The Crisis Continues by Philip Lawler | 5 . 21 . 19 | https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/05/the-crisis-continues Vos Estis Lux Mundi, the new papal directive for handling sex abuse charges, takes a few steps toward reform within the Catholic Church. But the papal document—a motu proprio, carrying the force of canon law—falls well short of an adequate response to a burgeoning scandal. Pope Francis’s directive requires that every Catholic diocese and eparchy provide a formal system for reporting and addressing abuse complaints. For Americans, already living under the “Dallas Charter” mechanisms set up more than a decade ago, the new rule will have no major practical effect. But in other countries, where whistle-blowers still face strong resistance, it is an important advance. The motu proprio also insists that abuse victims, and others lodging complaints, must be treated with respect and compassion and given the spiritual and material help they need. Too often, even after winning lawsuits, victims have been handed a check—without an apology—and sent on their way. Best of all, Vos Estis recognizes that a cover-up compounds a crime. In fact, for the purposes of canon law, a cover-up of abuse charges now is a crime, and a complaint about a cover-up must be treated like a complaint about sexual abuse. Here, too, is a significant step in the right direction. However, the bulk of the papal document addresses a specialized question: How should Church officials respond to charges of misconduct lodged against a bishop? Here the pope fails to address the fundamental challenge to the credibility of the Catholic hierarchy. The new policies were obviously drawn up in response to the worldwide scandal that erupted last year with the revelations of former cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s chronic sexual misconduct. So perhaps the best way to illustrate their deficiencies would be to imagine how things might have developed if these policies had been in place in the late 1990s, when rumors of McCarrick’s sexual escapades began to circulate. Under the new system, a complaint against a bishop should be brought to the attention of the metropolitan archbishop in the region. But McCarrick was the metropolitan archbishop—first in Newark, then in Washington, D.C. In such a case, the new policy stipulates that the complaint should be sent to the Holy See. But reports about McCarrick were conveyed to the Vatican, and for years nothing happened. Later, when McCarrick retired, complaints might have been made to his successor, Cardinal Donald Wuerl. But again, Wuerl was informed. The sad history of the McCarrick scandal demonstrates that policies are only as reliable as the officials who enforce them. If Catholics have lost confidence in their bishops, the procedures set forth in Vos Estis will not reassure them. Vos Estis requires that abuse charges must be investigated thoroughly. But the document does not say what penalties should be imposed if the charges are confirmed. Notice that when Pope Benedict XVI finally took disciplinary action against McCarrick, the penalty was mild; already retired, McCarrick was asked to withdraw from public life. More to the point, the ecclesiastical sanction was generally ignored—both by McCarrick, who continued to maintain a high public profile, and by his friends at the Vatican—and eventually overturned by Pope Francis. Moreover, the penalty was imposed secretly, so that McCarrick’s punishment (such as it was) could not have deterred other prelates from misconduct. Were it not for the dramatic testimony of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former papal representative in Washington, we would not know that any sanction had ever been imposed. To be fair, the stories that circulated in the 1990s about McCarrick did not involve abuse of children; he was widely known for his dalliances with seminarians, most of them legal adults. Vos Estis recognizes that a sexual relationship between an archbishop and a seminarian is inherently abusive. But the document ignores the broader questions about homosexual affairs with consenting adults: affairs that may not be abusive, but are certainly instances of grave misconduct for clerics, and fodder for scandal. In short, the motu proprio institutes different procedures, but does not guarantee different results. To restore confidence, the Vatican must show a willingness to identify not only the prelates who have sinned, but also the officials who have protected them. Once again it is significant that Vos Estis, written in response to the McCarrick scandal, says not a word in response to the clamoring for an account of how a corrupt prelate advanced through the hierarchy and prospered despite his known misconduct. If the testimony of Archbishop Viganò is accurate, then many Vatican officials knew of, and failed to act on, the charges against McCarrick. All those officials—including Pope Francis himself—would be subject to investigation under the terms of the new motu proprio. But if any such investigation has been made, we have not heard about it. So the crisis of credibility continues. Philip Lawler is editor of Catholic World News and author of The Smoke of Satan. Photo by Gilbert Sopakuwa via Creative Commons. Image cropped.
