Three Eastern European bishops are urging the world’s faithful Catholics to join them in a "spiritual crusade" to pray for the Pope every day until he rescinds in an “unequivocal manner” pastoral guidelines created by erring bishops that allow Catholics living in the mortal sin of adultery to receive Holy Communion.
“As successors of the Apostles, we are also moved by the obligation of raising our voices when the most sacred things of the Church and the matter of eternal salvation of souls are in question,” the three bishops state in their “Appeal to prayer” released January 18.
The three Bishops, all from Kazakhstan, are Tomash Peta, Metropolitan Archbishop of the archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana, Jan Pawel Lenga, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Karaganda, and Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana.
In their 3,000 word letter, the bishops lay out the abuses that have arisen in various dioceses around the world after the publication of the pope’s controversial Exhortation on marriage and the family Amoris Laetitia in April last year.
The Exhortation has been criticized by Cardinals, Bishops, lay-theologians, and Catholic faithful for its ambiguity on the indissolubility of marriage, on the proper disposition to receive Communion, and on the role of conscience in making legitimate moral decisions. These ambiguities have provided liberal prelates with enough wiggle-room to allow civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics to receive Communion, as in the cases of San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy and the bishops of Malta.
But the three Kazakhstan Bishops make it clear in their letter that the Sixth Commandment given by God forbidding adultery cannot be lifted under any circumstances. Pastors who approve of an adulterous union and allow such a couple to receive Communion are complicit in a “continual offense against the sacramental bond of marriage, the nuptial bond between Christ and the Church and the nuptial bond between Christ and the individual soul who receives his Eucharistic Body,” they write.
“The previously mentioned pastoral guidelines contradict the universal tradition of the Catholic Church, which by means of an uninterrupted Petrine Ministry of the Sovereign Pontiffs has always been faithfully kept, without any shadow of doubt or of ambiguity, either in its doctrine or its praxis, in that which concerns the indissolubility of marriage,” they state.
There is no case where the commands of God regarding marriage can be dispensed, they write, adding that each Catholic is bound to follow the will of God, as expressed by his commandments, including his commandment against adultery which safeguards the indissolubility of marriage.
Failure to follow God’s will as expressed by his commands carries the penalty of hell, the bishops write.
“It is rather the case of an obligation which God himself has unequivocally commanded [regarding fidelity within marriage, even a damaged one], the non-observance of which, in accordance with his Word, carries the penalty of eternal damnation. To say to the faithful the contrary would seem to signify misleading them or encouraging them to disobey the will of God, and in such [a] way endangering their eternal salvation.”
Combatting the idea arising from some Prelates that adultery can somehow be overlooked through the lens of “mercy” or through a process of “pastoral accompaniment,” the Bishops state clearly that the “sexual act outside of a valid marriage, and in particular adultery, is always objectively gravely sinful and no circumstance and no reason can render it admissible or pleasing in the sight of God.”
“A practice which permits to those who have a civil divorce, the so called ‘remarried,’ to receive the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, notwithstanding their intention to continue to violate the Sixth Commandment and their sacramental bond of matrimony in the future, would be contrary to Divine truth and alien to the perennial sense of the Catholic Church,” they write.
Such a practice “would be for every rational and sensible person an evident rupture with the perennial and Apostolic practice of the Church and would therefore not represent a development in continuity,” they add.
The Bishops do not leave the violators of God’s laws out in the cold, but put forward a vision of “mercy” and “accompaniment” which involves a change of heart and conversion of the sinner.
They write that an “authentic accompaniment” of those in grave sin “cannot fail to announce to such people, in all charity, the complete will of God, in such a way that they repent wholeheartedly of their sinful actions.”
The plea of the three Bishops comes two months after four Cardinals went public with their five yes-or-no questions (Dubia) asking Pope Francis if his Exhortation conforms to Catholic moral teaching on marriage, the sacraments, and conscience. The Cardinals have indicated a possible “formal correction” of the document sometime this year if the Pope continues to ignore their questions.
The Exhortation has been criticized by Cardinals, Bishops, lay-theologians, and Catholic faithful for its ambiguity on the indissolubility of marriage, on the proper disposition to receive Communion, and on the role of conscience in making legitimate moral decisions.
The Eastern Prelates call for this spiritual crusade follows closely upon the guidelines recently published by the Bishops of Malta.
The Maltese Bishops have come out with a new set of pastoral guidelines allowing divorced-and-remarried persons in certain cases, after “honest discernment”, to receive Communion.
Through a process of “accompaniment and honest discernment,” God is able to open new paths to these people, “even if their previous journey may have been one of darkness, marked with past mistakes or sad experiences of betrayal and abandonment.”
Signed by Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta and Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo, the guidelines were read aloud at Masses in both dioceses on the Solemnity of the Epiphany and consist of 14 bullet points Priests are to use when accompanying couples in irregular situations.
They cover only Chapter 8 of Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis' 2016 Apostolic Exhortation, which deals, among other things, with the pastoral care of the divorced-and-remarried, who have not commited to living with their partner “as brother and sister,” and thus not forgoing the acts proper to married couples.
Some Bishops have maintained certain interpretations of the Exhortation are incompatible with Church teaching, and other Bishops have asserted that that it has not changed the Church's discipline.
In their guidelines, the Maltese bishops placed a strong emphasis on discernment and close pastoral accompaniment in the formation of the conscience of divorced couples in second unions, particularly when children are involved.
