I'm still torn between wanting my Pope to finally behave as a...well, a Pope...and the much more likely reality that he will continue in his heterodox, frankly unCatholic, manner. I still retain hope, if only on the basis that the increasing imminence of the 'biological solution' might focus his mind, but that hope is dependent upon his having some fear of God.
I feel the same way. I feel almost cheated out of a real Pope. And I certainly lament the dismantling of our beloved Church. But I continue to pray for him and hold out hope.
Me too. I just find it very hard to trust even his orthodox statements. It's getting to the stage where if he made some pronouncement about the Assumption, I would be waiting for him give the red carpet treatment to someone claiming to have found Our Lady's remains. When I pray for him I also ask God to help me understand in case what appears to be a demolition job against Church teaching is actually the work of the Holy Spirit. In my more charitable moments, I believe that Pope Francis is really convinced that what he is doing will advance the spread of the faith and Christian unity. Then I wonder what he regards as "the faith" because he appears to have a cafeteria approach to what is essential to Catholicism. There's a video on youtube of him giving Communion at an open air Mass when he was Bishop of Buenos Aires. The video was uploaded by a sede vacantist group and the Mass was for some big event like a world youth day so the commentary was biased and conditions for administering the Blessed Eucharist were less than ideal. Nevertheless, the way he handed out Communion didn't give the impression that he believed he was handling the Body of Christ.
I can’t fathom the Holy Spirit demolishing Church teaching But like you, I wonder sometimes: What can the pope possibly be thinking?
With respect, this is all beside the point. Yes, this was the custom of the time but it needed action to change it! St Pius X began that process that led the Church to encourage more frequent reception of Holy Communion. And of course, it led to a massive increase in unworthy reception of the Eucharist. Yet the Church, led by the Holy Spirit, gradually taught the people the importance of actually receiving the Eucharist at Mass. I suppose the modern traditionalist would prefer that change had not occurred and that people still attended Holy Mass without receiving, but the change that Pius X began was supported by.all subsequent Popes and was (and is) unquestionably the mind of the Church. Of course there should be more catechesis and other changes such as those taught by Cardinal Sarah but I am certain that he would not encourage a return to the practice of 100 years ago. Church disipline changed and it was important that it did.
From Bishop Down Umbers of Sidney: https://twitter.com/BishopUmbers/status/971931739596537857?s=20 “Veritatis Splendor 4 spells out the current crisis: 4.Today, however, it seems necessary to reflect on the whole of the Church's moral teaching, with the precise goal of recalling certain fundamental truths of Catholic doctrine which, in the present circumstances, risk being distorted or denied. In fact, a new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church's moral teachings. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine, on the basis of certain anthropological and ethical presuppositions. At the root of these presuppositions is the more or less obvious influence of currents of thought which end by detaching human freedom from its essential and constitutive relationship to truth. Thus the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected; certain of the Church's moral teachings are found simply unacceptable; and the Magisterium itself is considered capable of intervening in matters of morality only in order to "exhort consciences" and to "propose values", in the light of which each individual will independently make his or her decisions and life choices. In particular, note should be taken of the lack of harmony between the traditional response of the Church and certain theological positions, encountered even in Seminaries and in Faculties of Theology, with regard to questions of the greatest importance for the Church and for the life of faith of Christians, as well as for the life of society itself. In particular, the question is asked: do the commandments of God, which are written on the human heart and are part of the Covenant, really have the capacity to clarify the daily decisions of individuals and entire societies? Is it possible to obey God and thus love God and neighbour, without respecting these commandments in all circumstances? Also, an opinion is frequently heard which questions the intrinsic and unbreakable bond between faith and morality, as if membership in the Church and her internal unity were to be decided on the basis of faith alone, while in the sphere of morality a pluralism of opinions and of kinds of behaviour could be tolerated, these being left to the judgment of the individual subjective conscience or to the diversity of social and cultural contexts. (Veritatis Splendor, pope John Paul II).”
