Remembering Chris (circa December 11, 2006)

Robert Mueller Laughs At Jerry Nadler’s Demands, Won’t Testify Anytime Soon

Points to Ponder:

"The Catholic Church is like a thick steak, a glass of red wine, and a good cigar." [Attributed to G K Chesterton]

Points to Ponder:

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

The Titanic's Forgotten Sister

On Correcting the Pretentious "Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church", Addressing its Accusations, Etc.
(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

The question was also raised by a Cardinal, 'What is to be done with the Pope if he becomes a heretic?' It was answered that there has never been such a case. [Rev. James J. McGovern Quoting Abp. John B. Purcell at the First Vatican Council in His Book Life and Life Work of Pope Leo XIII, pg. 241 (circa 1903)]

Throughout the months leading up to and throughout Lent of 2019, a series of postings were made to this site. They each had value on their own merits of course but they were building towards what was eventually posted during Holy Week of 2019: a three part series written in October of 2017{1} responding to a so-called "correctio filialis" published in September of that year. For those who are interested, the aforementioned threads in order from oldest to most recent can be viewed HERE.

Getting back to the recently published material{2}, I could not for more than a year find both the time as well as the motivation to delve into those matters anew. Nonetheless, through a gradual process as well as using the Lenten season as a kind of cudgel,{3} it was possible to get to the point to where those writings were finally published. It now is manifestly evident that my motivation for finally getting around to doing that was truly prescient.

For on Holy Week of 2019, a sequel letter of sorts was put out there by more or less the same pretentious sorts that were behind the original so-called "correctio filalis" and it takes a fair amount of material from the same letter that was addressed in the series I recently published. Only rather than hedge somewhat on the accusation as was the case in the "correctio filialis", this time they have gone further and rather than merely insinuate that Pope Francis is a heretic, they have actually shown the temerity to actually call him one!

As I have already pointed out in reasonable detail why it is not possible for a pope to be an actual heretic{4} as well as how this position was one affirmed by the First Vatican Ecumenical Council{5}, I am therefore not going to retread that ground. Nor am I going to reiterate anew the points already more than adequately refuted in that series except to note that in perusing the new text, I see that there are seven explicit claims of heresy leveled at Pope Francis. Of the seven, five were already addressed in the prior series{6} along with the deficient spiritual formation that permeates the diseased mindset of these folks. (Also dealt in detail with previously and not to be repeated at length here.) However, let us at least touch briefly on one of the problems inherent with these sorts of folks with a very brief reprisal of some material from the earlier series:

It is a fundamental principle of the Catholic spiritual tradition to not rashly presume the worst in others. Before touching on their seven accusations of heresy, let us consider this factor of no small importance. What do the spiritual masters of the Catholic tradition have to say about those who are quick to presume the worst possible interpretation of the words and statements of another? Time and space constraints will only allow us to touch quickly on a few so without further ado: 

Always be ready and willing to excuse the faults of your neighbour and never put an unfavourable interpretation upon his actions. The same action, says St. Francis de Sales, may be looked upon under many different aspects: a charitable person will ever suppose the best, an uncharitable one will just as certainly choose the worst.[...]

St. Francis de Sales also said that we are not "[to] weigh so carefully the sayings and doings of others, but let your thought of them be simple and good, kindly and affectionate."[...] Does any of this resemble the actions and statements of the folks who authored or signed onto the so-called “fraternal correction”? Hardly!{7}

The same principles outlined in that note apply in spades to the folks involved in the most recent letter. What will be addressed here is the two new points which were not previously dealt with. It bears noting that the format of this Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church is more convoluted than that of the Correctio Filialis de Haeresibus Propagatis which despite its many problems was at least more straightforward in its presentation. Without further ado, onto addressing the two new accusations.

It is false that the only sexual acts that are good of their kind and morally licit are acts between husband and wife.

What is common to virtually all the areas in the new text that supposedly buttress this claim is they revolve around the subjects of conscience as well as jumping into areas where Pope Francis himself admits are difficult to pastorally navigate. If there was greater humility by these folks, it would be easier to give them the benefit of the doubt. However, that is unfortunately not the case as these folks objectively manifest operative presumptions that are rash and sinful in themselves.

We could say if we were being charitable{8} that at least they seem to have zeal for the salvation of souls. But even granting them that premise, we must still consider many of the pitfalls that can befall such persons quite often without them having any recognition of such. To wit:

1. Zeal for the salvation of souls is a sublime virtue, and yet how many errors and sins are committed daily in its name! Evil is never done more effectually and with greater security, says St. Francis de Sales, than when one does it believing he is working for the glory of God. 

2. The saints themselves can be mistaken in this delicate matter. We see a proof of this in the incident related to the Apostles Saint James and Saint John; for Our Lord reprimanded them for asking Him to cause fire from heaven to fall upon the Samaritans. (Luke, IX., 54.) 

3. Acts of zeal are like coins the stamp upon which is necessary to examine attentively, as there are more counterfeits than good ones. Zeal to be pure should be accompanied by great humility, for it is of all virtues the one which self-love most easily glides. When it does so, zeal is apt to become imprudent, presumptuous, unjust, bitter. Let us consider these characteristics in detail, viewing them, for the sake of greater clearness, in their practical bearings. 

4. In every home there grows some thorn, something, in other words, that needs correction; for the best soil is seldom without its noxious weed. Imprudent zeal, by seeking awkwardly to pluck out the thorn, often succeeds only in plunging it farther in, thus rendering the wound deeper and more painful. In such a case it is essential to act with reflection and great prudence. There is a time to speak and a time to be silent, says the Holy Spirit. (Ecclesiastes III., 7.) Prudent zeal is silent when it realizes that to be so is less hurtful than to speak.

5. Some persons are even presumptuous enough in their mistaken zeal to meddle in the domestic affairs of strange families, blaming, counselling, attempting to reform without measure and discretion, thus causing an evil much greater than the one they wish to correct. Let us employ the activity of our zeal in our own reformation, says Saint Bernard, and pray humbly for that of others. It is great presumption on our part thus to assume the role of apostles when we are not as yet faithful disciples. Not that you should be be by any means indifferent to the salvation to souls: on the contrary you must wish it most ardently, but do not undertake to effect it except with great prudence, humility, and diffidence in self.{9}

Once again, if the persons doing these things at least had some manifested semblance of humility, it would be easier to take them somewhat seriously. But that is not what we have here. Or as I have noted elsewhere:

[A]mong the biggest bellyachers on [Amoris Laetitia] are Catholics who in a number of other areas frequently slander, libel, denigrate, ridicule, and express contempt and/or profound disrespect for the Roman Pontiff and the last Ecumenical Council. There is no shortage of folks who do these things often (read: multiple times per day!) yet they still judge themselves as "at peace with God" and thus as fit to receive communion. The odds are pretty good that they do not accuse themselves of these sins in the confessional which means they receive unworthily themselves. They are therefore in no position morally or spiritually to judge anyone else yet they do it all the time.{10}

As for the rest, there is a section in the second installment of the recent three part series{11} which goes over in detail the subject of conscience and more than adequately highlights the ethical and theological shortcomings of these sorts of folks with their accusations along these lines. I therefore need not reinvent the wheel here.

God not only permits but positively wills, the pluralism and diversity of religions, both Christian and non-Christian.

The source of this claim is the Joint Declaration on Fraternity of Pope Francis and Grand Imam Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb of Egypt. It should go without saying that joint declarations are fundamentally not doctrinal instruments but intended for the formation of common ground among at times widely divergent entities. In diplomatically sensitive circumstances, there are therefore at times uses of terminology that while true are nonetheless incomplete from the standpoints of the various parties in question. In terms of how Pope Francis intends the statement he signed to be understood, there is no better source to ascertain this than his own general audience on the very subject:

Some might ask themselves: but why is the Pope going to the Muslims and not just to Catholics? Because there are many religions, and why are there many religions? Along with the Muslims, we are the descendants of the same Father, Abraham: why does God allow many religions? God wanted to allow this: Scolastica theologians used to refer to God’s voluntas permissiva. He wanted to allow this reality: there are many religions. Some are born from culture, but they always look to heaven; they look to God. But what God wants is fraternity among us and in a special way, this was the reason for the trip, with our brothers, Abraham’s children like us, the Muslims. We must not fear differences. God allowed this. We should be afraid were we to fail to work fraternally to walk together in life.{12}

In short, we have another nothing burger from the Usual Suspects on this matter and this claim of heresy as with their other pathetic offerings{13} laughably falls well short of the mark. I note for a third time that it would be easier to feel some sympathy for these folks if they showed even a scintilla of humility. However, they do not. As I explained in a Lenten reflections thread on folks of this mindset:

There is a difference between legitimate difficulties respectfully expressed and brazenly acting as if they are the determiners of orthodoxy or that they are the ones to "formally correct" the pope or whatever rather than actually being willing to be taught by the Vicar of Christ. It is true that not every statement is of equal weight and there is room for divergent views in different areas to certain extents. But the seeming attitude of many is that if the pope has not spoken infallibly on dogma that it means something is up for grabs. I guess that means at Nicaea only the divinity of Christ was required belief and everything for the first 325 years was optional. That is not how it works and the so-called "paragons of faithful orthodoxy" should know that if they are what they claim.{14}

For some reason, I doubt most of these folks will repent of their calumny and slander (to put it mildly) no matter what anyone says. Therefore, they are deserving of no respect whatsoever and only contempt until such time as they start acting like mature Catholics instead of pompous bellyaching brats.

[I]t is to give proof of a submission which is far from sincere to set up some kind of opposition between one Pontiff and another. Those who, faced with two differing directives, reject the present one to hold to the past, are not giving proof of obedience to the authority which has the right and duty to guide them... 

On this point what must be remembered is that in the government of the Church, except for the essential duties imposed on all Pontiffs by their apostolic office, each of them can adopt the attitude which he judges best according to times and circumstances. Of this he alone is the judge. [Pope Leo XIII: Apostolic Letter Epistola Tua (circa June 17, 1885)]

Notes:

{1} "I wrote some draft texts eighteen months ago that constituted a preliminary response to the signatories of a then recent so-called "correctio filialis" (filial correction) of Pope Francis. A variety of circumstances prevented me from publishing them at the time or in subsequent months. However, as we are about to enter into Holy Week 2019, it seems appropriate to address this matter but not in precisely the same way I originally planned.

