Francis, US bishops and defending Communion from political manipulation
What Pope Francis thinks of the bid by a group of U.S. bishops to ban pro-choice Catholic politicians from Communion could only be second-guessed until the Vatican sent a firm reminder of certain home truths.
Unlike its legalistic and poorly framed document in March in response to a bishop's query about the blessing of same-sex unions, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's letter of May 7 to the bishops was clear, reasoned, reflective of Francis' own thinking, and obviously issued at his behest.
But then Austen shoots himself in the foot with a cap gun (look it up if you don't know what it is!):
The key point by Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prefect Cardinal Luis Ladaria was that any statement by the U.S. bishops should not single out Catholic political leaders but be directed at churchgoing Catholics in general, reminding them of what the church teaches about their worthiness to receive Communion. In other words, it shouldn't be a power play, a means of coercion, designed to put pressure on certain public figures, for that is to press what is pure divine gift into political service.
It is the difference between Canon 916, which urges Catholics to present themselves properly for holy Communion, and Canon 915, which is about the minister denying holy Communion.
My Comment on the above two paragraphs and other paragraphs: Austen, it is clear that Catholics, no matter who, should properly prepare for Holy Communion and that Canon law allows for the denial of Holy Communion to public sinners. What's your point?????
Then Austen quotes Pope Francis before His Holiness was pope which undermines Austen's thesis altogether:
...the 2007 CELAM document of Aparecida, whose chief drafter is now Francis, which urged "Eucharistic coherence" in its Paragraph 436. Legislators, the Latin American bishops said, should be "conscious that they cannot receive holy communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments," notably in relation to abortion, euthanasia and other "grave crimes against life and family."
Austen! How clear can then Cardinal Bergoglio be???????
"What the church is defending when it defends its integrity is its own identity," Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio told the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City in 2008. "This gift, the most beautiful expression of which is the Eucharist, is not one gift among others, but the most intimate and complete self-giving of the Trinity given for the life of the world."
Austen, hello?
10 comments:
It is sinful pro abortion politicians who are politicizing the Eucharist, not priests or bishops who do not permit their sacrilege.
“...’Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division’ (Luke 12:51). Speaking the truth at times appears to create division, but often it simply exposes the division that already exists. If Catholics cannot agree on protecting the helpless unborn, then our unity is superficial at best and illusory at worst.” —Bishop James S.Wall, Gallup, NM
I do not read such claptrap as what they worship is change=progress=good false equivalence.
GK Chesterton had an excellent handle on progress/progressives and they have not changed a bit in the 100yrs since.
They worship a false and manmade god with no clear purpose or end in sight or goal past change only for the sake of change somehow mysteriously and automatically leading to some glorious kingdom of man on earth which will be heaven on earth with no need of heaven above.
Nor any need of God to get them there. They forget that chaotic and random change has a name, and that is cancer.
Bishop Wall nailed it
As for my earlier comment as to not reading such claptrap, I can see maybe someone with a blog debating such tripe for the possible edification of readers who have yet to develop any sense of hogwash detector, although it leaves me wondering how anyone could not get one paragraph into such scribblings without their own innate baffle'em-with-bs alarm not going off at 150db.
But then, I look at such money grubbing program peddling as critical race theory worthy of any snake oil selling tv preacher passing for academic researcher being adopted by ignorant virtue signalling govt and private sector managers to show they are team players, and must admit such blog debate not entirely without merit.
Except the believers in such idiocy are not open to debate, they accept these bizarre latest/greatest fads with religious fervor of blind faith, and debating them is a waste of time, as nothing matters but the latest fad, them believing in nothing else, and showing the desperate tenaciousness which only one dangling over a bottomless abyss is capable of generating, as they have nothing else.
I watch them see their arguments utterly shredded, so their response is simply to change subjects and list out of context quotes and often utterly false history, starting the argument all over again, or retreating to make only snarky posts under fake names in what they see as righteous guerrilla warfare where any sane person sees only vandalism, same as looting today is branded peaceful-protest, and them saying this is done in the building up of peace and justice as they survey the smoking ruins and offering nothing but chaos as a replacement.
