Posted on 04/19/2013 2:11:53 PM PDT by NYer
Mark Brumley, CEO of Ignatius Press, has written a piece, "Aren't You Ashamed?", for National Catholic Register. From the opening:
Arent you ashamed of your Church? How can you be so bigoted to oppose marriage equality? Why do you persecute gay people?
Thats how one supporter of redefining marriage put it to me. Another said about the same thing, only she claimed to be a Catholic. My response: I am not ashamed of the Catholic Church. If I am ashamed of Catholics, it is for my failure and others failure to live the whole gospel, truth and love. And I am ashamed when we Catholics are embarrassed by Catholic teaching.
Why is it bigoted to believe, as Jesus did, that marriage is a union of a man and a woman for life? If thats bigotry, then I am a bigot for Jesus sake, I guess. People like to recall the story of the woman caught in adultery and rightly so. We should not be quick to judge. We should ultimately seek reconciliation. Why does that mean, though, we should support so-called same-sex marriage?
Yes, it can be awkward when family members differ with us. We have to find ways of remaining faithful to Jesus and loving to our family. That doesnt allow us to compromise on the truth: Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Mt 10:37).
The fact is, following Jesus can be very divisive.
Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery. Very divisive, Lord.
You brood of vipers .... Very divisive.
Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood ... Divisive, again.
Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of ...
Well, you get the point.
Read the entire post on the Register's site.
Ping!
Until the Catholic Church begins to refuse communion to the Kennedys, Bidens, and Pelosi they are in no position to demand Catholics adhere to Catholic teaching...or not be embarrassed by it.
If all Catholic teaching were precious to the Church the ministry would act to protect it...by not allowing those not in communion with the teaching to take part in the mysteries.
That's a lot of shame to keep track of.
A bishop is pretty much the last authority in his diocese. The pope may suggest, urge, and in the last resort remove the bishop, but that is a drastic remedy reserved for criminal convictions and the like.
The Pope and a number of heads of dicasteries have very strongly suggested the withholding of communion to those who create public scandal. In fact, I seem to remember Pope Francis just the other day saying something far more pointed than Benedict XVI ever did.
In the year 1085, William I of England ordered that there be a survey of the entirety of his kingdom. He then dispatched men to every corner to conduct a survey of all that lay within. In a single year it was compiled into a great book, called The Domesday Book, and it is still regarded as one of the great books of mankind.
I mention this because it is exactly what is needed for the Roman Catholic church, and well within their means.
That is, that the Pope should direct a small legion of knowledgeable but impartial and objective observers to survey all things Catholic, to develop a clear picture of the church in the world.
Too immense a project to do all at once, it should be subdivided into continents and countries and dioceses so that “the church may gaze upon the church.”
Nonsense. If the Church can and ought to discipline them, then it can and ought to discipline us.
You’re arguing that because they sin that gives us license. Nothing can be further from the truth. We are called to be responsible as individuals for our faith and adhering to Christ’s teachings.
Are we going to be able to point fingers at Judgment day and say:
“They sinned, therefore I can too?”
Good article bump.
No...I am saying that the church loses much of its moral authority to demand members not be embarrassed about church teaching when the church itself doesn’t enforce its own doctrine.
I am not arguing any right to sin...I am saying the church must enforce rules and deny open sinners the protection of holy mother church.
Which doctrine are you referring to? The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the issue of abortion insofar as those who procure one: 2272. "Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. 'A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,' [CIC, can. 1398.] 'by the very commission of the offense,' [CIC, can. 1314.] and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law. [Cf. CIC, cann. 1323-1324.] The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society."
As for the church and its hierarchy, the Catholic Church is Christ's bride (Ephesians 5:29) and has "no spot, wrinkle or blemish" (Ephesians 5:27). Individual clergy may commit sins, even popes commit sins because in the Church there are both "weeds and wheat" (Matthew 13:30).
Communion should be denied to politicians (and others) who call themselves Catholics but publically protect abortion.
Don’t understand why this is such a difficult concept.
If they excommunicated everyone for failing to uphold church doctrine we’d all be tossed. This is why we have confession in the first place. I agree that they should be excommunicated, and I’m hoping they will. However, I have a responsibility to stick with the faith regardless of what they choose to do.
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