The material below is close to seventy percent different than that original first draft with a different approach taken for the most part compared to my earlier intentions." [Excerpt from the Note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)]

{2} To list them in sequence:

To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)

On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (circa April 16, 2019)

On Correcting the So-Called "Correctio Filialis", Addressing Its Accusations, Etc. (circa April 18, 2019)

{3} "As far as my preparation for the season goes, among the things I am giving up and the things I will be taking up for this season[...], one of the latter is that I am actually considering doing some apologetics during Lent. Why? Because I have for so long had a low opinion of most of what passes for apologetics on the web over the years. While ignoring it most of the time has long been what I have done, this Lent I will don a proverbial digital hairshirt and wade into this matter from time to time during the Lenten season as a form of penance." [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa March 5, 2019)]

{4} "The Church does teach and has always taught that a pope cannot teach heresy. However, to be clear, she has 'always taught' this the same way she has 'always taught' things like papal primacy, the immaculate conception, and papal infallibility. This is not hard to demonstrate but because of the variegations of Church history, it can be tedious to do so." [Excerpt from the Note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)]

{5} "Bellarmine went further than most and believed not only that a pope could not teach heresy but that it was pious and probable to believe that he could not even be a secret or internal heretic. The first of his beliefs (that a pope could not teach heresy) is what was known in his treatise on the subject of the Roman Pontiff as the fourth opinion. Bishop Gasser explained it in his Relatio as follows:

"As far as the doctrine set forth in the Draft goes, the Deputation is unjustly accused of wanting to raise an extreme opinion, viz., that of Albert Pighius, to the dignity of a dogma. For the opinion of Albert Pighius, which Bellarmine indeed calls pious and probable, was that the Pope, as an individual person or a private teacher, was able to err from a type of ignorance but was never able to fall into heresy or teach heresy. To say nothing of the other points, let me say that this is clear from the very words of Bellarmine, both in the citation made by the reverend speaker and also from Bellarmine himself who, in book 4, chapter VI, pronounces on the opinion of Pighius in the following words: 'It can be believed probably and piously that the supreme Pontiff is not only not able to err as Pontiff but that even as a particular person he is not able to be heretical, by pertinaciously believing something contrary to the faith.' From this, it appears that the doctrine in the proposed chapter is not that of Albert Pighius or the extreme opinion of any school, but rather that it is one and the same which Bellarmine teaches in the place cited by the reverend speaker and which Bellarmine adduces in the fourth place and calls most certain and assured, or rather, correcting himself, the most common and certain opinion."[...]

To be clear, what Gasser was saying was not merely that it was pious and probable to hold that a Pontiff could not err in matters of faith but that one could go further and believe piously and probably the pope could not even be heretical as a particular person or in his person whatsoever. Bishop Gasser made it clear that Pastor Aeternus was correctly interpreted as teaching what Bellarmine outlined in his fourth opinion or the one Bellarmine himself called the most common and certain opinion. And from the moment the First Vatican Council made Bellarmine's fourth opinion their own, the issue of whether a pope could or could not be a heretic or teach heresy was dogmatically settled as a matter of doctrine in the negative by an Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church." [Excerpt from the Note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)]

{6} The five in question are indicated in the Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church by the Roman numerals I, II, III, IV, and VI which correspond to five of the seven heresies insinuated to various degrees in the document Correctio Filialis de Haeresibus Propagatis and which were numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 from that text respectively.

{7} Excerpt from the Note On Correcting the So-Called "Correctio Filialis", Addressing Its Accusations, Etc. (circa April 18, 2019)

{8} If we are being more charitable to them than they are to others.

{9} Fr. R. P. Quadrupani: Light and Peace - Instructions for Devout Souls to Dispel Their Doubts and Ally Their Fears (circa 1795) From the Section on Zeal

{10} Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa March 21, 2019)

{11} See the Note On Correcting the So-Called "Correctio Filialis", Addressing Its Accusations, Etc. for details.

{12} Pope Francis: From the General Audience Catechesis on the Apostolic Visitation to Morocco (circa April 3, 2019)

{13} Among the doctrinally specious claims made by many of these folks is a denial of the infallibility of papal canonizations.

{14} Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa March 24, 2019)

BREAKING. Attorney General Barr Launches Investigation To Determine How The Russia Investigation Started And More

TWITTER DELENDA EST

Doug Baldwin Represented an Era of Seahawks Football

Points to Ponder:

Nine out of ten of what we call new ideas are simply old mistakes. [GK Chesterton]

On the Infallibility of Papal Canonizations of Saints:
(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

This material was mostly compiled in late 2018 and early 2019 and finally completed yesterday. Having noted that, I cannot believe I have to do this with Catholics who should know better. However, if I learned anything in twenty odd years of involvement in these matters, it is that those who claim to be so Catholic so often are ignorant of the basics of theology and other matters. This is certainly the case for those who claim to be More Faithful Than Thou who try to parse out or separate papal canonizations into different eras or seek to find ways to downplay or dismiss modern canonizations. The purpose of this note is to look at the subject of papal canonizations and why logically in Catholic theology they have to be infallible, period. Let us start with the standard formula used in a canonization ceremony:

In honor of the Holy Trinity, for the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and of Our Own, after long reflection, having invoked divine assistance many times and listened to the opinion of many of our Brothers in the Episcopate, We declare and define as Saint Blessed N. and inscribe his/her name in the list of the saints and establish that throughout the Church they be devoutly honored among the saints.{1}

I realize that formularies are not the be-all and end-all on these things but it is made manifest by the Pope in canonizing someone that they are defining their presence in heaven and placing an obligation on the faithful to reverence the canonized person as such henceforth in perpetuity. None of this is consistent with the claims of those who would rashly assert that such proclamations are not definitive. As canonizations of saints became centralized in the papacy in the second millennium{2}, along with the developing notion of church and papal infallibility, the understanding that papal canonizations would be infallible over time came about. The earliest explicit exponent of this belief that I am aware of is St. Thomas Aquinas who had this to say on the matter (all emphasis is mine):

Honor we show the saints is a certain profession of faith by which we believe in their glory, and it is to be piously believed that even in this the judgment of the Church is not able to err.{3} 

As the process of canonization became more centralized over time, "bishops were designated as the primary ecclesiastical authorities to determine the historical veracity of martyrs and confessors"{4} and the bishops were "licensed to confer a kind of beatification on a meritorious individual within their dioceses."{5} From there, "[c]ults of an officially recognized martyr or confessor could transfer (translatio) the saint's body to a designated shrine location and select a festival date on which liturgical rites could be performed annually. The act of translating a saint's body to an altar or shrine came to be interpreted as the act of canonization."{6} Over time, cults spread across various dioceses as a result of both veneration by believers as well as promotion by church authorities. As the cults of saints grew, profiteers decided to get in on the act and it became so pervasive that church councils begin to address the matter. The Council of Mainz in 813 "decreed that a body could be moved only by permission of the relevant bishop and provincial synod and after informing the secular authority."{7}

While the first papal canonization on record is from 993 AD, "the first universal canonization occurred in 1041, with a papal bull addressing all nations and languages, not just clergy and selected ethno-cultural groups."{8} The reasons for increasing appeals to the papacy to validate canonizations was "initially done to introduce Church oversight and doctrinal rigor into beatification, a process that continued to be controlled by the bishops at the local level."{9} It was a status symbol basically to seek the pope's approval because then the act carried the greater spiritual weight and stature of the Roman Church. And of course "the demand for papal canonization corresponded to the rise in power and prestige of the papacy in Rome."{10}

Prior to the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), there were only a few decrees of importance pertaining to the canonization of saints. The first was from the Fifth Council of Carthage (401) concerning the verification of shrines by the local bishop to ensure that they had a connexion with a true martyr and to insist that no one be venerated as a martyr without a reasonable basis of historical evidence. The second is the aforementioned Council of Mainz (813). The papacy of Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) saw the further crystallization of basic principles including the reservation of canonization to the papacy{11} with the formulation of customs that would later be set forth in formal decrees. In the aftermath of the Council of Trent, the following was included in a Profession of Faith by Pope Paul IV:

I steadfastly hold that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. Likewise, that the saints, reigning together with Christ, are to be honored and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated.{12}

If you read the words carefully, you will see that the Tridentine Profession of Faith, it is mandated that the saints are to be honoured and invoked as well as their relics venerated. If it is a matter of faith that the saints are to be honored and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be venerated, then that means the determination of saints is logically a matter with a connection to dogma. What does this mean if the Church could err in canonizing saints?

To suppose that the Church can err in canonizing, is a sin, or is heresy, according to St. Bonaventure, Bellarmine, and others; or at least next door to heresy, according to Suarez, Azorius, Gotti, etc.; because the Sovereign Pontiff, according to St. Thomas, is guided by the infallible influence of the Holy Ghost in an especial way when canonizing saints.{13} 

This was the standard view by all reputable theologians and doctors throughout the post-Tridentine period. At the First Vatican Council, one of the factors involved in addressing the subject of papal infallibility was the extent of that infallibility. On the issue of truths necessary for guarding the faith even though not themselves formally revealed, the Relator Bishop Vincent Gasser said the following:

'All Catholic theologians completely agree that the Church, in her authentic proposal and definition of truths of this sort, is infallible,' such that to deny this infallibility would be a very grave error. A diversity of opinion turns only on the degree of certitude, i.e., on whether the infallibility in proposing these truths--and therefore in proscribing errors through censures inferior to the note of heresy--should be considered a dogma of faith, so that to deny this infallibility to the Church would be heretical, or whether it is a truth not revealed in itself but one deduced from revealed dogma and as such is only theologically certain.{14}

In other words, there was a consensus amongst Catholic theologians that the Church is infallible in more than matters of faith and the only diversity of opinion was whether denying this infallibility would be heretical or whether it was merely deduced from revealed dogma and as such is only theologically certain. What was the decision of the Deputation on how to handle this matter?

[I]t has seemed to members of the Deputation, by unanimous agreement, that this question should not be defined, at least not now, but should be left in the state in which it presently is.{15}

If you read carefully, you will see that Bishop Gasser was not saying that the proposed dogmatic formula intended to leave in a state of indecision the question of whether the Pope is infallible in defining both secondary truths as well as formal revealed truths. What was intended to be left in the state in which it presently is is only the question of the specific theological qualification of the teaching; namely, if it is de fide or just theologically certain. Irrespective of the theological qualification however, it is clear that there is certainty and the requirement for all Catholics to hold firmly that the Pope is infallible in defining secondary doctrines necessary for guarding and expounding the deposit of faith. Among these secondary truths is the canonization of saints.

So by 1870 and prior to the promulgation of Pastor Aeternus by the Fathers of the First Vatican Council, this matter was already one that was not subject to theological speculation. The aforementioned factor was also noted as follows in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia:

Is the pope infallible in issuing a decree of canonization? Most theologians answer in the affirmative. It is the opinion of St. Antoninus, Melchior Cano, Suarez, Bellarmine, Bañez, Vasquez, and, among the canonists, of Gonzales Tellez, Fagnanus, Schmalzgrüber, Barbosa, Reiffenstül, Covarruvias (Variar. resol., I, x, no 13), Albitius (De Inconstantiâ in fide, xi, no 205), Petra (Comm. in Const. Apost., I, in notes to Const. I, Alex., III, no 17 sqq.), Joannes a S. Thomâ (on II-II, Q. I, disp. 9, a. 2), Silvester (Summa, s.v. Canonizatio), Del Bene (De Officio Inquisit. II, dub. 253), and many others. In Quodlib. IX, a. 16, St. Thomas says: 'Since the honour we pay the saints is in a certain sense a profession of faith, i.e., a belief in the glory of the Saints [quâ sanctorum gloriam credimus] we must piously believe that in this matter also the judgment of the Church is not liable to error.' These words of St. Thomas, as is evident from the authorities just cited, all favouring a positive infallibility, have been interpreted by his school in favour of papal infallibility in the matter of canonization, and this interpretation is supported by several other passages in the same Quodlibet. This infallibility, however according to the holy doctor, is only a point of pious belief. Theologians generally agree as to the fact of papal infallibility in this matter of canonization, but disagree as to the quality of certitude due to a papal decree in such matter. In the opinion of some it is of faith (Arriaga, De fide, disp. 9, p. 5, no 27); others hold that to refuse assent to such a judgment of the Holy See would be both impious and rash, as Francisco Suárez (De fide, disp. 5 p. 8, no 8); many more (and this is the general view) hold such a pronouncement to be theologically certain, not being of Divine Faith as its purport has not been immediately revealed, nor of ecclesiastical Faith as having thus far not been defined by the Church.{16} 