May. 21, 2019 | http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/what-is-human-society-like-without-christ What Is Human Society Like Without Christ? Rome Life Forum gathers speakers to discuss the ramifications. Edward Pentin ROME — The dangers and devastating consequences of building nations and human societies without Christ as their foundation were discussed at a two-day Rome conference last week featuring talks from a number of prominent and respected Church figures. The Rome Life Forum, an annual event of the international pro-life movement, was on the theme “City of God vs. City of Man — Global One World Order vs. Christendom.” The May 16-17 meeting, held at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, culminated in Italy’s March for Life through the streets of Rome May 18. In his talk, Cardinal Willem Eijk, the archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands, focused on gender theory, warning that it sets humanity against the Christian faith. He explained how radical feminism and the “hyperindividualism” that began in the 1960s have led to individuals being urged not to accept what were once accepted social and biological roles related to gender. Media and advertising have exacerbated this trend, and now “gender equity” is promoted worldwide, leading to wider acceptance of gender-alteration surgery and other such harmful consequences. Cardinal Eijk noted this is “particularly dominant in the English-speaking world.” The Dutch cardinal referred to Pope St. John Paul II’s teaching on the complementarity of the sexes as a remedy against radical feminism and gender theory. Turning to how the theory “radically contradicts” the Church’s teaching, Cardinal Eijk said its separation of sexual relationships from procreation has led to the promotion of legalized abortion and the undermining of parental and spousal roles and relationships between children and parents. The detachment of gender from biological sex “damages” the analogy between Christ and his Bride, the Church, he said, and makes it “immaterial” whether a “priest is male or female.” Showing the errors of gender theory “is of the utmost urgency,” he concluded, because “not only sexual morality but also proclamation of the Christian faith in itself are at stake.” ‘Virtue of Patriotism’ Cardinal Raymond Burke, the patron of the Sovereign Order of Malta, praised the “virtue of patriotism” at a time when various entities believe the “only way to achieve the common good” is through a single government. His comments also come at a moment in history when nationalism is growing, in contrast to increasing calls, including from Pope Francis, for a supranational authority to deal with such issues as climate change and to enforce U.N. goals. The virtue of patriotism, the cardinal said, reflects the Fourth Commandment to honor one’s father and mother and helps marriage to flourish; and, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, he said patriotism is not a sin but a “requirement of nature itself.” He explained how it is a precept of the natural law and a “recognition of the good order” God has placed in civil society. But he observed that “many governments” today fail to “recognize that their authority comes from God,” leading to laws that “grievously” violate the moral law. Referencing the Catechism, he showed how this can lead to a totalitarian state, given that most states today are “totally secular.” “The divine authority, in accord with the order written upon the human heart, does not make just and legitimate a single global government,” Cardinal Burke asserted. “In fact, the divine law illumines our minds and hearts to see that such a government would be, by definition, totalitarian, assuming the divine authority over the governance of the world.” He said “sinful pride” inspires such a pursuit of a single global government and equated it to the building of the Tower of Babel. “On the contrary, God meets us and orders our lives for the good in the family and in the homeland,” he said. Answering questions from the audience, Cardinal Burke referred to an “excellent book” by professor Anthony Esolen, now a faculty member and writer in residence at Northeast Catholic College in Warner, New Hampshire, called Nostalgia: Going Home to a Homeless World, in which Esolen points out how young people today “raised without a sense of their national identity or identity with their homeland become completely disorientated with regard to the moral life and in general.” This is “humanly very devastating,” Cardinal Burke said. Humanae Vitae’s Example Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, president emeritus of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, highlighted the battle over acceptance of contraception and Pope St. Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae as an example of the city of man versus the city of God. He recalled how the 1930 Anglican Lambeth Conference’s vote in favor of contraception broke a “barrier” that led to other Protestant churches following suit. “Surprisingly,” given its seeming animosity to Church teaching today, he said The Washington Post joined in the protests against the Lambeth Conference decision and foresaw its consequences. In a 1931 editorial, the newspaper wrote that the effect of the vote, if “carried to its logical conclusion,” would “sound the death knell of marriage as a holy institution by establishing degrading practices which would encourage indiscriminate immorality.” It also added that the suggestion legalized contraceptives “would be ‘careful and restrained’ is preposterous.” Today, Cardinal Brandmüller said, “we’re confronted with results of a process of erosion” that began in 1930 and “has led us to the monstrosity of what is today known as procreative medicine, by which man has seated himself on the throne of the Creator.” By contrast, he said Humanae Vitae provides “an extraordinary example” of the transmission of Church doctrine, and “it is the Holy Spirit that ensures that the faith of the Church develops in the course of time,” as formulated by Vincent of Lérins and elaborated upon by Blessed John Henry Newman. “Today, we hope for a renewed reception, adoption and more profound transmission of the truly prophetic teaching of Paul VI in our days,” he concluded. Family as ‘Spiritual Treasure’ In his speech, Cardinal Jānis Pujats, archbishop emeritus of Riga, Latvia, underlined the importance of the family as a “repository of spiritual treasure” that must be guarded from being “destroyed and plundered by the great Robber whom we know as Satan.” The “great Robber,” he added, is at work today, for example in the guise of abortion, legalizing same-sex “marriage” in one state after another, and acceptance of cohabitation. But he said the ideal of a European Union “rooted in Christian values” should not be abandoned, because to “believe and follow God’s commandments” is a “normal way of life and behavior in this world” and “should be respected and guaranteed by the educational system of every state.” In this context, and at a time when many are enslaved by vice, he stressed the importance of God’s first commandment: to love God “more than anything else in our life” and to “seek contact with God in prayer as often as possible.” In a video message, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, stressed that a city or community without God is one of “hopelessness” and recalled that Satan was the first to attempt to create this. It leads to a “tyranny of the egoism, of narcissism,” and a society “of the law of the jungle, to a society of cruelty.” The city of man, he said, is rooted in “totalitarianism” and will not tolerate the reign of Christ the King. The enemies of God, he pointed out, try to “take possession” of any means in their power, such as the media, science and arts, “to spread the disdain of things sacred” with the goal of “destroying man.” He added that when God’s foundational order is attacked, “ominous fissures appear in the structure ... values become blurred and uncertain,” resulting in policies decided “according to the prevailing fashion, upon merely external factors, and often even upon blind instinct.” On the other hand, he said, “true liberty, true humanity, true social progress” are only guaranteed “when the will of God the Creator in his commandments and the will of God in his revelation in Christ is accepted and observed, and when Christ’s kingship over human society is recognized.” Quoting St. Augustine, he said the “union with God’s will is the center of the City of God, and it will be achieved in eternity.” continued...
