Vatican’s official paper, L’Osservatore Romano, making fun of the pope. Or they spread a YouTube video critiquing the pope and his exhortation on love in the family, “Amoris Laetitia,” which many traditionalists consider Francis’ opening salvo against the doctrine of the church. Set to the music of “That’s Amore,” an aggrieved crooner sings, “When will we all be freed from this cruel tyranny, that’s Amoris” and “It’s the climate of fear engineered for four years, that’s Amoris.” Cardinal Burke — who has said that the pope’s exhortation, which opened the door for divorced Catholics remarried outside the church to receive communion, might require “a formal act of correction” — has been unusually outspoken in his criticism of Francis. Cardinal Burke and Mr. Bannon declined to comment for this article. Just weeks ago, the pope stripped Cardinal Burke of his remaining institutional influence after a scandal exploded at the Knights of Malta, a nearly 1,000-year-old chivalrous order where he had been exiled as a liaison to the Vatican. The pope had removed the order’s grand master after he showed disobedience to the pope. There was a sense in the order that the grand master followed the lead of Cardinal Burke because he projected authority, a power that stemmed in part from his support by the Trump administration, one influential knight said. Cardinal Burke has become a champion to conservatives in the United States. Under Mr. Bannon, Breitbart News urged its Rome correspondent to write sympathetically about him. And at a meeting before last month’s anti-abortion March for Life rally in Washington, Cardinal Burke received the Law of Life Achievement, or Nail award, a framed replica of the nail used to hold the feet of Christ to the cross. According to John-Henry Westen, the editor of Life Site News, who announced the award, the prize is awarded to Christians “who have received a stab in the back.” Despite Mr. Bannon’s inroads in Rome, Mr. Burke and other traditionalists are not ascendant in the Vatican. The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, a Jesuit priest who edits the Vatican-approved journal La Civilta Cattolica and who is close to the pope, dismissed their criticism as the stuff of a noisy but small “echo chamber.” He also played down the effect of Mr. Trump’s ascent on the standing of Francis’ opponents in the Vatican, saying it was only on a “level of image” and “propaganda.” The pope will maintain his direction and not be distracted by fights against those trying to undercut him, Father Spadaro said. “He moves forward, and he moves ahead very fast.” He added that Mr. Trump’s ban on immigrants from certain Muslim countries was “opposite” to the pontiff’s vision for how to foster unity and peace. The pope, Father Spadaro said, is doing everything he can to avoid the clash of civilizations that both fundamentalist Muslims and Christians want. Indeed, the pope does not seem to be slowing down. Days after the election of Mr. Trump, in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican officially elevated new cardinals selected by Pope Francis who reflected the pope’s emphasis on an inclusive church — far from the worldview of Mr. Bannon and Mr. Burke. “It’s not that he is just bringing new people in that think maybe like him,” Cardinal Blase Cupich, the influential new cardinal of Chicago, said after the ceremony. “He is transforming the church in making us rethink how we have done things before.” That transformation was evident later in the evening, when the old conservative guard came to pay their respects to the new cardinals. João Braz de Aviz, a powerful cardinal close to the pope, walked around in simple cleric clothes, the equivalent of civilian dress among all the flowing cassocks. Asked whether the ascent of Mr. Trump would embolden Mr. Bannon’s allies in the Vatican to intensify their opposition and force the pope to take a more orthodox line, he shrugged. “The doctrine is secure,” he said, adding that the mission of the church was more to safeguard the poor. It was also, he reminded his traditionalist colleagues, to serve St. Peter, whose authority is passed down through the popes. “And today, Francis is Peter.”
Sr Lucia of Fatima has famously said that the final confrontation would be over marriage and the family. Yes, there are many sins and offenses happening, but my personal opinion is that it would not be prudent to trivialize worrying about the divorced. I'm sure the devil would love to have our attention diverted to other more "important" sins in order to normalize in our minds acceptance of giving communion to the non-sacramentally married because, after all, there must be worse things to worry about. I'm not saying you feel this way or not FS, I'm expressing how I feel when I hear statements like yours above.
Thank you for your thoughts. I just say the picture is much bigger then what some believe. Have you read about the scandal in Australia. That's a million times worse of a sin. I don't trivialize anything. Sins have direct correlation with knowledge of God. There is so much evil in the world. No one has said 2nd marriages can receive communion without annulment. That is all nonsense.
You mean that guy who created a sock puppet account here at MOG to plug his own book? That guy is the one we're supposed to take seriously?!?