And in the words of pre-Vatican II dogmatic theologian Gerardus van Noort:

Canonization (formal) is the final and definitive decree by which the sovereign pontiff declares that someone has been admitted to heaven and is to be venerated by everyone, at least in the sense that all the faithful are held to consider the person a saint worthy of public veneration... Infallibility is claimed for canonization only; a decree of beatification, which in the eyes of the Church is not definitive but may still be rescinded, is to be considered morally certain indeed, but not infallible.{17}

In other words, there was prior to the Second Vatican Council a theological consensus that secondary objects of infallibility were infallible. And on the scope of infallibility, the Second Vatican Council had the following to say in one of its dogmatic constitutions:

[T]his infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrine of faith and morals, extends as far as the deposit of Revelation extends, which must be religiously guarded and faithfully expounded.{18}

Up to this point, the teaching was long proposed over the course of centuries as at least theologically certain. By including this teaching in a Dogmatic Constitution of an Ecumenical Council, this simply underscored that the aforementioned teaching was definitive by virtue of the Ordinary Magisterium and faithful Catholics were bound to accept it with what is called ecclesiastical faith (Lat. fides ecclesiastica). This understanding was one explicitly delineated in a declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in the years following the Second Vatican Council:

According to Catholic doctrine, the infallibility of the Church's Magisterium extends not only to the deposit of faith but also to those matters without which that deposit cannot be rightly preserved and expounded. (Cf. Vatican Council II: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 25; Const. Decr. Decl., p. 139.){19}

And finally, the CDF has explicitly stated that among the truths connected to revelation to be held definitively but which cannot be declared matters of dogma include the following:

[T]he legitimacy of the election of the Supreme Pontiff or of the celebration of an ecumenical council, the canonizations of saints (dogmatic facts), the declaration of Pope Leo XIII in the Apostolic Letter Apostolicae Curae on the invalidity of Anglican ordinations.{20}

In summary, the overwhelming evidence over the centuries from the time that canonizations of saints became centralized in the papacy is that the infallibility of the church extends not only to matters properly considered de fide but also matters which pertain to the deposit of faith by logical extension. Among these areas required for the preservation and expounding of the deposit of faith is the canonizations of saints. And as the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council settled this matter doctrinally, the only response of faithful Catholics is the assent of ecclesiastical faith: something not present in the schismatics who by denying this fundamental principle of the Catholic faith are themselves proximate to heresy.

If anyone dared to assert that the pontiff had erred in this or that canonization, we shall say that he is, if not a heretic, at least temerarious, a giver of scandal to the whole Church, an insulter of the saints, a favorer of those heretics who deny the Church's authority in canonizing saints, savoring of heresy by giving unbelievers an occasion to mock the faithful, the assertor of an erroneous opinion and liable to very grave penalties. [Pope Benedict XIV: Excerpt from De Canonisione Sanctorum 1.I c.43 n.3; c.45 n.28. (circa ante-1758)]

Notes:

{1} The Concluding Canonization Formulary Used By Popes When Canonizing Saints

{2} The first papal canonization was of Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg by Pope John XV in 993 AD at the Lateran Council held that year.

{3} St. Thomas Aquinas: Quodl. 9:8:16 (circa ante 1274)

{4} Eric W. Kemp: From Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (circa 1948) as cited in The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 193 (circa 2011).

{5} From The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 193 (circa 2011)

{6} Eric W. Kemp: From Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (circa 1948) as cited in The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 193 (circa 2011).

{7} Eric W. Kemp: From Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (circa 1948) as cited in The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 194 (circa 2011).

{8} Eric W. Kemp: From Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (circa 1948) as cited in The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 194 (circa 2011).

{9} Eric W. Kemp: From Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (circa 1948) as cited in The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 194 (circa 2011).

{10} Eric W. Kemp: From Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (circa 1948) as cited in The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Religion edited by Rachel M. McCleary, pg 194 (circa 2011).

{11} While Pope Alexander III did not formally decree this, the last canonization performed by a local bishop preceded his pontificate and he did establish the principles that resulted in his successor Pope Gregory IX decreeing that all canonizations were reserved to the Apostolic See.

{12} Pope Pius IV: Profession of Faith (circa November 13, 1564)

{13} St. Alphonsus Liguori: Excerpt from The Great Means of Salvation and Perfection, pg 23 (circa 1759)

{14} Bishop Vincent Gasser: From His Relatio to the Fathers of the First Vatican Council (circa July 11, 1870)

{15} Bishop Vincent Gasser: From His Relatio to the Fathers of the First Vatican Council (circa July 11, 1870)

{16} Catholic Encyclopedia: Excerpt from the Article Beatification and Canonization (circa 1913)

{17} Mgr. G. Van Noort: Excerpt from Dogmatic Theology 2: Christ’s Church, Westminster, MD: Newman Press, pg 117 (circa 1957)

{18} Second Vatican Council: Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium §25 (circa November 21, 1964)

{19} Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae §3 (circa June 24, 1973)

{20} Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: From the Doctrinal Commentary on the Professio Fidei (circa July 29, 1998)

The Last Days of Father Schall

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis:
Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei,
Requiescant in pace.
Amen.

Points to Ponder:
(From a Facebook Entry circa April 17, 2010)

"We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted." [Napoleon Hill]

'Game of Thrones' Is Porn. Change My Mind

A Series of Website Threads Foreshadowing A Recently Completed Series:
(A Rerum Novarum Recapitulation Thread)

In light of what I am about to post, it seems appropriate to summarize up to this point in one spot all of the threads that worked together in sequence to foreshadow the recently published website series posted during Holy Week of 2019. Without further ado...

Revisiting the Subject of the SSPX and Their Status (circa December 4, 2018)

"None Dare Call It Conspiracy" Dept. (circa December 6, 2018)

Points to Ponder on Obedience from St. Catherine of Siena (circa December 6, 2018)

"One From the Vault" on Dialogue (circa December 6, 2018)

Briefly (circa December 30, 2018)

Remembering John and Bill (circa January 7, 2019)

On Papal Dissent, Argumentation Fallacies, Etc (circa February 9, 2019)

More on Popes, Heresy, Theology, Church History, Etc (circa February 11, 2019)

Briefly on Lent (circa March 5, 2019)

Briefly on Burying the Hatchet in 2019 (circa March 6, 2019)

Points to Ponder from Church Father Rufinus (circa March 13, 2019)

Revisiting the Controversial Dubia -A Lenten Reflection (circa March 21, 2019)

On Certain Pharisee Parallels Amongst the "More Faithful Than Thou" Crowd -A Lenten Reflection (circa March 24, 2019)

Points to Ponder From the Book of Wisdom (circa March 26, 2019)

Points to Ponder from the Book of Proverbs (circa March 30, 2019)

On the Subject of Conscience and Sacramental Reception -A Lenten Reflection (circa April 4, 2019)

On Rash Judgment - A Lenten Reflection From St. Francis de Sales (circa April 6, 2019)

On Burying Hatchets, Building Bridges, Facilitating Authentic Dialogue, Etc. in 2019 and Beyond (circa April 9, 2019)

Points to Ponder from the First Epistle of Peter (circa April 9, 2019)

The reason for this recapitulation thread will become quite evident very soon...

Points to Ponder:
(In Light of a Recent Posting)

The Church is the Church of the New Covenant, but it lives in a world in which the “hardness of heart” (Mat 19:8) of the Old Covenant remains unchanged. It cannot stop preaching the faith of the New Covenant, but it must often enough begin its concrete life a bit below the threshold of the scriptural word. Thus it can in clear emergency situations allow limited exceptions in order to avoid worse things. Criteria of such action must be: an act “against what is written,” is limited in that it may not call into question the fundamental form, the form from which the Church lives. It is therefore bound to the character of exemption and of help in urgent need - as the transitional missionary situation was, but also the real emergency situation of the Church union.

Thereby arises, however, the practical question, whether we can name such an emergency situation in the present-day church and describe an exception that satisfies these criteria. I would like to try, with all necessary caution, to formulate a concrete proposal that seems to me to lie within this scope. Where a first marriage broke up a long time ago and in a mutually irreparable way, and where, conversely, a marriage consequently entered into has proven itself over a longer period as a moral reality and has been filled with the spirit of the faith, especially in the education of the children (so that the destruction of this second marriage would destroy a moral greatness and cause moral harm), the possibility should be granted, in a non-judicial way, based on the testimony of the pastor and church members, for the admission to Communion of those in live in such a second marriage. Such an arrangement seems to me to be for two reasons in accord with the tradition:

a) We must emphatically recall the room for discretion that is built into every annulment process. This discretion and the inequities that inevitably come from the educational situation of the affected parties and from their financial possibilities should warn against the idea that justice can in this way be flawlessly satisfied. Moreover, many things are simply not subject to legal judgment and are nonetheless real. The procedural affair must necessarily limit itself to the legally provable, but can for that very reason pass over crucial facts. Above all, formal criteria (formal errors or conscious omission of ecclesiastical form) thereby receive a preponderance that leads to injustices. Overall, the transferal of the question to the act establishing the marriage is indeed legally unavoidable, but still a narrowing of the problem that cannot fully do justice to the nature of human action. The annulment process provides a concrete set of criteria to determine that the standards of marriage among believers are not applicable to a particular marriage. But it does not exhaust the problem and therefore cannot claim that strict exclusivity that had to be attributed to it under the reign of a certain form of thought.

b) The requirement that a second marriage have proven itself over a long time as a moral greatness and have been lived in the spirit of faith in fact corresponds to that type of forbearance that is palpable in Basil, where after a long penance Communion is granted to the “Digamus” (= the one living in a second marriage) without terminating the second marriage: in trust in in the mercy of God, who does not leave the penance unanswered. If in the second marriage moral obligations to the children, to the family, and so also to the woman have arisen, and no similar commitments from the first marriage exist, and if thus for moral reasons the abandonment of the second marriage is inadmissible, and on the other hand practically speaking abstinence presents no real possibility (magnorum est, says Gregory II), the opening up of community in Communion after a period of probation appears to be no less than just and to be fully in line with the Church's tradition: The granting of communio cannot here depend on an act that is either immoral or practically speaking impossible.

The distinction attempted with the mutual relatedness of thesis 1 and 2 seems to be in accordance with the caution of Trent, although as a practical rule it goes beyond it: the anathema against a teaching that wants to make the Church's fundamental form an error or at least a custom that should be overcome, remains in full vigor. Marriage is a sacramentum, it stands in the irrevocable fundamental form of the decisive decision. But this does not mean that the Communion community of the church does not also encompass those people who accept this teaching and this life principle, but are in a special predicament, in which they especially need the full communion with the Body of Christ. The Church's faith will also thus remain a sign of contradiction: That is essential to it, and precisely by this fact it knows that it is following the Lord, who foretold to his disciples that they should not expect to be above the master, who was rejected by the pious and by the liberals, by Jews and by Gentiles. [Joseph Ratzinger: From Zur Frage nach der Unauflöslichkeit der Ehe: Bemerkungen zum dogmengeschichtlichen Befund und zu seiner gegenwärtigen Bedeutung in Ehe und Ehescheidung: Diskussion unter Christen, Kösel-Verlag, München, pp. 35-56 (circa 1972)]

On Correcting the So-Called "Correctio Filialis", Addressing Its Accusations, Etc.
(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

This is part three of a three part series. The previous installment is accessible HERE.