continued from above... Other Remarks In other speeches, Steven Mosher of the Population Research Institute reflected on the worsening situation facing the faithful in China. The recent and still-secret Sino-Vatican agreement signed last September was supposed to provide some protection of the Church in China but “has instead been turned on its head,” he noted. “Harsh new restrictions” of all religious believers in China began before the agreement, notably since February of last year, but Beijing has used the accord as “an excuse to limit, not expand, religious freedom of Catholics.” Efforts have intensified, he said, and the government seems intent on driving all religions out of public life. “Churches and shrines that have stood for centuries are being reduced to rubble,” he pointed out, adding the goal is to “brainwash everyone into believing only in communist leader Xi [Xinping] and his party, rejecting God and his Church.” Communism has “always been a total ideology,” he said, seeking control of thoughts as well as acts, and it is now carrying this out through digital media, among other means. Anthony Murphy, the editor of the Catholic Voice, gave an assessment of the city of God in Ireland and noted that the “great catastrophe” in the country, which has recently voted to allow legalized abortion and same-sex “marriage,” “is reaching its crescendo” and “sweeping all before it.” “We must once again put the Divine perspective, first in all our actions and public utterances, if we are to rout our enemies from the City of God that is Ireland,” he said. “Failure is not an option, and we will continue to fail until we return Christ and Our Lady to their rightful place as head of our Catholic organizations. We must also encourage our clergy to do likewise.” Professor Roberto De Mattei, the president of the Lepanto Foundation, recalled how a process of “revolution” beginning with the Protestant Reformation triggered a series of later revolutions and counterrevolutions — a history of struggle between the City of God and the city of man. The revolution process, he said, is “Satanic in essence” and a journey “toward nothingness” and “global chaos.” Satan, he said, “prefers to conquer men of the Church rather than the laity and, from among the men of the Church, those who have the highest vocation; to lose a pure and generous soul, to lose a saint, to lose a bishop, to lose a pope: These are Satan’s greatest conquests.” But he concluded by exhorting the hope and trust the faithful must have in the Lord, which “animates our struggle in the battle on earth, which is pleasing to heaven.” Other speakers included professor Alan Fimister, an assistant professor at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, whose speech, rich in historical references, reminded those present of the “eternal enmity between the world and the Church,” whose “fundamental motivations and intentions remain utterly opposed.” Dominican Father Kevin O’Reilly, a professor of theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, noted that modern culture is marked by “a withdrawal from the cross of Christ,” leading to the “culture of death,” which is “fueled by a subversion of the natural inclinations.” He focused in particular on the “homosexualization of the priesthood,” which, he argued, “has probably contributed to the advance of the culture of death in the Western world” and is arguably “at the heart of the malaise that has enveloped Western civilization.” The homosexualization of the priesthood, he added, has led to a failure to “communicate the Church’s moral teaching in all of its distinctiveness.” Edited to add: I noticed that Edward Pentin tweeted the following yesterday and since it relates to this article I decided to post it here. Imo it is difficult to believe that we have sunk this low but we have. Although, without Mr. Pentin explaining when and where the image was taken I think that passer-bys would not realize. They would probably read "Love is great" and not have a problem with that. I am also posting a video from the parade from last year but beware that the content is not suitable for children, https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...E2655E56930F74750676E2655E56930F&&FORM=VRDGAR . Keep in mind that this takes place in Rome not San Francisco, not NYC, not LA, not Paris, not London, etc. - Rome. The video reminds me of when Moses descended Mount Sinai with the tablets containing the 10 commandments and how he must have felt looking at the Israelites right before he broke the tablets. These next two stories are related also and show that some places are trying to protect their children. Polish towns go 'LGBT free' ahead of bitter European election campaign ...“Let children have a father and a mother, not such deviations,” said Drzewiecka, resting on a bench in a Swidnik park. “Otherwise there will be fewer and fewer children, and Poland will shrink.”... NBC News 1d Alabama Public TV stands its ground on decision to not show 'Arthur ...[gay wedding episode] 1 day ago ... May 21, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Last week's season premier episode of PBS' long-running animated kids' show Arthur that featured a homosexual ‘wedding’ was replaced with a rerun of a previous episode by a local PBS affiliate in Alabama. The decision has sparked criticism from not only gay advocates, but the creator of the series. In the preempted episode, Alabama’s young children — the show’s target audience is 4-8 year olds — would have witnessed Arthur’s third grade teacher, Mr. Ratburn, walk down the aisle with a male, a chocolatier named Patrick...
Yeah Sean I feel restful just taking a break from it all. But now and again I dip it ..and all of it is bad..all of it..every little bit of it...no wonder I don't switch into these things anymore. It's just too disturbing. I just think to myself; there's nothing much I can do about it but pray for our Holy Father and the rest of that posse in Rome and leave it at that. I feel a lot happier just forgetting about the whole lot of it. How sad is that forgetting about Our Holy Father the Pope? It's so sad, but I do feel loads and loads happier. Let them all get on with it. Forget about them. Sheesh.
