The critics gathered and have spoken, sure to be championed by a few, ignored by most; will Pope Francis respond?

‘Amoris’ critics at Rome summit beg pope, bishops, ‘Confirm us in the faith!’

• In Vatican
• John Allen and Claire Giangravé
  Apr 7, 2018
  EDITOR

Participants in an April 7, 2018, summit of opposition to Pope Francis's document "Amoris Laetitia." (Credit: Crux/John Allen.)

Participants in an April 7 summit of opposition figures to Pope Francis's "Amoris Laetitia" finished by asking the "pope and the bishops to confirm us in the faith."

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ROME - At a Rome summit on Saturday of the most ardent opposition figures to Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’s controversial 2016 document on the family, lay participants issued a final declaration broadly rejecting the teaching that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics may receive Communion and imploring “the pope and the bishops to confirm us in the faith.”
Their final conclusions, issued Saturday towards the end of the summit, which attracted several hundred people to a Rome hotel near the Vatican, were the following:

1. “We witness and profess in accord with the authentic confession of the faith that a consummated marriage can be dissolved only by death.”
2. “Christians who unite with another person if their spouse is still living commit a great sin.”
3. “We are convinced that this is a norm that applies always and  without exception.”
4. “We are convinced that no subjective judgment of conscience can render an evil action good.”
5. “Forgiveness is based on an intention to abandon a way of life that is contrary to the divine commandments.”
6. “The divorced and remarried who live together may not receive Eucharistic Communion.”

There was a strong sense at the summit that although their position may represent a minority, it cannot be ignored.
“Experience through history teaches us that truth is not necessarily with the majority, with big numbers,” German Cardinal Walter Brandmuller said. “Often in the history of the people of God it wasn’t the majority but rather a minority that authentically lived out the faith.”
He cited the case of the Arian heresy, a fourth century movement that believed Christ was not fully divine, which once was upheld by a substantial majority of Christians at the time.
One of four cardinals who asked the pope for clarification two years ago strongly hinted that the time for waiting for an answer is over.
“As history demonstrates, it’s possible that a Roman pontiff exercising his fullness of power can fall into heresy or fail in his first duty of safeguarding and preserving the unity of faith and the discipline of the Church,” said American Cardinal Raymond Burke.
Burke was one of four cardinals who submitted five critical questions to Francis after Amoris appeared, technically known as dubia. One of the other four, Brandmüller, was also on hand, while two others have died - German Cardinal Joachim Meisner and Italian Cardinal Carlo Caffarra.
It was an Italian association known as the “Friend of Cardinal Caffarra” who organized Saturday’s event. There was a strong presence of a major Italian pro-life movement, and one recurrent theme throughout the day was the importance of Humanae Vitae, Blessed Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical upholding the Church’s opposition to artificial birth control, the 50th anniversary of which falls this year.
At one point, a video commentary by Caffara, who died in September 2017, was played, in which he said: “Humanae Vitae remains the light Paul VI turned on forever.”
The name of the event was “Catholic Church, Where are You Going?” It invoked a quote from Caffarra, “Only a blind man could deny there’s great confusion in the Church today.”
Burke insisted on the right to stand up to an erring pope.

“Since the pope can’t be subject to a judicial process, the situation has to be addressed and remedied based on natural law, the gospels, and canonical tradition, and that’s a two-step process,” Burke said, speaking to a crowd of several hundred people gathered at Rome’s Church Village Hotel, located about two miles from the Vatican.
“First, one corrects the presumed error or abandonment of duty directly to the Roman Pontiff,” Burke said. “If he doesn’t respond, then one proceeds to public correction.”
At that point, a contingent in the crowd leapt to their feet and began shouting, “People of God, stand up! We are the ones who have to act!”
“As a matter of duty, the pope can be disobeyed,” Burke said. “There’s an abundant body of literature on the theme.”
“The pope’s authority is not magical,” Burke said. “It derives from his obedience to the Lord,” once again drawing strong applause from the crowd gathered in a hotel ballroom.
Earlier, Brandmüller argued that the teaching of Amoris Laetitia cannot be considered an authentic “development of doctrine,” basing his argument on the theological writings of the 19^th century English convert Cardinal John Henry Newman.
The “sense of the faithful,” Brandmüller said, “cannot be understood as a poll or a plebiscite, that’s impossible. The Church is not a democratically constituted society, it’s the corpus misticum (“mystical body”), to which the faithful are united as members of that body.”
“What does it mean when our parish communities today applaud when our priests announce their upcoming wedding?” he asked, to strong applause. “What does it mean when at the 1968 Katholikentag,” referring to a major festival of lay Catholics in German-speaking countries, they reacted with excessive text explosions of hate against Humane Vitae?”
The reference is to landmark 1968 encyclical letter from Blessed Pope Paul VI, affirming the Church’s opposition to artificial birth control.
“In these and analogous cases, it seems evident that the sensus fidelium can’t be compared to the general will of Rousseau,” he said, referring the “sense of the faithful,” the idea that all Catholics participate in both shaping and protecting doctrine. “For instance, there are Catholics who consider it legitimate to remarry after divorce and to use contraception.”
“Among the criteria for distinguishing organic development [of doctrine], Newman included the indispensable absence of contradiction with respect to authentic tradition,” Brandmüller said. “The authentic mode of participating in the sensus fidelium means excluding all those who call themselves Catholic but who can’t claim to have taken seriously what it means.”
Brandmüller suggested the questionnaires distributed prior to two Synods of Bishops called by Francis, in October 2014 and 2015, were not legitimate instances of the sensus fidelium, because they were subject to “manipulation” by “single groups.”
Instead, he pointed to 140,000 Catholics in Poland who signed a petition asking bishops to protect them from “German errors,” such as the teaching in Amoris Laetitia, in which German-speaking prelates are seen as having played a key role.
“These are the forms in which today the sensus fidelium is manifest, it’s the instinct of faith of believing people, and the magisterium should pay attention,” Brandmüller said, once again generating cheers.
Making a case that papal power is not absolute, Burke rejected what he called the “facile response” of many to papal teaching, “as if because the Holy Father says something, one must accept whatever papal teaching comes.”
“It’s always been clear that the Roman pontiff can dispense with the law only for the purpose of preserving its purpose, and never for subverting it,” he said, again eliciting a round of applause.
“It’s axiomatic that any power given by Christ to his Church is for the purpose of realizing the ends for which he founded it, not for contesting them,” Burke said, “It can only be exercised within these terms. It’s not a license for arbitrary government.”
Burke said that at the synod some bishops argued that the pope’s power would allow him to take the step he did in Amoris Laetitia, but he scoffed at the logic.
“As if that power would permit the pope to make a decision in open contrast to Matthew 19,” he said, referring to Christ’s prohibition of divorced in the gospels, “and the constant teaching of the Church in fidelity to those words.”
“Any act of a pope, given that he’s a human being, that’s heretical or sinful, in itself is null,” he said.
Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazkhstan, who led his country’s two other Catholic bishops in taking a strong anti-Amoris stand in January, emphasized the duty of popes to be “custodians” of authority.
Schneider then invoked a supposed oath that many traditionalist Catholics believe newly elected popes took for centuries, up to Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1963. In the form in which it’s usually cited, its first article is: “I vow to change nothing of the received Tradition, and nothing thereof I have found before me guarded by my God-pleasing predecessors, to encroach upon, to alter, or to permit any innovation therein.”
Many Church historians, however, regard the oath as myth, saying there’s no evidence it was ever administered or incorporated into papal coronation ceremonies.
Nevertheless, Schneider said, “I think it’s urgent to revive this formula of papal swearing-in in our days,” triggering another round of strong applause and cries of Bravo! Bravo!

