Bishop Barron wrote a letter to his diocese about being away for 5 weeks in Rome for the Synod on Synodality. You can read it in full HERE.
This is the last part. I don’t know if it was written before Pope Francis answered the dubia. But Barron gets it:
If I might, I would also like to share a concern about the synod. Based upon the hundreds of interventions I read when I was monitoring the pre-synodal process in my pastoral region in California, upon the findings of the Continental stage, and upon the Instrumentum Laboris itself, I would say that the dominant concern of those who participated is to provide a greater sense of welcome to those who feel alienated from the life of the Church. The people they have in mind include especially women and those in the LGBT community.
Now, addressing feelings of alienation and trying to make the Church as welcoming as possible is always a legitimate pastoral concern. Always.
But some have been suggesting that the synod ought to consider a change in the Church’s moral teaching and sacramental discipline in order to make alienated Catholics feel more included. And here I hesitate, precisely because feelings, however intense, do not in themselves constitute a theological argument. There are a variety of reasons — some good, some bad — why a person might feel unwelcome in the Church. If that alienation is the product of hatred or stupid prejudice, then the situation must be addressed immediately and directly. But if the estrangement is caused by a deep disconnect between what the Church legitimately demands and the manner in which someone is living, then the needful thing is for that person to change his attitude.
The point is that we cannot adjudicate the matter by remaining at the level of feelings. We have to move to the level of real argument based on the Bible, the theological tradition, and the natural moral law. My very real hope is that the engagement of both the pastoral and properly theological dimensions of this issue of inclusivity will be a key work of the synod.
Could I ask you please to pray for me and for all of the delegates to the synod as we commence our work? And might I ask that your prayer take the form of a simple invocation of the Holy Spirit?
3 comments:
As hard as we look for positive signs about this synod, grasping for whatever vestiges of orthodoxy are left, I can't help but think that this is just one of many "reassurances" we are being fed--and by Barron, it might even be sincere--but this sort of noise is only going to distract us from the incremental desconstruction that is coming.
Please, dear God, I pray I am wrong.
In the answer to the newest Dubia, penned by Bergoglio/Fernandez/Ladaria (or who knows?) we are told:
"In dealing with people, however, we must not lose the pastoral charity that must permeate all our decisions and attitudes. The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity, which is also made up of kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot become judges who only deny, reject, exclude."
"For this reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage. For when a blessing is requested, one is expressing a request for help from God, a plea for a better life, a trust in a Father who can help us to live better."
This mamby-pamby psuedo-pastoral gobbledygook has already been seized by the secular press as their long awaited sign that the Church is finally going to accept homosexuality and is moving towards same-sex pretend marriages. Just read the headlines:
NPR:
"POPE SUGGESTS BLESSINGS FOR SAME SEX UNIONS MAY BE POSSIBLE"
ABC NEWS:
"POPE SUGGESTS BLESSINGS FOR SAME-SEX UNIONS POSSIBLE IN RESPONSE TO 5 CONSERVATIVE CARDINALS"
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:
"POPE FRANCIS SOFTENS VATICAN'S BAN ON BLESSING GAY COUPLES"
THE WASHINGTON POST:
"POPE FRANCIS SIGNALS OPENNESS TO BLESSINGS FOR GAY COUPLES AHEAD OF SYNOD"
THE HILL:
"POPE FRANCIS APPEARS TO OPEN DOOR TO ALTERNATE BLESSINGS FOR GAY COUPLES"
This kind of ambiguity and doublespeak is not a zealous defense of orthodoxy, which every Catholic has a reasonable expectation to get from their popes. Given the pattern of all the remaining flits in the priesthood, it is only a matter of time before some priest (outside of Germany) starts trying to pull this sh_t and "bless" Wayne and Bruce and their pet chihuahua, followed by a reception with a Judy Garland impersonator in drag.
When that happens, hopefully, the bishop of such a place needs to come down on that priest with an iron fist. If one of those bishops happens to be Barron, I'll change my cynicism to admiration. Until then, it's all hot air, with the stench of sulphur.
The good bishop makes one fundamental error in his analysis of the synod responses he reviewed. That error was the failure to take into account the participation rate of the faithful. When one looks only at the responses, one misses the fact that most of the lay faithful ignored the synod. Most who attended had an axe to grind and wanted to the Church to become something she was not. Perspective is important. Good answer nonetheless.
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