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1. An apostolic exhortation is not, by its very nature, a non-magisterial document. It is the content of a papal document that reveals its magisterial relevance, not its name or category -- no one doubts Familiaris Consortio, the John Paul II exhortation on his synod on the family, was extremely relevant in sorting out important Magisterial points. Amoris Laetitia itself does not say that it is not itself magisterial: what it says, in its highly explosive paragraph 3, is that the Magisterium does not need to be invoked or suffer intervention to sort all Catholic questions. On the other hand,...

With the post-synod Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris laetitia, published on April 8th, Pope Francis has officially given his opinion on marital moral issues which have been under discussion for two years now. At the Consistory of 20th and 21st of February 2014, Francis had entrusted the task of introducing the debate on this theme to Cardinal Kasper. Cardinal Kasper’s theses, according to which the Church must change Her matrimonial praxis, formed the leit motiv of the two Synods on the Family in 2014 and 2015 and now forms the basis of Pope Francis’ Exhortation. In the course of these two years,...

Pondering the Great Reversal Announced in Scripture Msgr. Charles Pope • April 12, 2016 • One of the strong traditions of Scripture is of the great reversal that will one day come for many. I have often been sobered by it when I consider how blessed I have been in this life. I have also been consoled by it when I struggle to understand why some people in this world seem to suffer so much more that I do, or others do.Life seems a very uneven proposition if we only look at this side of the equation. Only God...

LOUISVILLE, KY—For the third time in as many gatherings, the Together for the Gospel Conference was marred by an outbreak of turbulence as tensions rose over differing hermeneutic approaches to Scripture. “The dispensationalists feel like they’ve been given short shrift again,” said Dr. John Dawsen, as a Crossway pen whizzed by his ear. “Combine the grammatical-historical and redemptive-historical feud and inter-complementarian squabbles, and you have a recipe for contention.” Clad in a Straight Outta Westminster t-shirt and sporting a teardrop tattoo by his left eye, Charles Lyman said, “It’s not my fault they can’t read their Bibles. Next time they...

The Passion of Anger and the “Miserable Truce” of the Modern Age Msgr. Charles Pope • April 11, 2016 • Here in the Western world, we live in a culture that tends to treat anger as taboo. A common tactic to unsettle an opponent today is to accuse him or her of being angry. It is amazing how easily humiliated and/or defensive an adversary can become in response to such an accusation. Yes, it is remarkable how quickly the one accused of anger can feel the need to resort to denials such as these: I am not angry! (Note...

Eradicating Poverty Is Not a Gospel Value – A Reflection on a Teaching by Cardinal Sarah Msgr. Charles Pope • April 10, 2016 • The eradication of poverty is an oft-stated goal of the modern, liberal West. President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s pronouncement of a “war on poverty” so imprinted this notion in the Western mind that it has become almost axiomatic. It is now a fundamental pillar in the thinking of almost every person (and organization) in the Western world, from the religious pew-sitter concerned for the poor to the most secular humanist bent on a utopian vision. Poverty...

The Governor of my home state of Georgia, Nathan Deal, has been soundly, and frequently, taken to task for his recent “Craven Capitulation” on religious liberty. I don’t wish to rehash the merits of the very weak bill Deal rejected (it only protected churches, religious schools, and “integrated auxiliaries”), nor do I wish to highlight again the rampant ignorance and hypocrisy of those who lobbied Deal to veto religious liberty in Georgia. What I would like to do here is give some explanation as to why I believe Deal caved on the defining moral issue of his governorship.

I am at a quandary, Not knowing if even discussing the situation with others is disrespectful and causing scandal. We live in a time with two living Popes, Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus. From what I can tell when a Pope can retire there is not some dogmatic teaching on the topic. Some quote past occurrences but actual tradition seems to side on Popes remaining Pope until death. With some past Popes in debate of the issue. The question I have is what does this mean for a catholic. I do understand that Pope Francis is still a legitimate bishop...

Back to the Future – A Meditation on the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • April 9, 2016 • Today’s Gospel is really quite remarkable. For despite the fact that the apostles have seen the resurrected Jesus several times now, they seem to be retreating into the past. They’re headed backwards and Jesus must summon them, if you’ll pardon the expression, “back to the future.”They were going back to fishing but the Lord calls them away from fishing and points them to the future, a future that includes going to all the nations and...