I need to emphasize in revisiting and expanding upon the first part of this series something that gets to the very heart of what is involved with the pompously titled Correctio Filialis de Haeresibus Propagati (henceforth referred to as the so-called “correctio filialis”) and its authors/advocates. Namely, there is a lack of the fundamental principle of charity. Not a few of these sorts continually manifest this attitude towards the popes. Certainly this does not apply to all the signatories. But included among the signatories are a number of folks who have basically made it a career of stubbornly refusing to submit to the Roman Pontiff.{1}

It is a fundamental principle of the Catholic spiritual tradition to not rashly presume the worst in others. Before touching on their seven accusations of heresy, let us consider this factor of no small importance. What do the spiritual masters of the Catholic tradition have to say about those who are quick to presume the worst possible interpretation of the words and statements of another? Time and space constraints will only allow us to touch quickly on a few so without further ado:

Always be ready and willing to excuse the faults of your neighbour and never put an unfavourable interpretation upon his actions. The same action, says St. Francis de Sales, may be looked upon under many different aspects: a charitable person will ever suppose the best, an uncharitable one will just as certainly choose the worst.{2}

St. Francis de Sales also said that we are not "[to] weigh so carefully the sayings and doings of others, but let your thought of them be simple and good, kindly and affectionate."{3} Does any of this resemble the actions and statements of the folks who authored or signed onto the so-called “fraternal correction”? Hardly! St. Francis had more to say on this as well:

Man's judgment is hasty, because the chief malice of sin lies in the intention and counsel of the heart, which is shrouded in darkness to us. Moreover, man's judgments are hasty, because each one has enough to do in judging himself, without undertaking to judge his neighbour. If we would not be judged, it behooves us alike not to judge others, and to judge ourselves. Our Lord forbids the one, His Apostle enjoins the other, saying, "If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."{1 Cor. xi. 31} But alas! for the most part we precisely reverse these precepts, judging our neighbour, which is forbidden on all sides, while rarely judging ourselves, as we are told to do.

We must proceed to rectify rash judgments, according to their cause. Some hearts there are so bitter and harsh by nature, that everything turns bitter under their touch; men who, in the Prophet's words, "turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth." {Amos v. 7} Such as these greatly need to be dealt with by some wise spiritual physician, for this bitterness being natural to them, it is hard to conquer; and although it be rather an imperfection than a sin, still it is very dangerous, because it gives rise to and fosters rash judgments and slander within the heart... 

Then there are people whose judgment is solely formed by inclination; who always think well of those they like, and ill of those they dislike...

What remedy can we apply? They who drink the juice of the Ethiopian herb Ophiusa imagine that they see serpents and horrors everywhere; and those who drink deep of pride, envy, ambition, hatred, will see harm and shame in every one they look upon. The first can only be cured by drinking palm wine, and so I say of these latter,--Drink freely of the sacred wine of love, and it will cure you of the evil tempers which lead you to these perverse judgments...{4}

The reader should not be surprised in light of everything that will be covered in this note that there is a degree of "hearts...bitter and harsh by nature" involved here. It is extremely difficult to be a self-styled "traditionalist" of the sort that would write or sign onto the so-called “correctio filialis” to not have some degree of this malady. It calls for patience and understanding on the part of others despite the fact that many self-styled "traditionalists" -particularly the apologist types- do not have an attitude that is conducive to gaining the sympathies of others. St. John of the Cross also spoke of such people in his masterpiece The Dark Night of the Soul:

You will find that many of these persons are very insistent with their spiritual masters to be granted that which they desire, extracting it from them almost by force; if they be refused it they become as peevish as children and go about in great displeasure, thinking that they are not serving God when they are not allowed to do that which they would. For they go about clinging to their own will and pleasure, which they treat as though it came from God; and immediately their directors take it from them, and try to subject them to the will of God, they become peevish, faint-hearted, and fall away. These persons think that their own satisfaction and pleasure are the satisfaction and service of God… 

These persons who are thus inclined to such pleasures have another great imperfection, which is that they are very weak and remiss in journeying upon the hard road of the Cross; for the soul that is given to sweetness naturally has its face set against all self-denial, which is devoid of sweetness…{5}

The problem with these sorts of folks is they are involved in a great facade of authentic Catholicism. It is similar to the rich man who kept all the commandments but was unable to part with his great possessions to gain treasure in heaven (Matt. xix,16-22; Mark x,17-22; Luke xviii,18-23). There is a lack of consolations in classical Catholic spirituality precisely because it is intended to wean the soul from the kinds of attachments the writers and signatories of the so-called “correctio filialis” repine for and promote.

St. John of the Cross further indicted these sorts of people in the following words:

And many of these would have God will that which they themselves will, and are fretful at having to will that which He wills, and find it repugnant to accommodate their will to that of God. Hence it happens to them that oftentimes they think that therein they find not their own will and pleasure is not the will of God; and that on the other hand, when they themselves find satisfaction, God is satisfied. Thus they measure themselves by God acting quite contrary to that which He Himself taught in the Gospel, saying: 'That he who should lose his will for His sake, the same shall gain it and he that desires to gain it, the same shall lose it.'

These persons likewise find it irksome when they are commanded to do that wherein they take no pleasure. Because they aim at spiritual sweetness and consolation, they are too weak to have the fortitude and bear the trials of perfection. They resemble those who run fretfully away from everything that is hard, and take offense at the Cross, wherein consist the delight of the spirit. The more spiritual a thing is, the more irksome they find it, for as they seek to go about spiritual matters with complete freedom and according to the inclination of their will, it causes them great sorrow and repugnance to enter upon the narrow way, which says Christ, is the way of life.{6}

The foundation of this principle is also enunciated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in the section treating on the Eighth Commandment when it says “[t]o avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way” (CCC 2478). For “[e]very good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it” (CCC 2478) and “detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity” (CCC 2479).

Having written here and elsewhere{7} about how the composers and many of the signers of the so-called “correctio filialis” possess serious doctrinal and moral problems that permeate their general outlook on these matters{8} as well as an appalling lack of charity and spiritual maturity{9}, let us move onto the core theses of the so-called “correctio filialis” at this time.

In beginning an examination of their manifesto, it bears noting that when you sign your name to something, that means you are subscribing to the contents of what you sign onto. Therefore, every signatory to at least a macro extent{10} is subscribing to the seven parts of the accusation being made against the Roman Pontiff including this:

By these words, deeds, and omissions, and by the above-mentioned passages of the document Amoris laetitia, Your Holiness has upheld, directly or indirectly, and, with what degree of awareness we do not seek to judge, both by public office and by private act propagated in the Church the following false and heretical propositions:{11}

It is frankly impossible to charitably interpret the above phrasing as anything less than an accusation of either material or formal heresy against Pope Francis. I have dealt with this already on a prior occasion{12} but the wording here is unambiguous. Either they are (i) accusing the pope of formal heresy by inferring he could be aware that he is "propagating heresy" or (ii) inferring that he is “propagating heresy” but is perhaps not so aware which would mean an accusation of material heresy. I will not rehash here the gravity of these kinds of accusations except to refer to prior material written on it{13} and move on to a point by point examination of each of the seven heresy accusations.


1). ‘A justified person has not the strength with God’s grace to carry out the objective demands of the divine law, as though any of the commandments of God are impossible for the justified; or as meaning that God’s grace, when it produces justification in an individual, does not invariably and of its nature produce conversion from all serious sin, or is not sufficient for conversion from all serious sin.’

Granting the accusers their claim{14},it is still incumbent upon them to prove it and this they do not do. Pope Francis did not teach the heresy they ascribe to him. Instead, he recognizes as did Our Lord that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt xxvi,41; Mark xiv,38). It is a teaching of the Council of Trent that we have a weakness where sin is concerned and are capable of failing despite our best intentions otherwise due to our fallen nature.{15}

In the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL), Pope Francis acknowledges along with Trent and the CCC that there are a diversity of factors that can make an objectively grave act not an automatic mortal sin subjectively speaking.{16} Or, to be more precise: an objective mortal sin is not in every case an actual mortal sin. This is perfectly in harmony with Catholic doctrine; ergo, the first accusation of heresy stands refuted.

2). ‘Christians who have obtained a civil divorce from the spouse to whom they are validly married and have contracted a civil marriage with some other person during the lifetime of their spouse, who live more uxorio with their civil partner, and who choose to remain in this state with full knowledge of the nature of their act and full consent of the will to that act, are not necessarily in a state of mortal sin, and can receive sanctifying grace and grow in charity.’

Two points: (i) the above statement as phrased is a heresy (ii) Pope Francis does not teach it anywhere in Amoris Laetitia. The second accusation appears to be a variation of the first of the five Dubia questions. For that reason, I direct the reader to prior material{17} sufficient to refute the second charge of heresy.


3). ‘A Christian believer can have full knowledge of a divine law and voluntarily choose to break it in a serious matter, but not be in a state of mortal sin as a result of this action.’

The above accusation omits the criteria of full deliberation; therefore, it is not strictly speaking a heresy. Even if it was formulated correctly, there is no credible evidence presented to substantiate the assertion that Pope Francis taught it{18} so the third charge stands refuted.


4). ‘A person is able, while he obeys a divine prohibition, to sin against God by that very act of obedience.’

It is a profoundly uncharitable reading of the Pope’s words to see this claim in anything he has written. Readers who are interested can view elsewhere where I have refuted in detail this pathetic fourth charge of heresy.{19}


5. ‘Conscience can truly and rightly judge that sexual acts between persons who have contracted a civil marriage with each other, although one or both of them is sacramentally married to another person, can sometimes be morally right or requested or even commanded by God.’

Pope Francis has not taught this. I have dealt in detail elsewhere and in more than enough detail to refute the fifth charge of heresy being attributable to the teachings of Pope Francis.{20}


6. ‘Moral principles and moral truths contained in divine revelation and in the natural law do not include negative prohibitions that absolutely forbid particular kinds of action, inasmuch as these are always gravely unlawful on account of their object.’

Pope Francis nowhere taught this heresy. I dealt with the essence of this accusation already in my response to the Dubia so briefly:

Question #2 suffers from the same kind of presuppositional flaws as Question #1 does above. The Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL) acknowledges that objective mortal sin is not always in individual circumstances actual mortal sin. How is that a denial of Veritatis Splendor's teaching on the existence of intrinsically grave sins? Simple, it is not. But again, that cannot be explained with a simple yes or no answer and the cardinals who issued this "Dubia" should know this as it is a pretty fundamental Catholic moral theology issue.{21}

That is sufficient to refute the sixth charge of heresy.


7). ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ wills that the Church abandon her perennial discipline of refusing the Eucharist to the divorced and remarried and of refusing absolution to the divorced and remarried who do not express contrition for their state of life and a firm purpose of amendment with regard to it.’

This is an argument on matters of Church discipline, not a heresy. It involves the questions of who can and cannot receive communion and the authority to make this determination. I have dealt in detail with this element elsewhere:

Pope Francis possesses the authority to make decisions pertaining to Church discipline as “the pope, whom Christ placed over the entire Church to judge concerning the necessity of change for various reasons of circumstance” (Pope Gregory XVI: Enc. Let. Quo Gravior §6)...Pope Francis is well within his right on these matters having “received the keys of the kingdom from our lord Jesus Christ, the savior and redeemer of the human race, and that to this day and for ever he lives and presides and exercises judgment in his successors the bishops of the Holy Roman See” (Vatican I: Dogm. Const. Pastor Aeternus §2)... 

