Since when, I wonder was being a good Catholic all about keeping your mouth firmly shut? The Child Molesters' would have loved that
There are child molesters all across our societies, if the clergy were the only group within society guilty of this how easy it might be to root it out. It seems the Church has been used as a scapegoat for every filthy pervert out there. The lying media has focused our attention away from the reality of just how bad the problem is. And I am not convinced the perverts are changing their ways. But with the help of God, the Churches will put safety practices in place to protect the innocent.
And now for some good news: The Int. Confraternities of Catholic Clergy have, in large numbers, asked for a clarification of AL, in the light of the Church's teaching. The Register has it here: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edwa...tion-of-amoris-laetitia#.WJJRyHi83Es.facebook Confraternities representing thousands of priests from around the world have said a clarification of Amoris Laetitia is “clearly needed” in the wake of “widespread” differing interpretations of the apostolic exhortation. In a statement published Feb. 1, the International Confraternities of Catholic Clergy write that “an authoritative interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia, in line with the constant teaching and practice of the Church, would be of “great value” in light of “continuing widespread divergence of understanding and growing divisions in practice.” They also thank the four cardinals who last year sent Pope Francis the dubia — five questions aimed at obtaining such clarification, arguing that such action “is clearly needed to correct the misuse of the Apostolic Exhortation to undermine sacred Tradition.”............
Do you think/feel there was nothing wrong in what was said? That faithful Catholics who are 'going forth and multiplying' are not to feel demoralised and hurt by that statement; as well as to wonder why the Church has seemingly been taken over by secularists who don't believe in the teachings of Christ? What do you think of the fact that people who are all for birth control, like Paul Erlich and John Bongaarts, have been invited to speak at a conference in the Vatican co-sponsored by the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences?
Cardinal Müller: “Amoris Laetitia” must clearly be interpreted in the light of the whole doctrine of the Church. [...] I don’t like it, it is not right that so many bishops are interpreting “Amoris Laetitia” according to their way of understanding the pope’s teaching. This does not keep to the line of Catholic doctrine. The magisterium of the pope is interpreted only by him or through the congregation for the doctrine of the faith. The pope interprets the bishops, it is not the bishops who interpret the pope, this would constitute an inversion of the structure of the Catholic Church. To all these who are talking too much, I urge them to study first the doctrine [of the councils] on the papacy and the episcopate. The bishop, as teacher of the Word, must himself be the first to be well-formed so as not to fall into the risk of the blind leading the blind. [...] Excellent! And there have been certain examples of this "bishops who interpret the pope" from the beginning of P. Francis' papacy and continuing to today.....going on whatever program/interview opportunity interested in the gossip of the day and letting the people know "what the Pope REALLY meant"!! And this does appear as "an inversion of the structure of the Catholic Church" and what is also causing a lot of confusion to the simple.
Read this: http://www.onepeterfive.com/pope-francis-really-stand-contraception/ Where Does Pope Francis Really Stand on Contraception? OnePeterFive February 1, 2017 0 Comments by Matthew McCusker Voice of the Family The circumstances surrounding the resignation of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the appointment of a “papal delegate” to assist in the “renewal” of the order, raises further questions about the extent to which Pope Francis assents to the teaching of the Catholic Church on questions of sexual ethics. In this article we will revisit previous concerns regarding Pope Francis’s position on contraception, in the light of recent events. At the heart of the crisis in the Order of Malta is the distribution of contraceptives and abortifacient drugs, over a number of years, by Malteser International (MI), the humanitarian arm of the order. Edward Pentin has provided details of MI’s programmes in his comprehensive article on the subject. An investigation by the Lepanto Institute provides further information about MI’s work promoting condoms and abortifacient drugs worldwide. Amongst their findings the following facts stand out: MI distributed 52, 190 condoms in Burma (Myanmar) in 2005 and 59,675 in 2006. A World Health Organisation report from 2006, entitled Reproductive Health Stakeholder Analysis in Myanmar 2006 includes “family planning” among MI’s “areas of expertise”, “contraception” amongst its “activities” and “birth spacing” amongst its “future plans”. The report also reveals that MI provided oral contraceptives to 2,500 women in one Burmese township. In 2007 MI received a four year grant of $1.7 million from the Three Disease Fund, for whom they distributed over 300,000 condoms in Burma. In 2012 MI entered a partnership with Save the Children to carry out a joint project, for which they received $2.1 million from the Global Fund, to distribute yet more condoms in Burma during the period from 2013-2016. Malteser International was headed throughout this period by Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager. An internal investigation by the Order of Malta found that von Boeselager was ultimately responsible for the programmes that involved the distribution of condoms and abortifacient drugs. His role at MI was one of the major factors that resulted in his dismissal from the role of Grand Chancellor by the Grand Master, Fra Matthew Festing, on 6 December 2016, after he twice refused to resign. Von Boeselager appealed to the Vatican. A commission was appointed to investigate his dismissal. Edward Pentin has provided extensive, and disturbing information, about the make-up of this commission, which seems to have consisted largely of von Boeselager’s friends and associates. