Kudos to Cardinal O’Brien! I knew Cardinal O’Brien when he was just a lowly Army Chaplain at Fort Gordon, Georgia, recently changed to Fort Eisenhower, in Augusta, Georgia way back in the early 1970’s, a time we are currently reliving. He knows my name too! I ran into him many years ago inside Saint Peter’s Basilica and he remembered my name.
This is what LifeSite News reports and it is good news:
Retired American Cardinal Edwin O’Brien has signed his name to LifeSite’s petition urging bishops to prohibit the blessing of homosexual “couples.”
Cardinal O’Brien offered his support after LifeSiteNews had emailed the petition to the bishops and cardinals of the Catholic Church. Over 22,000 people have now signed.
In a brief statement sent to LifeSiteNews via email, O’Brien, who retired in 2019 after serving as the head of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Rome since 2011, emphasized that as one of the prelates involved in the founding of Courage – a Catholic apostolate formed in 1980 to aid those suffering from same-sex attractions – he is particularly disappointed with the Vatican’s document Fiducia Supplicans as it “seriously undermines their pledge to live a life of virtue.”
O’Brien emphasized that Courage was founded to help those suffering with same-sex attraction to live “committed to a chaste life in full accordance with solid Church teachings,” and that such people are “ill-served” by the “ambiguous” Fiducia Supplicans.
O’Brien, ordained in 1965, had a lengthy career as a churchman, during which he served as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Military Services, USA, as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of New York.
17 comments:
All well and good, and I respect Cardinal O'Brien's willingness to sign on, BUT what we need is open resistance from existing members of the hierarchy in the USA who are willing to similarly put themselves out there without fear of Francis' rebuke. Where is Cardinal O'Malley, Cardinal Dolan, my bishop, Bishop Da Cuhna, Bishop Parks...both of them etc? There are not enough of our current leaders, that I know of, who are publicly telling Francis NO NO NO NO MORE!! We the faithful, are tired of the mostly feckless church leaders in this country who spend their days trying to thread the needle. They ultimately stand for nothing.
Father McDonald said..."I HAVE WONDERED WHAT THOSE WHO PROMOTE “COURAGE” HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT F******S********* AND NOW I KNOW. Kudos to Cardinal O’Brien! O’Brien emphasized that Courage was founded to help those suffering with same-sex attraction to live “committed to a chaste life in full accordance with solid Church teachings,” and that such people are “ill-served” by the “ambiguous” Fiducia Supplicans."
Father, in regard to Fiducia Supplicans: Cardinal O'Brien is at odds with Courage.
Courage International has pronounced in favor of Fiducia Supplicans. Courage has insisted that Fiducia Supplicans is orthodox, and of spiritual benefit to Holy Mother Church.
Courage declared that Fiducia Supplicans "was intended to develop a deeper appreciation of the pastoral meaning of simple blessings. There is a clear reiteration that this development in no way changes Church teaching on the Sacrament of Marriage and sexuality, contrary to many news reports and social media posts."
Courage added: "Much of the coverage — both secular and Catholic — has been presented in such a way as to enflame our emotions which inhibits our ability to hear the voice of Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life or to objectively apply our reason to the arguments."
Courage's statement in question concluded: "With God’s help, we will continue proclaiming and “living the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), we will always be faithful to the Holy Catholic Church, and we shall remain so by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and by humble obedience to Christ's Vicar on Earth, the Pope."
In regard to Fiducia Supplicans (and beyond):
Cardinal O'Brien, as well as LifeSite, would do well to heed Courage's beautiful declaration to "always be faithful to the Holy Catholic Church, and we shall remain so by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and by humble obedience to Christ's Vicar on Earth, the Pope."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
MT I am shocked you disobey the pope who approved of Africa’s dissent of FS:
VATICAN CITY, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said in an interview published on Monday that Africans were a "special case" in the opposition of bishops and many other people in the continent to homosexuality as blessing sexually active gay couples or groups.
Father McDonald, I am happy to discuss Pope Francis' supposed approval of dissent in regard to Fiducia Supplicans.
I responded initially to your statement that you "HAVE WONDERED WHAT THOSE WHO PROMOTE “COURAGE” HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT F******S********* AND NOW I KNOW."
The following is is not knock against you: Father, you were unware as to how Courage has viewed Fiducia Supplicans.