IS EWTN OR MOG FORUM NEXT IN LINE???? VATICAN CALLS ON SPANISH 'INFOVATICANA' WEBSITE TO RENOUNCE ITS DOMAIN UNTO THEM DIALOGUE AND MERCY. THE HOLY SEE LOOKING FOR THE "INFOVATICANA" WEBSITE TO STRANGULATE. Marco Tosatti His friend and colleague Gabriel Ariza, of the Spanish website "Infovaticana", wrote to tell us a story that he would have, it should have been incredible; that of the war that the Secretariat of State of the Holy See has set up against the Spanish information site. It also hosts interventions and articles critical of the current situation of the Church, in Spain and in the world, and is consequently viewed with dislike by the current government. Gabriel writes: "Good morning! The words of the Pope "the truth is the truth and we must not hide it pushed me to tell these facts for which I am very worried for several months. As you know, Infovaticana has reported and celebrated on numerous occasions the words of Pope Francis asking for "a poor Church for the poor", and fighting clericalism ". But, Gabriel notes, all this must not yet have penetrated all levels of the Curia. In short: "The Vatican Secretariat of State a few months ago sent Infovaticana the request to renounce our web domain, claiming that it holds exclusive property rights over the name of the physical center of the Catholic world. Imagine the reaction of the public if the mayor of New York made a similar request to the New York Times, or if the Italian Republic did it to the newspaper La Repubblica ". Infovaticana, notes Gabriel, "is small and insignificant enough to be surprised to have drawn the attention of a Secretariat of State that should have enough to do to govern the Church". According to Gabriel, the problem is that the Spanish Episcopal Conference does not like what we say; "So its president, Cardinal Blázquez, presents a complaint against us at the Apostolic Nunciature, after some bishops went to cry because this portal is not limited, as others do, to talk about sparrows and flowers and to say how everything is nice, but informs on what really happens, including when the interested parties would prefer that you do not know ". The thing that perhaps most impressed the Spanish colleagues is that the Secretariat of State, "thinking perhaps of making a poor Church and for the poor", does not address a modest legal office, or an office specializing in Church matters, but to the most powerful legal office in the world, the multinational giant Baker & McKenzie that last August asked Infovaticana to transfer its domain ( www.infovaticana.com ) within a week to the Vatican Secretariat of State, threatening a trial very expensive in case of default. Infovaticana did not give in to such an astonishing request, and relied on a group of lawyers who told Baker & McKenzie that Infovaticana was willing to compromise and proposed a negotiation; in addition to eliminating from the logo any sign that may cause the slightest misunderstanding about the private and independent nature of that means of communication. But the law firm has announced that "his client" (The Secretariat of State) does not want to know anything about this, "that they want to go all the way and that they tell us to stop using the title and the domain. In other words: that we must close ". The negotiations were interrupted last December, given the impossibility of reaching an agreement. The answer was: "The needs of the Vatican, defended by Baker & McKenze, are not negotiable and InfoVaticana must disappear". And here we are pleased to know that, still somewhere in the Vatican, non-negotiable principles have remained. It was not so obvious ... Currently, an administrative process is under way at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, to which Baker & McKenzie have turned to hinder the protection of the InfoVaticana brand. Meanwhile, the rest of the litigation for possible unfair competition from the Vatican remains standing ...
How curious that this uptick in truth suppression from Church censors runs parallel to truth suppression on various internet platforms. All working from the same playbook??? Are they running scared or just running arrogant. HRd to say but the timing and strategies are curious.
This will be the work of Fr Spodaro. Maybe a test case? There is nothing so illiberal as a liberal on the rampage to shut people up. Not much, 'mercy', here
I agree but I hate to break it to you, here in the US, we have had interfaith marriage for probably 20 years. The spouse though can't receive Eucharist. I personally have no interest in that, therefore won't consider dating a non-Catholic. I did find it rather comforting that Pope Francis has strongly stated absolutely the consecrated Eucharist IS THE BODY BLOOD SOUL and DIVINITY OF CHRIST. I will also say in my anticipation of planning a small group pilgrimage, I hate the idea of having mixed feelings about going to the Vatican. Who know what will happen by then though!! I have great hope Say, we need more choices in emoticons. ;}
You either missed the entire point of my post or chose not to engage it. I am a traditionalist and I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with the change in the practice around receiving Holy Communion that was made by Pope St. Pius X. A Pope is totally within his right to change practices such as this. There is no teaching in Scripture or in the Magisterium that states how often one can receive Holy Communion. What is happening now is something entirely different and cannot even be compared to that. They are not changing a Church practice they are trying to change what the Church teaches. The church has NEVER EVER taught that someone who commits the sin of adultery (or any other mortal sin mind you) and intends to commit that sin again is in the proper disposition to receive absolution, much less Holy Communion. The argument that this is only some kind of superficial change in the way the Church does things is a fallacious one. You can try to call this a "custom" or "practice" all you want but calling a pig a horse doesn't make it one.
That there are interfaith marriages in the US is not news to me. I have relatives in such marriages. Did Pope Francis mention the Soul and Divinity of Christ? I thought I read in the piece posted by Jarg "Body and Blood of Christ". Perhaps he did say it but it wasn't quoted, not that it matters because I can't imagine Christ's body and blood being separate or separable from His soul and divinity. I'm sure you will have a very successful, grace filled pilgrimage to Rome.
