Posted on 10/17/2015 9:36:47 PM PDT by marshmallow
THE Vatican always seems to have the secrets and intrigues of a Renaissance court — which, in a way, is what it still remains. The ostentatious humility of Pope Francis, his scoldings of high-ranking prelates, have changed this not at all; if anything, the pontiff’s ambitions have encouraged plotters and counterplotters to work with greater vigor.
And right now the chief plotter is the pope himself.
Francis’s purpose is simple: He favors the proposal, put forward by the church’s liberal cardinals, that would allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion without having their first marriage declared null.
Thanks to the pope's tacit support, this proposal became a central controversy in last year’s synod on the family and the larger follow-up, ongoing in Rome right now..
But if his purpose is clear, his path is decidedly murky. Procedurally, the pope’s powers are near-absolute: If Francis decided tomorrow to endorse communion for the remarried, there is no Catholic Supreme Court that could strike his ruling down.
At the same time, though, the pope is supposed to have no power to change Catholic doctrine. This rule has no official enforcement mechanism (the Holy Spirit is supposed to be the crucial check and balance), but custom, modesty, fear of God and fear of schism all restrain popes who might find a doctrinal rewrite tempting.
And a change of doctrine is what conservative Catholics, quite reasonably, believe that the communion proposal favored by Francis essentially implies.
There’s probably a fascinating secular political science tome to be written on how the combination of absolute and absolutely-limited power shapes the papal office. In such a book, Francis’s recent maneuvers would deserve a chapter, because he’s clearly looking for a mechanism that would let him exercise his powers without undercutting his authority.
The key to........
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“I always rely on inner prayer.”
That’s good, but still, too many people both outside and inside the Catholic Church seem to have no idea how difficult discernment can be at times. After prayer, I’ve thought things not against the Commandments and seemingly good were God’s Will for me. But they weren’t. There are four voices, so to speak, speaking to us. The world’s, our own, the Devil’s and God’s. The scripture about Satan posing as an “angel of light” needs to be taken seriously.
I’ve heard any number of Catholics and other Christians discuss how God led them through the in-vitro fertilization process. He most certainly did not lead them through immoral actions which involve the destruction of human embryos! They projected their own legitimate desires for children onto Him.
True story. One man went to another and said: God revealed to me in prayer that you should give me your houseboat for ministry. And the second man replied: Well, if He reveals that to me also, I’ll give it to you.
NYT...satan’s newspaper. Read it and weep and gmash your teeth along with him.
He’s a Jesuit Freemason
Offer proof he’s a Freemason. And playing Devil’s advocate, even if he were a Freemason, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t allow him to formally teach an error in faith or morals.
Sure it would if you are in an apostate church, full of paganism, idolatry and made up traditions.
...and the Irish, and the Portuguese, and the Poles, and the Maltese, and the Ukrainians, and the Mexicans, and the Brazilians, and the Filipinos, and the Rwandans, and the Navajo, and the Abenaki.
And, with only very slight distinctions, the Greeks, the Russians, the Copts, the Ethiopians, the Chaldeans, the Malabarese, and the Inuit.
I'm not sure that's exactly right.
An equal cannot bind an equal. And a subsequent Pope at the head of an ecumenical council is just what the doctor ordered when the Pontiff goes off the rails.
>>I sort of look forward to the schism that is coming, between the false church and the real church of faith....<<
Having fought that battle, expect to spend lots of time in court and in the fields. The courts over church property; the fields to hear Mass.
As far as this FR thread goes, in the other direction, in regards to opposition against abortion, the case is being overstated in crediting the RCC to be the only one, or else by and large the most influential and primary leader in the pro-life movement.
If all opposition to abortion was to be accounted for, those of smaller congregational size churches, and those of no religious affiliation much at all, would equal or surpass RCC membership who oppose abortion.
There are people in the trenches so to speak, in that struggle, who are affiliated with no religious organization at all, saying as much (if asked at time and place where they could honestly answer without offending other pro-life proponents) that churches, and religious organizations in general are all wrong in being too religious as for other things, even though they too are against casual use of abortion as some sort of after-the-fact use of preventive birth control measure.
We're dealing with human behavior here...
Nothing much is always so easily & neatly cut and dried, separable into distinctively identifiable piles that ultimate "yes" or "no" labels could be attached.
And the various Protestant and non-denominational churches never have a hint of scandal or false doctrine/sarcasm.
PlaceMark
Francis says one thing - often so ambiguously that he might mean its exact opposite, when you parse his words - and does another. His public acts expressing his adoration of Marxist dictators, Marxist symbolism, indigenous religions, transsexuals, gay couples, radical environmentalism, redistributionism and one-world government, combined with his constant downplaying of the issue of abortion, his words of attack on “conservatives” and his relentless campaign to marginalize and remove them from power, make it undeniable that he is not only an extreme leftist, but opposed to the teachings of the Faith. He should not be Pope.
” And a subsequent Pope at the head of an ecumenical council is just what the doctor ordered when the Pontiff goes off the rails.”
Assuming it’s truly ecumenical, yup, that would work. But until the Latin Laos tou Theou have the same role in the West that we do in the East, I doubt we’ll be interested.
In other words, you’ve never read or understood 1 Corinthians 5.
Non-denominational Mosaic Church is wholly committed to the Truth of the Bible as God's Word and desire for us.....
NYT is NOT a great source for understanding what is going on within the Catholic Church.
He and His Church--- and I as part of His Church --- have permanent vows. He won't abandon His Bride.
It is completely impossible that the Catholic religion is the Bride of Christ...
There are tares in the Catholic religion...There are NO tares in the Body of Christ...Your assertation is impossible...
The Mormon religion makes the same claim...Your claim is no more legitimate than theirs...
The bible says there is a church...It's funny how many religions lay claim to that truth...
I was under the impression that human beings are all sinners.
The scandal isn’t about the numbers of offenders, it’s about the shielding of offenders by the institution. An institution that protects its lawbreaking employees is a problem whether your talking about a teachers union or a church
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