Posted on 06/21/2017 7:54:19 PM PDT by ebb tide
Pope’s doctrine chief: Those in ‘grave sin’ cannot receive Communion until ‘contrition, confession, and reparation’
ROME, Italy, June 21, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Holy Communion cannot be given to Catholics who have left a “valid” marriage and have become civilly divorced and remarried to someone else until they have repented of and confessed “all grave sin,” said the Vatican’s doctrinal chief, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, in a new interview published today.
“Contrition, confession, and reparation are the three necessary elements for absolution. These are the immediate conditions for the receiving the Holy Eucharist, Jesus Christ, who is the same divine person who forgives us,” he said in the interview with the National Catholic Register’s Ed Pentin.
The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, considered second only to the Pope as the Vatican's authority on doctrinal matters, said the bond of marriage was created by God to be unbreakable.
"I have said it many times, and I repeat it here again. Matrimony is instituted by God the Creator and is elevated as a sacrament by Jesus Christ. …Jesus established clearly, and without doubt, the indissolubility of valid Matrimony,” he said.
“This is what we must preach, declare, and explain to the Catholic faithful,” he added.
The Catholic Church teaches that those who leave their spouse to whom they are validly married for sexual relations with another person commit the grave sin of adultery, which is against the Sixth Commandment. The Church, following St. Paul, furthermore teaches that those who are in grave sin cannot receive Holy Communion since, having cut themselves off from God by their sin, they would be eating unworthy, even to their own “condemnation.”
Cardinal Müller’s words come after an Argentinian bishop celebrated a special Mass in his diocese earlier this month for civilly-divorced-and-remarried couples living in adultery, where they were all invited to receive Holy Communion.
The special Mass came nine months after the bishops of Buenos Aires released guidelines based on Pope Francis’ Exhortation Amoris Laetitia in which they said that in “complex circumstances” when remarried couples cannot “obtain a declaration of nullity,” priests can nevertheless move forward to grant them access to the sacraments, including Communion.
Then, in a surprise move, Pope Francis wrote to the bishops, telling them that there is ‘no other interpretation’ of his Exhortation than what they put in their guidelines.
But Müller said in his interview with Pentin that Catholic couples who find themselves facing “marital difficulty” should be helped, “but not only with pragmatic reflections according to the spirit of the world, but according to the Holy Spirit, with the means of the sacraments and the internal and canonical conditions for the reception of Holy Communion, which necessar(ily) includes the confession of all grave sin.”
“Contrition, confession, and reparation are the three necessary elements for absolution. These are the immediate conditions for receiving the Holy Eucharist, Jesus Christ, who is the same divine person who forgives us,” he stated.
Despite Cardinal Müller’s numerous statements that Amoris Laetitia has not opened the door to giving Communion to adulterers (for example, here, here, and here), various cardinals, bishops, and bishops’ groups have directly disobeyed his directives.
Bishops in Argentina, Malta, Germany, and Belgium have issued pastoral guidelines based on their reading of the Exhortation that allow Communion to be given to civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics living in adultery. This interpretation has also been pushed by high-ranking cardinals such as Francesco Coccopalmerio and Blase Cupich.
But other bishops, such as those in Canada and Poland, have issued statements based on their reading of the Exhortation that follows Catholic teaching and forbids adulterous couples from receiving Communion.
Remember, my FRiend...
The last time you saw her, she was crying
You saw it and you knew in your heart
That the next day your mind would think of dying
Those tears would be the cue for you to part
Then you think it’s not possible to walk on
But you feel that your feet are doing well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwb2dcAzpuc
What about amendment? You shouldn't be absolved of grave sin without a firm commitment to amending your life. So, if you're committing adultery, you stop. He doesn't mention that.
There is mercy and forgiveness at the feet of Jesus Christ. Too bad the church of Rome robbed so many of that grace.
And what if I don’t? A priest has no more authority over you than your family doctor-—he can recommend, but he cannot force you.
your day will come . . .
Ut oh
Great tagline.
Sick of all the whining about Francis.
We are responsible for our souls and the bible and Jesus were pretty straightforward on how to live our lives.
Wow! That took courage to say publicly now with Francis as pope. (Next assignment for the good Prefect: cleaning toilets in Gaza?)
Francis just ignores Mueller. He can say whatever he wants, but it’s like hearing the rain, as far as Francis is concerned.
I don’t think Francis wants to call attention to what Mueller is saying by actively rejecting it, and Francis also doesn’t want to make any statement that will enable people to prove that he is formally a heretic. So he keeps silent and lets his minions do his dirty work.
What a farce.
Wow! Sounds like complete melt- down.
He's referring to those who have been divorced and remarried? The only way to cease committing adultery in that case is to live a chaste life with your spouse.
A serious question: Can’t every Romam Catholic do that now? Commit a “grave” sin, get forgiveness, communion and then do,so,again in two weeks?
A firm purpose of amendment is required for a valid confession.
In this case, we have a couple that has divorced and remarried. They can't just confess this sin. This does not dissolve their invalid marriage. They need to rectify their living situation or there is no firm purpose of amendment. It is a first step in the right direction, but they still should not receive communion.
I appreciate the answers.
You’re welcome. They seemed sincere. Thank you for that.
Mueller was interviewed by Raymond Arroyo a couple weeks ago and said nothing has changed concerning marriage. He said you can not receive communion if you are living with someone else if you were married in the church and had not received an annulment. Yes he twisted and tied himself in knots trying to explain Bergoglio’s heretical statements on marriage. He even went as far as to say Bergoglio needs to explain himself, which of course he never will. Raymond asked him if it was true that Bergoglio fired four of his top assistants and Mueller said that was fact. Raymond asked him what reasons was he given and Bergoglio said “I don’t have to give you a reason, I’m the pope.” Mueller said all four of his fired assistants were orthodox in their beliefs and that was the only reason he can think of as to why they were fired. In other-words they were fired because they believe in the Bible and Catholic Church teachings on morality. Bergoglio does not. Look for leftist quack and Bergoglio lapdog Cupich to replace Mueller in the near future.
Bwahaha.
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