Again, Courage International, in opposition to Cardinal O'Brien's, as well as Lifesite's negative assessment of Fiducia Supplicans, has made it clear that said document is orthodox, and of spiritual benefit to Holy Mother Church.
In holy, beautiful fashion, Courage has also reminded us that "to always be faithful to the Holy Catholic Church," we must remain in "humble obedience to Christ's Vicar on Earth, the Pope."
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Father, Deo volente, and with your permission, I will respond soon to your statement: "MT I am shocked you disobey the pope who approved of Africa’s dissent of FS:"
Thank you.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father McDonald said..."MT I am shocked you disobey the pope who approved of Africa’s dissent of FS:"
Father, in regard to Fiducia Supplicans: How has Pope Francis permitted "dissent"?
The Church has reiterated the following:
-- "The understandable statements of some Episcopal Conferences regarding the document Fiducia supplicans have the value of highlighting the need for a more extended period of pastoral reflection."
-- "What is expressed by these Episcopal Conferences cannot be interpreted as doctrinal opposition, because the document is clear and definitive about marriage and sexuality."
-- "Evidently, there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this Declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous."
None of the above permits "dissent" from Fiducia Supplicans.
In addition:
-- There are bishops in Africa who have declared that they will implement Fiducia Supplicans.
-- In regard to the statement issued by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), which represents all of the African bishops’ conferences:
Fiducia Supplicans is recognized as orthodox. The statement declared that via Fiducia Supplicans, “the Church’s doctrine on Christian marriage and sexuality remains unchanged.”
The statement recognizes that each bishop is Africa is free to implement Fiducia Supplicans.
Via their SECAM statement, the bishops of Africa reaffirmed "their unwavering attachment to the Successor of Peter, their communion with him, and their fidelity to the Gospel."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
I had thought about the following this morning. It is interesting that LifeSite has presented Cardinal Edwin O’Brien in a favorable light as LifeSite has a history of having promoted claims that Cardinal Edwin O’Brien is part of the Church's homosexual mafia.
Michael Voris, for example, covered his homosexuality via his supposed opposition to homosexuality.
If we take seriously LifeSite's promotion of claims that Cardinal O'Brien is part of the homosexual mafia, then has the Cardinal acted, if you will, in Michael Voris-like fashion by having attacked Fiducia Supplicans' merciful treatment of people attracted to the same sex?
Anyway, the following stories are from LifeSite:
-- A who’s who of the Viganò testimony. A guide to the high-ranking churchmen Archbishop Viganò mentioned in his testimony about Vatican cover-up of McCarrick abuse.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/a-whos-who-of-the-vigano-testimony1/
VATICAN CITY, August 28, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Former apostolic nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has made serious allegations about a number of prelates and personalities in the Roman Catholic Church, many of whom he accuses of having protected the disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Here is a guide to the high-ranking men the archbishop mentioned in his testimony.
"Cardinal Edwin Frederick O’Brien – b. 1939, created Cardinal by Benedict XVI, Archbishop Emeritus of Baltimore; Viganò identified him as a member of a homosexualist party in the Vatican."
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https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archbishop-vigano-vatican-abuse-summit-ignores-real-problem-pope-has-lost-c/
LifeSiteNews:
"In his first testimony, in which he said that Pope Francis knew about then-Cardinal McCarrick’s sexual predation on young priests and seminarians, Viganò alleged Vatican insiders...Cardinal Edwin Frederick O’Brien...belonged to a “homosexual current."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
In regard to LifeSite and Cardinal O'Brien:
Among my points is that LifeSite has, for years, promoted the notion that Cardinal O'Brien is part of the alleged homosexual mafia within the Church.
I have not encountered information that has supported that claim in question. But if we are to believe the claim in question, then the Cardinal is a danger to the Church.
However, John-Henry Westen (LifeSite) is able suddenly to weaponize Cardinal O'Brien against Pope Francis. Therefore, LifeSite is willing to shut its mouth in regard to the notion that Cardinal O'Brien, a supposed part of the Lavender Mafia, represents a tremendous danger supposedly to Holy Mother Church.
That demonstrates LifeSite's two-faced nature. That demonstrates the disturbing length that LifeSite will go to attack/defame the Vicar of Christ.
That is what His Holiness is up against in regard to such entities as LifeSite.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
MT, if the good Cardinal is a chaste homosexual, then he has a great deal of credibility on this subject. But keep in mind, the legacy of Pope Francis will be canceling two great popes and their initiatives. The next pope can easily rehabilitate those two great popes by canceling Pope Francis. Pope Francis has opened that door to him being cancelied too especially his overturning of SP and his ill advised FS. Thank you Pope Francis.
