Letter #33, 2014: Francis Has His Hand on the Tiller

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Letter #33, 2014: Francis Has His Hand on the Tiller

[2014-11-15]

[Engleză]

November 14, 2014, Friday — Francis Has His Hand On The Tiller — And He Will Not Change Doctrine

(Continued from Letter #31 of October 21)

Greetings from Rome.

I left off the last letter, almost a month ago, saying I would explain why the mid-October conversation between Cardinal Walter Kasper and British journalist Edward Pentin was the second "revelatory moment" of the October Bishops' Synod on the Family, and why the Pope's final message to the Synod was the third "revelatory moment" (the first "revelatory moment" was when Cardinal Peter Erdo, in an unscripted aside at a press conference, revealed that Italian Archbishop Bruno Forte had drafted the controversial passages in the mid-Synod report that later were redrafted or left out of the final report.)

But before beginning those stories, I have to insert a brief "newsflash": that Cardinal Kasper on November 11 here in Rome, speaking at a small round-table I attended, said there will not be a change in Church doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage, only an effort to make Church pastoral care for individuals in problematic or broken relationships more charitable, effective and helpful.

Kasper and Coccopalmerio on November 11

I attended a round-table the other evening, on November 11, at the Centro Ecumenica Russia on Borgo Pio, a few steps from the Sant'Anna Gate into Vatican City, at which Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke.

Kasper, just back in Rome after a trip to the United States, was joined by Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, one of the leading canon lawyers in the Church, and now President of the Vatican's most important canon law office, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (he was also, for many years, the private secretary of the late, and important, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan).

The two discussed the October Synod on the Family for an hour and a half. About 25 people were present.

One essential conclusion of the discussion was this: that the Church will not change her established moral doctrine.

Both men said this: that next year, when the Synod reconvenes, there won't be any change in Church doctrine, only an effort to change the application of the doctrine in specific cases.

Coccopalmerio put it this way: "We never wished to change doctrine, only to change the application of the doctrine to particular cases. The doctrine cannot change."

Kasper concurred.

This is important. There are many who are wondering, and whispering, about the chances of a "change in Church doctrine."

Yet while they wonder, and whisper, the very protagonists of the alleged move to change Church doctrine, men like Kasper and Coccopalmerio, are saying quite openly that a change in doctrine is not in the cards.

It is not going to happen.

And this means that those who fear that the barque of Peter is sailing "rudderless," that there is no helmsman at the tiller, that Pope Francis is falling short in carrying out his mission to confirm his brothers in the faith and in assuring the unity of the Church, are wrong.

(Such suggestions were made, at least in appearance, by Cardinal Raymond Burke in an October 30 interview which instantly spread around the internet — link: http://www.religionnews.com/2014/10/31/cardinal-catholic-church-pope-francis-ship-without-rudder/)

To be noted: The Synodal process and Orthodoxy

The second essential conclusion of the evening was something few have noted: that the process of the Synod, with the Pope listening and the bishops speaking freely, had profound ecumenical implications, especially with regard to the Orthodox.

In other words, the Synod showed that the Petrine office can function through a process of discussion with bishops, as occurs in the Synods of the Orthodox Church. The Pope did not take an "authoritarian" role, but simply listened. In the Orthodox understanding, the Pope is sometimes thought of as an "authoritarian" figure, not simply the "servant of unity" and "servant of fidelity to tradition," that Catholics believe him to be.

What this means — and what has largely been overlooked in the coverage of the Synod — is that the Synod may have been a landmark in ecumenical relations, and may have been intended to be such a landmark.

That is, that the Pope, in his desire to increase the possibility of a positive movement toward Church unity, especially with the Orthodox, wished this Synod to display to the Orthodox world a way of coming to decisions in the Church more in keeping with the Orthodox tradition.

So, while the world was focused on the issues of marriage, divorce, remarriage, and communion, there was also, on a profound level, something happening in the area of reuniting the Roman Catholic Church with the Orthodox Churches.

The Pope has his hand on the tiller

What Kasper said three days ago in the round-table I attended is, in fact, precisely the same thing he said in the overlooked final question in the controversial October 14 "Kasper-Pentin Interview," reprinted below.

So already during the Synod, Kasper had made quite clear that the press coverage of the Synod, which suggested that a change in Catholic doctrine on marriage might be imminent — and that Francis might preside over or approve of such change — was misleading.

And this further helps to explain why so many Catholics committed to being faithful to the teachings of Christ as handed down from the beginning, experienced a certain anxiety, sometimes verging on panic, by what they were reading about the Synod proceedings.