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which is a sovereign entity, refused to accept the legitimacy of this interference into their internal affairs. On 24 January 2017 Fra Matthew Festing was asked to resign by Pope Francis and acceded to this request. The following day Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, stated that Pope Francis was declaring null and void all Fra Festing’s acts since 6 December, thus nullifying the dismissal of von Boeselager. Fra Festing’s resignation was accepted by the Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta on 28 January and it was announced that von Boeselager was restored to his position as Grand Chancellor of the order. In short, Pope Francis has restored to office a man ultimately responsible for the distribution of condoms and abortifacient drugs, while removing from the office the man who tried to ensure that Malteser International remained faithful to Catholic teaching. In the light of this, and of his decision not to confirm that he accepts Catholic teaching on the existence of intrinsically evil acts, it is reasonable to review other concerns regarding Pope Francis’s position on the morality of using contraceptive methods. The list below draws readers’ attention to important incidents of which we are aware; it is not intended to be exhaustive.... Read the rest at the link. It's pretty well documented and leads one to the conclusion that this pope dissents on Humanae Vitae.
http://www.onepeterfive.com/german-bishops-allow-holy-communion-remarried-now/ German Bishops Allow Holy Communion for the “Remarried” Now Maike Hickson February 1, 2017 One Comment After a somewhat more extended period for its preparation, the long-awaited pastoral and doctrinal document (“Word of the Bishops”) of the German Bishops’ Conference concerning the application of Amoris Laetitia has finally come out. As the German Bishops’ website, Katholisch.de, reports today: “The Remarried May Receive Communion in Individual Cases.” This piece of news, unsurprisingly, is already being reported internationally. As the new document – published today, 1 February 2017 – says, “not everybody whose marriage is broken and who is remarried” may go to the Sacraments, to include the Sacrament of Penance. The bishops propose a process of discernment in order to decide whether such a “remarried” couple, or individual persons, may receive the Sacraments. The German Bishops’ document – which is dated 1 February, but which was already adopted by the bishops’ council itself on 23 January 2017 – also says that Amoris Laetitia (AL 300) does not “categorically exclude” the “remarried” divorcees from the Sacrament, since in some cases, there is not to be found “serious guilt [sic].” The text, as expected, also refers to the controversial paragraph – paragraph 305 with its footnote 351 – and claims that not everybody who is in an “objectively irregular situation” is in the state of sin, or at least “not completely so”. Moreover, even though not every couple per se may be admitted to the Sacraments, the German bishops say that, for some couples, indeed, “Amoris Laetitia opens up the possibility of receiving the Sacraments of Penance and of the Eucharist.” [my emphasis] However, this should also be done, according to the bishops, with the help and accompaniment of a pastor. It is in this context and situation of discernment that the German bishops – with explicit reference to Amoris Laetitia (37) – stress the importance and weight of the individual consciences, as such, which may not then come to be effectively “replaced by the Church herself.” The document thus says: The individual decision – under the individual circumstances – not to be yet able to receive the Sacraments deserves respect and esteem. But, one also has to respect a [individual] decision in favor of the reception of the Sacraments. [my emphasis] The German bishops do stress the formation of conscience, which has to take place, as well. But, while they reject both extremes of “laxity” or “rigorism,” they still subtly give much scope to the individual couples who now may decisively discern themselves – with the help of an accompanying and discerning priest – whether or not they should receive the Sacraments yet. The Church, according to the German bishops, would then have to respect their own decision, as the last quote also implies. Image © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) Thus it seems that even the German bishops do not yet go as far as the Maltese bishops with their own new guidelines – who have stressed even more explicitly the weight of the individual conscience – but the Germans come quite close to it. This, of course, should not be astonishing, since the German bishops – among them Cardinal Walter Kasper himself – have been recurrently pushing for the indulgent laxening of the Church’s morality concerning the “remarried” divorcees, and for a long time. This is how it sounded, already back in 1993, when Kasper, together with two other bishops, first proposed to implement in southern Germany the “Kasper proposal” (as it is now called) – now almost 25 years ago: The priest [in discerning with the couple their individual case] will respect the judgment of the individual’s conscience, which that person has reached after examining his own conscience and becoming convinced his approaching the Holy Eucharist can be justified before God. [my emphasis] Back then, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stopped this initiative. It is helpful in this context, moreover, to know that Cardinal Gerhard Müller as the Prefect of that same Congregation has just unequivocally said that there cannot be a contradiction between doctrine and the individual conscience, and he then