Yet, its not only 'old bangers' that are capable of making interesting noises.
Hard on the heels of the Catholic world absorbing His Holiness's criticism of those who believe in a 'different kind' of Resurrection to that which the Church teaches (a perplexing statement), as well as interesting noises on a possible new debate on relaxing the rule of clerical celibacy, more interesting noises come today from the Pope with some delicate and sensitive teachings on the eternal salvation of atheists and agnostics.
While these developments serve as an interesting point of contact in the 'Court of the Gentiles', I would, as his spiritual son, like to hear from the Holy Father some bold teachings that not only shake me out of my spiritual complacency to embrace repentance and the love of God, but rouse in non-Catholics as well teaching that urges sinners to repent, to change, to worship, to love God. The Church exists for Salvation. Her mission is to call men to repentance and into the Ark of Salvation. Jesus made no promises to those outside of the Church, He only made a promise that the gates of Hell should not prevail against His Church.
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| "The pillars are fine. You don't have to knock down the pillars to rebuild!" |
As his son, I do not wish to see the Holy Father challenge me in the Faith I have received from all his predecessors. I would like to see the Holy Father challenge me to follow Jesus more closely and love Him more than myself, instead of myself.
In such a time, it seems almost unreal to hear only 'conciliatory' tones from Rome. My fear is that the World is about to witness what it believes is the building of a new and glorious Church that is willing to accommodate the errors of a new age, while in fact it is witnessing the Church that is 'falling into ruins'. Popularity with liberals and agnostics may make everyone feel warm and fluffy, but does it save souls?
Such extraordinary times surely call for extraordinary acts of penance on the behalf of those who wish to save souls.
Your thoughts?
Join me in praying the Litany of the Holy Name of Mary, for his papacy and for his intentions. May the Lord continue to guide Pope Francis as Chief Shepherd to all of the Faithful and grant him wisdom and protection against his enemies.
8 comments:
The sound bites on Triumphalism and universal salvation need elucidation. I jumped into the fray....here and here
As I noted in my post on the first, we are not the arch-triumphalistic religion, are we?
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/09/is-it-not-ironic-and-to-sides-to-coin.html
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/09/putting-out-papal-fires.html
My only thought is that Francis has clearly pitted himself in opposition to the 'Church Triumphant'. The only way that you can avoid viewing him as a heretic is if you interpret his sayings as having the opposite meaning from the literal sense of his words. The Church needs Christians who are bold enough to denounce Francis and point out his errors.
I don't think we can really suggest the HF is heretical.
I think we can ask respectful questions of the directions the Church is going under his papacy.
It is all very worrying. I agree with nearly all of what you say except that Jesus did not make any promises to those within the church either. There is good and bad in the church and Pharisees are condemned.
Jigsaw puzzle? The basic premise of a jigsaw is that the pieces should fit together to form a coherent whole. At the moment all I can see is a ragbag of 'Church of Nice' gestures.
The new Secretary of State is simply saying the obvious about clerical celibacy and I'll bet it was pulled out of a much longer interview, in the course of which all the usual liberal shibboleths were brought up. I'd be more concerned if he'd said 'Women priests? Great idea!'
The atheist stuff is rather different and we've been here before. An atheist who lives his/her life 'as if God exists' is obviously an improvement on an atheist who commits terrible crimes. And while in the past an atheist was someone who deliberately rejected the faith taught them, it is all too easy nowadays to grow up with no concept of God or religion at all. But surely what we should be offering them is a far better life with Christ, not an assurance that they're fine as they are.
It does make you wonder how all those cosy chats at the Mater Ecclesiae are going. One of Pope Benedict's former students remarked that he'd retained his sense of humour. Just as well.
I think we can ask respectful questions of the directions the Church is going under his papacy.
Anyone with the care of Catholic children is called to do something more than just asking "respectful questions". The fact is, I wouldn't let Pope Francis catechise my daughter.
Since ascending to the Throne of Peter the new Pope has repeatedly said things that when taken in their plain, literal sense are contrary to Church teaching. For example, it has been overlooked that last week he said that the Jewish Covenant is still valid, which means that Christ did not die for all men. Therefore, contra apparently infallible dogma, there is salvation outside of the Church.
People have been asking "respectful questions" since the terrible crisis in the Church erupted into the consciouness of Catholics in the late 1960's - and they have been, to a man, ignored. Just in the same way that Pope John Paul II turned a deaf ear the allegations that had been made against the evil founder of the Legionaries of Christ.
What does it signify when a Catholic must protect the faith of his children from the Vicar of Christ? Many Catholics would cry out in horror at such a thought. But if you talk with these 'obedience-first' Catholics you realise that very few of them believe, for example, in the inerrancy of Scripture (which is de fide) and in their minds have reduced the dogma of extra ecclesiam nulla salus to something unrecognisable from the perennial teaching of the Church.
David, St Paul made it quite clear that the Jewish Covenant exists, ven though it is overtaken by the New Covenant. He said that the church is grafted on to God's people. The Incarnation makes ity inevitable that Christ can be found outside the church even though he is fully focussed within it. That is the point of "natural theology." the theologians of the patristic period would have recognised that. Pope Benedict acknowledged it too.
Robert,
The Mosaic Covenant (which is what people usually refer to as the "Jewish Covenant") has been abrogated. It ended with the death of our Lord on the Cross. I'm afraid to tell you that to believe otherwise is heresy.
The Abrahamic Covenant, however, was not abrogated but has been fulfilled in the Catholic Church.
Hebrews 7:18: "On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness..."
Hebrews 10:9: "Then he says, 'Behold, I come to do your will.' He takes away the first [covenant] to establish the second [covenant]..."
2 Corinthians 3:14: “For to this day when they [the Jews] read the Old Covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.”
Hebrews 8:7: "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another."
Colossians 2:14: “Having cancelled the written code, with its decrees, that was against us and stood opposed to us; He took it away nailing it to the cross."
Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, para. 29: "...the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished…but on the gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its decrees fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross."
The Catechism of the Council of Trent: "...the people, aware of the abrogation of the Mosaic Law..."
Council of Florence: "That the matter pertaining to the law of the Old Testament, of the Mosaic law…although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after our Lord’s coming had been signified by them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began."
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