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The Case for a Fair, Free and Authentic Synod Debate
The National Catholic Register ^ | 3/26/15 | Edward Pentin

Posted on 03/26/2015 7:43:14 PM PDT by marshmallow

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has voiced his opposition to an initiative of nearly 500 priests of England and Wales in which they signed an open letter stating their “unwavering fidelity” to Church doctrine on marriage and the family ahead of the upcoming Synod on the Family.

The Archbishop of Westminster said in a statement yesterday that their concerns about the synod should be raised with their bishop and are “not best conducted through the press.”

But his response is causing considerable concern among some in Rome, and probably elsewhere, who feel that for priests to merely uphold the Church’s teaching in a concerted and public way is now no longer permissible. A few of the faithful I have spoken with have been even more forthright and expressed anger and great sadness at the cardinal's response. A petition has now been created to support the priests.

What this partly shows is that some Church leaders believe that promoting the traditional teaching of the Church on marriage and the family somehow obstructs Pope Francis’ will for the synod – despite no one knowing for sure what the Holy Father’s opinion really is, as he has purposely never explicitly made his views public, in order to encourage free discussion.

But this presumed view of the Pope, although probable given his appointments, words and actions, means that one half of the debate is being closed down. And this runs contrary to what is definitively known about the Holy Father's will for the synod: that he wants a free and open debate.

(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Ministry/Outreach; Theology
KEYWORDS:
Pope: "Let's have an open debate about these issues..."

Priests: "Great.....we support traditional Catholic teaching....."

Cardinal supporter of Pope: "Shut up!"

Pentin has been on top of this fiasco since day 1.

1 posted on 03/26/2015 7:43:14 PM PDT by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow

Indeed. If he hadn’t had the foresight to record Kasper’s interview, we’d be a lot worse off.


2 posted on 03/26/2015 10:37:50 PM PDT by Unam Sanctam
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To: marshmallow
The fix is in. Screwtape reported to be ecstatic.
3 posted on 03/27/2015 2:05:45 PM PDT by JoeFromSidney (Book RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY, available from Amazon.)
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