Tag Archives: Changing church

Amoris Laetitiae: Panic on the Catholic Right

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LGBT and other progressive Catholics who expressed disappointment that Amoris Laetitiae did not change Church doctrines, should pay attention to the panic it has raised on the other side, among the orthotoxic, conservative rearguard. Rorate Caeli was quick off the block, describing it immediately and unequivocally as a “catastrophe”. Now Voice of the Family have issued a formal call for Pope Francis to withraw it.

There is huge irony in this. Previously, these same people would have attacked anyone who criticized Pope John Paul II or Benedict XVI on sexual matters as cafeteria Catholics, or worse as heretics – just for daring to disagree with papal authority. Now they are doing the same thing (just as their hero, Cardinal Raymond Burke, has tried to insist that the document is just a papal opinion, without magisterial authority).

Those who like to think of themselves as guardian of the faith, are panicking as they  discover that it is themselves, and not the rest of us, who are out of step with the Catholic Church.

Voice of the Family calls on Pope Francis to withdraw Amoris Laetitia

Over 100 pro-life and pro-family leaders from all over the world leapt to their feet in applause at a meeting in Rome on Saturday after hearing a call for Pope Francis to withdraw his controversial exhortationAmoris Laetitia.

John Smeaton, co-founder of Voice of the Family and the CEO of the UK Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, issued the request to the Pope in his keynote address at the annual Rome Life Forum.

Smeaton spoke following Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who in his speech decried growing confusion in the Church, and who has previously expressed grave concerns about the exhortation.

Smeaton highlighted several concerns with the exhortation, including:

  • the section about sex education, which speaks at length about sex education in schools, without reference to the rights of parents;
  • references to public adultery which fail to point out the intrinsic evil of adultery;
  • the suggestion that adulterous sexual acts may be justifiable; and,
  • the false message that marriage is not indissoluble.

Source: LifeSite

Power of conscience puts laity at centre of change

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It would be right to describe the publication of Amoris Laetitia by Pope Francis as a minor earthquake, though one preceded by plenty of warning tremors. And while the Catholic Church’s foundations may have been shaken, the walls and roof are still standing. Francis was well aware when he was elected Pope that the basic weakness in the Church’s mission to evangelise was its reputation as a stern and unforgiving teacher in the field of sexual and marital ethics, something that touches people’s lives most intimately. Put simply, it did not sound like the gentle voice of a loving mother. Francis had to respect as far as possible the content of the teaching. But he could change the one thing that may matter more than content for ordinary Catholics – its tone.

Source: The Tablet

Are big changes coming to the Catholic Church? Pope Francis finally wraps up anticipated document on controversial family issues

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Pope Francis has become recognized for some of his unconventional practices as pope, and his newest writings may further push him into that role of the “modern-day pontiff.””This the most important test for this pope to show us how he deals with dissent in the Church, how he deals with divided issues,” said Massimo Faggioli, a Church historian who directs the Institute for Catholicism and Citizenship at the University of St. Thomas, a Catholic school in St. Paul, according to The Washington Post. Since the launch of discussions over the “practicalities” within the Catholic church’s different families, there have been two very important Synods with top bishops of the church and countless rumors surrounding the pope’s unique position on the matters.

…..Pope Francis’ addressing of the topics of divorced and remarried Catholics has become “the most important moment in the Church in the last 50 years. This was the biggest sign of hope that in the Catholic Church there are ideas, and we can talk about it. No one before Francis ever had the courage to think about that” (Massimo Faggioli)

Source: Catholic Online