Pope Francis can at his discretion allow persons who are guilty of objective mortal sin to receive holy Communion as long as judging by their own conscience and with the guidance of their confessor or pastor they are not in a state of unrepentant actual mortal sin. The minimum requirement for reception of Communion is baptism and to not be conscious of unrepentant actual mortal sin.{22}

Neither magisterial teaching{23} nor Church history countenances the interpretation of the so-called “correctio.” For example, the Council of Florence abrogated some perennial disciplines of their own of longer standing than the current communion reception discipline:

It firmly believes, professes and teaches that the legal prescriptions of the old Testament or the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, holy sacrifices and sacraments, because they were instituted to signify something in the future, although they were adequate for the divine cult of that age, once our lord Jesus Christ who was signified by them had come, came to an end and the sacraments of the new Testament had their beginning.{24}

Lest anyone tries to claim it was Jesus who was abrogating said perennial disciplines, there are others made by the Apostles and their successors of perennial duration which were eventually done away with:

It firmly...declares that the apostolic prohibition, to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled, was suited to that time when a single church was rising from Jews and gentiles, who previously lived with different ceremonies and customs. This was so that the gentiles should have some observances in common with Jews, and occasion would be offered of coming together in one worship and faith of God and a cause of dissension might be removed, since by ancient custom blood and strangled things seemed abominable to Jews, and gentiles could be thought to be returning to idolatry if they ate sacrificial food...[S]ince the cause of that apostolic prohibition has ceased, so its effect has ceased. It condemns, then, no kind of food that human society accepts and nobody at all neither man nor woman, should make a distinction between animals, no matter how they died...many things that are not proscribed can and should be omitted, as the apostle says all things are lawful, but not all are helpful.{25}

The Council of Florence admits of perennial disciplines and practices abrogated by Jesus Himself as well as prescriptions by the Apostles when the Council of Florence makes clear their authority to abrogate a perennial discipline from the Council of Jerusalem which the Apostles themselves claimed was “good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts xv,28-29).

Or as phrased elsewhere by this writer in a less irenic moment:

I find it interesting that those who whine often about Pope Francis and Amoris Laetitia accept without complaint the vicious novelties of that apostate Callistus. Why he obliterated tradition when he appealed to Matthew 16:18 to justify radical and unprecedented reforming of penance protocols from the tradition of only being allowed to receive the sacrament of penance once in a lifetime and for adultery, fornication, and murder to actually be forgiven in said sacrament instead of only after a lifetime of penance. Who did he think he was? And just think: he never bothered to answer the written critiques of Hippolytus and Tertullian -basically dubias of their age from custodians of the TRUE tradition!{26}

So the perennial disciplines of the Church can be abrogated and/or obrogated at the discretion of those who have the authority to do so in the Church as the authorities and historical examples given above demonstrate.{27} Ergo, the seventh charge of “heresy” stands refuted.

To summarize and conclude this writing:

The writers and many of the signatories to the so-called “correctio filialis” have serious doctrinal and moral problems permeating their general outlook{28} in their public statements. In some cases, these problems span more than a decade or two. They cannot be taken seriously as possessing the "filial devotion" (Correctio Filialis de Haeresibus Propagatis pg. 1) they claim to possess any more than Fr. Martin Luther could who made similar pleas to Pope Leo X.{29} While there are some who may have signed their names either out of ignorance{30} or because of some general affinity with a few of the outlooks taken by the writers of the text{31}, the general tenure and presuppositions evince the diseased and rebellious mindset of not a few of the so-called “traditionalist” wing of the Church.{32} When such folks make public or notorious statements{33}, they can be spoken of freely and condemned publicly{34} for their noxious statements which are occasions of sin and scandal to anyone who does not inhabit their artificially narrow world.{35}

The seven accusations of heresy leveled by the so-called “correctio filialis” crowd have been more than adequately refuted viz their application to Pope Francis so there is no more that needs to be said. Hopefully these spiritually diseased and disobedient children will have the humility to repent of their publicly embarrassing spectacles and seek forgiveness for their sins. And hopefully Pope Francis will be more merciful to them than they would have him be to others who "have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom. iii,23) as well.


Notes:

{1} "[A]s judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy (James ii,13), it only makes sense that with the judgment one pronounces they will likewise be judged (cf. Matt vii,2). In light of their rigourous approach to how all of those who are in irregular marital situations should be treated, the Gospel is clear that what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you (Mark iv,24). Therefore, we cannot presume any subjective inculpability for these folks but must presume their objectively grave mortal sin is automatically a subjective (or actual) mortal sin as well." [Excerpt from the Note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)]

{2} Fr. R. P. Quadrupani: Light and Peace - Instructions for Devout Souls to Dispel Their Doubts and Ally Their Fears (circa 1795) From the Section on Charity

{3} Fr. R. P. Quadrupani: Light and Peace - Instructions for Devout Souls to Dispel Their Doubts and Ally Their Fears (circa 1795) From the Section on Charity

{4} St. Francis de Sales: From Introduction to the Devout Life Book I, Ch. XXVIII (circa 1619)

{5} St. John of the Cross: From Dark Night of the Soul Book I, Ch. VI (circa 1578)

{6} St. John of the Cross: From Dark Night of the Soul Book I, Ch. VI (circa 1578)

{7} See the note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories for details.

{8} For those who question my approach in the present note in how I address the so-called “correctio filialis” folk, consider these words of St. Francis de Sales:

"Public, notorious sinners may be spoken of freely, provided always even then that a spirit of charity and compassion prevail, and that you do not speak of them with arrogance or presumption, or as though you took pleasure in the fall of others. To do this is the sure sign of a mean ungenerous mind. And, of course, you must speak freely in condemnation of the professed enemies of God and His Church, heretics and schismatics--it is true charity to point out the wolf wheresoever he creeps in among the flock. Most people permit themselves absolute latitude in criticizing and censuring rulers, and in calumniating nationalities, according to their own opinions and likings. But do you avoid this fault; it is displeasing to God, and is liable to lead you into disputes and quarrels." [St. Francis de Sales: From Introduction to the Devout Life Book I, Ch. XXVIII (circa 1619)]

{9} See footnotes one through six.

{10} This is as far as I will go to give any of the signatories any benefit of the doubt and presume that they signed the document out of some level of ignorance of what they were doing.

{11} All of the seven points of the so-called “correctio filialis” where the “propagation of heresy” accusation was made (though not footnoted above) were taken from Correctio Filialis de Haeresibus Propagatis, Page 17 (circa July 16, 2017)

{12} See footnote seven.

{13} See footnote one and also this:

"To put it bluntly: each of these signatories have by affixing their names to this so-called 'filial correction' objectively committed a mortal sin indirectly against faith. They should therefore refrain from receiving Communion until they have repented of this sin, abjured their signature to this so-called 'filial correction' and received absolution. Until they do these things, they are in the very definition of a state of mortal sin and would commit sacrilege if they were to partake of the Eucharist." [Excerpt from the Note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)]

{14} "If anyone says that the commandments of God are, even for one that is justified and constituted in grace, impossible to observe, let him be anathema." [Council of Trent: From Session VI Decree on Justification Canon XVIII (circa January 13, 1547)]

{15} "If anyone says that a man once justified can sin no more, nor lose grace, and that therefore he that falls and sins was never truly justified; or on the contrary, that he can during his whole life avoid all sins, even those that are venial, except by a special privilege from God, as the Church holds in regard to the Blessed Virgin, let him be anathema." [Council of Trent: From Session VI Decree on Justification Canon XXIII (circa January 13, 1547)]

{16} See the previous note On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia for details.

{17} "Question #1 as phrased above involves certain presuppositions and drastically over-simplifies the situations of the divorced and remarried.[...] It cannot for those reasons be answered in a one word yes or no format; therefore, to ask for an answer in that form as the four cardinals do comes off to these eyes as rather questionable viz their motives for reasons I specified in the previous note." [Excerpt from the Note More on the Controversial Dubia Subject (circa April 10, 2017)]

{18} "It seems that what really gets to a lot of the critics of Amoris Laetitia is that Pope Francis is basically taking from them a prior apologetical/argumentation club that they liked to beat others with.[...] The idea that “[t]he Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning mitigating factors and situations” (AL 301) is not new.[...] A consistent application of that data to all situations where grave matter is present however has long been lacking where the subject of marriage is concerned.[...] Pope Francis is basically putting an end to the double standard where this issue is concerned and saying it will henceforth be discerned in the same manner as any other is." [Excerpt from the Note On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (circa April 16, 2019)]

{19} See the previous note On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia for details -paying particular attention to the sections dealing with the subject of conscience and how its correctly understood both in longstanding Catholic principle as well as documents of the Church’s Magisterium including in the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

{20} See footnote nineteen.

{21} Excerpt from the Note More on the Controversial Dubia Subject (circa April 10, 2017)

{22} Excerpt from the Note On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (circa April 16, 2019)

{23} See the references cited in the excerpts from footnote twenty-two.

{24} Council of Florence: Excerpt from the Bull of Union with the Copts promulgated by Pope Eugenius IV (circa February 4, 1442)

{25} Council of Florence: Excerpts from the Bull of Union with the Copts promulgated by Pope Eugenius IV (circa February 4, 1442)

{26} Excerpt from the Note Miscellaneous Musings on the Critics of Amoris Laetitia and Pope Francis (circa October 4, 2017)

{27} See the sources referenced in footnotes twenty-two and twenty-six as well as footnotes twenty-four and twenty-five.

{28} See footnotes one and thirteen above as well as the note To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)]

{29} Since the “correctio” crowd spend some time focusing on statements of Pope Francis regarding Martin Luther, it is only fitting to point out what and who their so-called “correctio filialis” sounds far too eerily like:

"Most Holy Father, prostrate at the feet of your Holiness, I offer myself with all that I am and have . . . I will acknowledge thy voice as the voice of Christ." [Fr. Martin Luther: Letter to Pope Leo X (circa May 30, 1518)]

"I never approved of a schism, nor will I approve of it for all eternity . . . That the Roman Church is more honored by God than all others is not to be doubted . . . It is not by separating from the Church that we can make her better." [Fr. Martin Luther: Letter to Pope Leo X (circa January 6, 1519)]

These sources were referenced from a work of mine first published back in the year 2000. In the interest of giving proper credit, I originally got them from a piece written by former friend Dave Armstrong in a paper he compiled titled The Orthodox and the Heterodox Luther (circa 1992)

{30} See footnotes five and ten.

{31} The material referenced in footnotes two through six is applicable here.

{32} "Then there are people whose judgment is solely formed by inclination; who always think well of those they like, and ill of those they dislike. To this, however, there is one rare exception, which nevertheless we do sometimes meet, when an excessive love provokes a false judgment concerning its object; the hideous result of a diseased, faulty, restless affection, which is in fact jealousy; an evil passion capable, as everybody knows, of condemning others of perfidy and adultery upon the most trivial and fanciful ground. In like manner, fear, ambition, and other moral infirmities often tend largely to produce suspicion and rash judgments." [St. Francis de Sales: From Introduction to the Devout Life Book I, Ch. XXVIII (circa 1619)]

{33} See footnotes one and eight.

