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Sunday, July 29, 2018

PROGRESSIVES, AKA, THE HETERODOX, SIMPLY DON'T GET IT: THEY ARE THE CAUSE OF THE SEXUAL IMMORALITY IN THE CHURCH TO INCLUDE HIGH AND LOW CLERGY AS WELL AS THE LAITY


Mortal sin abounds in the Catholic Church as well as mortal sinners. There is nothing new under the sun in this regard.

True pathology that leads Catholic clergy and laity to be serial abusers may well remove one of the criteria for what is considered a mortal sin--full consent of the will in a grave matter.

However, what about the enablers who should have known better, but did not act to stop a serial abuser?  Bishops and lower clergy as well as laity who turned a blind eye or worse yet forgave the sins of serial abusers without the appropriate penance such as the removal from ministry, reporting to the civil authorities and transparency on what had happened, may well be the mortal sinners having fulfilled all the criteria of what constitutes a mortal sin.

But make no mistake about it--it is the new morality (moral theology) of the post-Vatican II, spirit of Vatican II Church that has exacerbated the scandal of clergy and laity who commit mortal sins because the new moral theology of Vatican II enables sinners to commit sins and not feel guilty if they have made their decision/discernment to commit any sin after a thorough decision/discernment of personal conscience. Conscience in this context trumps everything else to include the authoritative moral teachings of Christ and His Church.

I was taught this new morality in the 1970's seminary I attended. Let's say a woman was pregnant and  didn't feel she could carry the child to term. What should this Catholic woman do to arrive at a decision of conscience that could open the door to an abortion and to do so in good conscience? This could be applied to the use of artificial contraception by married couples which would include the man too. It can be applied to decisions of conscience of those who have same sex attractions. It applies to almost every issue of morality and immorality.

This is how a Catholic following the new morality makes a decision/discernment of conscience, personal conscience:

1. The person prays about what they should do--let's use the artificial contraception issue here. Does the couple want to follow Church teaching to the law (Humanae Vitae) or are there extenuating circumstances, (situational ethics) which need to be considered, such as cost of more children, psychological burdens of more children, health, etc. Of course knowing what the Church teaches is important in this prayerful discernment/decision of conscience.

2. Then the couple seeks counsel from family members and close friends they respect and listens to their advice and takes it into prayerful consideration.

3. Thirdly, the couple consults with a member of the clergy, a religious sister or other pastoral worker and seeks their counsel but choosing someone who doesn't see just "black and white" but the various 50 shades of gray, so to speak.

4. Then the couple makes their prayerful decision of conscience and if there are situational ethics or good reasons to use artificial birth control, choose an abortion, continue to live in sexual sin, then they can do so in good conscience because they arrived at a decision of conscience by following the new moral theology's recipe. Conscience must always be respected in this new moral theology.

Why do I recall this for you? Because this flawed method of making a decision of conscience has led Catholic clergy who are normal in their sexual orientation to break their vows/promises and to do so in good conscience. The same with married couples who break their vows and decide it is quite okay to receive Holy Communion in good conscience even though they live and act in an adulterous way.

It has led Catholic clergy to include bishops who are disordered in their sexuality and have disordered affections to follow through on their sinful inclinations because they are making a decision of conscience to have sex or  some kind of sexual activity which they truly believe is consensual (even though of course it isn't truly). It has assisted practicing Catholic laity to do the same, BTW.

And those clergy who are truly pathological in their sexual appetites and emotional needs,  we have seen  (as though in a field hospital)  what has happened and how those in Catholic authority have treated them with such compassion and mercy and a desire to cure them through psychological means and spiritual renewal and then place them back in a situation where they could continue their serial abuse.

Pope Francis' "cautious " opening to allow Catholics in adultery and other sexual mortal sins to receive Holy Communion is nothing new, it is the spirit of Vatican II's method of making a moral decision/discernment and is the source of corruption that we see in so many Catholics to include cardinals who make a moral decision to commit and live in a state of mortal sin because they have followed a recipe of moral discernment and a decision of conscience.

As for the homosexual lobby in the Catholic Church and the theology of winks and nods for any kind of illicit sexual relationships (in the moral and legal realms) the spirit of Vatican II has it method of madness to form a new world and a new paradigm of morality in that new world.

I can remember hearing Cardinaless McCarrick say many years back that he would not necessarily be in favor of same sex marriage but he clearly endorsed calling it "civil unions." I found his answer so peculiar coming from a Cardinal but it all makes sense now--he sees nothing wrong with homosexual sex (sexuality) and endorses Catholics to enter "civil unions" to find civil benefits in their mortal sins. It was and is outrageous but there were no corrections of this now cardinaless archbishop by other high rank cardinals and bishops as I recall. 