added: For example, it cannot be said that there are circumstances according to which an act of adultery does not constitute a mortal sin. For Catholic doctrine, it is impossible for mortal sin to coexist with sanctifying grace. [my emphasis] Cardinal Müller also insisted – with reference to Familiaris Consortio 84 – that “remarried” divorcees have to live in sincere and enduring continence if they wish to receive the Sacraments. That topic, however, is not even at all being discussed by the German bishops’ own new statement. This very troubling new document from the German bishops comes at a time where one of the German bishops – Archbishop Heiner Koch, of Berlin – has now even declined to make a moral judgment upon the sinfulness of homosexual unions. For example, on 30 January, 2017, the German progressive newspaper taz published an interview with the German archbishop of Berlin which mainly deals with the question of homosexuality. While Koch insists that the word “marriage” means a union between a man and a woman, because it is open to life; he then makes the stunning remark that “I have respect about how they [homosexual couples] are living out their own sexuality – since I assume that they are doing it responsibly.” [my emphasis] When the journalist asked him why the Church is so sure that a homosexual is living in the state of sin, even though Jesus Christ Himself has not made such an explicit statement on the matter, Koch answers: “You wish that I make a general judgment about an individual person. That I will not do.” [my emphasis] He thus refuses to proclaim the Church’s own moral teaching on homosexuality and its acts. As can be seen here, the dissolution of Catholic Doctrine continues to grow in Germany.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edwa...tion-of-amoris-laetitia#.WJJRyHi83Es.facebook Thousands of Priests Worldwide Call for Clarification of Amoris Laetitia Confraternities representing thousands of priests from around the world have said a clarification of Amoris Laetitia is “clearly needed” in the wake of “widespread” differing interpretations of the apostolic exhortation. In a statement published Feb. 1, the International Confraternities of Catholic Clergy write that “an authoritative interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia, in line with the constant teaching and practice of the Church, would be of “great value” in light of “continuing widespread divergence of understanding and growing divisions in practice.” They also thank the four cardinals who last year sent Pope Francis the dubia — five questions aimed at obtaining such clarification, arguing that such action “is clearly needed to correct the misuse of the Apostolic Exhortation to undermine sacred Tradition.” Since it was published in April last year, the Pope’s summary document on the Synods on the Family has elicited widely varying interpretations, some of which have been criticized as erroneous and representing a rupture with Church teaching. The most contentious of these concerns whether some civilly remarried divorcees not living in continence can receive Holy Communion after a period of discernment. Critics say such a discipline contradicts established Church teaching while proponents insist it would be a licit development of doctrine. The Pope has let it be known that he believes it to be the latter, but has yet to formally state whether or not he agrees such civilly remarried divorcees can receive Holy Communion. The confraternities say they decided to make the statement “out of love for the Church and concern for the salvation of souls,” and note that, as with the dubia, the action has been undertaken “with deep respect for our Holy Father” and “should not in any way be used to foster divisions in the Church.” “The grave danger to the unity of the Church due to increasing moral relativism must be honestly faced and clearly remedied,” they stress, adding that the complexity of situations facing men and women today means the Church must expound her teaching “boldly and clearly.” They also say it is “essential” that the Church’s discipline and practice match her teaching. The priests underline the importance of making clear that Holy Communion “cannot be given to someone choosing to live in a sexual relationship with a person other than their validly espoused husband or wife”. Such faithful must “play as full a part in the life of the Church as their circumstances allow”, they continue. In the face of some bishops’ interpretations that stress the primacy of conscience over the Church’s objective moral teaching, the priests argue that “conscience is not a law unto itself replacing the holy law of God with private judgment, but rather an echo of the voice of the Creator.” “The dignity of conscience must be assisted to overcome all ignorance and protected from becoming ‘practically sightless as a result of habitual sin’,” they write. Cardinal Müller expresses same concerns The priests’ concerns were mirrored in a new interview published today with Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In the exchange in the Italian monthly Il Timone and highlighted here in English by Vaticanist Sandro Magister, the cardinal stressed that Amoris Laetitia must be interpreted in the light of the whole doctrine of the Church, that there cannot be “a contradiction between doctrine and personal conscience”, and that “the task of priests and bishops is not that of creating confusion, but of bringing clarity.” The interview coincided with guidelines issued today by the German bishops conference in which they stated that remarried divorcees could receive the sacraments “in individual cases.” “Amoris Laetitia opens up the possibility of receiving the sacraments according to a process of discernment and formation of conscience,” the bishops wrote. However, they added that did not mean “all the faithful whose marriage has broken down and the divorced and civilly remarried are”, without distinction, to receive the sacraments. Cardinal Müller’s comments and the German guidelines do not