With all the bad stuff going on, I am grateful for the glimmer of hope from Poland and Alabama. Good for them taking a stand. With regards to Arthur, it sickens me that an animated show is being used to promote their agenda.
This video from Michael Matt is pretty good, I took the following screen shot from the video, it is pretty profound imho.
Some Maltese Catholics continue to speak up loudly... Edited to add: May. 24, 2019 Lay Group Asks Archbishop Scicluna to Discipline Pro-LGBT Priest The Maltese archbishop has yet to respond to concerns generated by Father Kevin Schembri’s televised comments in March. Edward Pentin | http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edwa...bishop-scicluna-to-discipline-pro-lgbt-priest A lay group of Maltese Catholics has taken out a full-page advertisement in the nation’s largest daily newspaper, calling on Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to discipline one of his priests for recently expressing heterodox opinions on homosexuality on state television. In the open letter published on Friday in The Times of Malta, the lay group, known as the Maltese Society for Christian Civilisation “Pro Malta Christiana,” also called on Archbishop Scicluna to publicly disassociate himself from the comments made by Father Kevin Schembri March 8 on the Xarabank talkshow. In his position as adjunct secretary at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Scicluna is Pope Francis’ point man on clergy sexual abuse and took a leading role in February’s summit of bishops on protection of minors in the Church. In the open letter, Pro Malta Christiana said that Maltese faithful “have prudently waited more than two months” for the archbishop to “publicly disassociate the Maltese Church from the scandalous propositions contrary to Christian faith and morals put forward by Father Schembri.” It added that “given the mysterious silence from your archdiocesan curia on this grave matter,” the group felt it necessary to issue the open letter “to express the sadness, bewilderment and legitimate disappointment felt by innumerable Catholics in Malta at Your Excellency’s silence.” The letter, signed by Philip Beattie, president of Pro Malta Christiana’s executive council, also stated that the “primary duty of a bishop is to publicly defend” what the Church has “constantly taught over two thousand years.” Last March Father Schembri’s comments prompted widespread concern when he spoke approvingly of homosexuality as created by God and “part of his plan.” Father Schembri, who teaches canon law at the University of Malta, also claimed that God created people with “difference sexual orientations,” and that being homosexual “cannot be something bad, because he created it.” The priest, who is also the archdiocesan defender of the bond and ministers to same-sex attracted people, went on to say that if a person recognizes he is “a gay person as created by God, he does not need to change,” and he would actually be “harming himself” if he did not accept himself “as a gay person.” Sources told the Register at the time that the archdiocese was “inundated” with complaints. They also said the incident was indicative of a disturbing level of tolerance of homosexual behavior in the once deeply Catholic Mediterranean islands, especially among clergy. In today’s open letter, the group restated the Church’s teaching on homosexuality, drew on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas on “the properly human form of love” and referred to “irrefutably and overwhelmingly clear” studies showing that “nobody is born homosexual.” Sacred Scripture, Catholic Tradition and the Magisterium “have condemned few sins more consistently or severely than sodomy,” the group wrote. The open letter pressed Archbishop Scicluna to “disciplinarily silence” Father Schembri and to “make a public pronouncement disassociating the Church in Malta from the heterodox opinions he expressed.” The group added such steps are necessary to “right this wrong,” for the nation, the Church and for the salvations of souls. The Register asked Archbishop Scicluna if he would like to comment on the letter but at the time of publication, he had not responded.
