Pope Francis’s revolution has been cancelled:
Here’s the beginning of the Guardian’s report on Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love), Pope Francis’s response to the Synod on the Family:
Pope Francis has called for the Catholic church to revamp its response to modern family life, striking a delicate balance between a more accepting tone towards gay people and the defence of traditional church teachings on issues such as abortion.
In a landmark papal document entitled Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love), Francis outlined his vision for the church on family issues, urging priests to respond to their communities without mercilessly enforcing church rules: “Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs,” he wrote.
Can you spot what’s missing? Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. That’s because the document doesn’t mention it – except in a confusing footnote referring to how the Church can help such Catholics grow in grace:
As Private Eye would say: er, that’s it.
Some quick reactions:
1. Francis has many interesting things to say in Amoris Laetitia, which reads in places like a self-help manual, but they don’t include changes of the rules regarding hot-button subjects. His mood music is gentler than that of his predecessors, but then it was already. Andrew Brown of the Guardian says that Francis has ‘lost this battle for reform’ and that this statement represents ‘a draw between liberals and conservatives’. I’m not sure how a lost battle can also be a draw, but then Brown has a vivid imagination.
2. Catholic liberals had guessed that the Pope wasn’t going to readmit divorced-and-remarried people to Communion. They pinned their hopes on an announcement that bishops’ conferences would be given the power to bend the rules fairly dramatically. That’s not happening either. This exhortation encourages priests to reach spiritual accommodation with repentant divorcees – but the only hint that this may include admitting them to Holy Communion is banished to the above footnote. ‘But the devil is in the footnote,’ conservatives are wailing already. Oh, please. If the ‘devil’ (i.e. liberals) has achieved his aim, why are the proponents of ‘reform’ in such despair today?
3. Gay people get some familiar reassurances about their dignity as human beings etc but also scare quotes around same-sex ‘marriage’, which is roundly condemned. I’ve always said Francis wasn’t interested in secular gay rights and this exhortation bears that out.
4. In effect the Pope has decided not to go down the route of the Anglican Communion, which devolves major questions of doctrine and pastoral practice to local churches. That’s wise of him, because look what happened to international Anglicanism.
5. The Kasperites have been dumped, effectively. Hardline German liberals must be asking themselves why Francis encouraged them so extravagantly, then squashed their ambitions.
6. The answer lies in the proceedings of the 2015 Synod, where the liberals were outmanoeuvred by (among others) ferociously orthodox African bishops. Of whom more later.
MY COMMENTS: THANK GOD FOR THE AFRICANS AND FOR THE RECORDED RACIST STATEMENT ABOUT AFRICANS THAT CARDINAL KASPER MADE TO THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER'S JOURNALIST EDWARD PENTIN AND THEN TO KASPER'S BALDFACED LIE THAT HE HAD NOT SAID IT ONLY TO HAVE THE RECORDED STATEMENT RELEASED TO PROVE HE HAD SAID IT AND HE WAS A LIAR IN DENYING IT! THE HOLY SPIRIT AND AFRICANS SAVED THE CHURCH. THE HOLY SPIRIT ALWAYS DOES!
9 comments:
This document seems aimed at the one percent of priests who denounce, from the pulpit and in the confessional, the sins of concubinage, divorce and sodomy. There's really nothing in the document that the other 99% priests will find challenging or innovative. I mention only priests because I seriously doubt that many laymen will read it (or any other papal documents from any popes).
2. "Catholic liberals had guessed that the Pope wasn’t going to readmit divorced-and-remarried people to Communion. They pinned their hopes on an announcement that bishops’ conferences would be given the power to bend the rules fairly dramatically. That’s not happening either. This exhortation encourages priests to reach spiritual accommodation with repentant divorcees – but the only hint that this may include admitting them to Holy Communion is banished to the above footnote. ‘But the devil is in the footnote,’ conservatives are wailing already. Oh, please. If the ‘devil’ (i.e. liberals) has achieved his aim, why are the proponents of ‘reform’ in such despair today?"
Are the liberals in despair today? I have read where they've insisted that the door to Communion for adulterers has been opened.
Father Mark Drew acknowledged the following: "So where is the revolution Cardinal Kasper has been promising (or threatening)? Essentially it all depends on what happens next. Those who wanted the most contentious issue settled so they can get on with life peacefully are likely to be disappointed.
"Liberals like Kasper will exploit the openings they will spot, notably on implications of the relation of individual consciences to universal norms."
To return to Damien Thompson, he contradicted himself when he said the following:
"Can you spot what’s missing? Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics."
