In reaction to the response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the delegation of the German Bishops’ Conference regarding the draft proposal for administering Communion to Protestant spouses, Cardinal Willem Eijk, the Archbishop of Utrecht, has made a shocking comment in an article published on the National Catholic Register blogsite.
In part, Cardinal Eijk writes:
Assuming that all members of the German bishops’ conference, after having discussed them again, unanimously decide that Communion can be administered to Protestants married to a Catholic (something that will not happen), will this — while being contrary to what the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church say in this regard — become the new practice in the Catholic Church in Germany? The practice of the Catholic Church, based on her faith, is not determined and does not change statistically when a majority of an episcopal conference votes in favor of it, not even if unanimously.
What the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church say should have been the reaction of the Holy Father, who is, as the Successor of Saint Peter “the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful” (Lumen Gentium, 23). The Holy Father should have given the delegation of the German episcopal conference clear directives, based on the clear doctrine and practice of the Church. He should have also responded on this basis to the Lutheran woman who asked him on November 15, 2015 if she could receive Communion with her Catholic spouse, saying that this is not acceptable instead of suggesting she could receive Communion on the basis of her being baptized, and in accordance with her conscience. By failing to create clarity, great confusion is created among the faithful and the unity of the Church is endangered. This is also the case with cardinals who publicly propose to bless homosexual relationships, something which is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of the Church, founded on Sacred Scripture, that marriage, according to the order of creation, exists only between a man and a woman.
Observing that the bishops and, above all, the Successor of Peter fail to maintain and transmit faithfully and in unity the deposit of faith contained in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, I cannot help but think of Article 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Church’s ultimate trial
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.”
Cardinal Eijk’s statement constitutes nothing other than a accusation that Pope Francis is an apostate who has abandoned the truths of the Catholic Faith and who is enticing others to follow in his apostasy.
It is now time for the Holy Father to take matters in hand and formally sanction those who have and are sowing the seeds of division and disharmony within the Church.
The Sacred College of Cardinals should immediately and publicly admonish and sanction His Eminence for such a scandalous accusation challenging the authority of the Office of Peter.
While quoting the prescriptions of Canon Law, Cardinal Eijk conveniently forgets another of such precepts: that the decisions of the Holy See are subject to no appeal or approval.
His Eminence should remember that it is likewise a dogma of the Catholic Faith that the Holy Father is elected by the Sacred College of Cardinals under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
To contradict the mind and will of the Vicar of Christ is to contradict and oppose the will of Our Divine Redeemer as well.
Cardinal Eijk, as all hypocrits do, accuses others of the sins the sins they themselves commit. If deception is creeping into the Church, as His Eminence alleges, it is because conservative idealogues and reactionaries such as he refuse to submit their agendas and predilections to the Divine Sovereignty of the Lord’s Will.
Cardinal Eijk’s unwarranted and public attack against the Holy Father is disgraceful and disgusting and should be abhorred by all those who profess their fidelity to the Church.
There have been others, most noteworthy Cardinal Burke and his like-minded cronies, who have been dallying in their accusations that Pope Francis is an apostate and heretic.
Cardinal Eijk has decided to draw a line in the sand and crossed that line by making such an allegation both direct and public.
The Holy Father can no longer remain silent but must respond to such challenges to his Papal authority with the full weight of the Office of Peter which he holds.
The Catholic faithful are owed such a response. Our faith in the Church rests on the Office of the Vicar of Christ to whom Jesus entrusted the “keys to the Kingdom”. Pope Francis must act to support our faith and to uphold the very foundation of the Body of Christ.
May the Holy Spirit come to the aid of our suffering and wounded Church!
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