Posted on 06/09/2016 3:59:37 PM PDT by ebb tide
The stunning introduction to today’s official Vatican Radio report on Pope Francis’ morning homily reads: “Pope Francis warned on Thursday against an excessive rigidity, saying those within the Church who tell us ‘it’s this or nothing’ are heretics and not Catholics. His remarks came during the morning Mass on Thursday celebrated at the Santa Marta residence.”
The specific section of the homily referred to in the opening is as follows:
This (is the) healthy realism of the Catholic Church: the Church never teaches us ‘or this or that.’ That is not Catholic. The Church says to us: ‘this and that.’ ‘Strive for perfectionism: reconcile with your brother. Do not insult him. Love him. And if there is a problem, at the very least settle your differences so that war doesn’t break out.’ This (is) the healthy realism of Catholicism. It is not Catholic (to say) ‘or this or nothing:’ This is not Catholic, this is heretical.
Jesus always knows how to accompany us, he gives us the ideal, he accompanies us towards the ideal, He frees us from the chains of the laws' rigidity and tells us: ‘But do that up to the point that you are capable.’ And he understands us very well. He is our Lord and this is what he teaches us.
Interpreting what Pope Francis is saying in a precise way has always been difficult. However, there has been a consistent theme in his remarks against what he refers to as ‘rigid’ Catholics who hold steadfastly to the ideals proposed by Christ and to absolutes. “Fundamentalism is a sickness that we find in all religions,” said the Pope in November while flying home from Africa. “Among Catholics there are many, not a few, many, who believe to hold the absolute truth,” he added. “They go ahead by harming others with slander and defamation, and they do great harm… And it must be combated.”
In his most recent Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis criticized the Church for often proposing, “a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage.” He added that conscience can “recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal.”
An accusation of rigidity or heresy by Pope Francis against those who would insist on the ideal of Christ’s teaching such as marriage, would fall heavily on Francis’ own predecessor, Pope St. John Paul II, whom Pope Francis himself declared a saint. In the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, John Paul taught: "It would be a very serious error to conclude... that the Church's teaching is essentially only an 'ideal' which must then be adapted, proportioned, graduated to the so-called concrete possibilities of man, according to a 'balancing of the goods in question'.”
The same condemnation of heresy against “this or nothing” Catholics would seem to target the author of God or Nothing, Cardinal Robert Sarah, who Pope Francis appointed to head the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In God or Nothing, Cardinal Sarah forcefully rejected the notion of watering down the teaching on the indissolubility of marriage with pastoral leniency. “The idea of putting magisterial teaching in a beautiful display case while separating it from pastoral practice, which then could evolve along with circumstances, fashions, and passions, is a sort of heresy, a dangerous schizophrenic pathology,” he wrote.
Cardinal Sarah also issued a warning to prelates who would seek to alter doctrine by altering the practice of the Church regarding marriage. “Men who devise and elaborate strategies to kill God, to destroy the centuries-old doctrine and teaching of the Church, will themselves be swallowed up, carried off by their own earthly victory into the eternal fires of Gehenna,” he said.
Pope Francis says that Christ “tells us: ‘But do that up to the point that you are capable.’” The Bible however, records our Lord’s words differently in the Gospel of Matthew concluding the 5th chapter where He teaches the hard truths about divorce and adultery. “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect,” said Jesus.
There doubtless are pastoral situations where there is more than one morally licit option. There are certainly others where there is not and the choice is clear; between right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness, truth and falsehood and.....ultimately......between heaven and hell. As usual, though, we're given no details and no hint of any specifics. Just a vague, generic slap-down of "rigidity" and the hated "law" which apparently separates us from God and we're left to fill in the blanks.
"Making a mess".......Francis-style!
Those words had been unknown to me before they dripped from his lips. Such terms would certainly appeal to a pervert seeking to fling out insults.
It's long past the "opening a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get" with this pope. He's as predictable as the weather rain forecast for the Saharah desert.
He’s not really, really dumb. But he’s not nearly as smart as a Pope ought to be. It was others who put him in office, because they knew he would be useful.
He’s shrewd, somewhat clever, vindictive, cruel. But not deeply intelligent or even educated, if you use the last ten Popes as a yardstick.
He is the perfect Pope from the point of view of George Soros, the Muslim Brotherhood, the globalists, Planned Parenthood, Algore, Obama, Merkel, etc., because he will emit not one peep that might wake up a single Catholic.
I have seen two instances so far with altar boys. I am linking one but cannot find the example of the altar boy whose hands were joined in prayer and the satanic vermin non-pope Jorge Bergoglio actually physically pried them apart.
Mocking the Holy Sacrifice: Francis encourages Altar Boy to treat Holy Mass as a Joke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QgP0YaOLT4
“Are your hands stuck together?”