Happy Sunday Morning as select 60 uber conservative Catholics formally accuse the Pope of spreading heresy

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Conservative Catholics accuse pope of spreading heresy

Fox News

Pope Francis talks to an infant during his visit to the Santa Lucia Foundation in Rome Friday  (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)

More than 60 Roman Catholic theologians, priests and academics have formally accused Pope Francis of spreading heresy after the pontiff opened the door last year to allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

In a 25-page letter delivered to Francis last month and provided Saturday to The Associated Press, the 62 signatories issued a "filial correction" to the pope — a measure they said hadn't been employed since the 14th century.

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The letter accused Francis of propagating seven heretical positions concerning marriage, moral life and the sacraments with his 2016 document "The Joy of Love" and subsequent "acts, words and omissions."

The initiative follows another formal act by four tradition-minded cardinals who wrote Francis last year asking him to clarify a series of questions, or "dubbia," they had about his 2016 text.
Francis hasn't responded to either initiative. The Vatican spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment late Saturday.
None of the signatories of the new letter is a cardinal, and the highest-ranking churchman listed is actually someone whose organization has no legal standing in the Catholic Church: Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the breakaway Society of St. Pius X. Several other signatories are well-known admirers of the old Latin Mass which Fellay's followers celebrate.

But organizers said the initiative was nevertheless significant and a sign of the concern among a certain contingent of academics and pastors over Francis' positions, which they said posed a danger to the faithful.
"There is a role for theologians and philosophers to explain to people the church's teaching, to correct misunderstandings," said Joseph Shaw, a spokesman for the initiative, signatory of the correction and senior research fellow in moral philosophy at Oxford University.
When it was released in April 2016, "The Joy of Love" immediately sparked controversy. Church teaching holds that unless divorced and civilly remarried Catholics obtain an annulment — a church decree that their first marriage was invalid — they cannot receive the sacraments, since they are seen as committing adultery.
"The Joy of Love" didn't create a church-wide pass for these Catholics, but suggested — in vague terms and strategically placed footnotes — that bishops and priests could do so on a case-by-case basis after accompanying them on a spiritual journey of discernment. Subsequent comments and writings have made clear he intended such wiggle room, part of his belief that God's mercy extends in particular to sinners and that the Eucharist isn't a prize for the perfect but nourishment for the weak.
Shaw said none of the four cardinals involved in the initial "dubbia" letter, nor any other cardinal, was involved in the "filial correction."
Organizers said the last time such a correction was issued was to Pope John XXII in 1333 for errors which he later recanted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

What's up with the Buenos Aires directive?

