An Extra-Biblical Declaration

There are 15 citations to scripture in the recent Declaration Fiducia supplicans, ordering priests to offer blessings to homosexual couples. To nobody’s surprise, most of these references are immaterial since you will have a difficult time finding precedents for the blessing of sin in the Bible. Here’s a sample paragraph (16) revealing the purely rhetorical use of scripture:

To God who blesses, we also respond by blessing. Melchizedek, King of Salem, blesses Abram (cf. Gen. 14:19); Rebekah is blessed by family members just before she becomes the bride of Isaac (cf. Gen. 24:60), who, in turn, blesses his son, Jacob (cf. Gen. 27:27). Jacob blesses Pharaoh (cf. Gen. 47:10), his own grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. Gen. 48:20), and his twelve sons (cf. Gen. 49:28). 

But lo and behold, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fernandez, found a passage to base his and the pope’s historic innovation (Par. 43):

Therefore, even when a person’s relationship with God is clouded by sin, he can always ask for a blessing, stretching out his hand to God, as Peter did in the storm when he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” (Mt. 14:30).

It’s ironic that Fernandez makes an example out of St. Peter, who, in this instance, did not ask for a blessing nor commit any sin:

Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:28-31).

This was the best the Declaration could come up with for a biblical basis for blessing homosexuality. Most of the citations supporting this order come from Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. Fernandez is unapologetic with regard to his dependence on Francis, almost gloating about it:

Such theological reflection, based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis, implies a real development from what has been said about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church.

While many priests will welcome this progressive innovation, others will be faced with moral dilemmas when approached by homosexual couples demanding a blessing and insisting it be in a conspicuous, public setting.

Most Catholic priests did not sign up for this.

…rjt

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4 Classic Films for Advent

Certain films can become part of family tradition. These Christmas-themed features were produced 50+ years ago and we’re now sharing them with the grandkids. I highly recommend tracking them down, perhaps at the library, Youtube, streaming, or purchasing.

The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971)

Set in the rural South during the depression, a large family waits for their father to return home for Christmas after working in another part of the state. The mother begins to panic when he’s late and there’s a report of a major accident on the road her husband was traveling on. This leads to a dramatic series of events, some sad, some hilarious; you will experience a range of emotions. The cast is rich with talent: Patricial Neal, Richard Thomas, Cleavon Little, William Windom, etc.

No to Moral Equivalence

Two fellow Catholic bloggers recently weighed in on the current conflict between Israel and Gaza. William Briggs looked back in history and blamed the Israelis while Maureen Mullarkey exposed the insincerity of Cardinal Pizzaballa when he offered to exchange himself for the Israeli hostages:

On the day of Hamas’ onslaught against Israel, [Cardinal] Pizzaballa, speaking as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, issued a telling statement: ‘The operation launched from Gaza and the reaction of the Israeli army . . . will destroy more and more any perspective of stability.’ Stability? While blood was still wet on kibbutzim walls—gore still on the floors—the cardinal erased all distinction between Gaza’s willful massacre of non-combatant Jews and Israel’s defensive response. He positioned both sides on the same moral plane.

A Fracturing Society

Oakland, CA during the 1950s-early 60s was a peaceful city, with the annual number of homicides usually at zero; these days it regularly exceeds a hundred. Homelessness has increased 131% since 2015 as a result of decriminalizing drug use. It’s a doom-loop because so many businesses have had to close due to retail theft and other crimes.

Synodal Consensus and Holy Scripture

Like the Instrumentum Laboris, the Vatican’s Synthesis Report, summarizing the results of the first session of the Synod on Synodality, contains only a handful of Biblical quotes or citations, but includes a clear misinterpretation of St. John’s first epistle:

On Synodality and Shipwrecks: 4 Takeaways from the ‘Instrumentum Laboris’

If you have read Instrumentum Laboris (IL), the preparatory document for the current synod in Rome, you’d know that radical changes to the Catholic Church should be expected if this experiment in “synodal” Church governance completes its course in 2024. Four things stood out as red flags.

