Hi Light, I read the most wonderful story on Facebook tonight from the USA..I think from Montana. It concerned a young boy from a hard line anti Catholic family who was awakened by a woman voice at night urging him to pray the rosary. He got one, hid it from his family and used to wake up at night at around 2 am to say it. Then he discovered Fulton Sheen reruns on at 2:45 am and crept down to watch them too. At 18 he became a Catholic over his families strenuous objections. A few years later he was involved in the most terrible auto accident in which he suffered terrible brain injuries. Miraculously he recovered causing many of the hospital staff to convert and become Catholic. It was such a huge miracle. I understand he is now studying to become a priest. The Hand of Our Lady is still active. Wonderful.
I'm sorry that David has decided to go - I seldom agreed with him but always enjoyed his contributions. I hope he reconsiders. He showed we can have a good discussion without resorting to insults. This forum has come to mean a great deal to me, but it is what it is: full of human beings. Like myself. But here at least one can speak of the things of God and be understood.
Here's the most recent Arroyo EWTN programme discussing the news from the Vatican and AL: Now, here's an EWTN programme from only last month: It covers a panel discussion about AL, held in Assumption College and hosted by Raymond Arroyo. The panel included two Bishops, one from Massachusetts and the other the former President of the USCCB. Evidently, the discussion took place before Bishop (now Cardinal) Tobin criticised Archbishop Chaput. Anyway, it's clear from the difference in tone of the two programmes that there is a deepening crisis in the Church whether or not the dubia are answered. The December programme also includes an interview with an American exorcist. One remark from the exorcist was especially scary. He said that exorcisms are easier in countries where the Gospel has not yet been widely accepted but that in apostate countries it takes much longer to exorcise the demons from a possessed person. He didn't say it, but I reckon that must have something to do with the evil spirit bringing his friends when he returns to a place he had been driven from. At the end of the programme there's an interview with Eunice Kennedy-Shriver's son, promoting his book about Pope Francis. He's a huge fan of the Pope. I could have linked to a video of just the panel discussion about AL but I thought it would gain me some merit points with the Pope Francis lovers if I posted the link to the full programme that includes the Shriver interview . Pity David's gone. He would have loved that interview and would probably buy the book.
I know who he is. I know what he suffers, I recognise the symptoms, It can be cured. http://www.onepeterfive.com/normalcy-bias-papal-positivism/
To get back to the original topic of this thread; in spite of everything, the Pope is still a Catholic. The Vatican might be shaky, but it's still standing.
Thank you for posting the videos. I, like many others, have no problem with Amore Letitia. I actually took the internal route myself in order to understand better my own situation. The Priest accompanied me, keeping in mind the teachings of the Church on the indissolubility of marriage, and together we were able to discern if my 'marriage' was actually valid or not in the eyes of God. "The internal forum refers to matters of conscience. The most perfect and clear example of judgments in the internal forum would be the Sacrament of Penance. When a person confesses sins, the confessional is the "competent forum" in which the priest is the legitimate judge. The priest judges if the sins are to be remitted or retained (Cf.: John 20:23), what the guilt of the penitent is and, therefore, what the appropriate penance is for the sinner. No other forum or judge can usurp the judgment given in the confessional and, of course, the confessional remains absolutely inviolate under any circumstances and cannot be a matter of public record (Code of Canon Law [CIC], canon 983 § 1 & 2)." God Bless You
The Vatican has always been shaky. Jesus knew it would be battered from within and without....but He did promise that the .".....gates wouldn't prevail.." .Praise God!
I was unaware of this internal forum! That does shead a new light on the matter. For me anyway. Can this internal forum then lead to annulment if activated by say....... the united claim of the claimant and the accompanying priest? Are others aware of this?
For some it will lead to taking the external route...annulment process. Others may be led to realise their marriage is truly valid. There are many receiving Holy Communion now who mistakenly believe their first marriage was null. A good spiritual director will have them search their hearts..and as I said previously, always keeping the teachings of the Church in mind. This will help them realise they are offending God by their actions. Someone who comes to the correct conclusion that they truly have grounds for an annulment but have no witnesses etc are the ones Pope Benedict spoke about when he said...Something will have to be done here..we need further investigation nd study. ( paraphrasing) Its not so cut and dry as people make out. What is certain though is that a true marriage cannot be broken. God Bless You
Were both you and the man you were living with baptised Catholics? If so how did the priest explain to you that he had permission to give you Holy Communion if you had no intention of living in continence? Can you quote precisely the words and context of what you have paraphrased from Pope Benedict? Paraphrases are certainly never cut and dried. What is certain is that Pope John Paul's reason for denying Communion to people in your situation (if you were Catholic and living in an invalid sexual union) wasn't based merely on objective culpability which is explained in the panel discussion in the second video, and was also stated in Pope John Paul's encyclical. What you are describing is that you and the priest decided to disobey the Pope who had based his decision on Sacred Scripture and Tradition. What if the Tribunal had ruled that your first marriage had been valid, would you and the priest have continued disobeying the Pope's instructions on Communion for the divorced and remarried, making you both your own little Synod and each of you your own little Pope? If it was ok for you and your convenient "Spiritual Director" to disobey the Pope, then why wouldn't it be ok for African priests to give Communion to polygamists?
I'm beginning to ... what was Billary's infamous quote? .. something about suspending disbelief? I can't believe what this thread has devolved into.... Combination Self appointed Canon Lawyers, Marriage Counselors and Knowers of the Mind of God dispensing God's & The Church's absolute Truth-n-Justice on ..... Past time to tend to more pressing matters, Methink!! GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