Notice he never knelt at any altar or tomb he had just visited prior to insulting the young altar boy.
When did whatever the Pope said/did have any immediate impact on your life? Nothing he's said or done has affected my life ONE iota.
The good Lord affects my life. I go to daily Mass and THAT affects my life. My soul belongs to Jesus and that's what is important in my life...not what a Pope says/does. HE is only here on earth as Pope for a few years so why get your shorts in a bunch for what he does/says?
Get your shorts in a bunch for your eternal soul. THAT'S what is important. No disrespect meant by that, either.
I just noticed the young Catholic boy immediately rejoined his hands after Francis released them. Good for him. The only reason the other boy’s hand weren’t joined were because he was holding an aspergillum which Francis refused to utilize.
I ‘get my shorts in a bunch’ when a Pontiff openly works for one-world religion which is not the Truth of The Grave of God in Christ. If you do not see the implications of the ecumenism this man is pushing, not just pushing it at a billion Catholics but upon the rest of the world as well, if you are not alarmed by that perhaps you should spend time reading about the end times ... ecumenism is the ground prep for the antichrist’s garden.
WHY ON EARTH do non-Catholics look to the Church for that? Protestants eschewed the Catholic Church hundreds of years ago. CLARITY and STABILITY are supposed to come from YOUR OWN PROTESTANT DENOMINATIONS. It's like looking to an enemy for comfort.
Protestants have spent millions of hours disclaiming the so-called sins and errors of the heretical PAPACY. NOW you say that Protestants, all this time, have been looking to the Church they abandoned for "clarity and stability"?????
How can the "heretical" Catholic Church provide clarity and stability? Didn't defrocked Father Martin Luther provide that? Don't you have ANY "clarity and stability" in your own Protestant denomination?
How is he a "bad" Pope? And in what respect is he a "bad pope"? Was it his act of providing free showers and barbers in the front of the Vatican? Was it the sending of help to the THOUSANDS of charities for the poor and needy that he was a "bad" pope? Has he changed doctrine? What has he done that is so "bad"???
Just curious, AMcG, about your criteria for "bad" pope? What did the previous pope(s) do that was so good?
MAKES NO SENSE!
I do miss the scroll feature!
Thanks for finding it!
He is one ugly, disgusting, hypocritical, narcissistic and EVIL piece of work!
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1. I am Catholic, the original universal Church from whence YOUR "born again Christianity" arose.
2. I truly believe that the Bible is the Word of God. All Catholics believe that. Why wouldn't they?
The first pope was St. Peter. The word "pope" came from the Latin and it's meaning is "father."
If you ever went to St. Peter's Basilica you would see a list of ALL the popes since St. Peter. And, yes, all those name ARE engraved in beautiful granite.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12272b.htm
Above is the list of ALL the popes for the last 2,000 years, with St. Peter, of course, the first pope. Peter, the fisherman became a "fisher of men."
3. You say that the pope is dangerous to ALL faiths?
If he PERSONALLY is a danger to all faiths, then those who believe in other faiths don't have much strength in their chosen faith.
You are saying that the Pope would be dangerous to ALL faiths...so that includes Hinduism, Islam AND Judaism? How would/could one CATHOLIC POPE be a danger to Hinduism, Islam and Judaism?
How could ONE man be a "danger" to any faith or to those followers? How STRONG is the "faith of their fathers"?? Not very if ONE Pope in Rome could cause some doubt. Makes NO sense.
BTW: is he a "danger" to communism too?
*****How is Pope Francis a DANGER to your Protestant faith?
How is Pope Francis a DANGER to Hinduism?
How is Pope Francis a DANGER to Islam?
How is Pope Francis a DANGER to Buddhism?
You assertion that Pope Francis is a DANGER to Protestant faiths, to the myriad of Protestant denominations, makes NO sense. None whatsoever.
However, I am sorry for your discomfort and angst and I will pray for you tomorrow morning at Mass.
And I apologize if I have offended you. Mea cupla, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
FReegards.
First of all, present-day Protestants are not personally involved in the animosity that was rife 500 years ago.
Second, I didn’t say that ALL Protestants have the sentiments I described.
Third, you yourself mentioned the very reason many Protestants do have the sentiments I described: Their churches have descended into even worse chaos than the Catholic Church.
Even the Popes who were rapists, sodomites, murderers, etc., never publicly spewed un-Catholic nonsense, which this Pope does daily in homilies, speeches, and documents.
First of all, present-day Protestants are not personally involved in the animosity that was rife 500 years ago.
Second, I didn’t say that ALL Protestants have the sentiments I described.
Third, you yourself mentioned the very reason many Protestants do have the sentiments I described: Their churches have descended into even worse chaos than the Catholic Church.
Even the Popes who were rapists, sodomites, murderers, etc., never publicly spewed un-Catholic nonsense, which this Pope does daily in homilies, speeches, and documents.
