A New Faith? Update Catechism #1735

I have heard some harsh remarks about Pope Francis, especially since the publication of Amoris Laetitia (following which I actually heard him described as ‘evil’). But the real culprit is Satan, with whom it is characteristic to take a truth and distort it so as to achieve a bad end. He did this in the Garden of Eden when he distorted the truth of man made in the image and likeness of God so as to turn man from God to self: “God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes shall be opened and you shall be like gods, knowing good from evil” (Gen.3v4-5). This is also his tactic today: to mix the light of truth with the darkness of lies in such a way as to achieve the colour grey: the grey fog of relativism in which souls literally lose their way to heaven. In seminary there were a number of students who could be heard to say ‘grey is the devil’s favourite colour’. Today Satan distorts ‘do not judge’ (which concerns not judging people) into not judging actions and situations; a distortion for which Pope Francis might be said to have fallen. Sadly, this distortion advances the work of the father of lies, rather than the work of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis has often spoken of the God of Surprises, wherein we are asked to be surprised by new ideas and new ways; ways which take us out of the certainties of The Faith into the enemy’s ‘grey areas’. One can only echo St Paul who said, “I fear that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes preaching a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you are all too willing to listen” (2 Cor.11:3, 4).

Has Pope Francis has fallen for the devil’s tactic? Many might say yes, because while he obviously cares for those in difficult circumstances and seeks to help them while seeking to leave doctrine intact, he has also indicated that we can at times ignore Doctrine by admitting to Holy Communion those who are objectively in grave sin (adultery). Such a practice [1] exposes the Blessed Sacrament to sacrilege, [2] exposes souls to the possibility of dying in mortal sin, and [3] brings the Church to a state of self-contradiction wherein practice runs contrary to belief. Catholics see this as a dangerous situation, for it allows pastoral practice to be divorced from the truths of The Faith (no pun intended). Pope Francis, by referring to a ‘God of Surprises’ and ‘grey areas’, has left himself open to being described dangerous to souls, for by placing his pastoral directives over and above the words the Lord in Scripture and Tradition, we are led away from Catholicism to a new faith which might be called ‘Francisism’. 

We will need a strong Pope after Francis; one who is unafraid to see the good in what Francis has achieved as well as the errors he has made, so that he may affirm the former and anathematise the latter. Many admit to being disorientated and disturbed by Pope Francis, but we have to remember that Francis cannot re-write 2,000 years of doctrine and practice: a pope is infallible only in defending the known truth; he is not divinely inspired so as to add to it, abandon it or in any way alter it. We should remember that at the end of the day, if Francis can go against 2,000 years of Catholicism, a successor can go against (#) years of ‘Francisism’.

I have been asked, do we ignore #1735 of the Catechism by refusing Holy Communion to those in adulterous situations? The answer is no; article #1735 says "Imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors",  and refers to ones culpability before God; it does not mean the Church can support an on-going situation that objectively contravenes Divine Truth/Divine Law. The Church cannot put herself in opposition to such Laws/Truths as found in the 6th Commandment and Matthew 19v9.  It is scandalous for anyone to attempt to overrule or even simply ignore the teaching of God-made-man.