On the Buenos Aires directive

September 13, 2016

Canon 915, the modern (yet resting on ancient roots) norm that prohibits ministers of holy Communion from giving that sacrament to Catholics who “obstinately persevere in manifest grave sin” does not expressly name divorced Catholics living in their second (or third, or fourth, or fifth…) ‘marriages’ as examples of persons ineligible for holy Communion, but they have long been the ‘go-to’ example of those covered by the canon. Even its harshest critics generally conceded that Canon 915 applies to divorced-and-remarried Catholics—the emotional hardships associated with such cases being, in some critics’ minds, a good argument for abandoning the norm.
Now, in his unequivocal endorsement (“There are no other interpretations possible” [!]) of a leaked draft of some Argentine bishops’ plan for implementing his document Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis has neither ‘abrogated’ Canon 915 nor ‘interpreted’ it out of existence (both being the sort of technical operations the pope shows little interest in). Nevertheless, his action will likely make it harder for Catholic ministers, who remain bound by canon law even in stressful cases, to observe Canon 915 at the practical level.
Basically, the Argentine draft (assuming it is still a ‘draft’) directs ministers of holy Communion (chiefly parish priests) to work through concrete cases impacting access to at least three sacraments (Matrimony, Penance, and the Eucharist), guided not by the Church’s accumulated pastoral wisdom as summed up in norms like Canon 915 (which seem not even not to be mentioned!), but instead by a line of endlessly malleable considerations phrased in verbiage redolent of the 1970s. If some pastors after the publication Amoris were already being told by irate parishioners that ‘Pope Francis says you have to give me Communion’, what might they expect in the wake of his sweeping approval of this Argentine interpretation of Amoris?
Fundamentally the Argentine draft stumbles, I suggest, in the same way as does Amoris, namely, in thinking that an individual’s subjective, albeit sincere, conclusions about his or her eligibility for Communion per Canon 916 trumps the Church’s authority, nay her obligation, to withhold the sacrament in the face of certain objective, externally verifiable conditions per Canon 915. I shall not rehash that argument here, but we should be clear: compromising the well-established interpretation of Canon 915 in the case of divorced-and-remarried Catholics necessarily calls into question the law’s applicability to cases of, say, ‘loving’ couples cohabitating outside of marriage, the ‘compassionate’ promotion of abortion or euthanasia, ‘honest’ persons entering “same-sex marriages”, and so on.
Where from here?
1. It is hard to see how the Argentine bishops can tone-down a document that Francis has already warmly endorsed, but, who knows?, maybe they might “clarify” it in some way that lets Rome in turn “clarify” its endorsement.
2. The Argentine document itself has some supposedly restricting language which might be invoked, but frankly, I don’t think that will be much help to pastors. Consider, for example, the requirement that one must, among other things, be “unable” to obtain a declaration of nullity before being allowed holy Communion. But think about this—what if one is “unable” to obtain an annulment precisely because there is no proof of nullity? Does losing one’s bid for a declaration of nullity suddenly make one eligible for holy Communion despite remarriage? Most of the rest of the allegedly cautionary language, such as that to “avoid understanding this possibility as an unrestricted access to the sacraments”, is platitudinous—no one seriously thinks that the Church approves “unrestricted access to the sacraments” so an admonition against such access is pointless.
3. As hard as it might be to follow, my basic advice to ministers of holy Communion in the context of divorced-and-remarried Catholics is to ignore the coming furor over the pope’s endorsement of an ambiguously worded document from some local bishops, and just follow the law of the Church, which is quite clear, unless and until that law is formally changed, at which point (if it comes to that) we will sit down and figure out what the new law directs.

Archbishop Chaput addresses Catholic truths; hard teachings in light of Amoris Laetitia; this is an example of what I mean by loving others with a love that leads all the way to Heaven!

Archbishop Chaput: ‘Remarried’ Catholics must be abstinent to receive Communion

Claire Chretien                                        

                                                          

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, July 5, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Divorced and civilly remarried Catholics may not receive Holy Communion unless they “refrain from sexual intimacy,” Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput announced in new diocesan guidelines for the implementation of Pope Francis’s exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
“Anything less” than upholding the Catholic Church’s traditional teaching on the indissolubility of marriage and thus the adulterous nature of second unions “misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church,” Chaput wrote.
Amoris Laetitia seems to contradict longstanding Church teaching on the subject of admitting to the Sacraments the divorced and civilly remarried. The document, which was released after two contentious synods on the family, seemingly opened the door for those living unrepentantly in relationships the Church labels objectively sinful to receive the Sacraments in certain circumstances.
But Chaput, who is part of a committee overseeing the exhortation’s implementation in the United States, wrote that Amoris Laetitia should “be read in continuity with the great treasury of wisdom handed on by the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, the witness of the lives of the Saints, the teachings of Church Councils, and previous magisterial documents.”
“As with all magisterial documents, Amoris Laetitia is best understood when read within the tradition of the Church’s teaching and life,” Chaput’s guidelines declare.
“Catholic belief, rooted in Scripture, reserves all expressions of sexual intimacy to a man and a woman covenanted to each other in a valid marriage,” wrote Chaput. “We hold this teaching to be true and unchangeable, tied as it is to our nature and purpose as children of a loving God who desires our happiness.”
Chaput’s instructions make it clear that individuals living according to the Church’s teachings on human sexuality despite having entered an invalid second “marriage” may receive the Sacraments. In administering the Sacraments to such individuals, Chaput wrote, priests must take care to avoid committing scandal by seemingly indicating approval of behaviors condemned by the Church.
Chaput wrote:

With divorced and civilly-remarried persons, Church teaching requires them to refrain from sexual intimacy. This applies even if they must (for the care of their children) continue to live under one roof. Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly-remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist. Such individuals are encouraged to approach the Sacrament of Penance regularly, having recourse to God’s great mercy in that sacrament if they fail in chastity.
Even where, for the sake of their children, they live under one roof in chaste continence and have received absolution (so that they are free from personal sin), the unhappy fact remains that, objectively speaking, their public state and condition of life in the new relationship are contrary to Christ’s teaching against divorce. Concretely speaking, therefore, where pastors give Communion to divorced and remarried persons trying to live chastely, they should do so in a manner that will avoid giving scandal or implying that Christ’s teaching can be set aside. In other contexts, also, care must be taken to avoid the unintended appearance of an endorsement of divorce and civil remarriage; thus, divorced and civilly remarried persons should not hold positions of responsibility in a parish (e.g. on a parish council), nor should they carry out liturgical ministries or functions (e.g., lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion).

Chaput’s directives and reasoning are in line with the Church’s historic teaching that Pope St. John Paul II articulated in his exhortation Familiaris Consortio:

…the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.

Same-sex relationships ‘produce moral confusion’ in Catholic communities

Chaput also wrote that unmarried cohabitating couples must either separate before marriage or cease sexual intimacy until they are married in the Church. If the couple already has children, it may be best for them to remain living together until marriage for the sake of their children, Chaput wrote, but such couples must not be sexually active until they are validly married.
Chaput’s guidelines also addressed the need to provide authentic pastoral care to those with same-sex attraction.
“Those who work in pastoral ministry often encounter persons with diverse forms of same-sex attraction,” Chaput wrote. “Many such persons have found it possible to live out a vocation to Christian marriage with children, notwithstanding experiencing some degree of same-sex attraction.”
Chaput’s new guidelines acknowledge that there may be same-sex couples who “live together in chaste friendship and without sexual intimacy,” and encourages pastors to handle such situations with prudence. The archbishop’s guidelines warned that any seeming acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle undermines the Catholic faith and “can only produce moral confusion in the community.”
“Two persons in an active, public same-sex relationship, no matter how sincere, offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community,” wrote Chaput. “Such a relationship cannot be accepted into the life of the parish without undermining the faith of the community, most notably the children…those living openly same-sex lifestyles should not hold positions of responsibility in a parish, nor should they carry out any liturgical ministry or function.”
Meanwhile, the German Catholic bishops’ conference allows Church employees to openly defy and act contrary to the teachings and beliefs of the Church. In April, three German bishops claimed that Amoris Laetitia allows for Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried on a case-by-case basis.
And Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who Pope Francis chose to present Amoris Laetitia at the document’s debut, has said that he allows the divorced and civilly remarried to receive the Sacraments in some circumstances. Schönborn is the Archbishop of Vienna.
Pope Francis recently stirred up a storm by claiming that the “great majority” of Christian marriages are invalid, yet many couples who cohabitate partake in the grace of the sacrament of marriage.

Did the Papal Exhortation change doctrine on divorced and remarried receiving Communion? Short answer, no.

Does Amoris Laetitia Encourage Communion of Divorced and Re-Married?

April 14, 2016 by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Embed from Getty Images

This article from Aleteia re-affirms two things about Pope Francis’ exhortation.
First of all Cardinal Schonborn affirms what Cardinal Burke said in his interview at National Catholic Register that the exhortation needs to be read in continuity with the whole of the magisterium. The magisterium of the church’s teaching is, as it were, the balance and check to the exhortation. The magisterium clears up any ambiguities and clarifies any confusion.
Secondly, in a very clear passage, Fr. José Granados – Vice President of the Pontifical Institute of John Paul II in Rome explains why the document does not change the church’s discipline on the divorced and remarried receiving communion.

“The Apostolic exhortation puts an end to a two year synodal path. There is much anticipation about one concrete question, not certainly the one most important pastorally: the eventual admission to the Eucharist of the divorced and civilly remarried. In fact, this is a marginal question if we think of the great pastoral challenges the Church faces regarding the family: the fact that young people do not want to get married; a lack of social significance of the family; the great task of bringing Christ to the families in the new evangelization…
Does the text allow for divorced and remarried catholic to receive holy communion, at least in some cases? After reading chapter eight (where the question is addressed) we need to conclude that this text does not change the discipline of the Church regarding the admission of divorced and civilly remarried Catholic to the Eucharist, a discipline based in doctrinal reasons, as affirmed by Familiaris Consortio 84 and Sacramentum Caritatis 29.
In fact, the text of chapter eight of the exhortation does not even mention the Eucharist. In this sense it is clear that Pope Francis, which has insisted on the importance of synodality in the Church, did not want to go beyond the Synod’s decisions. At no point in the text of the document do we find something like: “in some cases the divorced and civilly remarried can be admitted to receive the Eucharist”. This clarity would have been necessary in order to change a practice rooted in doctrinal grounds, firmly established by the constant Magisterium of the Church. Notice also that Cardinal Kasper’s proposal, who asked for clear canonical rules that help discern in which cases admission to the sacraments would be possible, has not been received in this document.
The only possible hint towards a change in discipline is found in footnote 351, where it is said that in certain cases the Church can give to people who live in irregular situations the help of the sacraments. But it would certainly be strange to suggest that the Pope has intended to make such an important change of Church discipline in a footnote of an apostolic exhortation. In addition, the note refers to irregular situations in general, and not directly to the case of the divorced and civilly remarried (an specific case, since a way of life in contradiction with a sacrament is implied). Further specifications would be needed, that the Pope did not want to make, thus not implying any change in discipline.
What the documents proposes, then, is to start a way of integration, that allows these baptized people to live according to the Gospel. Thus, Familiaris Consortio 84 and Sacramentum Caritatis 29 continue to indicate the pastoral way, without exception, because these norms are not a judgment on the subjective culpability of the person, but they show the goal every evangelization aims at: a way of life in accordance to the Gospel of Jesus.
All this means that those who expected a revolution from the document have to be greatly disappointed.”

When Fr Granados’ words are combined with Pope Francis’ own words on the flight back from Mexico, it is clear that not only is doctrine not being changed, but neither is the discipline. When asked whether the divorced and re-married could receive communion the pope replied:

“This is the last thing. Integrating in the Church doesn’t mean receiving Communion. I know married Catholics in a second union who go to church, who go to church once or twice a year and say I want Communion, as if joining in Communion were an award. It’s a work towards integration; all doors are open. But we cannot say from here on they can have Communion. This would be an injury also to marriage, to the couple, because it wouldn’t allow them to proceed on this path of integration.”

Those who jumped to conclusions and were worried and concerned may breathe easy. The sky is not falling.

Father Longenecker is becoming my go-to Priest on all things Amoris Laetitia

Amoris Laetitia – Chapter 8 and That Footnote…

April 13, 2016 by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Readers have asked for my opinion about the Holy Father’s Apostolic Exhortation, and apart from a couple of posts over the weekend about the issue of marriage in general I haven’t commented that much.
That’s because I haven’t had the time to read the exhortation.
Now, having read it, my reactions are much the same as a good number of other people. From a literary point of view I wish the pope had a better editor. The exhortation is prolix, in English some of it comes across as muddled, vague and even ambiguous. I miss the brevity and clarity of Pope Benedict.
But putting all that aside, I must say that the exhortation is beautiful in many ways. I was very moved by the exposition of St Paul’s chapter on love in I Corinthians 13 and I found the pope’s grandfatherly advice on marriage relationships in that chapter touching–even if it was at times sentimental. I found the chatty and informal tone winning. I was grateful for the continuity of teaching when the pope connected with Paul VI’s Humane Vitae, John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and Benedict XVI’s affirmations of marriage. I appreciated his clear and moving pro life stance–his opposition to abortion, his defense of the elderly and the disabled and his firm stance against same sex marriage and transgender ideologies. There is far more to love and like about this exhortation than there is to dislike.
So let us consider chapter eight which people at both extremes of the American Catholic church have jumped on. In chapter eight the pope discusses appropriate pastoral approaches to those whose marital situations are “less than the Catholic ideal.” The progressives have claimed that the document allows communion for divorced and remarried people and are delighted. Conservatives agree but are dismayed.
When I say “dismayed” may I have a prize for understatement? I’ve seen some absurd and completely loopy interpretations from some conservatives in which they say outright that the pope is an anti Christ, a heretic and that he has now said divorce and remarriage are okay. Someone wrote saying that Henry VIII would be pleased because he finally has the pope he wanted who says all this divorces and marriages are A-OK.
In saying that some conservatives have over reacted, it must be said that some progressives have too. I had an email from one person who assumed there would be a new procedure to grant divorced and remarried Catholics a dispensation to receive communion. They wondered how a priest would  go about “making exceptions” to the rule for couples in his care.
I don’t think chapter eight says any of that at all. Here, in a few points, is what the Pope is trying very hard to communicate to us:

