Tip-Toeing Around The Elephant In The Living Room With Regard To Margo Naranjo's Situation

Below is a video of Bishop Strickland and John-Henry Westen discussing the Margo Naranjo matter.  At last we hear a bishop broaching this topic. While this interview is good in many respects, I believe these gentlemen are allowing an inferior concept of "love and compassion" to dissuade them from discussing a crucial aspect. That aspect is the danger of hell and eternal damnation, with which those parents flirted when they planned to murder their daughter. It is false compassion not to broach that stark reality, one with eternal consequences. 

Can we say for certain that they would go to hell? Of course not. But by the same token we cannot presume that they wouldn't go there, especially when what they contemplated (and may still be planning) is a mortal sin.  Many commentators seem to be falling all over themselves to avoid discussion about sin in this situation.  In reality, they don't serve any good purpose by doing so.

Does Father Spadaro Prefer Hell To Heaven?

This from Father Spadaro's twitter feed..

The welcoming of those young people who prefer to live together without getting married… https://t.co/fa7xr0TXZ4 pic.twitter.com/zYrsrfhvcl

— Antonio Spadaro (@antoniospadaro) February 26, 2017

That's tantamount to saying "the welcoming of those young people who prefer hell to heaven, and affirming their deadly decision".  To prefer the mortal sin of fornication over the Sacrament of Matrimony is the preference of damnation to salvation. We pray that all will repent, go to Confession and change their "preferences" before it is too late to do so.

One more question: after this scandalous tweet, will Father Spadaro be allowed to retain favor with Pope Francis?  The answer to that question will be very telling, and we'll see that answer in a very short time.

Cohabitating Couples And The Sacrament of Confession

Earlier today Leon posted a comment to my post about the wedding of cohabitating couples.  Please note that he says that he, his wife and (I assume) other couples confessed right before their wedding ceremonies.  This raises a whole bevy of questions.   Let me preface these questions with some important clarifications.  As I ask questions and make remarks, I do not intend these to be construed as criticism of Leon and his friends.  I've no doubt that the actions they took were taken in good-faith compliance with their priests and marriage-prep instructors.  I suspect Leon and his friends were merely victims of poor catechesis resulting from the erroneous "spirit of Vatican II".  For that matter, their priests and marriage-prep instructors may well have been robbed of their proper Catholic formation by that same "spirit of Vatican II".  I know I was in my latter years of school.  Fortunately my sacramental preparation wasn't so corroded, as we used the Baltimore Catechism.  I'll be referring to that catechism later.  Now the questions arising from Leon's comment.

• Why "right before"?  Why were they not advised to take advantage of that sacrament at earlier times during their course?
• Were the cohabitating couples ever advised that they should separate (that is, cease fornication) during the course of their marriage preparation      
• If they were urged to confess, were they urged to confess the mortal sin of fornication?  Were they even taught why fornication is a mortal sin?

I suppose that list of questions could go into infinity, but I'll stop here.  As I said in the last post, no sacramental grace (including from matrimony) can accrue to those in a state of mortal sin unless one receives the Sacrament of Confession.  The fact that Confession in Leon's case seems to have been delayed until the eve of the wedding makes me wonder if that sacrament is being misunderstood, and to such an extent as to compromise the efficacy of that Sacrament.  As I said, I'll be trotting out the Baltimore Catechism (used to prepare me for my first confession).

Here is Question 384: What must we do to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily?  To receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily we must:
       first, examine our conscience
       second, be sorry for our sins (contrition)
       third, have the firm purpose of not sinning again
       fourth, confess our sins to the priest
       fifth, be willing to perform the penance the priest gives us

If Confession really occurs on the eve of the wedding, how does that allow for a proper examination of conscience and, more telling, testing of the purpose of not committing fornication again?

Let's look at several other questions in succession, and I'll put comments in red.

Question 388: What is contrition? Contrition is sincere sorrow for having offended God, and hatred for the sins we have committed, with a firm purpose of sinning no more.  Under the scenario that Leon described, was a hatred for the mortal sin of fornication properly instilled in the marriage prep attendees?