{34} See footnote eight.

{35} See the Note Bluntly on Lay Ecclesial Hypocrisy (circa June 1, 2017) for some details on this.

Points to Ponder:

"The light obtained by setting straw men on fire is not what we mean by illumination." [Adam Gopnik]

France vows to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral after devastating fire — live updates

On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia:(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

Though this is the second part of a three series; at the same time, it can mostly stand apart from the others. Nonetheless, part one in this series is accessible HERE.

So there is no confusion at the outset, I need to be very clear on a principle which will be presupposed throughout this examination. To wit:

Pope Francis possesses the authority to make decisions pertaining to Church discipline as "the pope, whom Christ placed over the entire Church to judge concerning the necessity of change for various reasons of circumstance" (Pope Gregory XVI: Enc. Let. Quo Gravior §6). So as "the Sovereign Pontiff alone enjoys the right...to introduce and approve new rites, as also to modify those he judges to require modification" (Pope Pius XII: Enc. Let. Mediator Dei §58), Pope Francis is well within his right on these matters having "received the keys of the kingdom from our lord Jesus Christ, the savior and redeemer of the human race, and that to this day and for ever he lives and presides and exercises judgment in his successors the bishops of the Holy Roman See” (Vatican I: Dogm. Const. Pastor Aeternus §2).

As possessing that divinely conferred prerogative, Pope Francis can at his discretion allow persons who are guilty of objective mortal sin to receive holy Communion as long as judging by their own conscience and with the guidance of their confessor or pastor they are not in a state of unrepentant actual mortal sin. The minimum requirement for reception of Communion is baptism and to not be conscious of unrepentant actual mortal sin. What we are about to delve into will presume the first point and from there address elements pertaining to the second point because that seems to be the sticking point for so many critics on these matters.

So having restated some basic principles pertaining to the prerogatives of the Supreme Pontiff as well as the minimum requirements for valid reception of communion, let us begin this examination, in looking at how some episcopal conferences have claimed they will approach implementing the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL). I will do this by looking at one such set of guidelines; namely, the Guidelines for the Dioceses of Malta. Of all the guidelines I have heard thrown around by those who take issue with Amoris Laetitia and its implementation by various dioceses, this one is apparently among the most extreme with regards to what a lot of these folks consider to be (to put it nicely), unacceptable.{1} There are fourteen such guideline points, so let us look at them in order.

It bears noting at the outset of this examination that what we are dealing with here is a set of implementation guidelines issued by the Malta bishops to their brother priests. Nonetheless, as I highly doubt anyone of good will could find anything to gripe about in the introductory letter portion of said guidelines{2}, let us pass over that for the sake of brevity and touch now on each point of implementation from the Guidelines for the Dioceses of Malta as briefly as it seems suitable to do.


1. Above all, we must always keep in mind that our pastoral ministry towards persons who live in complex family situations, is the same ministry of the Church who is Mother and Teacher. As priests, we have the duty to enlighten consciences by proclaiming Christ and the full ideal of the Gospel. At the same time, in the footsteps of Christ himself, we have the duty to exercise the “art of accompaniment” and to become a source of trust, hope, and inclusion for those who request to see Jesus (see Jn 12, 21), especially for those persons who are most vulnerable (see AL, 291, 296, 308; EG 169). In the case of couples with children, this inclusion is necessary not only for the couple but also for “the care and Christian upbringing of their children, who ought to be considered most important” (AL 299; see also AL, 245-246).

I have not heard thus far of any complaints about this guideline.{3} In a nutshell, priests have the duty to help enlighten consciences with the fullness of the Gospel but also to accompany and guide those who seek the Lord who are vulnerable. This is particularly the case for those couples with children.


2. When we meet or come to know of persons who find themselves in so called “irregular” situations, we need to commit ourselves to enter in dialogue with them and to come to know them in a spirit of authentic charity. If, subsequently, they show a genuine desire or accept to engage in a serious process of personal discernment about their situation, we should accompany them willingly on this journey, with true respect, care and attention. They “should be made to feel part of the Church. ‘They are not excommunicated’ and they should not be treated as such, since they remain part of the ecclesial community’” (AL 243). Throughout this process, our role is not simply that of granting permission for these people to receive the sacraments, or to offer “easy recipes” (see AL 298), or to substitute their conscience. Our role is patiently to help them to form and enlighten their own conscience, in order that they themselves may be able to make an honest decision before God and act according to the greatest good possible (see AL 37).

In a nutshell: Priests who come across or know those who find themselves in situations that are not regular need to approach such folks charitably and if said folks show a desire to accept or engage in serious discernment on their situation, the priests should guide them with care and attention. Such folks are not excommunicated{4} and need to know they are part of the Church. The role of the priest is not to merely grant permission to receive the sacraments or offer easy solutions but “to help them form and enlighten their consciences so they make an honest decision before God” (AL 37).

As I anticipate the subject of conscience is at the heart of so much of what the critics of AL and certain forms of its implementation take issue with, let us briefly touch on this matter before resuming a look at the various guideline notes. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) on the issue of conscience -all footnotes interspersed where applicable:

1777 Moral conscience,[Cf. Rom 2:14-16.] present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil.[Cf. Rom 1:32.] It bears witness to the authority of truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can hear God speaking.

1778 Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law:

Conscience is a law of the mind; yet [Christians] would not grant that it is nothing more; I mean that it was not a dictate, nor conveyed the notion of responsibility, of duty, of a threat and a promise. . . . [Conscience] is a messenger of him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by his representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ.[John Henry Cardinal Newman, "Letter to the Duke of Norfolk," V, in Certain Difficulties felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching II (London: Longmans Green, 1885), 248.]

1779 It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection: Return to your conscience, question it. . . . Turn inward, brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.[St. Augustine, In ep Jo. 8,9:PL 35,2041.]

1780 The dignity of the human person implies and requires uprightness of moral conscience. Conscience includes the perception of the principles of morality (synderesis); their application in the given circumstances by practical discernment of reasons and goods; and finally judgment about concrete acts yet to be performed or already performed. The truth about the moral good, stated in the law of reason, is recognized practically and concretely by the prudent judgment of conscience. We call that man prudent who chooses in conformity with this judgment.{5}

There is more to say on the subject of conscience which is of no small importance. However, we will get to that in due time; meanwhile, onto the next guideline note.


3. Before dealing with the pastoral care of those disciples of the Lord that have gone through the experience of failure in their marriage and are now living in a new relationship, we would like to address the situation of those who cohabit or who have only married civilly. These situations call for “pastoral care that is merciful and helpful” (AL 293) and “require a constructive response seeking to transform them into opportunities that can lead to the full reality of marriage and family in conformity with the Gospel” (AL 294). In pastoral discernment it is important to distinguish between one situation and another. In some cases, “the choice of a civil marriage or, in many cases, of simple cohabitation, is often not motivated by prejudice or resistance to a sacramental union, but by cultural or contingent situations” (AL 294) and, therefore, the degree of moral responsibility is not the same for all cases. “Let us remember that a small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order, but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties” (AL 305, EG 45).

So prior to dealing with the pastoral care of those in irregular situations due to marriage failure, etc., the guidelines touch on how to approach “those who cohabit or have only married civilly.” The focus here is on seeking to understand each particular situation so that the proper degree of moral responsibility in each case is better grasped so that an applicable remedy can be offered; namely to try and “transform them into opportunities that can lead to the full reality of marriage and family in conformity with the Gospel” (AL 294). In other words: to regularize their situation with the Church. The greater the number of “cultural or contingent situations” (AL 294) or other factors involved, the tougher the knot to untie. However, to be able to prescribe a viable course of action, the individual situation needs to be one the priest is thoroughly acquainted with.


4. We now address our ministry with persons who are either separated and divorced, who have entered a new union. If during the discernment process with these people, a reasonable doubt arises concerning the validity or consummation of their canonical marriage, we should propose that these people make a request for a declaration of the nullity or dissolution of their marriage bond.

I highly doubt once again{6} that this area is one that the critics would have a problem with so let us move on to the next one.


5. Throughout this discernment, an adequate distinction should be made between one situation and another, because not all cases are the same. “One thing is a second union consolidated over time, with new children, proven fidelity, generous selfgiving, Christian commitment, a consciousness of its irregularity and of the great difficulty of going back without feeling in conscience that one would fall into new sins. The Church acknowledges situations ‘where, for serious reasons, such as the children’s upbringing, a man and woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate.’ There are also the cases of those who made every effort to save their first marriage and were unjustly abandoned, or of ‘those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the children’s upbringing, and are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous and irreparably broken marriage had never been valid.’ Another thing is a new union arising from a recent divorce, with all the suffering and confusion which this entails for children and entire families, or the case of someone who has consistently failed in his obligations to the family. It must remain clear that this is not the ideal which the Gospel proposes for marriage and the family” (AL 298).

In other words, while recognizing that the ideal proposed for the Gospel is not present in many of these situations, adequate distinctions need to be made on a case by case basis rather than treating every case exactly the same. I doubt this is all that controversial either{7} so let us move to the next point now.


6. It would be appropriate that throughout this process of discernment, we accompany these people to make “an examination of conscience through moments of reflection and repentance”, in which they “should ask themselves: how did they act towards their children when the conjugal union entered into crisis; whether or not they made attempts at reconciliation; what has become of the abandoned party; what consequences the new relationship has on the rest of the family and the community of the faithful; and what example is being set for young people who are preparing for marriage” (AL 300). This applies in a special way for those cases in which a person acknowledges his or her own responsibility for the failure of the marriage.

Briefly: priests throughout the discernment process are to encourage and aid these people to make examinations of conscience on various points pertaining to their situation as well as considering by their actions “what example is being set for young people who are preparing for marriage” (AL 300). Again, I doubt this is all that controversial{8} so let us move onto the next point.


7. Throughout the discernment process, we need to weigh the moral responsibility in particular situations, with due consideration to the conditioning restraints and attenuating circumstances. Indeed, “factors may exist which limit the ability to make a decision,” (AL 301) or even diminish imputability or responsibility for an action. These include ignorance, inadvertence, violence, fear, affective immaturity, the persistence of certain habits, the state of anxiety, inordinate attachments, and other psychological and social factors (see AL 302; CCC 1735, 2352). As a result of these conditioning restraints and attenuating circumstances, the Pope teaches that “it can no longer simply be said that all those in any ‘irregular situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace” (AL 301). “It is possible that in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable, or fully such – a person can be living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Church’s help to this end” (AL 305). This discernment acquires significant importance since, as the Pope teaches, in some cases this help can include the help of the sacraments (see AL, note 351).