I. Absence of Scripture

There are few citations to Holy Scripture in the document, mostly just short snippets taken out of context and presented as models of the synodal process. One example is the account of the two disciples of Christ on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35):

Veritatis Splendor’s Message to Rome

It’s doubtful that the organizers of the Synod on Synodality were aware that this year’s session would take place in the same year as the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the publication of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, ‘The Splendor of Truth’. At the same time the Synod participants are arguing over the relaxing the Church’s moral teachings, there’s a fresh spotlight on the encyclical in terms of books and articles. John Paul was warning the Church against exactly what is currently going on in Rome:

[A] new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Church’s moral teachings. …Thus the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected; certain of the Church’s moral teachings are found simply unacceptable; and the Magisterium itself is considered capable of intervening in matters of morality only in order to “exhort consciences” and to “propose values”, in the light of which each individual will independently make his or her decisions and life choices.

That last part sounds a lot like the Synodal process as described in the Instrumentum Laboris, the preparatory document issued by the Vatican in anticipation of the current session:

[T]he protagonist of the Synod is the Holy Spirit”. Issues that are often posed in an adversarial manner, or for which the life of the Church today lacks a place of acceptance and discernment, can be addressed in an evangelical way within the synodal process.

For Pope Francis, listening to the Holy Spirit will allow the Church (ultimately him through an apostolic exhortation) to speak prophetically:

As we listen attentively to each other’s lived experiences, we grow in mutual respect and begin to discern the movements of God’s Spirit in the lives of others and in our own. In this way, we begin to pay more attention to “what the Spirit is saying to the Churches” (Rev 2:7), in the commitment and hope of becoming a Church increasingly capable of making prophetic decisions that are the fruit of the Spirit’s guidance.

For John Paul II, the role of the Holy Spirit is the opposite, as the guardian of tradition:

Within Tradition, the authentic interpretation of the Lord’s law develops, with the help of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who is at the origin of the Revelation of Jesus’ commandments and teachings guarantees that they will be reverently preserved, faithfully expounded and correctly applied in different times and places. …[I]t can only confirm the permanent validity of Revelation and follow in the line of the interpretation given to it by the great Tradition of the Church’s teaching and life, as witnessed by the teaching of the Fathers, the lives of the Saints, the Church’s Liturgy and the teaching of the Magisterium.

In a classic article written ten years ago during the 20th anniversary of the encyclical, Samuel Gregg called Veritatis Splendor “one of the most important papal texts in modern history”:

Veritatis Splendor was the first encyclical to spell out the Catholic Church’s fundamental moral teaching. Catholicism had, of course, always articulated the moral dimension of Christ’s message. Never before, however, had a pope provided a formal systematic outline of Catholic moral doctrine. That alone makes the encyclical a perennial reference-point for Catholic reflection.

He added that John Paul emphasized that the Church’s teaching was actually a blueprint for happiness:

[T]he prohibitions contained in God’s moral law are supposed to be a springboard toward human flourishing. For no matter how humble we may be by worldly standards, everyone is equal in the face of the demands of morality. That also means, however, we’re equally capable of greatness. In a world which encourages moral mediocrity, Veritatis Splendor insists that all of us are, with the help of grace, a potential Gianna Beretta Molla, Thomas More, Maria Goretti, or Karol Wojtyla.

If Saint John Paul II is correct, the opposite must be true as well: the lack of moral standards leads to human impoverishment. The outcome of the synod may have profound consequences for the Church.

…rjt

Are Sins of a Parent Transferred to the Children?

In the context of the first of the ten commandments, prohibiting idolatry, God’s threat of punishment for sin is extended to multiple generations of the offender’s children:

For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their ancestors’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation but showing love down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).

The Promise Manifested in the Eucharist

On the eve of his crucifixion Jesus repeatedly tries to prepare his disciples for the dramatic events that were about to unfold that night, but they were not receptive:

Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy (John 16:20).

He then compares what they will experience to childbirth:

When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you (vss. 21,22).

Western Europe’s Shift to the Right

Comparing the recent riots in Paris to the unrest of 2005 reveals a disturbing trend. Both were caused by similar circumstances, the death of North African immigrants after encounters with police that were viewed as unjustified and racially motivated. The upheavals of late, however, had noticeable differences: the riots were not limited to the major cities but spread throughout France and involved mass looting and gunfire. More than a thousand buildings and 5600 cars were burned in less than a week. An army of 40,000 police and gendarmes, of which more than 800 were injured, were barely able to stop the violence.

Former member of the French National Assembly Marion Maréchal warned of the consequences such anarchy: