Letter #67, 2016: The Silent Pope

Acasă > Ştiri > Arhiva Ştiri

Timp stanga: 0.03s...

Ştiri şi Evenimente

Letter #67, 2016: The Silent Pope

[2016-12-09]

[Engleză]

December 8, 2016, Thursday -- The Silent Pope

"This apostolic exhortation contains a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to Catholic faith and morals... We request that the Cardinals and Patriarchs petition the Holy Father to condemn the errors... in a definitive and final manner." —Letter to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, June 29, 2016, signed by 45 Catholic pastors and theologians from all over the world. It includes an analysis of the March 19 Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia in which the signers condemn 19 statements of the papal document. An English version of the critical analysis may be found here

"There are no other interpretations." —Pope Francis, in a private September 5 letter to the bishops of Buenos Aires, Argentina, leaked by a priest in Argentina. Pope Francis writes there is “no other interpretation” of Amoris Laetitia other than one admitting divorced and remarried Catholics to Holy Communion in some cases. The Pope's letter came in response to a confidential document of the bishops of the Buenos Aires to priests instructing them on the application of the Pope’s text (link)

"They [the four cardinals] have written to the Pope and that is correct and legitimate. But, after there did not come an answer after a few weeks, they published the case. That is a slap in the face." —Monsignor Pio Vito Pinto, in a November 30 interview with the German Catholic website Katholisch.de (link), cited in a December 1 English-language article here

"It is clear that the Pope did not want to answer -- and does not want to answer -- questions formulated in a precise theological scheme in the form of 'dubia' ('doubts') which do not allow vagueness and loopholes in the reply. And it is likely, in our opinion, that the question would have been resubmitted during a meeting with the College of Cardinals; not only by the signatories of the request for clarification, but also perhaps by other cardinals, eager for a decisive word from the Pope. So, we believe that precisely for this reason during the consistory of November no provision was made for a collegial meeting with the cardinals. It could have had really embarrassing implications for the pontiff. He preferred to avoid." —Italian Vatican journalist Marco Tosatti, in a November 17 article entitled "A strange consistory. Without a meeting with the cardinals of the whole world. In order to avoid responding to the 'dubia'?" (link). Tosatti argues that Pope Francis canceled an expected meeting with the world's cardinals just before the November 19-20 Rome consistory because he suspected other cardinals would raise the question of the 'dubia.' The Vatican has offered no official explanation for the cancellation

“As for opinions of others, we always have to distinguish the spirit in which they are given. When not given in bad faith, they help with the way forward. Other times you see right away that the critics pick bits from here and there to justify a pre-existing viewpoint; they are not honest, they are acting in bad faith to foment divisions." —Pope Francis, in an interview conducted by a friend, Italian journalist Stefania Falasca, published in Avvenire, the daily of the Italian bishops, on November 17, three weeks ago (link)

"Question: But would it be possible (to take the cardinal rank away from the four cardinals who signed the letter)?

Monsignor Pio Vito Pinto: Pius XI [in 1927] took away the biretta from Cardinal Louis Billot -- a great French theologian who, however, held to a line in favor of the extremist Action Francaise that the Pope did not share. Pius XI called him to a papal audience, Billot did not alter his position, and at a certain point the Pope said: 'Eminence, you will leave this audience as a Jesuit priest.' A Pope can do such a thing. As I know Francis, he will not." —A question and answer in the December 1 interview with Monsignor Pio Vito Pinto by the Catholic website Katholisch.de, on whether Pope Francis may strip Cardinals Brandmueller, Burke, Caffara and Meisner of their cardinalatial dignity. Pinto says the Pope has the authority to do so, and gives one example from 1927, but says he does not think Pope Francis will act in this way... (link)

“It is deplorable that only four cardinals have taken the initiative in this case… The four cardinals have chosen the correct road... The Pope clearly has a deep aversion to these decisions in which a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is required.” —German theologian and philosopher Prof. Robert Spaemann, 89, in a December 4 interview (Sunday), with the Italian website La Nuova Bussola (link), summarized December 5 by the Catholic Herald in England (link) and by the American website onepeterfive (link). Note: The La Nuova Bussola story says that "in all probability" two other Church leaders -- whose names have never been made public -- also signed the letter of the four cardinals, giving their names as retired German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes and His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. If true, there were not four cardinals, but five cardinals and one major archbishop, six prelates in all, who signed the letter...