Shades of gray trump clear black and white moral teachings of the Church!

8 comments:

Tom Makin said...

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN...."I ain't all that and a bag of chips" but that doesn't change immutable truths.

Mark Thomas said...

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

https://twitter.com/search?q=bishop%20michael%20olson&src=typd

In wake of a sexual scandal, the Catholic Church must preach truth

By Cynthia M. Allen

In 1968, a time of crumbling social mores, Pope Paul VI did something truly radical: he issued a papal letter about God’s plan for married love.

“Humanae Vitae” affirmed Roman Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life, conjugal relations that are respectful of both partners and their mutual procreative power, and responsible parenthood. Plainly put: sex is designed for (heterosexual)marriage, children are gifts and artificial birth control is an impediment to healthy relationships.

In the era of free love and second wave feminism, these declarations were contentious.

Fifty years hence, Paul VI, who will be sainted this fall, seems vindicated. His bold predictions that contraception would degrade men, women and human sexuality sadly have materialized.

The golden anniversary of Humane Vitae, should be a glorious celebration of God’s truth. Instead, it is mired in scandal because some Church leaders who vowed to promote a culture respectful of these sexual values, have failed to uphold them in their own lives.

A month ago, credible allegations surfaced that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, D.C., had sexually abused a minor. Since then, revelations about his behavior,including that he systematically preyed upon young seminarians, have raised questions about how and why he continued to climb the Church hierarchy, let alone remain a priest.

===================================================================================

*******"...the only real way to restore faith in the Church and its teachings is for its bishops to emulate the example of Paul VI and boldly affirm the Church’s teachings on sex and love by encouraging its prelates live it out, and regularly declaring it from the pulpit."*******
====================================================================================

Pax.

Mark Thomas

Anonymous said...

Thank you Father for this posting. We read this kind of report in other places but it leaves a deeper impression when said by by some one who had to put up with it.
This is an example of departure from tradition held for centuries that now leaves the average Catholic to reject the 2nd VC even in its documents; because, certain points in the documents are so nuanced that they permit contrary interpretations; which as I understand it, effectively removes the obligation to obey such proposition because it is a dogma that is still in dispute.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Father for this posting. We read this kind of report in other places but it leaves a deeper impression when said by by some one who had to put up with it.
This is an example of departure from tradition held for centuries that now leaves the average Catholic to reject the 2nd VC even in its documents; because, certain points in the documents are so nuanced that they permit contrary interpretations; which as I understand it, effectively removes the obligation to obey such proposition because it is a dogma that is still in dispute.

Dan said...

"Shades of gray trump clear black and white moral teachings of the Church!"

Yes, and when this is what the shepherds themselves (including the pope) are teaching, where did the Church go?

If the pews stay full under shepherds like these, they will lead us astray.

Anonymous said...

"by someone who had to put up with it"

A significant insight into Father MacDonald's insights.

Anonymous said...

Mark,

While I agree with you (and Cynthia Allen) about proclaiming the Church's teachings on sex from the pulpit, you're going to have a harder time convincing most diocesan priests.

Here in South Georgia ("V-town") we have a young priest, probably the best priest this parish has had in the last 3 decades, and he did just that at a Mass a few weeks ago. The good old boys prevailed on the older, tired pastor, who just doesn't want any trouble and that priest has been silenced. He is only allowed to preach at Spanish Masses.

Until ALL of our priests grow a pair and the old guys get their heads out of the 1970's it's just going to be more of the same.

Cletus Ordo said...

Today I looked at both the Georgia Bulletin and the Southern Cross websites, the sites for the diocesan newspapers for Atlanta and Savannah, respectively. Neither website had any mention about the Cardinal McCarrick mess.

Besides the obvious conclusion that diocesan papers are filled with benign fluff worthy of most birdcages, this also indicates the level of fear our bishops are experiencing right now as they wait for the next shoe to drop. For some of us, the wall which is about to collapse is LONG overdue. Bishops, be they good or bad have long kept the oath of Omertà, refusing to say anything negative about other bishops, no matter how evil or incompetent they are. This is about to change, by necessity.

If it doesn't, the Church is going to end up facing some financial consequences that will make the previous round of sex abuse payouts look like pocket change.

Decide now Your Excellencies: Are you going to start telling us the truth, or are you willing to drag the whole edifice down with you to save your backsides?