Thanks to the readers who expressed appreciation for the articles I have been writing concerning division within the ranks of the Bishops, division which I believe threatens the very Oneness which is fundamental to the essence and mission of the Catholic Church.
For those who suggest that I am exaggerating the issue, I propose the following as yet further evidence of how serious the division is and why I suggest that Catholicism itself is in a state of de facto schism.
Cardinal Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, announced that he has invited “some U.S. Bishops” (a fact which I find most curious in itself) to a series of conferences on the 2016 Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
The seminars will be held at three Catholic colleges later this month.
The gatherings, dubbed “New Momentum Conferences on Amoris Laetitia,” are designed to offer a “tailor-made program that goes from why Amoris Laetitia provides new momentum for moral formation and pastoral practice to how to provide formative pastoral programs within respective dioceses.”
Cardinal Cupich explained that his goal was to gather 15 to 20 Bishops to engage in conversations with theologians on topics related to the Exhortation.
His Eminence further stated that the conferences will be modeled after a seminar in the Fall of last year held at Boston College. That seminar treated the Exhortation, giving particular focus to its reception in the multicultural and diverse environment that characterizes the Church in the United States.
There is some indication that Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery on Laity, Family and Life, has encouraged and endorsed the upcoming conferences, which will be held at Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and Santa Clara University.
The conferences come in the wake of a speech given by Cardinal Cupich this past February 9th at the Von Hügel Institute, at St. Edmund College, in Cambridge, England.
In that speech, Cardinal Cupich said that “Pope Francis is convinced of the need for a new ministerial approach to families as he looks at the challenges facing families in today’s world.”
The Cardinal spoke of Pope Francis’ so-called “revolution of mercy” that has caused what many are defending as a “paradigm shift” in Catholic practice.
His Eminence added that “some people misinterpret and misunderstand Amoris Laetitia simply because they fail or refuse to take into account the present reality in all its complexity.”
Within a matter of days, Cardinal Gerhard Muller, former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated that the authentic development of doctrine is about making more explicit the revealed truths of faith, not changing, or “shifting,” Church teaching – and to use this idea to defend an agenda is wrong.
In an essay published on February 20th, Cardinal Muller noted that there can be no such thing as a “paradigm shift” in the interpretation of Catholic doctrine, and to push for one is to contradict God’s commandments.
Anyone who calls a major shift in the Church's teaching in moral theology as a “praiseworthy decision of conscience… speaks against the Catholic faith,” His Eminence stated.
The idea of a “paradigm shift” – a “fundamental change in theoretical forms of thought and social behavior” – with respect to “the form of the Church's being and of her presence in the world” is not possible,” Cardinal Müller wrote, simply because “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is, in contrast, our paradigm, which we will not exchange for any other.”
Cardinal Muller insisted that the Pope and his fellow Bishops have a duty to preserve the unity of faith and to prevent polarization and partisan mentalities. Therefore, it is also a duty of conscience to speak up in opposition when the term “pastoral change” is used by some to “express their agenda to sweep aside the Church’s teaching as if doctrine were an obstacle to pastoral care.”
And so, it is clear that the division among the Bishops, among leading Prelates, is very much public and, in some cases, bordering on failings against fraternal charity (which should be a hallmark within the Sacred College).
Where such divisions leave the Catholic faithful (you and I) "remains to be seen" -- an unfortunate phrase I find myself using more and more these days.
Again, I strive each day (and encourage others) to call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance through these difficult and threatening times.
Where there is unity and charity, there the Holy Spirit is found alive and at work. Where that unity and charity is lacking, the Same Spirit is absent.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
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