1. Modern Marriage is a Mess – for many complicated reasons marriage in the modern world is in crisis. As a result there are many of our people who are the walking wounded.
2. The Church is Global – the Marriage Mess is different in different parts of the world for a complex series of reasons. The situation in the barrios of Brazil is not the same as suburban American and not the same in the Philippines or Nigeria. Cultures are different. Socio economic conditions are different. Many things are different.
3. One Pastoral Method Does Not Fit All – While we uphold the simple definition of Christian marriage as between one man and one woman for life, the situation of a polygamous culture in Africa and a no fault divorce culture in America and a machismo culture in Argentina and a cohabiting culture in Europe means that while we uphold the ideal, matching our lives to that ideal is increasingly complex and it is impossible to set out one pastoral methodology which will apply to everyone.
4. The Church is Welcoming Not Excluding – Pope Francis wants us to open the doors to those who are caught up in the Marriage Mess. This does not mean we sacrifice or compromise the ideal, but it does mean that we listen to the real life situations of real people. Jesus was in the dust with the woman caught in adultery and he condemned the self righteous scribes and Pharisees who stood apart with stones a-ready. The Pope calls us to be with Jesus in the dust not with the Pharisees in their lust.
5. Priests and people should Work With the  Wounded – Some people who are divorced and re-married have simply flaunted the church’s rules and could care less about the faith. Pope Francis recognizes this and condemns them. On the other hand, many are genuinely wounded, genuinely repentant and genuinely want to belong to the church and follow Jesus Christ despite their “irregular relationships.” In other words, they want to find peace, they’ve messed up and they know it and they want to find reconciliation and the way forward.
6. Those Who Fall Short of the Ideal Should be Integrated – Pope Francis want us to welcome and integrate those whose relationships are “less than ideal”. We should remember that those whose relationship are “less than ideal” are not just the divorced and remarried. There are numerous complex relationships that fall short of the Catholic ideal. These people should be welcomed into the church and asked to participate in prayer, Bible study, charitable activity, fellowship and full life in the parish except for the reception of communion
7. Integration Does Not Demand Reception of Communion – there is a very interesting observation over at Church Militant in which the author specifically quotes Pope Francis in his press conference on the way back from Mexico and the Pope specifically says “No Communion for the Divorced and Remarried.” Check out the article.

Pope Francis, with unusual clarity, responded, “This is the last thing. Integrating in the Church doesn’t mean receiving Communion.”
The Pope immediately gave an anecdotal story to make clear his point.
I know married Catholics in a second union who go to church, who go to church once or twice a year and say I want Communion, as if joining in Communion were an award. It’s a work towards integration; all doors are open. But we cannot say from here on they can have Communion. This would be an injury also to marriage, to the couple, because it wouldn’t allow them to proceed on this path of integration.

Then what to make of the footnote in Chapter 8 which refers to couples in “irregular relationships” as needing the sacraments? The footnote says,

In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments. … I would also point out that the Eucharist ‘is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.

Does this mean what both the progressives and conservatives think–that the door is not only open to divorced and remarried people to receive communion, but that therefore (as some conservatives would protest) the entire edifice of the Catholic Church’s sacramental system is in tatters?
No. Have we forgotten that there are seven sacraments? If we are welcoming those who are wounded and seeking the Lord then the sacraments are exactly what we give them in certain cases. In certain cases they will need baptism. In certain cases they will need confirmation. In certain cases they will need confession. In certain cases they will need anointing of the sick. In certain cases they will need marriage. Will they also need the Eucharist? Of course. They need to come to Mass. They need to come to Eucharistic Adoration. Do they need to receive communion? Of course–once their marriage situation has been regularized through the annulment procedure and proper Catholic marriage.
The “accompaniment” and “walking with the wounded” which the Holy Father recommends is a plea for us priests and all the people to meet the woman taken in adultery in the dust and to grant her forgiveness and say “Go and sin no more” and then to help her live that way. That this is a process which often takes time, care, compassion and  concern is all the pope is pointing out. He is making the plea that we priests and people listen to the full, often complex and difficult situations and help people understand church teaching and move step by step to that place and time where they can be completely reconciled, ransomed, healed restored, forgiven and receive the medicine of communion.
Therefore do I have a problem with Amoris Laetitia? I  wish it were shorter and more concise and precise, but is there any kind of major problem?
No.

Archbishop Aymond responds to Amoris Laetitia

‘Amoris Laetitia’: A pastoral response

Published on Tuesday, 12 April 2016 11:02 | Written by Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond 

Pope Francis issued his exhortation, entitled “Amoris Laetitia” (“The Joy of Love”), on April 8. Can you reflect on some of the document’s highlights and share what they mean to you and the people of the archdiocese?
The Holy Father convened two synods of bishops from around the world in 2014 and 2015, and each synod focused on marriage and the family. The usual practice is for the pope to issue a post-synodal exhortation that frames the discussions and sets a pastoral path for the future. It’s important to be clear that the Holy Father obviously did not change church doctrine in any way. It is a shift in attitude. This document is written with a sensitive, pastoral sense, and it calls us as church leaders and as individual disciples to walk with people as they prepare for marriage, as they struggle with failing or broken marriages, as they find themselves divorced and remarried and as they are seeking annulments. In each case we are called to accompany people and help them discern what God is calling them to do in their particular situations. This is nothing new; however, the pope is specific. We’ve always said we have to bring everything to the table in order to have a fully formed conscience. It is through prayer and conscience that we seek and find God’s will in our lives.