One can only argue with someone with a mind open to following the logic, following the science, following the empirical evidence. And the adherants of such modern moronic fadishness are not open to such swaying.
Meanwhile, reading such garbage only gives me heartburn to no purpose at all, and so, I skip it at every opportunity.
I doubt that Critical Race Theory - and Intersectional Feminism too - are fads. Though I wish they were only fads.
Both have established themselves as a form of religion, in our glorious post-Christian era in the West.
To these true believers, logic, evidence based arguments and even, at times, science itself are a construct of white western males, who can use them and have used them as tools of oppression and a means to maintain their dominance and privilege.
One of their doctrines is that “You can’t use the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house”.
What they can’t see is that the “master’s house” is a good house; and what they, also, can’t see is that giant, real, improvements occurred in civil rights for racial and sexual minorities from approximately 1960 to 2000, BEFORE the rise of modern Woke activists, who in the last decade have created a form of anti-racism that is itself racist, and has probably made race relations in the last decade worse.
Political Manipulation?
As is so often the case, the Unreality Cult accuses its opponents of the very thing they are guilty of. For any Catholic politician to publicly rebuke a basic moral statute of his faith by supporting the very opposite while claiming to be a "Catholic in Good Standing" is the TRUE manipulation. The bishops who give such politicians a pass because their political sacred cows and left-wing pseudo-intellectualism is more important to them than the Truths of Jesus Christ are the TRUE manipulators.
Tom Marcus,
Catholic “theologian” Senator Kaine said abortion would not be a primary concern of Jesus.
Sophia here: Critical theory and its offshoots – critical legal theory, critical race theory, and critical pedagogy theory – all have Marxist roots. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the same old insidious, pernicious ideology of Marxism with conflict organized around race (melanin content) rather than class as the means to destabilize , dismantle, overthrow our great Republic which was founded on a Constitution, which John Adams describes as "...made only for a moral and religious people..." . By introducing race (melanin content) as the core around which conflict can be organized, Marxism bypasses the obstacle which the presence of a very strong middle class and Judeo Christian values present to the success of a Godless ideology where the State (led by socialist party leaders) is supreme. CRT is already being pushed in all the institutions of government including the Military and NASA, in Corporations, and in Education from pre-K up through College and Professional Schools eg Medical, Dental and Law Schools. There has been 50 years of Institutional/Cultural Racism being eradicated and replaced by a policy of preferential treatment (Affirmative Action/Diversity, Inclusivity) for certain groups, notably Blacks because of the history of slavery but quickly extended to Hispanics because they are another under-achieving group. Equality of opportunity cannot possibly achieve equality of outcome (equity) because that is determined by many, many other factors, not merely opportunity.
Sophia here: Nonetheless, Marxists seized on the opportunity to redefine Racism as purely melanin content rather than by behavior or institutional policies because those no longer exist and by Equity (equality of outcome) because that is impossible to achieve even among individuals in the same group! Voila-no way out of the oppressor/oppressed conundrum but to destroy current institutions and subjugate people with less melanin (including Asians) who excel - the perfect path to their goal, a society governed by Marxist ideology! They have cleverly expanded the preferred groups to include other identity groups (intersectionality) to increase their voting block. This particular brand of Marxism could aptly be called American Marxism. The organizers behind this agenda are fully aware of the reasons why people succeed in this society- and it's not because of Racism! The principles for success are universal ones whereby anyone given their unique, innate individual gifts/talents- intellectual, physical or emotional, willingness to stay in school, defer gratification, prioritize their goals and work hard can succeed. Ironically, Asians an actual minority, are even more blatantly discriminated against than Whites, in Higher Education and the professions, in favor of Blacks and Hispanics because they (Asians) are such high achievers! Critical Race Theory (CRT) i.e. actual Institutional Racism as well as preferential treatment for members of certain other identity groups with little to no regard for merit, are already negatively impacting the country even more dramatically with the advent of the Biden Administration. Just take a look at his appointments, his policies, even his re-distribution of wealth plans eg distribution of "Coronavirus Relief" funds, which are based specifically on skin-money for Black farmers only, and special treatment of minority and female small business owners who get a head start on coronavirus relief applications. Again White males have to move to the back of the line! This is what actual Racism looks like!
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