Question 389: Will God forgive us any sin unless we have true contrition for it?  God will not forgive us any sin, whether mortal or venial, unless we have true contrition for it.  Unless that hatred of fornication has been instilled, there is no forgiveness of that mortal sin.  How can this be interpreted otherwise?

Question 390: When is sorrow for sin true contrition?  Sorrow for sin is true contrition when it is interior, supernatural, supreme and universal.

Question 391: When is our sorrow interior?  Our sorrow is interior when it comes from our heart and not merely from our lips.  So how are currently-cohabitating couples being taught to have interior sorrow?

Question 392: When is our sorrow supernatural?  Our sorrow is supernatural when, with the help of God's grace, it arises from motives which spring from faith and not merely from natural motives.  The natural motives in the case of marriage preparation might include "discharging the formality of confession" as though it was just another item on the "punch list" of things to do before the wedding.

As I pointed out in the previous post, if couples have been committing the mortal sin of fornication, they need to receive the Sacrament of Penance worthily before they can properly receive the Sacrament of Matrimony.  I recited and commented on the Baltimore Catechism questions to illustrate why I think it's highly unlikely that Leon and his friends were properly prepared to receive either Penance or Matrimony.  I have good reason to believe this scenario is repeated in parishes throughout the world.  Are the twenty couples being married tomorrow also victims of ill-considered marriage preparation?

The divorce rate for Catholics is roughly on a par with that of non-Catholic couples; that's indicative that God's laws about marriage and sexuality are not being taken seriously, assuming they are known at all.  I realize a good deal of Catholic education is below par, but in this day of the internet, there is no excuse for not filling in the gaps of our own education.

If the couples whom the Pope will marry tomorrow have indeed been properly instructed, I ask why the new article (particularly from Catholic sources) did not make that clear.  The lack of such mention leaves too much room for ambiguity and even scandal.

Pope To Marry Cohabitating Couples? Really??

I know of a pastor who places in his bulletin a requirement for engaged couples going through his marriage prep program.  He requires that if they are cohabiting, that they live separately until their wedding day.  Why?  In his words, "it is sinful, causes scandal, and leads to greater likelihood of divorce".  Of course he's spot-on correct.

Here's another consideration.  Since fornication is objectively a mortal sin, would that not mean that at least some of these cohabitating people have mortally sinned?  Some, out of ignorance of Church teaching, may not be fully culpable, I realize.  But for those in the state of mortal sin, it is my understanding that no grace from any other sacrament will be of benefit to them until their mortal sin is absolved in the Sacrament of Confession.  Would that not include grace from the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The internet is now carrying the news that Pope Francis will marry twenty couples this coming Sunday including "those who are already cohabitating".  That is troubling.  It doesn't say "those who had been cohabitating".  The Telegraph speaks in present tense, not in past tense.

I suppose by now these couples have already been selected.  Have they been required to cease their mortal sin?  Have they been required to confess their mortal sins of fornication and receive absolution from a priest?  If not, they'll most likely not receive the sacramental grace that otherwise they might anticipate from Matrimony.  Moreover, they'll most likely receive Holy Communion at these weddings while in mortal sin, right?  That sounds like two sets of sacrilege right there!

As I read this article, I see no sign of these couples righting their relationships with God and the Church.  I hope I'm wrong in this, but if not, we're looking at scandal of breath-taking proportions with the potential of poor souls careening to hell due to bad example and poor teaching.

Vortex Scolds Bishops For Turning Their Backs On Phil Robertson

I've got to hand it to Phil Robertson and the rest of his Duck Dynasty family for adhering to Christian moral principles and proclaiming them boldly.  I too am ashamed of most of our Catholic bishops for not doing likewise.  They couldn't even muster up the zeal to stand publicly beside this good man.  Shame on them!

IMPORTANT ADDENDUM:  Fellow residents of the Archdiocese of Washington, remember two Lents ago, when Father Marcel Guarnizo actually was treated far worse than Roberson was.  They only ignored Robertson.  Father Guarnizo was actually punished for standing up for Godly morality.  Never forget that!