I think all of us scratch our head, in terms of the recent history of clerical sexual abuse, 1960's and forward and how bishops enabled it by not dealing appropriately with this scandal which was also a criminal act. How could bishops simply be pastoral with these miscreants, coddle them, give them cushy institutionalized therapy and return them to active ministry? And to do it repeatedly?
How can the pope disregard canon law concerning an unrepentant sinner promoting the enablement of abortion and in its most gruesome ways and supposedly call him a good Catholic and enables him to receive Holy Communion?
I suspect for bishops who enabled the sex abuse scandal, they felt the priest, while sinful in one area, did many other good things, so let's cut him some slack.
Can it be for this Pope, who agrees that abortion is murder and those who have it or enable it, hire hit men to do it, thinks President Biden's concern for migrants, the poor and climate trumps that or we can ignore one grave area because of the good in other areas?
Thus, you see how the sex abuse scandal and scandal in the Church is dealt with by winks and nods and eventually undermines the whole edifice.
6 comments:
Thank Card Bernardin and the "seamless garment" actually should be called the ripped robe
https://www.wcpo.com/news/national/chicago-archdioces-his-decades-of-child-abuse
It is true that the teaching given to us that is that we are not to judge the sinner. What good would it do for us to judge another of their transgression except to bring judgement on ourselves? We who accept the truth of what has been revealed to us by God through His Holy Church know that abortion is gravely wrong. What is needed from us is that through the intercessory prayers and offering of sacrifices and alms of we the faithful, that those who have committed or are involved in some way in such a serious sin as abortion will come to judge for themselves the wrong the have done and the sin that is within them, and repent, confess the evil thing they are guilty of, and ask the forgiveness of God. This applies also to those in positions of power, authority and influence who promote and fund and enable evil by those who, being weak of faith, are deceived into doing wrong by what is made legal and permissible.
The gay clergy began (in earnest) in the 1950s; by the early 70s many were already bishops. They protect each other and promote each other.
One thing that has been revealed to us in Scripture is the importance and significance of a covenantal relationship.
A Covenant in the spiritual aspect is solemn and binding, and when we fulfill what it requires of us it represents a most beautiful ideal of our connection to God. The Covenant which exists between us and our Creator is the the bond sealed with Divine Love and the Blood of Christ and holding the promise of the relationship that God has with us. It however is not always respected by us, and so the connection can be broken, though the covenant still remains. It is not God who abrogates his relationship with us but it is we who by our actions separate ourselves from Him.
There are numerous passages from Scripture even in the Old Testament which speak of marriage as a covenantal relationship
and also images the relationship of Christ with the Church as being between the Divine Bridegroom and the Bride the union of which whose members comprise the Mystical Body of Christ on earth.
These passages also reveal how important it is that we respect the covenantal relationship.
Isaiah 54:5:
"For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called."
Malachi 2:14-15
"the Lord no longer takes note of your offering or accepts it favorably from your hand. And you say, “Why?”— Because the LORD is witness between you and the wife of your youth with whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion, your covenanted wife."
Have too many of us put it from our minds that God has a Holy and Solemn covenant with us, the members of His Church?
When a bond in marriage is ruptured as is the case with infidelity, then the spouses are no longer in communion with each other and the proper and necessary commitment and unity is no longer present. Though the possibility of the marriage being again made whole is ever present, it remains broken as long as the adultery of the wayward spouse continues.
In such a circumstance, the faithful spouse continuing to honor the marital vow mirrors God who is always faithful to His covenant with us even if we separate ourselves from Him through our unfaithfulness.
When we are out of communion with God by continuing in serious sin, any effective participation in the Eucharist is no longer possible. Without a change in ourselves and repentance,confession,absolution of what we have done to so mortally offend God, in continuing to receive we offend our Holy God even more, do harm to the Body of Christ, individually bring no good upon ourselves, and in some cases bring the risk of grave scandal by giving bad example. There has been a betrayal, and where there is a continuance of betrayal, a relationship of love and respect on the part of the betrayer is no longer in existence. The Divine Holiness has been betrayed and the one who has betrayed should voluntarily refrain from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. In the case where there is public sin and scandalous behavior, a confessor should speak to the transgressor and if the person refuses to refrain from continuing to commit the publicly known serious and grave sin, or is in some way enabling or assisting such sin, what other good option remains but the pastoral response of denying the Eucharist to the impenitent?
George,
That is, seriously, a beautiful and concise explanation of God's covenant with His Church and our personal responsibility to honor such covenants, including our need to remain in a state of grace to receive the sacraments. But it is really even much simpler than that. If Catholic Governor Appeasement J. Bedwetter is an outspoken supporter of abortion "rights" and he repeatedly and publicly proclaims that he is a Catholic and presumes to be a Catholic in good standing, to permit him to receive Holy Communion scandalizes Catholics who ARE faithful to their covenant. And when a careerist bishop complains that he can't bar this guy from Communion because it would cause "division", we already know that's a lot of tripe. The division BEGAN when the governor publicly betrayed his faith and insulted the rest of the Catholics who play by the rules.
Think ye, that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, no; but separation.
One may not do the bad to achieve the good. Simple. The bishop must not neglect disciplining the sinning priest so that priest may do a good. Elaborate explanations just confuse the issue.
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