I said that Mac was not in communion with the Pope and did not say that he did not recognise Francis as Pope (because I don't know whether he did or not). Which was entirely accurate. You have no idea what he and I talked about privately either, I considered him to be a friend too. My point (clearly made) was that your warning to the rest of us was about being obedient to this Pope seemed, and seems, to be a clear admonition and warning to anyone in the SSPX (who are NOT obedient to Francis), to those contemplating joining them or to those who consider obedience to him to now being a case of being complicit in error (including myself). None of the groups mentioned above 'offer him the obedience' you appear to call for. THAT WAS MY POINT. You were clearly implying that not doing so was to place oneself in great spiritual peril. You warned us about the necessity (as you see it) of obedience to Francis (and you are probably not the only one holding this opinion on this forum. However no-one on this forum warned Mac, as far as I am aware of the same thing though I did half expect someone to (gently) do so. I would certainly not personally have agreed with that person's opinion on the matter but would have expected it to have been made (if genuinely held) in Mac's urgent circumstances.
You are correct, Steve, you don’t know everything that transpired in our private messages. That’s why they are private.
"It is necessary to obey a Pope in all things as long as he does not go against the universal customs of the Church, but should he go against the universal customs of the Church, he need not be followed." Pope Innocent III
I don't think it is your place to state whether or not Mac was in communion with the Pope. Frankly I think it is disgusting that you did, and continue to, bring him up in this discussion. You obviously didn't understand the points I was making at all, applying motivations,"admonition and warnings" I was not giving. I never claimed to know what you and Mac talked about, but apparently you did of me. And since you are still digging at me that I did not care for my friends soul I don't care to converse with you about this. Good luck to you.
Thanks, HH. I agree with you and with others. No matter what, I'm sure all of us here wish to be Catholic and remain Catholic till the end. Below is the Profession of Faith that converts to the Catholic Church, usually from Protestantism, used to make. Let us pledge to remain Catholic forever! "Profession of Faith [I, N.N., .... years of age, born outside the Catholic Church, have held and believed errors contrary to her teaching.] Now, enlightened by divine grace, I kneel before you, Reverend Father ...., having before my eyes and touching with my hand the holy Gospels. And with firm faith I believe and profess each and all the articles contained in the Apostles' Creed, that is: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell, the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty, from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. I firmly admit and embrace the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions and all the other constitutions and ordinances of the Church. I admit the Sacred Scriptures in the sense which has been held and is still held by holy Mother Church, whose duty it is to judge the true sense and interpretation of Sacred Scripture, and I shall never accept or interpret them in a sense contrary to the unanimous consent of the fathers. I profess that the sacraments of the New Law are truly and precisely seven in number, instituted for the salvation of mankind, though all are not necessary for each individual: baptism, confirmation, holy Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. I profess that all confer grace, and that baptism, confirmation, and holy orders cannot be repeated without sacrilege. I also accept and admit the ritual of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the aforementioned sacraments. I accept and hold in each and every part all that has been defined and declared by the Sacred Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification. I profess that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, real, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead; that in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is really, truly, and substantially present, and that there takes place in the Mass what the Church calls transubstantiation, which is the change of all the substance of bread into the body of Christ and of all substance of wine into His blood. I confess also that in receiving under either of these species one receives Jesus Christ whole and entire. I firmly hold that Purgatory exists and that the souls detained there can be helped by the prayers of the faithful. Likewise I hold that the saints, who reign with Jesus Christ, should be venerated and invoked, that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated. I firmly profess that the images of Jesus Christ and of the Mother of God, ever a Virgin, as well as of all the saints should be given due honor and veneration. I also affirm that Jesus Christ left to the Church the faculty to grant indulgences, and that their use is most salutary to the Christian people. I recognize the holy, Roman, Catholic, and