They are called "executive orders". Haha.
Posted on 09/09/2015 9:28:44 AM PDT by BlatherNaut
Please excuse the provocative title, and do not misunderstand. Obviously, neither the Pope nor anyone else can change Church doctrine normatively. That is, Church doctrine remains true and unchangeable whatever people--without or within the Church--believe or say. In the same way the teachings of Christ or the Commandments themselves remain true and unchanging.
What the Pope can do, however, is to say that Church doctrine has changed or, more to the point, imply by his words or actions that it has. Or he can say or imply that Church doctrine wasn't what most people--including most people in the Church itself for almost 2,000 years--said or thought that it was.
I have the impression that some people actually believed that even this was impossible (and I admit that a few years ago, I might have been one of them). If the Pope, say, tried to mislead people on Church doctrine, he would burst into flame or have the Holy Spirit cover his mouth so he would sputter, or a Council would suddenly pop into being and instantly declare him anti-Pope. Or whatever.
But we know now that this isn't true. Do I say this based on some theological argument? No, it's an empirical claim. The Pope did it and nothing happened.
I am of course referring to the two just released Motu Proprio "reforming" the annulment process. The effect will be to concede that the marriage of two people can (contrary to the words of Jesus) be, for reasons other than the death of one of the spouses, be broken asunder.
Making it, as a practical matter, much easier for Catholics to have their marriages declared invalid won't merely legitimize "Catholic divorce" but will remove the Catholic Church as the unofficial leader of the marriage protection business and will weaken the institution yet again (as if we needed even more of that now) for everyone.
Of course, it is quite possible that this pontificate itself may be declared invalid at some future date, a possibility that many Catholics are, if not publicly discussing, certainly whispering more and more about. Ironic isn't it?
But that doesn't help us now.
The Pope didn't change the Church's doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage? He merely "reformed" the annulment process?
Oh, please. Stop it.
Everyone, everyone understands this as the Pope's attempt to show mercy to people in unhappy or "bad" marriages--or to people who bailed years ago and are now claiming that as the reason. The new rules go into effect on the first day of the Pope's own Jubilee Year of Mercy.
But if it's really only annulment--the accurate discernment of a false marriage that was invalid to begin with--then what does that have to do with mercy? If the marriage in question were valid, then there's no dissolving it (according to Church doctrine). But if it were invalid, then discerning that efficiently and fairly is a question of justice or truth, not mercy.
That the Pope intentionally and publicly associates it with mercy, shows how dishonest the whole thing is.
Will the greatly eased rules on annulments (something John Paul II no doubt would have been horrified with and Benedict XVI no doubt is horrified with) lead to millions of additional annulments? Probably not. We've gone too far even for that. Most Catholics in name don't give a damn about annulment anyway. Those who think the concept of annulment (as opposed to divorce) still has meaning (which of course it does) aren't generally the ones who would want to bail on their marriages anyway.
And obviously, annulment as "Catholic divorce" has been humming along at a pretty good clip for a generation or more, at least in the United States and a few other countries, though it has recently dipped slightly for the reasons given above. But the difference is that before there was a feeling that this was largely due to abuses of the process. And the cynical of course pointed this out at every opportunity. See (they argued), the Catholic Church claims that marriage is "till death do us part" but if you grease enough canonical palms or are a Kennedy or whatever, you can do whatever you want to do.
As of today, the Church isn't even claiming that marriage is a lifelong commitment. Not really. Now everyone can wig out of it (without being a Kennedy or greasing any canonical palms--though that was an exaggeration anyway). And lo and behold, the Church is perceived as finally stepping into the 20th century. What a breath of fresh air! How merciful!
But the doctrine is gone, the doctrine that, however much it may have recently been undermined, still appeared to many as a rock standing against the great modern flood of infidelity and, well, selfishness.
Oh, sure. It's not really gone. It's still there, whatever anyone thinks or even what the Pope himself wants you to think. Does that make you feel better?
Enough.
This is a disaster.
Jeb is meeting with the Pope on Sept. 23. Weird.
Also you would think the Pope would be very concerned about Planned Parenthood genocide, selling of dead baby parts.
Vatican crickets. Very strange.
Who does he think he is.....Obama???
Has this man ever read a Bible?
If you think this doctrinal change is bad... just wait until the gospel itself is re-defined.
They are called "executive orders". Haha.
Oh, stop it now, that's craaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzyyyyy!
Just like our Constitution.
NWO and transnationalism. An elitist tail is wagging the world dog like never before. Apply Psalm 2 for relief.
Psalm 2 indeed! (You know Psalm 2 is linked to Revelation 2:27 I believe?)
I believe these Elites “game the Bible” on these issues, without believing exactly in the Bible. Sorta like Mormons.
You heard what French President Jacques Chirac said George W Bush said about his motivations for going to Iraq?
“Gog and Magog at work..”
Chirac had to hire a Biblical expert to decipher what Bush meant:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/aug/10/religion-george-bush
Church doctrine is, by definition, whatever the people running the church say it is.
Comes from the Latin “doctrina” or “teaching.”
It is not easier to get an annulment, the Pope put into place rules which will speed up the process. For example, the 3-person tribunal used to reauire that 2 of them be priests; now the requirement is for only one priest. If a bishop has two more qualified laypeople, he can double the capacity.
People may believe that annulments are now given out like candy, but since one of the invalidating points is that one or both of the partners planned to use artificial birth control, and this was a notion which was erroneously taught or not explained to many people in the US, it is not surprising that many invalid marriages were performed.
The main problem, as it so often is, is that the media does not understand Church teaching and also puts on its own destructive spin when reporting.
What EXACTLY is the doctrinal “change” supposed to be? A change in canon law procedure does not necessarily encroach on anything “doctrinal”.
notice my tagger
One of my major problems with this denomination is how much power they give to one individual. If that person is steadfast in their doctrine and conduct, that’s great.
If they aren’t, then what?
“If you think this doctrinal change is bad... just wait until the gospel itself is re-defined.”
Long, long, long ago.
Francis can only affect Roman Catholics.
I think the first Third World Pope has been watching and learning from America's first Third World President. He sure is beginning to act like Obama. What will they come up with when they get together during the Pope's visit to the US?
“Apply Psalm 2 for relief.”
GREAT advice! I do it often.
“Long, long, long ago.”
If you read the NT, right out of the starting gate! False teachers being addressed right and left. From those apostolic writings (indeed the whole of Scripture) we can tell who is antichrist and who is not. They set the standard by which all after them are judged true/false concerning the Gospel.
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