This point covers a key lynch pin to everything in a certain sense. The focus on potential attenuating circumstances in given situations can at times limit culpability or responsibility for particular actions. This is a matter to be discerned in the aforementioned situations by priests in confessionals with the parties in question. Or as I noted elsewhere on this subject:

The bottom line is this: the principle that every objectively grave act or situation is not automatically mortally sinful is not new. St. Alphonsus Ligouri wrote on this in the seventeenth century, heck St. Thomas Aquinas wrote on it in the thirteenth century. St. John Paul II noted in 1984 that "[c]learly there can occur situations which are very complex and obscure from a psychological viewpoint and which have an influence on the sinner's subjective culpability" (Ap. Ex Reconciliato et Paenitentia). All Pope Francis has done is take that principle and apply it to the subject of divorce and remarriage. The argument is not that the latter is not wrong or seriously sinful of course but instead that "[i]t can no longer simply be said that all those living in any ‘irregular situation’ are living in a state of mortal sin" (Ap. Ex. Amoris Laetitia). Discernment of individual cases is needed and that is for penitents and their confessors to do, not those outside the specific situation, be they folks on Facebook, folks who write for periodicals, or even Cardinals of the Church. This is really not all that difficult for those who are not determined to be obtuse about it.{9}

It seems that what really gets to a lot of the critics of Amoris Laetitia is that by putting so much focus on the imputability factors in the mortal sin calculus that Pope Francis is taking from them a prior apologetical/argumentation club that they liked to beat others with.{10} The idea that “[t]he Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning mitigating factors and situations” (AL 301) is not new.{11} A consistent application of that data to all situations where grave matter is present however has long been lacking where the subject of marriage is concerned.{12} Pope Francis is putting an end to the double standard where this issue is concerned and saying it will henceforth be discerned in the same manner as any other is. And as his authority for making such a decision is one I trust should not have to be mentioned again to those making the complaints{13}, let us move onto the next guideline point now.


8. “By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth, and discourage paths of sanctification which give glory to God” (AL 305). This calls for more prudent instruction in the law of gradualness, (see AL 295) in order to discern the presence, the grace and the working of God in all situations, and help people approach closer to God, even when “not in a position to understand, appreciate, or fully carry out the objective demands of the law” (AL 295).

To touch briefly on the subject of the law of gradualness before moving on with the next guideline point:

Saint John Paul II proposed the so called “law of gradualness” in the knowledge that the human being “knows, loves and accomplishes moral good by different stages of growth”.[Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (22 November 1981), 34: AAS 74 (1982), 123.] This is not a “gradualness of law” but rather a gradualness in the prudential exercise of free acts on the part of subjects who are not in a position to understand, appreciate, or fully carry out the objective demands of the law. For the law is itself a gift of God which points out the way, a gift for everyone without exception; it can be followed with the help of grace, even though each human being “advances gradually with the progressive integration of the gifts of God and the demands of God’s definitive and absolute love in his or her entire personal and social life”[Ibid., 9: AAS 74 (1982), 90.]{14}

This is in essence a more systematic formulation of a fundamental principle enunciated long ago by Pope Gregory the Great when he advised his brother bishops on how to prudently go about laying the groundwork for evangelizing of a pagan culture and how to acculturate their symbols.{15} While that factor may puzzle the more historically obtuse among the papal critics{16}, let us move onto the next point anyway at this time.


9. Throughout the discernment process, we should also examine the possibility of conjugal continence. Despite the fact that this ideal is not at all easy, there may be couples who, with the help of grace, practice this virtue without putting at risk other aspects of their life together. On the other hand, there are complex situations where the choice of living “as brothers and sisters” becomes humanly impossible and give rise to greater harm (see AL, note 329).


In other words, not all situations in this area are black and white and thus should not be treated as such. This is why there is importance in working with a confessor to help someone diagnose their particular situation rather than try and cram someone into a one size fits all template as was unfortunately not uncommon in years past.{17}


10. If, as a result of the process of discernment, undertaken with “humility, discretion and love for the Church and her teaching, in a sincere search for God’s will and a desire to make a more perfect response to it” (AL 300), a separated or divorced person who is living in a new relationship manages, with an informed and enlightened conscience, to acknowledge and believe that he or she are at peace with God, he or she cannot be precluded from participating in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist (see AL, notes 336 and 351).

Here is the issue in a nutshell: it deals with those who have gone through a humble and discreet process of discernment with a confessor who has sought to inculcate in them with great care the fullness of Church teaching. If after this has happened the person is nonetheless serene in conscience with their situation, then they could receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Why would this be at all possible? Because one of the most fundamental principles in Catholic doctrine and understanding is the importance of following one’s conscience even if the latter is in error: a principle with a long and distinguished pedigree I might add:

For Aquinas, every conscience binds, even an erring one. This means that if there is something that you believe you cannot do (after having taken care to form your conscience as well as you can), even if the Church commands it, then you cannot do it without committing a sin. Likewise, if there is something you believe you must do, even if the Church forbids it, then you must do it or else commit a sin.{18}

This understanding of conscience was enunciated as well by the Second Vatican Council in the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae:

On his part, man perceives and acknowledges the imperatives of the divine law through the mediation of conscience. In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience in order that he may come to God, the end and purpose of life. It follows that he is not to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his conscience. Nor, on the other hand, is he to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience, especially in matters religious.{19}

In other words, those who have gone through a humble and discreet process of discernment with a confessor even if their conscience is still not free from all objective errors, they are still bound to follow it. And the thickets of endeavouring to rightly form a conscience or repair a poorly formed one contain no small number of potential roadblocks along the way: something Pope John Paul II himself recognized in general:

It is important to note therefore that a world which is divided into blocs, sustained by rigid ideologies, and in which instead of interdependence and solidarity different forms of imperialism hold sway, can only be a world subject to structures of sin. The sum total of the negative factors working against a true awareness of the universal common good, and the need to further it, gives the impression of creating, in persons and institutions, an obstacle which is difficult to overcome.

If the present situation can be attributed to difficulties of various kinds, it is not out of place to speak of "structures of sin," which, as I stated in my Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, are rooted in personal sin, and thus always linked to the concrete acts of individuals who introduce these structures, consolidate them and make them difficult to remove. And thus they grow stronger, spread, and become the source of other sins, and so influence people's behavior.

"Sin" and "structures of sin" are categories which are seldom applied to the situation of the contemporary world. However, one cannot easily gain a profound understanding of the reality that confronts us unless we give a name to the root of the evils which afflict us.{20}

We reached quite some time ago more or less a societal meltdown where a proper understanding of marriage is concerned. Among the various “structures of sin” is a society that has become shorn of all the supports for marriage that were common in past eras. The once rare bird of divorce has become so common that there is no small degree of general blindness to just how damaging it is to society in general. What used to be taken for granted as what marriage is and constitutes has been literally bastardized in every conceivable respect -even to the point to where there are folks who now believe that people of the same sex can marry. The potential degree of impediments to valid marriages is literally off the charts now compared to in the days when divorce was both rare as well as societally stigmatized.

Recognizing these realities as well as the principles pertaining to conscience as traditionally understood above, it has been judged as appropriate in some circumstances by Pope Francis to try and draw folks who have been shattered by the circumstances surrounding marriage in modern society and to try and re-graft into the vine branches that for various reasons had been broken off{21} recognizing the principles of gradualness in the apprehension of objective truths. The Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia points this out when referencing part of the a text from the Pontifical International Theological Commission titled In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at the Natural Law which reads in fuller form{22} here:

This is an approach which, within a pluralist society like our own, takes on an importance that cannot be underestimated without considerable harm. Indeed, it takes account of the fact that moral science cannot furnish an acting subject with a norm to be applied adequately and almost automatically to concrete situations; only the conscience of the subject, the judgment of his practical reason, can formulate the immediate norm of action. But at the same time, this approach does not abandon conscience to mere subjectivity: it aims at having the subject acquire the intellectual and affective dispositions which allow him to be open to moral truth, so that his judgment may be adequate. Natural law could not, therefore, be presented as an already established set of rules that impose themselves a priori on the moral subject; rather, it is a source of objective inspiration for the deeply personal process of making a decision.{23}

Appropriating the above principle in its recommendation for pastoral action, Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia had this to say:

Because of forms of conditioning and mitigating factors, it is possible that in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable, or fully such – a person can be living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Church’s help to this end.{24}

How is such a situation to be ascertained in individual cases? Well, by the very thing that the Usual Suspects whine about but which in virtually any other circumstance they would complain does not happen enough: in the confessional with a confessor! It is one thing to long recognize that “[c]onscience frequently errs from invincible ignorance without losing its dignity” (Gaudium et Spes 16) and another to apply it with consistency.{25} But as this point has been dealt with at enough length, let us move on now.


11. During this discernment process, we should examine with these people, how “their participation can be expressed in different ecclesial services”, particularly within “the liturgical, pastoral, educational and institutional frameworks” (AL 299). One should not exclude that these people be considered suitable to be godparents. On the other hand, “if someone flaunts an objective sin as if it were part of the Christian ideal, or wants to impose something other than what the Church teaches, he or she can in no way presume to teach or preach to others”. It is our duty to preach anew “the proclamation of the Gospel message and its call to conversion”. Moreover, there could also be ways in which the person participates in the life of the community, such as in the social field, in prayer meetings, or as suggested by his or her personal initiative, together with our discernment (see AL 297).


Part of the discernment process is helping folks find ways to participate in different ecclesial services. Obviously, the degree and areas of possible participation{26} would vary on a case by case basis. And as those “flaunt[ing] an objective sin as if it were part of the Christian ideal, or want[ing] to impose something other than what the Church teaches, he or she can in no way presume to teach or preach to others” (cf. AL 297), they should be treated differently from those who have gone through a humble and discreet process of discernment with a confessor even if their conscience is still not free from all objective errors.


12. In this journey of accompaniment, we must listen to and give value to the suffering of the persons who are innocent victims to separation, divorce or abandonment. Conditions of poverty make this pain even more traumatic. Forgiving an injustice suffered and endured is far from easy, but grace makes this journey possible (see AL 242).

The above guideline is a truncation of the following passage from Amoris Laetitia:

The Synod Fathers noted that “special discernment is indispensable for the pastoral care of those who are separated, divorced or abandoned. Respect needs to be shown especially for the sufferings of those who have unjustly endured separation, divorce or abandonment, or those who have been forced by maltreatment from a husband or a wife to interrupt their life together. To forgive such an injustice that has been suffered is not easy, but grace makes this journey possible. Pastoral care must necessarily include efforts at reconciliation and mediation, through the establishment of specialized counselling centres in dioceses”.[Relatio Synodi 2014, 47] At the same time, “divorced people who have not remarried, and often bear witness to marital fidelity, ought to be encouraged to find in the Eucharist the nourishment they need to sustain them in their present state of life. The local community and pastors should accompany these people with solicitude, particularly when children are involved or when they are in serious financial difficulty”.[Ibid., 50.] Family breakdown becomes even more traumatic and painful in the case of the poor, since they have far fewer resources at hand for starting a new life. A poor person, once removed from a secure family environment, is doubly vulnerable to abandonment and possible harm.{27}

Since I cannot imagine the above guideline could be a problem even for the Usual Suspects{28}, I am moving on to the next point now.


13. While exercising our ministry, we must be careful to avoid falling into extremes: into extreme rigour on the one hand, and laxity on the other. This process should be an invitation to harness certain attitudes, such as pastoral charity, honesty, discretion, an ongoing conversion, and love for the Church and her teaching (see AL 267, 300); attention to what God made “from the beginning” (see AL 61-66); humility in order to shed our sandals in front of the sacred ground of the other (see Ex 3, 5; EG 169); the wish sincerely to seek God’s will, and to be able to present the fragrance of Christ’s presence and his personal gaze (see EG 169).

Again, as I cannot imagine the above guideline could be a problem even for the Usual Suspects{29}, I am moving on to the next point now.