A lot of media attention has been placed on the issue of whether or not those who are divorced and remarried can receive Communion.
That’s part of the document, but I think it’s very important not just to study the hot-button issues but the entire exhortation. In its entirety, the pope is addressing family life throughout the whole world. We have to keep in mind that there are many marriage practices and traditions unique to different parts of the world. For example, some countries allow polygamy and pre-arranged marriages, some have no marriage preparation, some view women as inferior. We should read the document as it addresses many issues. One of the big topics he addresses very strongly is the need for the church to prepare couples for marriage and also to provide some kind of mentoring or marriage enrichment after they are married and making the transition into married life. The Holy Father also reaffirmed the spirit of “Humanae Vitae,” which says an essential part of marriage is an openness to procreation. In the first part of the document, he gives a beautiful exhortation on the meaning of and the theology of marriage by illuminating it with a reflection on St. Paul’s “Hymn to Love” in 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Does he address the issue of same-sex marriage?
Yes. Obviously, he upholds church teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman, and it is for a lifetime. He goes on to say that when people are in same-sex relationships or have a same-sex orientation that we, as church, need to be there for them. We can help them reflect on the teachings of the church and God’s abundant love for them in daily life. We need to love them and respect them. We have to publicly oppose any kind of harassment or unjust discrimination and do what we can to accompany them on their journey.

What about those who are divorced and remarried and the matter of receiving Communion?
The Holy Father upholds the current discipline of the church that those who are divorced and remarried should seek an annulment and should try to regularize the situation they are in. The pope also is very realistic in saying that sometimes that may not be possible and that the church must work with people when that is not possible. He says we must accompany people in this situation. No one lives the ideal marriage or family life, and we must walk with people and help them feel a sense of the church’s love. A person who is divorced and remarried is not excommunicated and can be a part of the church. We have to accept them where they are and not where we would like them to be. He mentions that a person in an irregular situation should seek the advice of a priest who is willing to work with them and accompany and discern with them. Discerning means looking at the situation prayerfully and, as much as humanly possible, with the eyes of God.

What is the so-called “internal forum” and what does that mean?
The synod fathers mentioned the internal forum, and Pope Francis mentions that it was brought up during the synod. The internal forum means a person would go to a priest, and they would discuss honestly and with great transparency their situation. The priest helps them form their conscience as to what they can do to deal with the situation and also what that means in terms of their involvement in the church. Paragraph 300 of the document, I think, is very important: “If we consider the immense variety of concrete situations … it is understandable that neither this Synod nor this Exhortation could be expected to provide a new set of general rules, canonical in nature and applicable to all cases. What is needed is simply a renewed encouragement to undertake a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases, one which would recognize that, since ‘the degree of responsibility is not equal in all cases,’ the consequences or effects of a rule need not necessarily always be the same.”

What will the impact of the exhortation be on the people of the archdiocese?
It will take time for us not just to read the document but also to be able to truly understand it in the spirit in which the Holy Father gives it to us. This is a document that could well be used for meditation, especially on the issues of family life. It would be unfortunate if we were to focus only on the hot-button issues because this exhortation is so rich in its entirety. Our Family Life Office, under the direction of David Dawson, will continue to help us understand the document by offering seminars. This fits in seamlessly with the priorities and goals of our archdiocesan synod – enriching family life. May God bless our efforts to impart the Holy Father’s wisdom on marriage and the family. To those who are struggling in marriage and family life, we as church – your family – want to support you and help you know God’s tender love and patience.

- See more at: http://clarionherald.info/clarion/index.php/archbishop-aymond/5468-amoris-laetitia-a-pastoral-response#sthash.NPTyyVTJ.dpuf.

Father Longenecker is keeping it real; his examples happen over and over again; what do we do??