appear on the surface to be different but, in a sense, contradict each other. On a case by case basis, remarried divorcees could still be denied the sacraments. However, the cases remain purely hypothetical. “What Cardinal Müller excludes in all cases becomes an option for the Germans,” said a Church source. In short, “the exception becomes the rule.” Here below is the full text of the Confraternities’ statement: Statement of the Confraternities of Catholic Clergy As members of the International Confraternities of Catholic Clergy we believe there would be great value in an authoritative interpretation of the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia in line with the constant teaching and practice of the Church. This statement comes in light of continuing widespread divergence of understanding and growing divisions in practice. A clarification is clearly needed to correct the misuse of the Apostolic Exhortation to undermine sacred Tradition. We therefore thank the four eminent Cardinals who have recently submitted their dubia to the Holy See, requesting such clarification. The Confraternities recognise that this action has been taken out of love for the Church and concern for the salvation of souls. As the Cardinals themselves have made clear, this step has been taken with deep respect for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and should not in any way be used to foster divisions in the Church. The grave danger to the unity of the Church due to increasing moral relativism must be honestly faced and clearly remedied. As pastors of souls, we are well aware of the many challenges facing the men and women of today. We strive to help our people, often living in complex situations, to hear the call of Christ and his Gospel. This task is made easier when the Church expounds her teaching boldly and clearly. It is also essential that the Church’s discipline must always follow her dogmatic teaching. In particular, since at the present time there is much confusion, it is necessary to make clear that Holy Communion cannot be given to someone choosing to live in a sexual relationship with a person other than their validly espoused husband or wife. Those who find themselves in this situation are of course deserving of pastoral support and must be helped to play as full a part in the life of the Church as their circumstances allow. In connection with this, it is important to state that conscience is not a law unto itself replacing the holy law of God with private judgment, but rather an echo of the voice of the Creator. The dignity of conscience must be assisted to overcome all ignorance and protected from becoming ‘practically sightless as a result of habitual sin’ (Gaudium et Spes, 16) Requesting such a clarification, which reiterates the perennial teaching of the Church, is an act of filial love by faithful sons of the Church who turn to our Supreme Shepherd seeking his paternal guidance. It is our desire that this elucidation will enable us and other Catholic priests and deacons to carry out our ministry in ways that are faithful and effective. We hope that this request for clarification may be an occasion for the Holy Father to feed and tend the flock entrusted to him by the Lord and to support us, the clergy, in doing the same.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/m...nable-communion-guidelines-in-stinging-full-p Maltese Catholics rebuke ‘abominable’ Communion guidelines in stinging full-page ad January 30, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – Members of the Catholic faithful in Malta have published a stinging rebuke of their bishops in a full-page newspaper ad calling on the bishops to rescind their guidelines allowing Communion to those living in adultery. The ad in the January 25 Times of Malta featured an open letter titled “A Plea for True Mercy and Repentance.” “You have permitted the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord and Master to be crucified and tortured once again in the mouths and hearts of filthy, impenitent adulterers and fornicators!” state the authors, identifying themselves as “members of Veri Catholici.” “For those who do such things shall not, as the Apostle teaches, enter into the Kingdom of God,” they add. The authors urge the bishops to re-read the Gospel message of St. Matthew, which states: “Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you up” (Matthew 7:6). The group urges the bishops to “tremble with holy fear” and reminds them of the last judgement in order to convince the bishops “to heed these things and recoil from the abominable document which you have dared to presume to publish.” The letter includes a “Nota Bene,” which in quoting St. Paul recalls that the faithful can, in a moment of impending destruction of the faith, take initiative even against their shepherds. “It must be observed, that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. (Cf. Colossians 4:17, 2 Timothy 4:5, and Galatians 2:11)” They also cite the same teaching in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (Cf. Summa Theologiae, II-II, q., 33, a. 4, ad. 2.) Beside the text of the open letter, the faithful also printed a document by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, entitled “Concerning the Reception of the Eucharist by Divorced and Remarried Members of the Church.” This document was issued on September 14, 1994, and signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. “Members of the faithful who live together as husband and wife with persons other than their legitimate spouses may not receive Holy Communion,” the Vatican document states. “Should they judge it possible to do so, pastors and confessors, given the gravity of the matter and the spiritual good of these persons as well as the common good of the Church, have the serious duty to admonish them that such a judgment of conscience openly contradicts the Church’s teaching.” The open letter urges faithful from all over the world to join in with their support. Sign the petition online at vericatholici.wordpress.com.