Mark Thomas,
One dissents against Church teaching, not statements of individual bishops or even of non-infallible statements of the pope. Fiducia Supplicans is not an infallible statement and is contrary to the universal and ordinary Magisterium of the Church. Opposition to it is not dissent but merely disagreement.
In regard to your statements about LifeSite and Cardinal O'Brien: shame on you! They are nothing but ad hominem attacks and do not address the issue at hand. I had expected better of you.
Regards,
Anthony
PF’s legacy will be a cruel, duplicitous, empty cassock
An excellent statement here on FS by Bishop Liam Cary, diocese of Baker, Or.:
https://dioceseofbaker.org/to-bless-or-not-to-bless-on-the-vatican-declaration-fiducia-supplicans
Catechist Kev,
You just identified the next bishop Pope Merciful will remove!
TJM,
He's at retirement age anyway (77) so I guess he figured he had nothing to lose. 😁
Father McDonald said..."MT, if the good Cardinal is a chaste homosexual, then he has a great deal of credibility on this subject."
If the claims in question against the Cardinal are valid, then one has good reason to question his credibility in regard to his comments related to Fiducia Supplicans.
It has been claimed that Cardinal O'Brien has long played a key role within the Homosexual/Lavender Mafia. It has been claimed that the Cardinal has sneaked homosexuals into the priesthood. It has been claimed that the Cardinal has long protected perverted priests who have trafficked in sexual abuse.
If the above claims are valid, then we may wonder as to whether the Cardinal's attack against Fiducia Supplicans, which offers merciful accompaniment to those in irregular situations (which includes same-sex situations), is a smokescreen to cover his (the Cardinal's) supposed pro-Homosexual/Lavender Mafia involvement.
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Cardinal O'Brien, regardless as to his supposed attachment to the Homosexual/Lavender Mafia, has thrown in with LifeSite's horrific, Satanic, anti-Catholic claim that Fiducia Supplicans has violated "Divine Revelation and the constant Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church..."
Therefore, based upon that alone, Cardinal O'Brien's declaration against Fiducia Supplicans, is not credible.
Via Lifesite's anti-Fiducia Supplicans petition in question, the voice of Satan has been heard.
Conversely, in regard to Fiducia Supplicans, which Pope Francis, as well as bishops in communion with him, have taught is orthodox: The voice of Jesus Christ has been heard.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Even if he was a chaste, a homosexual is never - NEVER- a legitimate candidate for Orders.
Sodomites are naturally subversive and any organisation stupid enough to let them rise to a level of authority should understand that man will do whatever he can to subvert doctrine, law and praxis that describes his obsession as seriously sinful
Father McDonald, I do not find compelling your claim that Pope Francis has canceled the Pontificates of "two great popes..." Based upon the numerous times that you have issued that claim in question, Popes Benedict XVI, as well as Saint John Paul II are the "two great popes" in question.
Anyway, if I agreed with your claim in question, then I would reply, "Oh, well. That which had gone around had come around." That is, Pope Benedict XVI's left-wing, as well as right-wing critics, have insisted that in one way after another, he had "canceled" one Pope after another.
Even when he was Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger had been charged with the above. Archbishop Lefebvre, for example, had denounced then-Cardinal Ratzinger as a "Modernist/apostate," who, in league with Pope Saint John Paul II, had sought to have canceled Pope after Pope.
For that matter, Archbishop Lefebvre had portrayed Pope Saint John Paul II, as well as Pope Saint Paul VI, as apostates who had canceled Pope after Pope.
Example: Archbishop Lefebvre, 1986 A.D.
"...the Roman authorities turn their backs on their predecessors and break with the Catholic Church, and they put themselves at the service of the destroyers of Christianity and of the universal Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ."
"The present acts of John Paul II and the national episcopates illustrates, year by year, this radical change in the conception of the Faith, the Church, the priesthood, the world, and salvation by grace."
"The rupture does not come from us, but from Paul VI and John Paul II who break with their predecessors."
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Father McDonald, I have found it interesting that, over the years, one criticism after another that you have applied to Pope Francis had been applied, for example, to Pope Saint John Paul II, as well as Pope Saint Paul VI.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
MT = braindead
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