14. In order to avoid any cause for scandal or confusion among the faithful (see AL 299), we must do our utmost in order to inform ourselves and our communities by studying and promoting the teachings of Amoris Lætitia. This teaching requires us to undergo a “pastoral conversion” (EG 25). Together with the Pope, we do understand those who would prefer a “more rigorous pastoral care”, but together with him, we believe that “Jesus wants a Church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness, a Mother who, while clearly expressing her objective teaching, ‘always does what good she can, even if in the process, her shoes get soiled by the mud of the street’” (AL 308).


The final footnote involves of course the priests of the dioceses thoroughly studying and promoting the teachings of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia. They recognize that in doing this it will undergo a “pastoral conversion” and cite as their reference point here a portion of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium:

I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic significance and important consequences. I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere administration” can no longer be enough.[Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 201.] Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission” [Ibid., 551.]{30}

In substance, what the Guidelines for the Dioceses of Malta do is providing guidelines to the priests of their dioceses to better aid those of good will who are suffering due to irregularities in their marriage/life situations “through ‘a responsible personal and pastoral discernment” (AL 300). As far as those who would further kvetch about this despite everything noted above, they should recall how the Catholic spiritual tradition exhorts people to follow those who would give spiritual direction of the sort these guidelines seek to help facilitate:

Do not fear that your director may be mistaken in what he prescribes for your guidance, or that he does not fully understand the state of your conscience because you did not explain it clearly enough to him. Such doubts cause obedience to be eluded or postponed and thus frustrate the designs of God in placing you under the direction of a prudent guide. It was the priest's duty to have questioned you further had he not understood you, and that he did not is positive proof that he knew enough to enable him to pronounce a safe judgment. God has promised his special help to those that represent Him in the direction of souls. Is not this assurance enough to induce you to obey with promptness and simplicity as the Holy Scripture commands? 

God does not show the state of our souls as clearly to us as He does to him who is to guide us in His place. You should be quite satisfied then, if your director tells you that the course you follow is the right one and that the mercy and grace of your Heavenly Father are guiding you in it. You should believe and obey him in this as in all else, for as St. John of the Cross tells us "it betrays pride and lack of faith not to put entire confidence in what our confessor says"... 

We should allow obedience to regulate not only our external actions, but likewise our mind and will. Hence do not be satisfied with performing the works it prescribes, but let your thoughts and desires also be moulded according to its direction. In fact, it is in the interior submission that the merit of spiritual obedience essentially consists.{31}

It is a standard canon among the spiritual masters of the Catholic tradition to exhort people to place full confidence in their confessor on matters of sin. For those who would resist these principles, they would place themselves outside the wellspring of the Catholic spiritual tradition for as St. John of the Cross noted "it betrays pride and lack of faith not to put entire confidence in what our confessor says" (cf. Light and Peace). Furthermore, it manifests itself in a rebellious, disobedient, and frankly schismatic mindset to presume that someone knows better about the state of their soul than would a confessor whom they had unburdened themselves to. And for those who would stand outside of this situation and make rash judgments on the state of the soul of another?

No surer sign of an unprofitable life than when people give way to censoriousness and inquisitiveness into the lives of other men. Of course exception must be made as to those who are responsible for others, whether in family or public life;--to all such it becomes a matter of conscience to watch over the conduct of their fellows. Let them fulfil their duty lovingly, and let them also give heed to restrain themselves within the bounds of that duty... 

Most people permit themselves absolute latitude in criticizing and censuring rulers, and in calumniating nationalities, according to their own opinions and likings. But do you avoid this fault; it is displeasing to God, and is liable to lead you into disputes and quarrels...

Do your best kindly to check the scandal-bearer, and if you know anything favourable to the person criticized, take pains to mention it.{32}

To ensure that this final point on disobedience by these arrogant and presumptuous sorts who would presume to correct others of which they know so little is established “by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (cf. Matt. xvi,18; Deut. xix,15), here are a couple other indictments on these folks from the spiritual tradition:

Saint Bernard says there is no need for the devil to tempt those who ignore obedience and permit themselves to be guided by their own light and deterred by their fears, for they act the devil's part towards themselves.{33}

And one more:

[W]ho abased Himself more than [Jesus] did! He was sated with insults, jibes, and mockings. He caused pain to Himself in His bodily life, in order to please Me. And who was more patient than He? for His cry was never heard in murmuring, but He patiently embraced His injuries like one enamored, fulfilling the obedience imposed on Him by Me, His Eternal Father. Wherefore in Him you will find obedience perfectly accomplished. He left you this rule and this doctrine, which gives you life, for it is the straight way, having first observed them Himself. He is the way, wherefore He said, 'He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life.' For he who travels by that way, travels in the light, and being enlightened cannot stumble, or be caused to fall, without perceiving it. For he has cast from himself the darkness of self-love, by which he fell into disobedience; for as I spoke to you of a companion virtue proceeding from obedience and humility, so I tell you that disobedience comes from pride, which issues from self-love depriving the soul of humility. 

The sister given by self-love to disobedience is impatience, and pride, her foster-mother, feeds her with the darkness of infidelity, so she hastens along the way of darkness, which leads her to eternal death.{34}

To be clear, I am not taking issue with those who have humble but legitimate difficulties with the principles underlying these guidelines. In many respects, they are imprisoned by a prior approach to these matters which may have had its merit in prior ages when circumstances were dramatically different. However, when the Roman Pontiff sees fit to make modifications to the application of church discipline, the failure to approach these matters in a humble spirit and shorn of arrogant presumption is a different matter altogether. It is in this area that I take issue with the public critics of not only the Guidelines for the Dioceses of Malta but a whole host of issues that spring from the same font; namely that of pride and disobedience.

As I see it, they have two options with this:

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever...

Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life".{35}

Many of these same folks would (or have!) written long apologias on John 6 and exhorted those who do not believe in the Real Presence that they should set aside their difficulties and have faith. Yet despite paying lip service to Church doctrines on papal primacy and jurisdiction as well as indefectibility, they show by their pompously arrogant approach to these matters to not really believe what they claim to believe when the rubber of abstraction meets the road of reality. They would seem to prefer to follow the disciples who turned their backs on Jesus rather than the Apostles who as Simon Peter made clear stuck with him even though they did not understand at that moment what He was saying.

Hopefully those who have legitimate difficulties with the Guidelines of the Dioceses of Malta, other guidelines like them, and the general direction that Pope Francis evidently wants to go with the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia can prayerfully consider what I have written above and come to a different way of seeing these matters. If that is still not possible for them, then hopefully they will at least be a lot more humble in how they approach these matters in the future and consider practicing a form of “reverent silence.” After all, “[e]ven a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent” (Proverbs xvii,28).

I follow my conscience, and when reason persuades me I make little account of moralists. [St Alphonsus Ligouri (circa 1764)]

Notes:

{1} "On January 17th, 2017, the Osservatore Romano, the official journal of the Holy See, published the guidelines issued by the archbishop of Malta and the bishop of Gozo for the reception of the Eucharist by persons living in an adulterous relationship. These guidelines permitted the sacrilegious reception of the Eucharist by some persons in this situation, and stated that in some cases it is impossible for such persons to practise chastity and harmful for them to attempt to practise chastity. No criticism of these guidelines was made by the Osservatore Romano, which presented them as legitimate exercises of episcopal teaching and authority. This publication was an official act of the Holy See that went uncorrected by yourself." [Excerpt from Correctio Filialis de Haeresibus Propagatis, Page 8 (circa July 16, 2017)]

{2} At least I hope I am not wrong in this presumption!

{3} See footnote two.

{4} Well, not anymore anyway. (It used to be different and there is some controversy over when exactly this was changed.)

{5} Catechism of the Catholic Church: From Part III, Article 6, Section I on The Judgment of Conscience (circa October 11, 1992)

{6} See footnote two.

{7} Unless I find out later on it is. (At which time, it could be addressed in a separate piece if necessary.)

{8} See footnotes two and seven.

{9} Excerpt from the Note Very Briefly On the Dubia (circa March 13, 2017)

{10} By putting so much focus on the imputability factors in the mortal sin calculus, Pope Francis from all appearances is rejecting as no longer a viable theological position the idea that in the cases of those who are in irregular situations that the objectively grave situation itself ipso facto constituted a state of actual mortal sin and thus a defacto presumption of a loss of sacramental grace.

{11} Particularly where marriage and sexual matters are involved.

{12} See footnote nine.

{13} In the event I have underestimated the obstinence of certain folks, review again the second and third paragraphs of this note.

{14} Pope Francis: Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia §295 (circa March 19, 2016)

{15} "[S]urely it is impossible to efface all at once everything from their strong minds, just as, when one wishes to reach the top of a mountain, he must climb by stages and step by step, not by leaps and bounds." [Pope Gregory the Great: Letter to Abbot Mellitus, Epsitola 76, PL 77: 1215-1216 (circa 601)]

{16} Since when has ignorance prevented papal critics from boldly proclaiming their own defacto infallibility when criticizing the pope in areas where he governs by divine right?

{17} For reasons I have already touched on in this note and shall not reiterate at this time.

{18} Joseph M. Magee, Ph.D.: Aquinas Online’s Thomistic Philosophy Page Article On Conscience

{19} Second Vatican Ecumenical Council: Declaration Dignitatis Humanae §3 (circa December 7, 1965)

{20} Pope John Paul II: Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis §36 (circa December 30, 1987)

{21} To use for illustration purposes some imagery from St. Paul in Romans 11.

{22} As one complaint I have seen from the Usual Suspects is that Amoris Laetita does not quote some sources in greater length (apparently 264 pages was not long enough for them!), I quote the passage referenced in footnote 22 at greater length.

{23} Pontifical International Theological Commission: Expanded Excerpt from In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at the Natural Law Section 59 (circa 2009) truncatedly referenced in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia §305 (circa March 19, 2016)

{24} Pope Francis: Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia §305 (circa March 19, 2016)

{25} "One might speak of an interaction between a function of control and a function of decision. Thomas sees this sequence according to the Aristotelian model of deductive reasoning. But he is careful to emphasize what is peculiar to this knowledge of moral actions whose conclusions do not come from mere knowing or thinking. Whether something is recognized or not, depends too on the will which can block the way to recognition or lead to it. It is dependent, that is to say, on an already formed moral character which can either continue to deform or be further purified. On this level, the level of judgment (conscientia in the narrower sense), it can be said that even the erroneous conscience binds. This statement is completely intelligible from the rational tradition of scholasticism. No one may act against his convictions, as Saint Paul had already said (Rom 14:23)." [Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger: Excerpt from Conscience and Truth Presented at the 10th Workshop for Bishops (circa February 1991)]

{26} Particularly sacramental participation.

{27} Pope Francis: Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia §242 (circa March 19, 2016)

{28} See footnote two.

{29} See footnote two.

{30} Pope Francis: Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium §25 (circa November 24, 2013)

{31} Fr. R. P. Quadrupani: Light and Peace - Instructions for Devout Souls to Dispel Their Doubts and Ally Their Fears (circa 1795) From the Section on Spiritual Direction

{32} St. Francis de Sales: Introduction to the Devout Life Chapter XXVIII (circa 1619)

{33} Fr. R. P. Quadrupani: Light and Peace - Instructions for Devout Souls to Dispel Their Doubts and Ally Their Fears (circa 1795) From the Section on Spiritual Direction

{34} St. Catherine of Siena OP: Treatise on Obedience from her Dialogues (circa 1370)

{35} John vi,53-67