In fact, Francis is a profoundly faithful Pope, who intends to conserve the deposit of the faith, and will do so — as Kasper himself confirms — in a world in which that deposit is under open attack from the declared enemies of the Church, but also from within the Church, from those who are misled by reports so outrageous that they should not be believed, but which lead many to vacillate in their confidence in the successor of Peter.

Francis does have his "hand on the tiller." He will not change Church doctrine — Kasper and Coccopalmerio both confirm that.

The Second "Revelatory Moment"

In essence, the Kasper-Pentin conversation on Tuesday, October 14, revealed how human the proceedings of the Synod were.

The proceedings may have been, to some extent, "planned" to end up a certain way, but there were many things "unplanned," which left the Synod open to "spin" and misinterpretation and misunderstanding.

The Kasper-Pentin conversation reveals that is a striking way.

In essence, Pentin, a respected journalist who has covered the Vatican for many years, on the night of October 15, interviewed Kasper.

It occurred like this: Pentin met Kasper — who is now past age 80 — as Kasper was leaving the Synod hall, near the Sant'Uffizio gate, after a long day of discussions. Pentin held out an Iphone, which can be used also as a tape recorder, and identified himself as a journalist. Kasper responded to all the questions, willingly. There were two other journalists also present. (One of the most controversial questions, about the African bishops, was asked by another journalist, not Pentin.)

There was ample room for confusion and misunderstanding. If one listens to the tape of the interview, one can hear the cars of Rome driving by in the background. One might imagine that Kasper did not hear certain questions clearly.

Pentin transcribed and published the interview. (Note: Pentin had introduced himself as a journalist from "the (National Catholic) Register," a print publication, but he first published the interview on the Zenit web site.)

Certain phrases in the interview, referring to some of the African bishops (Kasper suggested that the European bishops did not need to listen to the African bishops on certain points of moral doctrine) were controversial.

Other reporters then asked Kasper about the interview.

And here came the central moment in this incident.

Kasper, when asked about his remarks, did not distance himself from just a few phrases, but rather denied having given any such interview. (Note: Some suggest that Kasper may have, in fact rightly, denied that he had given an interview to Zenit.)

Zenit then retracted the article, taking it down from its website. (!)

So Pentin was now in a difficult position. His integrity was being called into question.

He took a dramatic decision: he published a statement saying Kasper had in fact given him the interview, and, in a still more dramatic gesture, he went so far as to post the entire interview, in a sound file, on the internet, so that anyone in the world could listen to it!

And if one listens to the tape, the interview is all there; Kasper had given the interview.

So Kasper, who had been the "protagonist" of the entire Synodal process — he had been chosen by Pope Francis to give a long presentation to a Consistory in the spring, several months before the Synod, outlining certain possible changes in the Church's understanding of the doctrine on marriage, divorce, remarriage and communion — seemed, suddenly, to a certain extent, in the eyes of many, especially more "traditional" Catholics, discredited.

For example, one commenter wrote on Pentin's website: "It makes sense that someone who is so untruthful about Catholic theology as Kasper has been would lie... when there is outrage over his other comments. At least he’s consistent."

Another wrote: "Thank you, Edward Pentin! I hope Pope Francis would listen this interview."

Another wrote: "If Kasper has he way, Africans will be denied a voice in the Synod. Why then were they invited if they are to be seen and not heard? This type of unbridled elitism comes from Kasper is extremely regrettable."

Another wrote: "Oh my! The Cardinal has really put his foot in it! Well done Edward. I’m glad you got the audio. I hope this helps the synod members to distance themselves from what he is espousing! Prayers for C. Kasper!"

This expression, "I hope this helps the Synod members to distance themselves from what he is espousing," is significant, because, to some extent, it seems that this happened, as the mood of the Synod seemed to change in mid-course, perhaps, if only is a small way, also because of this interview incident.

And so an odd "incident" — an interview given in haste, likely in tiredness, in the dark of the evening, on the edge of a trafficky street, published in a place where the interviewee had not been told it would be published — led to a certain negative shift in public opinion with regard to the leading theological voice of the Synod, Cardinal Kasper.

For those of you who wish to have full documentation, below after the next section, is the complete text of Pentin's statement about the interview, and the complete transcription of the recording, and, to top it off, a link to the recording itself, if you would like to hear Cardinal Kasper's voice answering Pentin's questions.

A relevant conversation with Cardinal Ratzinger

More than 10 years ago, I had a conversation with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI and now Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, which has some relevance to the current situation.

I had been advised by a Vatican official that Cardinal Ratzinger was upset with Cardinal Kasper due to a running debate that was taking place in the press between the two over the question of "universal Church" vs. "particular Church."

Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com

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