Irregular relationships and Pope Francis

"The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans (FS), which says it’s possible to give “non-liturgical blessings” to people in “irregular relationships” (divorced and remarried, living together, same-“couples"), on December 18, 2023. The very next day, a photograph of Fr. James Martin, S.J. blessing a same-sex “couple,” who had been civilly married some time earlier, appeared in the New York Times, though the document had warned against that kind of public attention. Ten days later, Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, who “identifies as Catholic” and was once a stout defender of marriage, cited FS for his shift to supporting same-sex marriage, saying “even the Church is changing.” "

I don't even know the meaning of several of the English words in this paragraph let alone the Latin! But even as a Lutheran from an anabaptist background I could have told you what the press and liberal Christians would do with it. The same as I knew what legal medical marijuana would do to the market for legal recreational gateway drugs.

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2024/01/02/by-their-fruits/?

Pope Francis allows blessings of couples in same-sex relationships | America Magazine

Doctrinal dicastery explains how, when gay couples can be blessed | USCCB

Happy Anniversary Vatican II

Today is the anniversary of the convening of Vatican II, October 11, 1962. 60th anniversaries don't get the hoop-la of 50th, but the document and changes (1962-1965) are still being analyzed, discussed and argued about. It was an attempt to put a 2,000 year old religion with 4,000 year old roots into the contemporary world. Maybe it was just the 60s and all we associate with those changes or maybe Pope John XXIII (who didn't live very long) really will go down in history as the man who made all Christians study more, speak differently and challenge authority about everything.

Of all the changes I will just address the language. Latin was (and still is) the official language of the Roman Catholic Church, but Vatican II without changing any content did completely change understanding of the lay person by introducing the vernacular (native or heart language) into public worship.

 
Christians evangelizing after the Resurrection of Jesus originally spoke Greek--it was a "world" language. Jesus and his disciples didn't speak or read Hebrew, but spoke Aramaic, a Hebrew dialect and used a Greek version of the Scriptures (Septuagint), what we now call the Old Testament. That worked pretty good for a few centuries, but by then Latin was the language of influence, literature and business everyone used in the Roman kingdom. St. Jerome is known for his massive efforts to get the Holy Scriptures (both old and new) into the people's language--now called the Latin Vulgate. Pieces of scripture were always available in the native language, but that was for personal use, not public worship. And today, none of us whether we speak English, or German or Russian, would even recognize any of those translations from the Greek. That's how language is--always changing--and English has more words than any other western language. Because "the sun never set on the Union Jack" and the sailors took the King James Bible with them, English has more borrowed and foreign terms than any other language.

Now to today. The latest language squabble in the Church is that Pope Francis has decided to stop use of the Latin Mass, even though millions of devout Catholics think the documents of Vatican II never say NOT to use it, only that the vernacular is best used to encourage the faithful. They LOVE the Latin Mass. Latin is still used in all official documents concerning doctrine, worship, and law. So that change has made some Catholics really unhappy. And ironically, Francis' demands were issued in Latin. Pope Francis restricts celebration of traditional Latin Mass (catholiceducation.org)

We see constant changes in our language without a pope or church--this coming from Twitter, Tech, Academe, the prison population and particularly from Marxist based manipulation. Truth is now "my truth," and "racism" applies only to people of a large swath of Europe. "Community," "narrative," "gender," "transition," and even "Constitution" have been twisted and reconfigured to meet a political agenda. 

And yet so many intelligent, educated people can no longer define what a woman is! St. Jerome is rolling in the grave.

What's going on with Pope Francis?

On March 12, Pope Francis went to the Jesuit Church of the Gesú in Rome for a Mass on the occasion of the 400^th anniversary of the canonizations of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. The pope preached at the Mass and concelebrated. He had earlier been scheduled to be the principal celebrant, but Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, for some reason, was the principal celebrant instead.
           
          Liturgical theology and law do not countenance that a bishop, let alone the diocesan bishop in his own diocese, concelebrate Mass with a priest as the principal celebrant (apart from a grave necessity, such as infirmity). This flows from the nature of the episcopal office: the bishop is the high priest in his diocese. He offers the sacrifice of the Mass for his people, while his priests, co-workers who serve the local Church under his authority, concelebrate with him.

 The Mass began with the usual entrance procession. Pope Francis was already seated in a chair near the altar. He wore no liturgical vestments, and thus gave no indication that he was either concelebrating or presiding. He preached without wearing the liturgical garments (mozetta, rochet, and stole) that are prescribed to be worn when the preacher is not the one celebrating the Mass. 