==========================
1. You shouldn't! I am often amazed at how MUCH non-Catholics, Protestants, that is, CARE so deeply about what the Church says and what the Pope says/does. They shouldn't care one iota. They are nothing for Protestants...except as a reminder of what MIGHT be a sin.
2. I wonder what you consider "liberal" in the Church.
Sex outside of marriage (adultery) is still a sin.
The ten commandments are still in full force.
3. The historical commitment to issues such as
*life: Abortion is a grave sin.
**family = sex is for children and husband/wife pleasure
***marriage = a union with ONE woman and ONE man, who are married to each other [which does exclude the Mormons]
Speaking of DIVORCE/REMARRIAGE: I recall the teaching of Jesus on Divorce — Matthew 19:3-12, Mark 10:2 ...that is, that REMARRIAGE after divorce is also a GRAVE sin and the remarried commit ADULTERY.
Henry VIII made marriage-divorce-remarry an Olympic sport.
Odd that so many people ACCEPT a king's view of marriage-divorce-remarriage, but don't care for Jesus' [the KING of KINGS] view on divorce-remarriage, and now the Catholic Church's teaching on them.
I wouldn't DREAM of accusing you of Schadenfreude. You seem far too mature for that. BTW, who is suffering any misfortune? The Church? The divorced and remarried? Protestants? They aren't protesting any more, are they?
My faith hasn't changed one iota except to be stronger. I go to daily Mass and recite the rosary every day with our pre-Mass rosary.
BTW, I got my biggest boost of faith while living in the KSA, from my Muslim boss. It was an amazing experience.
He was one of the two kindest, gentlest people I have ever known. The other was my first cousin, a Mexican Catholic priest. He came north and married my husband and me. All are gone now but I do recall the kindness of those two men.
BTW, why should Protestants weep?
The Church has not changed ONE iota of doctrine/dogma.
Homo/bisexuality is STILL a sin. Two people of the same gender CANNOT marry as it would be a grave sin.
Fornication is still a sin.
Adultery is still a sin.
Missing Mass for no good reason is still a sin.
Protestants aren't required to EVER go to church, not even on Easter or Christmas. There is no Holy Communion where the priest has the authority to say the words that change bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus.
Protestant service: Readings from the Bible and a sermon. That's it. MAYBE some Protestant denominations have a communion of sorts...but, those ministers do NOT have the authority to say the words that change bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul ad Divinity of Jesus. Only Catholic priests have that awesome authority.
Protestants have no fasting or abstinence requirements.
Lent is nothing but a buildup to wearing the "Easter" bonnet/clothes.
Advent is merely a buildup to Christmas.
There is no confession, no penances, NOTHING. All they have to do is say "Sorry, Lord" and it's over. They can recommit the same sin 16 times a day and still say "Sorry, Lord, and it's over. EASY-PEASY.
Well, you get my point, armydoc!
FReegards.
=================================
Second, I didn’t say that ALL Protestants have the sentiments I described.
Of course not. You COULDN'T speak for anyone but yourself.
=================================
Third, you yourself mentioned the very reason many Protestants do have the sentiments I described: Their churches have descended into even worse chaos than the Catholic Church.
THIS I didn't know. How could that be? Worse chaos?
Is the secular world too alluring for them?
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Even the Popes who were rapists, sodomites, murderers, etc., never publicly spewed un-Catholic nonsense, which this Pope does daily in homilies, speeches, and documents.
Exactly WHAT un-Catholic nonsense does the Pope spew in his daily homilies, speeches and documents?
He CANNOT change Church dogma/doctrine and they are the crux of Jesus' teachings. So what words of Jesus has he changed?
List the un-Catholic nonsense, if you would, please.
I go to daily Mass and I KNOW what the Pope is doing these days and his activities don't SEEM un-Catholic.
***Is it the free showers and barbers in the Vatican that are so "un-Catholic"?
***Is the hundreds of millions of missionary dollars, collected from the Catholics of the world, that go to feed, shelter and clothe the starving, homeless and naked throughout the world?
***Perhaps it's the medical doctors that the Church pays to tend to the sick of the outreworld who can't afford medical care?
***Perhaps it's the orphanages that the Church runs?
***Perhaps it's the homes for unwed mothers that the Church runs?
***Maybe it's the priests, friars, brothers and nuns who span the globe teaching the ABC's and OUR FAITH?
***Maybe it's the homeless shelters they run?
***Maybe it was Mother Theresa whose ONLY task was to allow the DYING to die with dignity. She NEVER impinged on anything else. She picked up the dying off the streets of Calcutta who were DISCARDED by their families and took them in, bathed them and allowed them a death with some dignity. No sermons, no lectures, nothing. She always said that the discarded babies were the most pitiful to see.