I am so glad Cardinal Muller spoke out and spoke out so clearly and well. But the Dubia was not aimed at Cardinal Muller it was aimed at Francis. It is up to him to respond and respond clearly.
Yes the Church was terrible, but not the worst. It seems that everywhere there are children who are vulnerable these people are drawn to it like flies. I think are main difficulty as societies and individuals is that we do not accept the reality of evil. If we did accept the reality of evil we could defend ourselves from it. It is the exact same thing with heretics in the Church. If we not not even accept they are there how will we defend ourselves.? View attachment 6038
Josephite, God bless you. I could have written your post. I tried too but had to keep them in secular schools even though I periodically made the effort, my husband was against it. And then economic conditions forced me back to work so I couldn't even contemplate home schooling. All of my children are secularized too. But if it is any consolation I know of families who did everything right--everything as far as we could tell--home schooling, traditional Mass etc. and their children too have rebelled. Like you I pray and hope that Jesus, ever merciful, will hear and answer a mother's prayers. I live in that hope and I do believe He means to save them, even if it is only at the last moment. (free will and hard hearts are a formidable obstacle, even for God I guess)
Correct! Like our counterparts in the secular world we must use our Catholic sources of news to "hold their feet to the fire." There is just no way to say this is OK.
Dolours, I have seriously considered this myself. there is no SSPX here in my area so don't know quite how I'd do it. Portugal does come to mind. My husband is very anxious to explore places for warm weather escapes. Half the year in Portugal? I could think of worse things.
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/cardinal-muellers-interview-cat-is-now.html?m=1 Cardinal Mueller's Interview: the Cat is now Skinned even more thoroughly than before .... Cardinal Mueller's 'interview' seems to me exactly what the current crisis in the Church required. Since, as he makes clear, his Dicastery is the organ which is charged with issuing doctrinal clarifications, he has adroitly set down a marker which automatically puts certain bishops in the wrong; I mean those prelates who have impertinently given their own "interpretations" which run contrary to his Eminence's clear explanations. He has wrong-footed those who had appealed to an alleged letter to some Argentinian bishops ... the existence of which I for one will not accept until I see it officially in print in AAS. And he has put a ring of defence round faithful bishops, such as Bishop Lopes, Bishop Egan, Archbishop Chaput. Nobody, however lofty, can take them on now without finding themselves also taking on the man who is specifically commissioned by the Sovereign Pontiff himself to be his doctrinal arm. Not a good day for Cardinal Farrell!! Probably not a good day, either, for 'Archbishop' 'Tucho' Fernandez. Or Mgr Rio Tinto. Et ubi nunc Scicluna? And Mueller has deftly resurrected Veritatis Splendor. Unaccountably, the drafters of Amoris laetitia appeared to have mislaid their copies of that document, one of the most important doctrinal interventions of a Roman Pontiff in the twentieth century. (The Polish Bishops, I imagine, will be particularly gratified and chuffed by the Mueller Interview ... Gaude, Regina Poloniae!) Also resurrected is part of an important paragraph of Familiaris consortio which unaccountably slipped from the typeset when the first part of the same paragraph was reproduced in Amoris laetitia. And he has reprimanded those who construct revolutionary edifices upon the basis of a couple of possibly ambiguous footnotes [see my piece of January 16]. Happily, the Cardinal Prefect has implicitly and usefully contextualised the remarks which Cardinal the Graf von Schoenborn made when he was 'presenting' Amoris laetitia. Since doctrinal explanation of a document addressed (I presume) to the Universal Church is more the function of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith than it is of the Archiepiscopal See, however glorious, of Vienna, any elements of the Graf's 'presentation' which may be considered by some to be inconsistent with Cardinal Mueller's explanations must now clearly fall to the ground, where they may well get trampled under foot as all right-thinking men (and women) rush to open the prosecco. His Eminence has reprobated a particular error which was raised in one of the Synods; and by the clearest implication he has put out of court the notion that different episcopal conferences might lawfully confect contrary and contradictory "interpretations" of Amoris laetitia. And all this on the same day as that on which the splendid Statement of our four wonderful and faithful Confraternities of Catholic Clergy came out!! Come along, all you grumpies! Rejoice! At least for today! A good day for orthodoxy! Fugite, partes adversae!!!
So, is anyone laying odds on how long until His Holiness replaces Mueller as the head of his dicastery?