He concelebrated, extending his hand and saying the words of consecration, without wearing Mass vestments (alb, stole, and chasuble). This practice is strictly forbidden. In its 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, the Congregation for Divine Worship stated: “The abuse is reprobated whereby the sacred ministers celebrate Holy Mass or other rites without sacred vestments.”
 

More at The Catholic Thing, https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2022/03/22/papal-abuse-of-liturgical-law/

We Protestants are just happy when the pastor doesn't wear jeans with holes and athletic shoes.

If I’m disappointed, imagine how Catholics must feel!

A big nothingburger.

“The summit’s very title (“The Protection of Minors in the Church”) and agenda limited the focus to the sexual abuse of minors. Not only is the abuse of minors egregious, it is criminal, and must be met with the strongest penalties. However, as the Theodore McCarrick case illustrates, the problem is more widespread than the abuse of minors. His abuse of at least two underage boys was preceded by many complaints. Even more widespread were the rumors of his sexual harassment of seminarians and younger priests. As has been well documented, even though many prelates in this country and in Rome knew of his behavior, there was little correction. Further, the restrictions that were finally placed upon him were largely ignored. His status as an active player in crucial Church matters, including international diplomacy and the advancement of men in the episcopacy, was effectively restored.

A tremendous opportunity to restore credibility to the Church was missed in failing to review and criticize the structures and decisions that allowed Theodore McCarrick to advance, failing to identify and call to account those responsible for it, and failing to discuss specific credible charges related to the overall sexual abuse crisis in any substantial way. . .

A summit purporting to address the sexual abuse of minors that ignores the high correlation between homosexual attraction and sexual abuse by clergy has no more credibility than a summit on lung cancer that ignores the link to smoking. Not only does this glaring omission strain the credibility of the conference, it makes its deliberations and conclusions seem largely irrelevant.”

Msgr. Charles Pope http://www.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/why-the-summit-fell-flat-and-what-might-happen-next

Bishops disappoint, but Pope even more so

“The annual Fall Meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which took place in Baltimore earlier this week, was a disappointment on many levels. Yet there were also moments of light and strength coming from a good number of bishops. They spoke with clarity, acknowledging the seriousness of the crisis both in terms of the need to bring some semblance of justice to the victims and of the faltering credibility of the Church. Some even made the forbidden connection of the crisis to active homosexuals in the priesthood. Still others lamented the collective silence on sexual morality, wondering how many bishops and clergy do not believe what the Church teaches.”

Even if he [Pope Francis] were to say, “I made a serious error in judgment and I ask the mercy and forgiveness of God’s people,” many people would do so, even if with sadness. Instead, the Pope has declared that he will “not say one word on this.” Even worse, he subsequently referred to those who have asked for answers and investigations as “a pack of wild dogs,” “scandal-mongers,” and “those in league with the Great Accuser.” This is no way to treat God’s faithful. . .”

Full article in National Catholic Register. http://www.ncregister.com/blog/msgr-pope/the-pope-owns-this

The Pope is still part of the problem, according to many Catholics

"There are three takeaways from the announcement that came from the Vatican on Wednesday, of a gathering of the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences (in February 2019) to discuss “the protection of minors”:

1) the pope is closing the barn door after the horse got out;
2) the C9 cardinals had to twist the pope’s arm to close the door;
3) when it comes to the moral rot in the clergy, high and low, the pope is still part of the problem.
Christopher Altieri, The Catholic Thing, https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/09/14/two-on-the-crisis/

Before 21st century Christians, particularly the non-Catholics, get their feathers fluffed and fur standing on end so they can look bigger, let's just remember that all the reprimands Paul wrote to the churches in the first century concerned all these sins--pornography, pederasty, false gods, impiety, every wickedness known to man, mutual degradation, worship of a creature, insolence, scandals in the church, gossip, murder, and so forth. Or, look at the revelation Jesus gave John with descriptions of the church--again first century--the favorite apostle was still alive and the Christians were already stumbling! People were claiming to be apostles who weren't! Members of the assembly of Satan! Kneeling at Satan's throne! Holding to the teachings of Balaam! Listened to a fake prophetess! Harlots! Incomplete works and a dead church.

To each of the 7 churches, Jesus says, "I know your works."

The Church's response to Islam

 William Kirkpatrick, The Catholic Thing

"Ironically, one of the factors that is driving people out of the [Catholic] Church is its response to Islamic terror. After every terrorist attack, the Vatican (or some prominent bishop) assures us that the violence has nothing to do with Islam, which we are told is a “religion of peace” – a response not a whit different from the politically correct, secular liberal response.

