Yes, but...
You obviously understand this distinction, but many Catholics do not.
Here's an example:
We oppose abortion because its a violation of natural law. Its always intrinsically evil.
But now our bishops tell us to be truly "pro-life," we must also oppose capital punishment. Why? Well, most would assume we must lump capital punishment alongside abortion in the pro-life world because capital punishment must be intrinsically evil, a violation of natural law. But guess what? Capital punishment is not intrinsically evil. Its just a prudential decision of our Pope JPII that we should oppose capital punishment, its not intrinsically evil, its not a violation of natural law. Never was, is not now, cannot be.
Confusing, isn't it? So is it prudent to lump opposition to capital punishment alongside opposition to abortion, when one is a intrinsically evil and one isn't, and very few if any Catholics grasp the difference, let alone care?
Most Catholics don't make or understand these fine distinctions, they just figure, heck, if the Church can say something is evil today, i.e., capital punishment, that in the past she said was perfectly acceptable, then all things are up for grabs, including things that once were always taught as evil becoming acceptable, like usury, or birth control, or gay marriage.
If we can eat meat on Fridays now, but we couldn't before, why can't we have women priests now, which we couldn't before?
If the pope can disregard the rules for washing women's feet without first changing the law, why can't a bishop ordain women without first having the law changed?
Catholics don't understand these distinctions any more, so the Pope's making rubrics moot sets up anarchy and confusion.
He might not intend that, but there it is nonetheless.
“If we can eat meat on Fridays now, but we couldn't before, why can't we have women priests now, which we couldn't before?”
Precisely, Brian.
My own late mother found it difficult to make the distinction. She was pro-abortion for many years, probably pro-contraception to her death (although at 77, the practical aspect of her belief had long since faded into irrelevancy), and she'd often justify these false beliefs by declaring, “Well, if the Church could change the prohibition against meat on Fridays...”
But she grew up dirt poor in the Italian ghetto in the first half of the 20th century, taught by Irish priests who looked down on their charges, thinking them incapable of understanding the finer points of Catholic teaching. It was news to her when I'd try to explain the difference between dogma, doctrine, and discipline.
She knew how to feel like a Catholic, how to act like a Catholic, but never how to think, how to reason as a Catholic. I think that's in part because of the execrable catechesis that is generally provided by the Church in most times, in most places, and in part because we live in a society to which a Catholic way of thinking is alien.
sitetest
What you post about the conflation of abortion and the death penalty (and other things like welfare that got woven into the ‘Seamless Garment’) is true and has done great damage to American Catholicism (to the benefit of the democrat party).
However, I strongly believe that Pope Francis has a strong “Phase 2” in the works. I think his goal is to first re-evangelize and then re-assert authority on the truly important matters. If you read comments on lib websites, you’ll notice that many of the commenters now continually take shots at Pope Francis after initially cheering him. I think they fear that he may bring people back to the Faith.
As does the reception of Communion by abortion promoters, notorious adulterers, and homosexual advocates. It conveys the accurate message that one can promote abortion and homosexual behavior and engage in adultery and still be considered a good Catholic; that those views are equal to the teachings of the Church. If not, there would be actual consequences to publicly espousing them as legitimate Catholic beliefs.
It has become quite obvious that the Church leaders don't really think that abortion, homosexuality and adultery are anything that important. So why would liturgy and rubrics be?
The Catholic faith has been boiled down to: Be nice--especially to the poor, then do as you please.