"I think that some people are exploiting the cardinals’ letter in order to ramp up the tension and create division within the Church... The hatred and viciousness directed against him [the Pope] are always signs of the bad spirit which has nothing to do with the Gospel." —Father Anthony Spadaro, S.J., editor of Rome's twice-monthly Civilta Cattolica, one of the closest advisers of Pope Francis, in an email interview with Austen Ivereigh of Crux published on December 4, four days ago (link)

"These sad Cardinals have gotten so wrapped up in the minutiae of doctrine that they fail to see the loving and merciful message of the one whom they profess to follow. These cardinals (Burke, Caffarra, Meisner, and Brandmüller) feel so compelled to preserve doctrine that is in no way threatened. Pope Francis has been careful throughout his papacy to challenge none of the doctrines of the Church... How far will Francis' dissidents take their issues? Are we headed for schism?... I believe Pope Francis is being silent to give these clerics an opportunity to back off. He is giving them an opportunity to rethink what they are saying." —American Catholic columnist Pat Perriello, in an essay entitled "Critical Cardinals Fail to Understand Francis," published December 7, yesterday, in the National Catholic Reporter (link)

"As a result of the widespread confusion and disunity following the promulgation of AL, the universal Church is now entering a gravely critical moment in her history that shows alarming similarities with the great Arian crisis of the 4th century. During that catastrophic conflict the great majority of bishops, including even the Successor of Peter, vacillated over the very divinity of Christ... Today we are witnessing a similar metastasizing crisis, this time over fundamental aspects of Christian living. Continued lip service is given to the indissolubility of marriage... But in practice, increasing numbers of highly placed prelates and theologians are undermining or effectively denying these dogmas... by virtue of their exaggerated or one-sided emphasis on 'mercy,' 'pastoral accompaniment,' and 'mitigating circumstances.'" —"A Grave and Pressing Duty": Statement of Support For the Four Cardinals' Dubia, released today, signed by 23 Catholic pastors and scholars from around the world (link)

"We hope that no one will choose to interpret the matter according to a 'progressive/conservative' paradigm. That would be completely off the mark. We are deeply concerned about the true good of souls, the supreme law of the Church, and not about promoting any form of politics in the Church.

We hope that no one will judge us, unjustly, as adversaries of the Holy Father." — Card. Walter Brandmüller, Card. Raymond L. Burke, Card. Carlo Caffarra, Card. Joachim Meisner, November 14, in making their letter public

“If you will wash away the shameful things that have been deposited in your heart through a standard of living that is diligent and attentive, God’s beauty will shine in you… Contemplating yourself, you will see within yourself He who is the desire of your heart, and you will be blessed.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Beatitudes. The words were cited by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in his catechesis of August 29, 2007 on St. Gregory of Nyssa

"Man has, as his goal, the contemplation of God. This is the only way he can find his fulfillment. In order to have a foretaste of this goal in this life, he must strive constantly toward a spiritual life, a life in dialogue with God. In other words — and this is the most important lesson that St. Gregory of Nyssa teaches us — man’s total fulfillment consists in holiness, in a life lived out in an encounter with God, thereby becoming a light for others and for the world." —Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, August 29, 2007, catechesis on St. Gregory of Nyssa

=====================

The Silence of the Pope

It is a dramatic story.

And a complicated one.

And one that could have devastating consequences for the unity of the Church, for the orthodoxy of Church teaching, and for the legacy of this Pope.

It is the story of the "doubts" of four cardinals who for many weeks have been asking Pope Francis to clarify, leaving no shadow of doubt, that in his March 19 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love") he has taught nothing "un-Catholic," nothing that diverges from the Church's tradition and faith -- nothing heretical.

Indeed, in this case, these cardinals are truly asking "Is the Pope Catholic?"

Many think the cardinals are wrong to have acted in this way. They think that these "sad cardinals," as one writer put it, have gotten "so wrapped up in the minutiae of doctrine that they fail to see the loving and merciful message of the one whom they profess to follow."

And many in Rome are shaking their heads, saying they do not understand why the four cardinals have taken a course that is leading them to a direct confrontation over doctrine with their own Pope.

Yet today, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the four cardinals picked up new support, with 23 Catholic pastors and theologians publishing a statement comparing the danger of this situation to the danger at the time of the Arian heresy in the 4th century, when St. Athanasius stood alone "contra mundum" ("against the world") in defense of the doctrine of the full divinity of Christ. Central truths of the faith are at stake, these Catholics are saying.

Adding drama to this story is its unprecedented backdrop: a time of "two Popes" (Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI and Francis) in Rome, and a time of astonishing global technological change and of multiple efforts to control and transform the very nature of human life, and of human morality.

The story pits bishops against bishops, cardinals against cardinals... and threatens to split the Church. This is serious matter, not to be taken lightly.

Many of you have followed the twists and turns of this story for three years now, through the two Synods and the publication of Amoris Laetitia, and the publication of the September 19 "dubia" ("doubts") of the four cardinals, Carlo Caffara of Italy, Joachim Meisner and Walter Brandmueller of Germany, and Raymond Leo Burke of the United States, all of whom I know personally, made public on November 14.