I think the examination of the emphasis upon sexuality and hedonism in the late Roman Empire and Modern Western society is both fascinating and scary. These are somewhat dry productions but contain a lot of truth.

Mortal sin is replaced with social sin and the door to Communion for the divorced and remarried is opened: the real sin is ignoring the poor Antonio Socci 'Libero' April 9, 2016 Was Cardinal Kasper right when he announced “the great revolution” a month ago? With the Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris laetitia is Bergoglio overturning the Magisterium of the Church, thus putting himself above the words of Christ and God’s commandments? With words he says he is not changing doctrine. But with facts he has today opened up to something that until now has been forbidden by Holy Scripture and the...

"Catholics and Methodists have much to learn from one another in how we understand holiness and how it can be lived out. We both must do what we can to ensure that members of our respective congregations meet regularly, come to know one another, and encourage one another to seek the Lord and his grace." Pope Francis Address to Methodists, April 7, 2016 "This being so, it is clear that the Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in their [Protestant] assemblies, nor is it anyway lawful for Catholics either to support or to work for such enterprises; for...

Who knows our sin? While Scripture could be taken to mean saints in heaven are aware of details of our sin, it is unlikely Msgr. Charles PopeMarch 27, 2016 Question: Do the souls in heaven know our sins, or is that knowledge reserved to God alone?— Peter Tate, Long Beach, California Answer: We are in the realm of speculative theology when it comes to answering questions like this. However, it does not seem to pertain to God’s justice that he would reveal our sins to others (even the saints in heaven), especially our more hidden sins. We are not...

4) What does the document say regarding Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposal to give Holy Communion to some who are divorced and civilly remarried after a “penitential period.” Nothing. This proposal is not brought up. 11) Does the document foresee any possibility for sacramentally absolving and giving Communion to people who are civilly remarried if they are not living as brother and sister? It does.

Rarely does a bishop speak as publicly and directly as this.

An Italian bishop has clashed with a pair of priests who want to invite Muslims to pray inside their churches in a bid to promote tolerance in a diocese in Tuscany. “The deserved, necessary and respectful welcome of people who practice other faiths and religions does not mean offering them space for prayers inside churches designed for liturgy and the gathering of Christian communities,” Bishop Fausto Tardelli of Pistoia said in a statement reported on Saturday (March 19). “They can very well find other spaces and places,” Tardelli said. The bishop was responding to pledges by two local priests, the...

Although such speculation mostly appears to be wishful thinking, rather than based on advance knowledge of what the Pope has actually written in the document that he signed on March 19, what is public knowledge is that paragraphs about the pastoral care of civilly remarried divorcees, and whether or not the apostolic exhortation will “open the door” to them receiving holy Communion, will be the most potentially controversial element.

Of Mice and Men - Pondering the Strange Loss of Faith in an Age of Science Msgr. Charles Pope • April 6, 2016 • One of the more perplexing claims of the growing number of agnostics and atheists among us is that there is no evidence of an intelligent creator of the universe. But clearly the created universe manifests intelligibility and order from the farthest reaches of outer space down to our tiny planet and further down into the “inner space” of cells, atoms, and molecules. Science affirms the existence of a creator by uncovering the inner order and...

They are Baldisseri and Schönborn, whom Pope Francis has chosen to present his take on the post-synodal exhortation. They have already said what they think. The first in a letter, the second in an interview by Sandro Magister ROME, April 7, 2016 – “Doctrinal unity in pastoral plurality.” This is the “authentic spirit” of the post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Amoris Lætitia” that will be made public tomorrow, according to the preview from the newspaper of the Italian episcopal conference, “Avvenire.” The formula is very elastic. And it will be curious to see how it will be embodied in the 325 paragraphs...

Pastoral Discernment and Dead Members “Alive” - Francis' Exhortation mortal_sin_cfn Francis' Apostolic Exhortation: Pastoral Discernment and Dead Members “Alive” “In the case of divorcees who have remarried, we posed the question, what do we do with them? … let us open the doors a bit more... Why can’t they be godfathers and godmothers ? … Things need to change, our standards need to change.” - Pope Francis By John Vennari www.cfnews.org The Vatican has sent a letter to the world’s bishop with instructions on how to prepare the faithful for Francis’ post-Synodal Exhortation. Francis’ document, said to run about 200...