They encourage Pastors to help couples in these situations to make “an examination of conscience through moments of reflection and repentance,” asking themselves how they reacted when their first marriage spun into crisis, whether or not they tried to reconcile, what has become of their spouse, and what consequences the separation has had on the rest of their family and community.
“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,” they said, encouraging Priests to carefully weigh the “moral responsibility” of particular situations. In this process, special attention ought to be given “to the conditioning restraints and attenuating circumstances,” since certain factors might exist which either limit the ability to make a decision or “diminish the imputability or responsibility for an action,” such as fear, violence, immaturity, anxiety, or various psychological or social factors, the bishops wrote.
Quoting Amoris Laetitia, they said that as a result of these “conditioning restraints and attenuating circumstances,” 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.” It’s possible that even 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.” The Bishops stated that discernment in this area is especially important “since, as the Pope teaches, in some cases this help can include the help of the sacraments.”
Malta's Bishops have asserted that “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', 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.”
The Bishops concluded their guidelines stressing that “in order to avoid any cause for scandal or confusion among the faithful, we must do our utmost in order to inform ourselves and our communities by studying and promoting the teachings of Amoris Laetitia. This teaching requires us to undergo a 'pastoral conversion'. 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''.”
The Maltese bishops issued their guidelines days after Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said in an interview with an Italian TV station that while Chapter 8 of the document has met with fierce criticism, Amoris laetitia is “very clear” in its doctrine. Cardinal Müller has consistently maintained that Pope Francis' 2016 apostolic exhortation on love in the family has not changed the Church's discipline on admission of the divorced-and-remarried to Communion, and that it must be read in continuity with the preceding Magisterium.
Whether or not there is ambiguity in the Apostolic Exhortation, one thing is clear and certain. The document already has been the source of disquiet among certain members of the hierarchy and threatens to bring even greater confusion to the average Catholic in the pew.
Four members of the College of Cardinals issued a letter threatening a “formal act of correction” to the Pope asserting that the Exhortation threatens the teachings of Scripture and Tradition regarding the indissolubility of marriage. They have been joined by 23 prominent theologians similarly opposed to the Exhortation.
Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia decreed that those who do not commit to continence in their second marriages will not be permitted to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation or Holy Communion under any circumstances in the Archdiocese. Bishop McElroy of San Diego has published guidelines directing his Priests of his diocese to assist couples in second marriages in a process of discernment which could allow their admission to the Sacraments without a commitment to continence in the second union.
What is the average Catholic to think of these discrepancies in teaching and practice?
I contend that the fruit of such divisions among the members of the hierarchy will result in a lessening of their authority in general among faithful members of the Church. Frankly, I believe the damage to episcopal authority has already been done. I don’t see how the Church will recover even at this early stage of division regarding the teachings and the various pastoral solutions proposed in the Exhortation.
As long as the Bishops continue to squabble among themselves and question the sovereign teaching authority of the Pope, average Catholics will be left to make up their own minds regarding the issue. And why not if contradictory positions on the Exhortation have been supported by Bishops themselves. If those charged with the authority to faithfully proclaim the truths of the Faith can hold differing, if not contradictory positions, why can’t faithful Catholics pick and choose which teaching to embrace?
Ultimately, chaos and disunity triumphs.
Of course, the real impact will be felt, if and when a definitive resolution to these dispute is forthcoming in the form of an official and unified teaching and practice which either clearly disallows a return to the Sacraments for the divorced under any circumstance or which allows such sacramental practice in some instances.
Sadly, however, that by the time the hierarchy decides to come together on this issue, I believe the average Catholic in the pew will be indifferent to whatever they have to say on the issue. And in support of this contention, I merely make reference to the impact which Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI's teaching regarding the sanctity of human life and the immorality of artificial contraception) had upon the teaching authority of the Vicar of Christ in matters of faith and morals.
But this crisis engendered by Amoris Laetitia and the controversies is has sparked already will be manifested in the form of the laity's sublime indifference to any teaching the Bishops and the Pope choose to utter regarding this or any other moral or doctrinal matter regarding the Catholic Faith now or in the future.
For all her grandeur, for all the pomp and circumstance of her liturgy and rituals, for the richness of her history and the impact she has had upon the advancement of civilization and the dignity of the individual human person, the Church is a house of cards.
The foundation of that house has been the unwavering confidence the Catholic faithful have entrusted the unquestioned authority of the Pope along with the Bishops to teach, govern and sanctify in the name of Christ.
Undermine that authority and the house of cards comes crumbling down.
Amoris Laetitia is a critical moment in the Church, not so much for what it says about doctrine versus practice, or even what it teaches about truth versus mercy.
Amoris Laetitia will be crucial to the future of the Church in the way the Holy Father and the Bishops decide to respond to its pastoral challenges.
Let no one be mistaken, just as Humanae Vitae was received with mixed acceptance and dissent by Clergy and laity alike, Amoris Laetitia is fast becoming a focal point of division among the Pope, the Bishops and their Pastors.
Thus far, the average Catholic is largely unaware of these tensions. However, when the secular media, when NBC and CNN and the New York Times start set their yellow-journalism newshounds on this story, the Church's teaching and moral authority will be sorely wounded, perhaps irremediably so.
I join in the call of the Eastern Bishops that we ask the intervention of the Holy Spirit in guiding the Holy Father and the entire College of Bishops in speaking to the doctrinal and pastoral concerns for the divorced and remarried in a way which strengthens the bond of unity among the Shepherds and upholds their singular and divine authority to speak the truth of the Gospel in the name of Christ Jesus Himself.
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