The four cardinals asked Pope Francis, whom I have also met several times, to give "yes or no" answers to five questions about marriage, divorce and communion, and Church teaching on morality in general, that they say remain unclear and a cause of confusion. (For the five questions, see below.)

And, in an interview on November 15, the day after the publication of the questions, Cardinal Burke said that, if the four cardinals do not receive an answer, they may issue a "formal correction" of the Pope's teaching

“Then we would have to address that situation (of the pope not responding)," Burke said. "There is, in the tradition of the Church, the practice of correction of the Roman Pontiff. It is something that is clearly quite rare. But if there is no response to these questions, then I would say that it would be a question of taking a formal act of correction of a serious error.” (link)

The gauntlet, as it were, was thrown down by Burke with those words.

That was followed by seeming threats, retractions, denunciations, clarifications, appeals and... silences.

Here are just a few of the highlights:

(1) November 15: Cardinal Burke raises the stakes (link)

In an interview with Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, an American, says that "tremendous division" in the Church warrants action.

"We, as cardinals, judged it our responsibility to request a clarification with regard to these questions, in order to put an end to this spread of confusion that is actually leading people into error," Burke said. "Everywhere I go I hear it. Priests are divided from one another, priests from bishops, bishops among themselves. There’s a tremendous division that has set in in the Church, and that is not the way of the Church."

And he concluded: "The issue is the truth. In the trial of St. Thomas More, someone told him that most of the English bishops had accepted the king’s order, but he said that may be true, but the saints in heaven did not accept it. That’s the point here. I would think that even though other cardinals did not sign this, they would share the same concern. But that doesn’t bother me. Even if we were one, two or three, if it’s a question of something that’s true and is essential to the salvation of souls, then it needs to be said... What’s binding is the Tradition. Ecclesial authority exists only in service of the Tradition. I think of that passage of St. Paul in the Letter to the Galatians (1:8), that if 'even an angel should preach unto you any Gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.'"

Pentin asked: "If the Pope were to teach grave error or heresy, which lawful authority can declare this and what would be the consequences?"

Burke replied: "It is the duty in such cases, and historically it has happened, of cardinals and bishops to make clear that the Pope is teaching error and to ask him to correct it."

(2) November 17, Francis Answers His Critics (link)

In a long interview with Italian journalist Stefania Falasca, Francis suggests that his critics — the reader may assume that he is speaking of the four cardinals — "pick bits from here and there to justify a pre-existing viewpoint; they are not honest, they are acting in bad faith to foment divisions."

(3) November 25: Cardinal Hummes Says "The Whole College of Cardinals Is With Him (Francis)"

On 25 November, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, 82, from Brazil, the cardinal who stood near to Francis on the balcony of St. Peter's after his election on March 13, 2013, gave an interview to the Spanish news website Religion Digital. In this interview, the former Archbishop of SĂŁo Paulo suggests that the resistance to Pope Francis is insignificant and of little weight. He says: “Without wishing to relativise this fact [of the dubia] …. but these are only four cardinals. In the Church, we are more than 200 [cardinals].”

The cardinal then adds: "The Pope could be wounded by the motives which led these four persons to go so far as to want to correct him. But, he is very calm, relaxed, and moves forward. He knows which is the right path that one has to follow. And the College of Cardinals is with him, without any larger problems. The whole College of Cardinals is with him."

(4) November 29: A Vatican Official Says Francis Could Strip the Four Cardinals of their Red Hats (link)

Monsignor Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of the Roman Rota, told a conference in Spain that Cardinal Burke and the three cardinals who submitted the dubia to Pope Francis "could lose their Cardinalate" for causing "grave scandal" by making the dubia public. The Dean of the Roman Rota went on to accuse Cardinals Burke, Caffarra, Brandmüller and Meisner of "questioning the Holy Spirit."

(5) December 1: The Above Story Is Retracted Due to "Mistranslation" (link)

Religión Confidencial publishes a “rectificacón” (correction) that states they put words into the mouth of Mons. Pio Vito Pinto regarding the statement that the four cardinals who have written the Pope ‘could lose their cardinalate.’”

“The phrase,” the correction goes on, “was taken from an interview conducted by RC in which Mons. Vito responds in Italian and it is not correct. After reviewing the recording, it has been proven that what he affirms is that Pope Francis is not a Pope of other times in which those measures were used and that the Pope was not going to withdraw from them the Cardinalate dignity." (link)

(6) December 1: Catholic Columnist Ross Douthat Suggests in the New York Times that "Catholic marriage is coming to an end" (link)

In a December 1 article in the New York Times entitled "The End of Catholic Marriage," columnist Ross Douthat sides with the four cardinals about the seriousness of this case, and asks for Pope Francis to end his silence.

Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com

Contor Accesări: 1324, Ultimul acces: 2026-09-27 10:50:57

Timp total: 0.04s...

[]:1