apostolic Church as the mother and teacher of all the churches, and I promise and swear true obedience to the Roman Pontiff, successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ. Moreover, without hesitation I accept and profess all that has been handed down, defined, and declared by the sacred canons and by the general councils, especially by the Sacred Council of Trent and by the Vatican General Council, and in special manner all that concerns the primacy and infallibility of the Roman Pontiff. At the same time I condemn and reprove all that the Church has condemned and reproved. This same Catholic faith, outside of which none can be saved, I now freely profess and I truly adhere to it. With the help of God, I promise and swear to maintain and profess this faith entirely, inviolately, and with firm constancy until the last breath of life. And I shall strive, as far as possible, that this same faith shall be held, taught, and publicly professed by all who depend on me and over whom I shall have charge. So help me God and these holy Gospels." And the Oath against Modernism promulgated by His Holiness Pope St. Pius X (stopped being taken in the late 1960's): "OATH AGAINST MODERNISM I, N.N., firmly accept and embrace each and every doctrine defined by the Church's unerring teaching authority, and all that she has maintained and declared, especially those points of doctrine which directly oppose the errors of our time. In the first place I profess that God, the beginning and the end of all things, can be known with certitude and His existence demonstrated by the natural light of reason from the things that are made, that is, from the visible works of creation, as a cause is known from its effects. Secondly, I acknowledge and admit the external arguments for revelation, namely, divine facts, especially miracles and prophecies, as most certain signs of the divine origin of the Christian religion, and I hold that these are perfectly suited to the intelligence of every age and of all men, including our own times. Thirdly, I also firmly believe that the Church, the guardian and teacher of God's revealed word, was directly and absolutely instituted by Christ Himself, the true Christ of history, while He lived among us; and that the same Church was founded on Peter, the prince of the apostolic hierarchy, and on his successors to the end of time. Fourthly, I sincerely accept the doctrine of faith in the same sense and with always the same meaning as it has been handed down to us from the apostles through the officially approved fathers. And therefore I wholly reject the heretical notion of the evolution of dogmas, according to which doctrines pass from one sense to another sense alien to that which the Church held from the start ... Finally, I profess that I am far removed in general from the error of the modernists, who hold that there is nothing inherently divine in sacred tradition ... Therefore, I most firmly retain and will retain to my last breath the faith of the fathers of the Church, which has the supernatural guarantee of truth, and which is, has been, and ever will be residing in the bishops who are the successors of the apostles (St. Irenaeus 4. c. 26). And this is not to be so understood that we may hold what seems better suited to the culture of a particular age, but rather that we may never believe nor understand anything other than the absolute and unchangeable truth preached from the beginning by the apostles (Praeser. c. 28). All this I promise to keep faithfully, entirely, and sincerely, and to guard inviolably, and never to depart from it in any way in teaching, word, or writing. So I promise, so I swear, so help me God and His holy Gospels." https://sanctamissa.org/en/resource...eception-of-converts-profession-of-faith.html
‘Fraud’: 3rd German bishop rejects ‘synodal path’ to revisit sexual morality, celibacy Maike Hickson | https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/...odal-path-to-revisit-sexual-morality-celibacy May 24, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – In March 2019, after a delay of thirty minutes, an obviously exhausted Cardinal Reinhard Marx announced to the world that the German bishops, in the final minutes of their spring assembly, had “unanimously” approved a “synodal path” for revisiting the Church's teaching on sexual morality, clerical power, and celibacy. However, as LifeSiteNews then was already able to find out, that alleged unanimity was only due to the fact that several bishops had abstained from voting. One of them, as it turns out, was Bishop Konrad Zdarsa of Augsburg. In recent weeks, both Cardinal Rainer Woelki and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer, two other German prelates, have already signaled their own resistance against the German idea of reviewing the Church's teaching and discipline. Thus, we now have three German prelates who oppose the German “synodal path.” Speaking with the Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur KNA, Bishop Zdarsa made it clear that he does not support the “synodal path.” “I strongly reject the word 'synodal path',” he said. Bishop Zdarsa called the expression itself a “tautology,” and then added: “I consider it to be label fraud.” When the interviewer asks the bishop “Why? After all, you have supported the decision,” Zdarsa answered: “No, I have visibly abstained from giving my vote during the vote on it [the synodal path] which was done, unfortunately, merely by hand.” Bishop Zdarsa – who will soon turn 75 years of age and thus approaching retirement age – also publicly distanced himself from many of the statements issued by his fellow bishops. “I once proposed to my fellow bishops a moratorium on public statements. And I asked them at least to issue their [public] statements only in their own name, not in the name of 'us,' 'the bishops,' or of 'the Church.'” He wishes “not to be monopolized” by some of the statements made by his fellow bishops “because, in some matters I very clearly have another opinion.” The German bishop, who originally comes from Dresden and grew up during the reign of Communism, rejects “this undisciplined chatter”, calling it “one of the greatest problems.” On May 22, Zdarsa gave another interview, in which he sharply criticized the German feminist initiative “Maria 2.0” which is calling for female ordination and which called upon women to stay away from Mass on a particular Sunday. “He who calls upon others, and encourages them, to stay away on Sunday from the Eucharistic Lord's Supper, excludes himself de facto from the Eucharistic community and drags others along,” he told the German newspaper Die Tagespost. “For this [initiative], there cannot exist any understanding on the part of the bishops, however well it is meant,” he concluded. Bishop Zdarsa – who is known for his usual reticence and disinclination to participate in public debates – recently also told the public that the Church's adaptation to the “life realities” of the faithful might pertain to the “Mass schedule,” but not to the Church's morality and doctrine. The German bishop was among the seven German prelates who, in 2018, opposed Cardinal Reinhard Marx' push for Communion for Protestant spouses of Catholics. It was Cardinal Marx who, in June of 2018, went to Pope Francis and received from him finally the permission to publish the controversial handout allowing this very practice which is, according to Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, against the Church's law. *** Wed May 22, 2019 - 4:32 pm EST Two cardinals, one bishop call on pope to clarify his teachings. Now what?
When I was converted to the Catholic Church in 1963 I made the Profession of Faith but I honestly do not remember much, as I was 15 years old. I was able to make my First Holy Communion the next day. Glad that you posted these.
The problem is though that it's the "elitists" who are forcing things upon the lower classes within the countries being invaded and without protections. And the true refugees of wars are not the ones he is defending here. This is a mixed and confusing message to put forward. Pope Francis sounds racism alarm as EU nationalists win big VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis warned on Monday (May 27) against a rise of intolerance and racism as far-right nationalists and eurosceptic parties made historic gains in European elections. "The signs of meanness we see around us heighten our fear of 'the other', the unknown, the marginalised, the foreigner," he said in a message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. "It is not just about them, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family. "Migrants, especially those who are most vulnerable, help us to read the 'signs of the times'," he said. Nationalist forces from Marine Le Pen in France to Matteo Salvini in Italy and Nigel Farage in Britain boasted significant gains in the EU Parliament elections which wound up on Sunday. Salvini's far-right League party did particularly well in Italy in centres seen as migrant "hot spots", including a town held up by the left as a model of tolerance and integration. Pope Francis acknowledged the "fear" in many societies towards migrants and refugees arriving in search of protection or a better future. "To some extent, the fear is legitimate, also because the preparation for this encounter is lacking," he said, alluding to often piecemeal and inadequate approaches to refugee integration. "But the problem is not that we have doubts and fears. The problem is when they condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even - without realising it - racist," he added. "Today's world is increasingly becoming more elitist and cruel towards the excluded," the Argentinian said in his message titled "It is not just about migrants". "Wars only affect some regions of the world, yet weapons of war are produced and sold in other regions which are then unwilling to take in the refugees produced by these conflicts," he added. The next World Day of Migrants and Refugees is not until Sept 29, but the Vatican sends out papal messages on such subjects well in advance to provide guidance to pastors around the world. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/...ounds-racism-alarm-as-eu-nationalists-win-big
Popes should stay clear of Politics and Politicians should listen closely to wise Popes. Sadly we appear to have got our wires crossed at the moment. We have a Pope who is deeply enmired in Politics and Politicians who listen closely to an unwise Pope.