The Pope’s Exhortation – A Parish Priest’s Perspective

April 9, 2016 by Fr. Dwight Longenecker

In the wake of yesterday’s publication of Amoris Laetitia allow me to weigh in with a parish priest’s perspective. In the midst of a busy day in the parish I didn’t actually have time to read the exhortation. Neither did I have time last night or this morning. However, I have read some of the online commentary, and I have read the paragraphs deemed controversial and I will read the whole thing over the weekend.
Am I allowed, therefore, to be just a teeny bit annoyed at all the armchair experts, Facebook moral theologians and Monday morning priests who have felt it their moral duty and obligation to go online just as soon as possible to point out the Holy Father’s errors and correct the successor of Peter?
What strikes me about this document is that it is first and foremost a pastoral exhortation. While it fully affirms the traditional teaching of the church regarding marriage it also makes a valiant attempt to deal with the messiness of real life. With respect to all the dear laypeople, the armchair experts, the theoreticians, amateur theologians and experts in church law–it is we priests who actually deal with the real life situations of ordinary people. We’re the ones who have to help them match up their lives with the teachings of the church.
It was Jesus who knelt in the dust with the woman taken in adultery. It was the scribes and Pharisees who stood at a distance accusing her of breaking the law. His response to them and his response to her, it seems to me, is exactly what Amoris Laetitia is all about. I just wonder why the Holy Father didn’t simply refer all of us to that text and say. “There it is. Read it and weep.” Instead he took the trouble as a loving Father in God to lay out for the clergy and faithful some principles in helping to navigate the perfect storm that is modern marriage.
The fact of the matter is, all of us who are faithful Catholics wish to uphold the indissolubility of marriage, we are all dismayed at the rising tide of remarriage after divorce, the increase in co habitation, artificial contraception and all the rotten fruit of the sexual revolution. Like every revolution, the sexual revolution has been violent, and we priests realize more than anyone else  that many of our people are the walking wounded. We are the ones they go to when it all goes bad. We are the ones who hear them crying in the confessional. We are the ones who struggle with them as they try to reconcile their lives with the teaching of the church.
Therefore instead of a line by line nit picking through the pope’s exhortation trying to find something to disagree with, let me present my views from where I sit in my study and in my confessional. The few tales I am going to relate are, of course, not real. That would be to betray confidences and the seal of the confessional. However, I can tell stories that are mosaics: pictures built up from the broken pieces of various true stories. The names are fictional and the situations are composed, but they are all “true” stories inasmuch as they are very similar to real people I know and have helped.
Every priest who takes time for his people will agree. They have heard these stories and many more. These are the people we are here to minister to, and the black and white definitions and condemnations of today’s Catholic scribes and Pharisees just won’t do. Are parts of Pope Francis’ exhortation ambiguous, fuzzy or messy? Listen to these stories I have to tell and see if you think that maybe, perhaps, just a little bit, real life is fuzzy, ambiguous and messy. I will make no judgements. I tell you the story.  You decide, if you were a parish priest, what you would do.
Story 1: Bob admits that he never had a life with God. He was a child of the 1960s and lived that way. His first marriage was at the beach to a fellow love child when she got pregnant when they were both high. He married his second wife because she was a rich widow. Later in life he found God through an Evangelical house church and then met Susan–a lapsed Catholic. They married outside the church, but then Susan re-discovered her Catholic faith and she and Bob started going to Mass. He went through RCIA in a liberal Catholic parish where the priest waved a hand and said he didn’t need to worry about “all that annulment stuff.” So Bob became a Catholic and now twenty years later,  he and Susan have six kids a great marriage and are active members in the parish. Only after a conversation with the priest did Bob and Susan discover that they were in an irregular relationship. Bob’s second wife–the elderly widow was dead, but he reckoned his first wife (the hippie who was married to him for less than a year) was still living somewhere, but Bob has no idea where she might be. So what do you do? 
Story 2: Lucy was married to Phil for twenty five years. They were both Catholics when they got married in church after proper preparation. For fifteen years of their marriage Lucy and Phil had no relations and Lucy suspected Phil was having affairs. Then in his early fifties Phil walked out and declared he was gay. He moved to Florida and Lucy never heard from him again. All during their marriage Lucy was faithful to Phil. The divorce was quick and final. Lucy continued to raise their two kids who were finishing high school. Her faith deepened through her difficulties and she got more involved in the parish. Through her work with the local soup kitchen she met Harold–a Catholic widower. They became companions then fell in love. Lucy tracked Philip down and asked him to co operate with the annulment process but he told her to get lost. Lucy and Harold decide to get married anyway. One of the reasons is that Harold is well off and Lucy will benefit materially as they get older together.  What do you advise?
Story 3: Malcolm married his high school sweetheart when they were both nineteen. He was from a poor broken home. She was the daughter of the town’s banker, the prom queen and the most popular girl in school. Both were nominal Methodists. By the time they were married five years they had both grown up and grown away from each other. The sixties hit her hard and after a string of affairs Sally began to hit the bottle. Malcolm stuck it out for another ten years, and finally had enough. They divorced and Malcolm dated various women for five years. During that time he married Jeanette–a girl he met on vacation–in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. Jeanette took off with another man after two unhappy years and Malcolm met Frances in rehab. Frances was there because, like Malcolm she had turned to drink when her own Catholic marriage broke down. They married quietly and started to attend Mass. God touched their lives and healed both of them of the deep wounds they had suffered. As a result Malcolm entered RCIA and longs to be received into the Catholic Church. What would you do?
I know what I would do in each situation. I know how I would try to match the high ideals for marriage that we uphold with the reality on the ground, but I am not outlining what I would do, because if readers have read this far, they might see how complicated such situations are. Furthermore, the three stories I have made up are the simple ones. Others are even more complex and heart breaking.
I relate these stories to remind readers that for many complicated reasons marriage in our society is a shipwreck. It’s hit the iceberg and gone down long ago.
The people picking through the Pope’s exhortation like carrion crows do not make me feel very good to be honest. The Pope has made a good effort to help us sort through the wreckage, salvage what we can and build a raft to sail on.
Perhaps all the armchair critics should have the dignity and self respect to listen to the pope and seek to learn from him. He said in the opening paragraphs of the exhortation that it is long and complex and we should read it prayerfully and give it time. I plan to do so.

Let the headlines begin; please read the document; Amoris Laetitia

Pope Francis opens door to Communion for divorced, civilly remarried, balanced with careful formation of conscience The Holy Father offers an internal forum solution, to be applied by priests in light of Church teaching and unspecified 'guidelines of the bishop’ Russell Shaw OSV Newsweekly