Which is it? HOW un-Catholic of the Church. The Catholic Church HAS had 2000 years to hone their skills at these things: FEED MY SHEEP. The Protestant churches have only had 500 years or so...and their efforts can't be as united at the Catholic Church's are.
FReegards.
There are Cardinals and bishops (Burke, Sarah, Abp. Scheider) writing books and articles, and giving interviews, to correct the un-Catholic nonsense the Pope has been spewing. Yet you write as though the notion that the Pope is spewing un-Catholic nonsense is patently absurd. And, no, none of the Cardinals is griping about Catholic hospitals, Mother Theresa, feeding the hungry, etc.
I certainly CAN speak for people other than myself: people I have conversed with, Protestant FReepers who have specifically said they are troubled by this Pope, etc.
so tell me again why the Roman Catholics killed and persecuted my Huguenot ancestors ???
Well Trump sure felt the “love” when this pope lectured him viciously from Mexico...
No, since leadership defines what church teaching means, and what an acceptable RC is.
"the one duty of the multitude is to allow themselves to be led, and, like a docile flock, to follow the Pastors." (VEHEMENTER NOS) And other papal teaching by the same Pius X provided by RCs applies this submission broadly.
when we love the Pope, there are no discussions regarding what he orders or demands, or up to what point obedience must go, and in what things he is to be obeyed ; when we love the Pope, we do not say that he has not spoken clearly enough, almost as if he were forced to repeat to the ear of each one the will clearly expressed so many times not only in person, but with letters and other public documents ; we do not place his orders in doubt, adding the facile pretext of those unwilling to obey – that it is not the Pope who commands, but those who surround him; we do not limit the field in which he might and must exercise his authority ; we do not set above the authority of the Pope that of other persons, however learned, who dissent from the Pope, who, even though learned, are not holy, because whoever is holy cannot dissent from the Pope.
The Bishops form the most sacred part of the Church, that which instructs and governs men by divine right; and so he who resists them and stubbornly refuses to obey their word places himself outside the Church [cf. Matt. 18:18]. But obedience must not limit itself to matters which touch the faith: its sphere is much more vast: it extends to all matters which the episcopal power embraces. - (Pope Saint Pius X, Allocution Vi ringrazio to priests on the 50th anniversary of the Apostolic Union, November 18, 1912, as found at http://www.christorchaos.com/?q=content/choosing-ignore-pope-leo-xiii-and-pope-saint-pius-x
I addition there is Pius XI:
For it is quite foreign to everyone bearing the name of a Christian to trust his own mental powers with such pride as to agree only with those things which he can examine from their inner nature, and to imagine that the Church, sent by God to teach and guide all nations, is not conversant with present affairs and circumstances; or even that they must obey only in those matters which she has decreed by solemn definition as though her other decisions might be presumed to be false or putting forward insufficient motive for truth and honesty.
Quite to the contrary, a characteristic of all true followers of Christ, lettered or unlettered, is to suffer themselves to be guided and led in all things that touch upon faith or morals by the Holy Church of God through its Supreme Pastor the Roman Pontiff, who is himself guided by Jesus Christ Our Lord. - CASTI CONNUBII, ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XI; http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121930_casti-connubii.html
And as regards bishops:
to scrutinize the actions of a bishop, to criticize them, does not belong to individual Catholics, but concerns only those who, in the sacred hierarchy, have a superior power; above all, it concerns the Supreme Pontiff, for it is to him that Christ confided the care of feeding not only all the lambs, but even the sheep [cf. John 21:17]. - Est Sane Molestum (1888) Apostolic Letter of Pope Leo XIII; http://www.novusordowatch.org/est-sane-molestum-leo-xiii.htm
To the shepherds alone was given all power to teach, to judge, to direct; on the faithful was imposed the duty of following their teaching, of submitting with docility to their judgment, and of allowing themselves to be governed, corrected, and guided by them in the way of salvation. Thus, it is an absolute necessity for the simple faithful to submit in mind and heart to their own pastors, and for the latter to submit with them to the Head and Supreme Pastor....
Similarly, it is to give proof of a submission which is far from sincere to set up some kind of opposition between one Pontiff and another. Those who, faced with two differing directives, reject the present one to hold to the past, are not giving proof of obedience to the authority which has the right and duty to guide them; and in some ways they resemble those who, on receiving a condemnation, would wish to appeal to a future council, or to a Pope who is better informed.
On this point what must be remembered is that in the government of the Church, except for the essential duties imposed on all Pontiffs by their apostolic office, each of them can adopt the attitude which he judges best according to times and circumstances. Of this he alone is the judge. It is true that for this he has not only special lights, but still more the knowledge of the needs and conditions of the whole of Christendom, for which, it is fitting, his apostolic care must provide. - Epistola Tua (1885), Apostolic Letter of Pope Leo XIII; http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage_print.asp?number=403215&language=en
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