But then he added the following: That’s because the document doesn’t mention it – except in a confusing footnote referring to how the Church can help such Catholics grow in grace:"
He then said that the "exhortation encourages priests to reach spiritual accommodation with repentant divorcees – but the only hint that this may include admitting them to Holy Communion is banished to the above footnote."
Therefore, the Apostolic Exhortation mentions, via a "hint", that divorced and remarried Catholics may receive Holy Communion.
Again, Damien Thompson declared that allowance for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion is missing from the Exhortation...but he also declared that the Exhortation contains a "hint" that allows divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion.
Okay. I have it. I got it. The Apostolic Exhortation does not mention that adulterers may receive Holy Communion. The Exhortation does, via a "hint," open the door to the reception of Holy Communion by adulterers.
That settles that. Divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Holy Communion...but the door has been opened for them to receive Holy Communion.
Oooookay. Good, clear teaching.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
MT, that footnote does not refer to Holy Communion but Confession as Cardinal Schonborn has made abundantly clear! Non sequitur!
Those unfamiliar with the British press should be aware that the Guardian is extremely left-wing and most of its (very few) readers hold the Catholic Church and Christianity in general in contempt. However, the BBC (which is supposed to be impartial) and sundry local authority quangos only advertise employment vacancies in its classified pages, thus assuring that applicants are politically correct.
The (London) Times reverted to its 19th century anti-Catholic stance about ten years ago. The Daily Telegraph, despite its Conservative affiliation (it's usually referred to as the Torygraph) suffers from journalists who on religious matters are ill-informed. The advent of the internet has made newspapers fairly irrelevant anyway.
The Spectator (a weekly magazine) has for a long time been reliable in reporting on Catholic affairs, and Damian Thompson is continuing a tradition established by Auberon Waugh and Alice Thomas Ellis. The once-respected Tablet is now a heterodox rag akin to the National Catholic Reporter. The Catholic Herald greatly improved when William Oddie took over about fifteen years ago, but is now only available in magazine format with a greatly hiked pricetag.
When it comes to the internet, there are some reliable blogs out there, and Fr Hunwicke's 'Mutual Enrichment' blog is the most erudite and entertaining. Joseph Shaw's 'LMS Chairman's' blog is well worth visiting.
I have to confess that I find Fr Z opinionated and bullying, and his obsession with the US gun culture is disturbing. (I've nothing against firearms as such, and have fired everything from a 9mm pistol to the Divisional Artillery). Last week I had the temerity to correct his Latin and rather than argue his case he simply deleted my comment.
Southern Orders is one of the best Catholic blogs I have encountered, and the fact that it reflects differing viewpoints adds to its strength. Your sparring with Fr Kavanaugh is entertaining, and what he writes is always worth reading. Even trolls like Gob provide comic relief.
Father, I do hope that the Holy father makes that abundantly clear. It would be helpful if the Vatican issued some Pastoral guidelines to clear up any confusion, misinterpretation, or misunderstanding about certain parts of the Exhortation.
John Nolan,
You're comments add much value to this fine blog.
By the way, I've been banned from Fr. Zed's blog. He really needs his own parish, which I think would temper his attitude. He doesn't seem to be accountable to anyone but himself. He was, however, a great asset during the brief BXVI years.
I understand the desire to describe this text as a clear affirmation of tradition, but its point is to state--clearly--that individual circumstances suffer when clear principals are applied. It's hard for me to agree, but I'm trying to accept the possibility that he's right. At any rate, if one must defend the clarity of the document, then it's clearly not clear.
I'm just throwing up my hands regarding the Church right now. Despite all the irresponsible, ambiguous, downright heterodox things this Pope has said and done, he issues one writing and everybody says, "Wow, he's so great, so cool, so orthodox. He really didn't mean all that stuff. We just misunderstood him. Oooh, Ahhh, wonderful!!!" So, now we have a Church where the practice is clearly going to be "Let the good times roll! Anything goes!" You might as well toss communion wafers out to the congregation broadcast like feeding chickens. Why even have private Confession anymore...why not just have Communal Confession like the Lutherans, whom the Pope also seems to think are just like us.
Father McDonald, thank you for your comment.
I noted simply that it was Damien Thompson who said that the footnote is a "hint that this may include admitting them to Holy Communion..." He also insisted that the footnote is "confusing".
I also noted that Father Drew said that Churchmen such as Cardinal Kasper "will exploit the openings they will spot, notably on implications of the relation of individual consciences to universal norms."
I didn't say that there are "openings" and a "hint" in the Exhortation that could lead to Holy Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Post a Comment