This is the article I was referring to. I retract, he did not refer to all 4 (including Soul & Divinity) references but the 2 (Body & Blood). I prefer to think that was an oversight. I'm not preferring to be naive but holding out hope. Mass can't be bought – salvation is free, Pope Francis says By Elise Harris Vatican City, Mar 7, 2018 / 03:24 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis issued a harsh critique of the trend to ask parishioners for a financial contribution in order to have Mass said for a loved one, saying that to make a personal offering is fine, but the liturgy should never have a price tag. “If I have someone who is in need, relatives and friends, I can name them in that moment, internally in silence,” he said, referring to the moments of silence during the Eucharistic Prayer recited in Mass. However, he also discussed the practice in many parishes of asking the faithful to pay, usually somewhere around 10 dollars, for a Mass to be offered for a specific person. “The Mass,” he said, “is not paid for, redemption is free. If you want to make an offering, okay, but the Mass cannot be paid for.” Francis spoke off-the-cuff during his March 7 general audience, which this week centered on the Eucharistic Prayer as part of his ongoing catechesis on Mass and the Eucharist. In his address, the Pope said the Eucharistic Prayer is “the central moment” of the Mass, anticipating the reception of Communion. During this prayer, he said, the Church “expresses what she does when she celebrates the Eucharist and the reason why she celebrates it, which is to make communion with Christ truly present in the consecrated bread and wine.” After inviting Mass-goers to lift their hearts up to the Lord and to give thanks, the priest recites the Eucharistic Prayer, directing it to God on behalf of everyone present, Francis said. The meaning of this prayer, he added, is that “the entire assembly of faithful unites with Christ to magnify the great works of God in offering the sacrifice.” To have this unity, “it's necessary to understand,” he said in an off-the-cuff comment, explaining that this is the reason that the Church during the Second Vatican Council wanted to translate the liturgy into different languages that “everyone understood.” Francis then pointed to the different parts of the Eucharistic Prayer, including the Preface, which he said is an “action of grace” for the gifts of God, which concludes with the acclamation of the “Sanctus,” or the “Holy, Holy, Holy.” This acclamation, which is usually sung, is a time when “the entire assembly unites their own voice to that of the angels and saints to praise and glorify God,” he said, adding that “it's beautiful when this [is] sung, it's beautiful.” During the consecration of the bread and wine, both the action of the Holy Spirit and the recitation of Jesus' words during the Last Supper make Christ's body and blood truly present, he said, adding that this is the “mystery of faith” that is celebrated during the liturgy. The Eucharistic Prayer also asks God to gather all of his children together in “the perfection of love,” and in union with the Pope and the local bishop, who is mentioned by name as a sign that “we celebrate in communion with the universal Church and with the particular Church,” Francis said. A plea is then made by the priest for all members of the Church, both living and dead, the Pope said, explaining that “no one and nothing is forgotten in the Eucharistic Prayer, as the doxology which concludes it recalls.” While this “codified formula” can seem a bit “distant,” he said, “surely we will participate better” if we understand the meaning of it. He added that the Eucharistic Prayer not only expresses everything that is done during Mass, but it also cultivates the “three attitudes that should never be lacking in the disciples of Jesus.” These attitudes, he said, are to give thanks “always and everywhere, not just on certain occasions when everything is going well”; to make our lives a “gift of love”; and to build a concrete communion “in the Church and with everyone.” The Eucharistic Prayer, then, which is the center of the Mass, teaches faithful “little by little to make our whole lives a 'eucharist,'” which is an “act of thanksgiving,” he said. After his address, Pope Francis made an appeal for parishes around the world to join him in participating in this week's “24 Hours for the Lord” event, which will take place March 9 and is a worldwide initiative launched in 2014 to highlight confession as a primary way to experience God's mercy. He also gave a shout-out to the March 9 opening of the Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, where the Winter Olympics recently took place. Having brought together delegations from both North and South Korea despite their ongoing conflict, the games, Francis said, are an example of how “sport can draw bridges between countries in conflict and give a valid contribution to perspectives of peace between people.” “Sports thus appear as a school of inclusion, but also of inspiration for one's own life and of commitment to transforming society,” he said, and offered a personal greeting to the International Paralympic Committee and the athletes who will participate in the games.
I agree that it was probably an oversight. And he did refer to offering "the sacrifice". He explains that the reason Vatican 11 approved of translating the Mass into the vernacular was so people would understand. That may well have been their intention but it seems to me that people had a greater understanding of the Mass pre-Vatican 11 than now, decades after implementation of the translations which were supposed to help them understand. That's one failed innovation which can't be pinned on Pope Francis.