In fact, Church leaders often put secular leaders to shame in their advocacy for Islam. The Obama administration called for the admittance of 10,000 Syrian refugees; the USCCB called for 100,000. When European leaders began to admit that Muslim migration should be restricted for the sake of national security, Pope Francis responded by insisting that the safety of migrants was more important than national security."

And before you think this is just a Catholic problem, you can hear the same thing in Main Line Protestant churches--just different "authorities." He continues.

"As recently as ten days ago, on the anniversary of 9/11, Pope Francis declared that religions “cannot desire anything other than peace.” Well, technically, yes. Islam desires peace – except that Islamic scholars say that peace can only be achieved by the subjugation of the entire world to Islam.

Church leaders haven’t quite figured out that when Islam talks peace it really means war, but ordinary Catholics are not so Pollyannaish. And as the gap widens between what the hierarchy says about Islam and what Catholics can see with their own eyes, we can expect that many more Catholics will become alienated from the Church."

Pope Francis, what's going on?

I'm not a Catholic (I'm Lutheran), but even I know the recent decision (word? opinion? comment? letter? leak?) by the Pope about divorced and remarried Catholics (considered adultery by the church) receiving Holy Communion is going to be very divisive. 500 years ago a not so important man named Martin Luther decided to change 1500 years of church teaching, ignoring the teachings of Jesus, all the church fathers, reinterpreting the writings of Paul and eliminating some books of the Bible; and it started wars, chaos, splits, and evolved into 35,000 denominations many of which don't even call themselves Protestants (called Bible churches, or non-denominational), nor believe in the Trinity, baptism or communion. If Luther could have seen what would come of his agonized searching for peace with God, he probably would have stayed in his house and just continued translating.

Jihad, the President and the Pope

Not a good time to be an American Catholic--both our President and Pope are messing with marriage! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLFyB-DxzmQ

If you watch the whole June 24 segment of The World Over (EWTN), it includes Dr. Sebastian Gorka, counterinsurgency expert and Distinguished Chair of Military Theory at Marine Corps University to discuss the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Orlando, the DOJ/FBI response and his new book, Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War. There is a concerted effort by this administration to disconnect the dots where the threat of Islamic terrorism is concerned. The surge of foreign born Islamic terrorists (many stopped) under Obama is frightening. Democrats can't wish it away or rename it a hate crime or refuse to name it what Mateen called it. Changing his word Allah to God the way Lynch has done is just insulting.

Then next, Pope Francis on marriage--Fr Gerald Murray, Robert Royal and Raymond Arroyo, the host. People are very upset with what the Pope has said about marriage. And if you think it doesn't matter because you're a Lutheran or Calvinist or Methodist, think again.  The Catholics have a much higher view of marriage whether or not the couple in the pew choses to obey.  He seems to want to lower the bar. Marriage is already under attack--this isn't helping. Marriage isn't what we said or thought in Sept 1960--every day we need to renew our commitment. If he wants people to come back to Christ, this isn't the way to do it.

A little history about the Pope's visit to Armenia

"In 301 AD, twelve years before Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, King Tiridates III made Christianity the official religion of Armenia, the first national ruler to do so. The Armenians were subsequently conquered by the Romans, Arabs, Persians, Ottomans, and Soviets. In 1915, the Young Turks government attempted to exterminate them, massacring 1.5 million. In 1988, an earthquake killed up to 50,000 Armenians. That same year, a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan claimed tens of thousands of lives. . .According to a 2012 survey, 92 percent of Armenians consider themselves religious, the third-highest percentage anywhere (in the United States it’s 60 percent)." https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2016/06/25/pope-francis-and-the-armenian-church/

If you read the whole article, you'll notice the author isn't a fan of Pope Francis.    He has dual citizenship, U.S. and Poland. Big fan of John Paul II.

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/4850/how_saint_john_paul_ii_conquered_communism.aspx


 

AMORIS LAETITIA (The Joy of Love)

 It seems I've read every imaginable explanation--and no one is happy with this document.  Could Pope Francis have been more vague and unclear? Can the church no longer use the word adultery because it would hurt someone's feelings?  World Over, April 4, 2016, with Raymond Arroyo, Father Gerald Murray and Robert Royal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee8f6IuWCZE


 

https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2016/04/23/reflections-on-amoris-laetitia/

 http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/amoris-laetitia-and-the-constant-teaching-and-practice-of-the-church/

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otn.cfm?ID=1147

 http://www.onepeterfive.com/the-bishop-schneider-intervention-distilled/