About 2-3 weeks ago, I put up a post in which Cardinal Burke publicly asked the Holy Father not to allow long-settled matters such as the sinfulness of homosexuality and remarriage of divorced people to be fodder of pointless debates. Debates about these matters are pointless for Our Lord has made known His mind about these quite unmistakably throughout the years. Cardinal Burke also suggested that we all petition the Holy Father along these lines. Sadly wise words have fallen on deaf ears.
Sandro Magister of www.chiesa.espressonline.net advised that the preliminary questionnaire for the October 2015 synod was released; for now it's only in Italian. The questions within it give clear indication that those matters will indeed be on the table for the October synod.
In an interview given to La Nacion yesterday, the Holy Father expressed some unfortunate sentiments regarding Holy Communion for those living in adultery - sentiments that bode ill for the October synod. I quote one below for commentary. "In the case of divorcees who have remarried, we posed the question, what do we do with them? What door can we allow them to open? This was a pastoral concern: will we allow them to go to Communion? Communion alone is no solution. The solution is integration. They have not been excommunicated, true. But they cannot be godfathers to any child being baptised, mass readings are not for divorcees, they cannot give Communion, they cannot teach Sunday school, there are about seven things that they cannot do, I have the list over there. Come on! If I disclose any of this it will seem that they have been excommunicated in fact. Thus, let us open the doors a bit more.”
"What doors can we allow them to open?" Answer - the door to the confessional, with a proper desire to quit the sinful relationship as befits authentic repentance. Divorcees who have remarried without a declaration of nullity of their first marriages are by definition living in a state of adultery. That is mortal sin, a direct violation of the Sixth Commandment. For their own good they are prohibited from Holy Communion and from all prominent places of service to the Church.
What I stated in the paragraph preceding this is nothing more than Church teaching for these past hundreds of years. Once upon a time every child who attended Catholic school was well-versed in these matters. So why, oh why, are the perennial teachings of Holy Mother Church allowed to be debated, doubted and questioned by the very prelates who are tasked by Our Lord with their protection and promulgation?
As I said, I believe all hell will break loose at the synod. I don't mean "hell" in terms of strenuous argument but in terms of spiritually deadly heresies being insinuated into the proceedings by those from the highest offices of the Vatican. If that's the case, we'd better pray that more like Cardinals Burke and Pell will raise their voices and, if necessary, pound their fists on tables in defense of the truth.
Synodality Against Priesthood
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