The Germans have been right about this pope all along: http://m.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-marx-popes-line-in-amoris-laetitia-is-very-clear Cardinal Marx: Pope’s Line in Amoris Laetitia is “Very Clear” Posted by Edward Pentin on Tuesday Feb 7th, 2017 at 9:26 AM Defends German bishops’ guidelines on document as Cardinal Walter Kasper says allowing intercommunion with Protestants in some cases is the “position of the current Pope.” Cardinal Reinhard Marx has said he “cannot understand” why there should be different interpretations of Amoris Laetitia to the one favored by the German bishops as he believes the line taken by the Pope in the apostolic exhortation is “very clear.” In brief comments to the Register Feb. 6 in Rome after accompanying an ecumenical delegation to the apostolic palace to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Archbishop of Munich dismissed concerns about lack of clarity in the Pope’s apostolic exhortation on the family. “I think, in our conference, there was unanimity”, he said. “Some bishops were asking [questions], but I think there is a clear position and the line of the Pope is very clear.” Among the passages considered ambiguous is whether some remarried divorcees should be admitted to Holy Communion. Last week, the German bishops’ conference released guidelines on Amoris Laetitia in which they controversially allowed some civilly remarried divorcees to receive Holy Communion on a case by case basis. German Church sources, however, say there wasn't strict unanimity, and possibly the cardinal meant something else by the word “unanimity” as German has the two similar words for it: einhellig and einstimmen. They say that, on good authority, six bishops had “serious reservations” about the guidelines. The German bishops' published interpretation is at odds with that expressed by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who upheld the Church's teaching on restrictions to admitting Holy Communion to remarried divorcees, telling the Italian monthly Il Timone that Amoris Laetitia must be interpreted in the light of the whole doctrine of the Church, that there cannot be “a contradiction between doctrine and personal conscience”, and that “the task of priests and bishops is not that of creating confusion, but of bringing clarity.” Thousands of priests have also publicly expressed the same concerns. But Cardinal Marx pointed out he was a "member of two synods, and the discussions between the synods, and the discussion in the synod, and then I read Amoris Laetitia and I said that it is in this line." He added that he “cannot understand” why there are other interpretations. “The answer is, I think, clear.” He said he hadn’t received any letters from other cardinals about the German bishops’ guidelines. “We decided to underline some points, not because the Pope wasn’t clear, but to underline, for example, preparation for marriage, to go with the couples and to look at special situations of irregularity.” He said they added “no other points” that were not in Amoris Laetitia already. As president of the German bishops' conference, Cardinal Marx, who is also a member of the Pope’s “C9” group of cardinals advising the Holy Father on curial reform, attended both synods. Along with the president of the French bishops' conference, he was also instrumental in holding a controversial “shadow synod” in Rome in 2015, during which participants pushed for admission of remarried divorcees to the sacraments and acceptance of those living in same-sex unions. Catholic-Protestant relations Asked whether a new phase in the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church has begun under Pope Francis, the cardinal replied that the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this year is a “special moment” in relations, “an opportunity for us to work together, pray together and to show that we are, in the center, unified, and the center is Christ.” He said the Church and her ecumenical partners in Germany have decided to celebrate Christ this year. “That is the main point, not looking back always and discussing all the old questions. That’s necessary. We have to work in a theological, serious way, that is clear, but we have to work together.” He said he thought it was also “very important for ecumenism that we are willing to grow together, that we are living in friendship and that is the fundament of ecumenical discussion and work.” He said the meeting Feb. 6 “was a good opportunity” and Pope Francis “underlined it with his speech” which he described as “very good.” On a joint commemoration, Cardinal Marx said until now “celebrations were always against each other.” “It’s a great history of war and going against each other, and for the first time we are celebrating together, making memory together and looking forward to what is the meaning of the Gospel today, and in the center is Christ,” he said. Cardinal Kasper on the Pope and intercommunion Meanwhile, Cardinal Walter Kasper, a close confidant of the Holy Father, has said he believes allowing intercommunion with Protestants in cases such as a mixed marriage is “the position of the current Pope.” In comments made to Italian television, the cardinal said of Holy Communion: “In certain cases, I think yes, if they share the same faith in the Eucharist, this is presupposed, and if they are interiorly disposed, they can refer to their conscience to go to Communion, and this, I think, is also the position of the current Pope.” If there is a “couple or a family, you cannot divide them in front of the altar,” Cardinal Kasper said. Theologians have said that were the Church to change its rules on shared Eucharistic Communion, it would “go against Revelation and the Magisterium”, leading Christians to “commit blasphemy and sacrilege.” In the same interview, Cardinal Kasper was less clear about women deacons, and essentially ruled it out. “The issue of women is again in discussion, it isn’t very difficult for us, I would say no,” he said. Last year, Pope Francis instituted a new commission to take another look at the issue.
It's interesting you bring up "manna" (the German Church Tax". I was having a discussion with a good friend of mine, a prominent member of the huge Evangelical Church Willow Creek, about the RC problems and his complete dismay about Pope Francis. He said, I have not confirmed this, that 2 days before Pope Benedict retired the IMF had revoked its lending of money to the catholic church and 3 days after Pope Francis was elected they reinstalled this practice. Let's go back to that huge lightning bolt striking the vatican.
Personally I agree and the mother in me wants to find a machete and turn the perpetrators into eunuchs. However the issue in the church is not about having abusers examine their consciences and decide if they are at peace with God in their hearts while molesting children. No one thinks that if an abuser is "at peace" with what he is doing that he should be able to go to communion while continuing his sin. That is all nonsense. [/QUOTE] With respect, FS, the bishops of Malta, Germany, and Buenos Aires disagree with you.
The article quoted says this: "This brings us back to our starting point:Amoris Laetitia. From the teaching of popes through history, we must affirm that Pope Francis cannot possibly be in error in his ordinary magisterium concerning issues of faith and morals, and thus his teaching that under certain, carefully considered cases, Holy Communion can be given to persons in irregular situations is perfectly valid and influenced by the Holy Spirit; to come to any other conclusion is to then call into question the teaching authority of previous popes and consequently the entire fabric of Catholicism is called into question. Do we then pick and choose which teachings of which popes to accept? That would be tantamount to a form of Protestantism. The Council of Lyons stated the Pope: “has the duty to defend the truth of the faith, and it is his responsibility to resolve all disputed matters in the area of faith” [11 Even according to this article Pope Francis should clarify what he wants instead of the confusion that is rampant.
