Wednesday 15 October 2014

On The Synod's Interim Report

I have briefly looked at the Interim Report and to be honest, it could have been written before the Synod Fathers left their Diocese for Rome, so much does it favour the line taken by the ‘Pastoral Modernisers’. I suspect the Apostolic Exhortation will do the same, unless the likes of Muller and Burke shake Francis’ confidence in the idea that the Faith can be retained in word but abandoned in deed; that we can say one thing and do another.

‘Pastoral Modernisers’ think the Church is wrong not to admit the cohabiting, the divorced/civilly united and the active homosexual to Holy Communion. These Modernisers consequently leave themselves open to being accused of having forgone loyalty to Christ the Truth in order to accommodate the sins of man and the Prince of this World; they listen not to the Gospel, the Fathers and Tradition but to secular socio-psychobabble in which the highest goal is to seek and love oneself and allow others to do the same. Are the ‘Pastoral Modernisers’ then, seeking to change our allegiance from Christ to the Prince of this World?

Well, let us be honest: the interim report was not unexpected. It should have surprised no one. Recognising that there have been compromising statements by Bishops and priests on sexual matters ever since the promulgation of Humane Vitae, what this Synod is doing is not changing the allegiance of the Church from Christ to The Prince Of This World, but demonstrating that this change has been taking place for decades.

I hope the Bishops who are still at home follow the line of polish Archbishop Gądecki who has called the document into question; I hope they are contacting their delegates in Rome to register their dissatisfaction and disagreement. I suspect many are (we do have some faithful Bishops, after all).

Lest I be accused of lacking in pastoral sensitivity let me say that I have no problem valuing divorcees, cohabitees and homosexuals: I have all of these in my family: I have no brother or sister and only two nephews (out of 20) who is in a regular situation. These issues do not ‘touch’ my life -they have swamped it. The Church too, has no problem in valuing persons who are cohabiting, in civil unions after divorce or in homosexual pairings. But as for valuing the cohabitation; the civil union or the homosexual tendency/act –that is something no Catholic can do; we cannot value concupiscence, acts and situations that Scripture and Tradition denounce as inconsistent with the eternal good of the person. Those who seek to value them are wolves in sheep’s clothing, be they Pope, Bishop, Priest, Religious or Layman, because no one has the authority to over-rule Divine Law.

Let us be clear: divorced and civilly married persons, cohabitees and active homosexual persons are not ‘bad’ or inferior people; they are no less valuable than anyone else and are no less loved by God. But they live in a rebellious situation. What they need is a welcome at Mass, Spiritual Direction and involvement in the social life of the parish so that they experience the beauty of the Gospel and their value to God; what they absolutely do not need is to have their souls put in danger by telling them that to live contrary to the mind of God presents no danger to their eternal salvation. 

Francis may be right to say our Lord was unhappy that the Pharisees defended the law and left no room for the God of surprises, but the laws they were defending were ceremonial laws; accretions to the Ten Commandments, such as washing up to the elbows (Matt.15v2) and the law of corban (Mk.7v11), not the Divine Law which Christ Himself confirmed (“You know the Commandments” –Mk.10v19). It is Divine Law the Pastoral Modernisers are seeking to change, which we simply cannot do -even if we are the Pope.

10 comments:

  1. It may be some reassurance that the points you raise are being raised at the synod:

    http://www.news.va/en/news/debate-of-the-synod-fathers-following-the-post-dis

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Seeker.
      Like most people, I expected the kind of Report we got, and I expected some strong faithful bishops would raise a challenge.
      God Bless.

      Delete
  2. The document is evil. It opposes Our Lord's Teaching, the Deposit of Faith and the Natural Moral Law. It ought to be banned for leading souls into sin and away from the unchangeable Truth of the Holy Faith.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lynda.
      Can we be surprised at the document? I think not. Thank God is has no authority; it is just a summary of discussions so far, because those who look for support for the evil that is awash in society regarding family life and sexuality will jump on this document as prophetic rather than wicked.
      God Bless

      Delete
  3. The Psalms tell us what happens when Almighty God 'leaves us to our own inventions." The Hebrews were swamped by pagan hordes who took them into captivity.

    The clear punishments for leaving the path laid out for them are there for all to read. However, we are not reading the signs of our own times. Our Lady has told us how much God is offended, and that He will punish us before things get much worse. We are being swamped by the hordes who no longer believe, and we are being carried off into captivity - the captivity we don't seem to be resisting.

    It pains me to say this but the Pope is the culmination of 50 years of the Church's orientation towards the world. He is simply emboldened now and he's got the numbers - of those who are right there with him, and of those who have been so used to this horror that they cannot gather the strength to fight. We shouldn't be surprised at all, this is not new. It is bold, direct action predicted by all of us out here in Tradition.

    Thank you Father, for speaking out on our behalf. We need our priests to be shepherds now desperately.
    Barbara

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Barbara,
      We have had fifty years of non-teaching and disordered pastoral care to which many at the top are blind. They are seeking to lead the Church over a precipice; I pray they will hear the voices of those who see, and turn back from their dangerous and destructive path.
      God Bless

      Delete
  4. Amen. As Christ also said: "If you would love me, keep my commandments.", it is obviously not the keeping of the Divine Law for which He was criticizing the Pharisees.

    "..what they absolutely do not need is to have their souls put in danger by telling them that to live contrary to the mind of God presents no danger to their eternal salvation."

    Problem is, how many PM's believe that anything can endanger one's eternal salvation? There is a practical universalism at work in the Church which destroys both our pastoral theology and our zeal for evangelization.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you, D.C.,
      I don't think there are many people who think there is anything which can adversely affect their eternal salvation (other than 'hurting peoples feelings' and it is to from the desire not to hurt people's feelings the PM's are coming. Quite simply, this strikes one as a loss of belief in the soul and in Truth. There is indeed a kind of Universalism at work today.
      God Bless
      God Bless

      Delete
  5. Thank you for your reasoned and measured tone and factual presentation.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Newguy40.
      I hope it is measured, reasoned and charitable.
      God Bless.

      Delete

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