4/8/2016

Pope Francis greets newly married couples during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in this Sept. 30, 2015, file photo. Pope Francis' postsynodal apostolic exhortation on the family, "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love"), was to be released April 8. The exhortation is the concluding document of the 2014 and 2015 synods of bishops on the family. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano) Delighting some Catholics and dismaying others, Pope Francis in his new document on marriage opens the door to allowing some divorced and remarried Catholics whose first marriages haven’t been annulled to receive holy Communion. How widely the door is open and what the results of opening it will be are things no one, the pope included, can say with certainty.
His approach doesn’t do away with the present system in which Church courts, called tribunals, weigh marriage cases and issue decisions granting or withholding what are called declarations of nullity — from the start, there was no real marriage as the Church understands it.
That expression of the Church’s role as steward of the sacraments will continue. The approach in the new papal document is aimed at divorced and remarried Catholics who for whatever reason haven’t received an annulment but want approval for receiving Communion anyway.
Pope Francis offers an internal forum solution, to be applied by priests in light of Church teaching and unspecified “guidelines of the bishop.” Internal forum is a canonical-theological term referring to a private discernment, based on conscience and reached under the guidance of a spiritual adviser, that one may or may not do something — in this case, receive Communion while remaining in a second marriage without an annulment of the first.
How widely this approach will be adopted by divorced and remarried Catholics remains to be seen. Some highly motivated individuals may be interested but their number may not be large. Implementation is likely to range from very loose to very strict. And there is no telling what effect this shift toward private judgment may have on other moral issues.
The new papal document, an apostolic exhortation titled Amoris Laetitia ("The Joy of Love") and subtitled "On Love in the Family," is Pope Francis’ response to two world synods of bishops on marriage and family life held in October 2014 and October 2015. The gatherings provoked sometimes contentious discussion both inside and outside the synods themselves. The leading proponent of Communion for the divorced and remarried was Cardinal Walter Kasper, a German theologian and former Vatican official, but Pope Francis made it clear he is friendly to the idea.
But there’s a problem: how to square Communion for people in second marriages with the teaching of Christ — as in the 19th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel — that a valid marriage is indissoluble and remarriage after divorce in these circumstances is a kind of adultery?
Last October’s synod described a process of discernment by which a Catholic in this situation could be re-assimilated into the Church. The relevant sections received the largest number of no votes of any in the document, but got the two-thirds required to pass. Still, the document stopped short of saying these people should be allowed to receive Communion, leaving that to the pope. Now Francis has said yes — reception of Communion is possible in some cases.
In a way, this isn’t new. Pope St. John Paul II, in his 1981 document on marriage, Familiaris Consortio, also suggested that divorced Catholics in second marriages might receive Communion. But he set as a condition that they live in a brother-sister relationship with their second partners — one excluding marital intimacy, that is. Pope Francis says nothing about that.
Some who welcome this new development see it as an act of mercy expressing the reality of the Church as an agent of divine mercy. Others see it as an exercise in sentimentality that separates pastoral practice from moral truth.

Russell Shaw is an OSV contributing editor.

Breaking right now: Pope Francis releases post Synod document. Read it before you react!

From Rocco Palma:

POST-SYNODAL APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION

AMORIS LÆTITIA

OF THE HOLY FATHER

FRANCIS

TO BISHOPS, PRIESTS AND DEACONS

CONSECRATED PERSONS

CHRISTIAN MARRIED COUPLES

AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL

ON LOVE IN THE FAMILY

The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church. As the Synod Fathers noted, for all the many signs of crisis in the institution of marriage, “the desire to marry and form a family remains vibrant, especially among young people, and this is an inspiration to the Church”. As a response to that desire, “the Christian proclamation on the family is good news indeed”.

The Synod process allowed for an examination of the situation of families in today’s world, and thus for a broader vision and a renewed awareness of the importance of marriage and the family. The complexity of the issues that arose revealed the need for continued open discussion of a number of doctrinal, moral, spiritual, and pastoral questions. The thinking of pastors and theologians, if faithful to the Church, honest, realistic and creative, will help us to achieve greater clarity. The debates carried on in the media, in certain publications and even among the Church’s ministers, range from an immoderate desire for total change without sufficient re ection or grounding, to an attitude that would solve everything by applying general rules or deriving undue conclusions from particular theological considerations.

Since “time is greater than space”, I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium. Unity of teaching and practice is certainly necessary in the Church, but this does not preclude various ways of interpreting some aspects of that teaching or drawing certain consequences from it. This will always be the case as the Spirit guides us towards the entire truth (cf. Jn 16:13), until he leads us fully into the mystery of Christ and enables us to see all things as he does. Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs. For “cultures are in fact quite diverse and every general principle... needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied”.....

FULLTEXT (PDF)

The Synod's Final Report from Pope Francis just a week away from release

Synodal Apostolic Exhortation to Be Released Next Friday

Cardinal Schönborn, Cardinal Baldisseri, and Married Couple to Present Widely Anticipated ‘Amoris Laetitia’ on Love in the Family

March 31, 2016ZENIT StaffPope and Holy See, Synod of bishops

ZENIT - SM

Pope Francis’ widely-anticipated post-synodal document will be released next Friday.
During an unexpected briefing in the Holy See Press Office this morning, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, its director, informed journalists present that next Friday, April 8th at 11:30 a.m. the Apostolic Exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’  (Latin for ‘Joy of Love’)  will be presented.
The panel presenting will include Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna; and the married couple Professor Francesco Miano, lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Rome at Tor Vergata, and Professor Giuseppina De Simone in Miano, lecturer in philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples.
A simultaneous translation service will be available in Italian, English and Spanish.
The press conference can also be seen via live streaming on the site: http://player.rv.va and will subsequently remain there, available on demand.

We won't be waiting long; post-synod document from Pope Francis due in March

Vatican official: Pope's post-synod doc will be released in March

A view of the facade of St. Peter's Basilica from the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, Feb. 14, 2015. Credit: Lauren Cater/CNA.

Vatican City, Jan 27, 2016 / 01:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on family life following last year's synod will be published in March, says Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family.
In an interview with the Portuguese Catholic agency Ecclesia, Archbishop Paglia said that the Pope will release the document in March 2016, and that it will “show that the Church is close to families in all stages of their lives.”
“I am convinced that the Apostolic Exhortation will be a hymn to love, to a love that will care for the well-being of children, that is open to wounded families who need strength, that wants to be close to the elder, a love that the whole of humanity needs,” Paglia said.
The Italian archbishop is leading a week-long conference for the Catholic clergy of Portugal's Southern ecclesiastic provinces under the title “Family: Centrality, Renewal and Continuity.”
The apostolic exhortation will be the conclusion of a multi-year synod process. In 2014 the Vatican hosted an Extraordinary Synod which was in preparation for the October 2015 Ordinary Synod. An estimated 190 bishops from around the world participated in each gathering.
The 2015 synod, which the Pope’s exhortation is expected to focus on, was themed “the vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world.”
The synods were surrounded by controversy, with hot-button topics of ministry to homosexuals and the divorced-and-remarried dominating media coverage.
Discussion in the synod hall also touched on such issues as marriage preparation, pornography, and domestic violence and abuse.
The apostolic exhortation is expected to be based on the final report from the synod, which was released Oct. 24. That report reflected collegiality among the bishops, though two of the 94 paragraphs were included by only a slim margin