Amoris Laetitia does not allow Communion for remarried, says Bishop of Phoenix
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AKDee
Guest
I find this issue to be alarming. Catholic news sites are reporting that the Pope has stated just the opposite- that there is “no other way to interpret” Amoris Laetitia other than that the divorced can receive communion. I read an article yesterday that he had sent the bishops in Buenos Aires a letter specifically telling them they MUST allow the divorced/remarried to receive communion. There is talk of schism over this issue, which is distressing.
I have been praying daily for the Pope and hope everyone here is also, that the Holy Spirit will guide him, and that he will clarify this issue and put it to rest.
I am less than 2 years Catholic and find myself quite dismayed, I can’t even imagine what cradle Catholics and long term Catholics are thinking right now. Jesus made it quite clear that a divorced person who remarries is in a state of adultery. Adultery is a mortal sin. We cannot receive communion in a state of mortal sin, nor can we be absolved of a mortal sin if we have no intention of discontinuing it.
I have been praying daily for the Pope and hope everyone here is also, that the Holy Spirit will guide him, and that he will clarify this issue and put it to rest.
I am less than 2 years Catholic and find myself quite dismayed, I can’t even imagine what cradle Catholics and long term Catholics are thinking right now. Jesus made it quite clear that a divorced person who remarries is in a state of adultery. Adultery is a mortal sin. We cannot receive communion in a state of mortal sin, nor can we be absolved of a mortal sin if we have no intention of discontinuing it.
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zz912
Guest
I pray that the Church will soon preach with one voice and one message on this topic. The lack of clarity is extremely disconcerting.
L
LittleFlower378
Guest
Thank you Bishop! The marriage bond can never be broken. Sexual relations outside of that unbreakable marriage bond are intrinsically evil.
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twf
Guest
While some on this very forum deny it, I think its pretty clear that the episcopate is seriously divided on this issue. We’ve all seen the drama play out over the past two Synods and since with the aftermath.
What the Pope and the Argentine bishops, among others, proposes is not technically a deviation from traditional doctrine. The argument is that some individuals are not culpable for their objectively sinful unions and thus may receive communion. The other side of aisle is arguing that culpability doesn’t factor in as it is an objective, public sin…this was St. John Paul II’s position. It is a debate over pastoral application. I don’t see this being resolved anytime soon… I remember during the last Synod the Polish bishops accused some of their brother bishops of “betraying the memory” of Pope St. John Paul II… this is a hot topic. I think all we laity can do is follow our local bishop. The Pope hasn’t changed canon law and various interpretations have been presented. Follow your local bishop.
What the Pope and the Argentine bishops, among others, proposes is not technically a deviation from traditional doctrine. The argument is that some individuals are not culpable for their objectively sinful unions and thus may receive communion. The other side of aisle is arguing that culpability doesn’t factor in as it is an objective, public sin…this was St. John Paul II’s position. It is a debate over pastoral application. I don’t see this being resolved anytime soon… I remember during the last Synod the Polish bishops accused some of their brother bishops of “betraying the memory” of Pope St. John Paul II… this is a hot topic. I think all we laity can do is follow our local bishop. The Pope hasn’t changed canon law and various interpretations have been presented. Follow your local bishop.
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TCEL
Guest
Well, all this hubbub just goes to prove that “sins of the flesh” do indeed matter. Growing up, I heard dismissive attitudes about this.
In other words, our bodies matter. Matter matters. See, I think the great problem of our day is about the nature of man. To others, that statement is probably a platitude, but it’s given me a lot of food for thought.
In other words, our bodies matter. Matter matters. See, I think the great problem of our day is about the nature of man. To others, that statement is probably a platitude, but it’s given me a lot of food for thought.
T
tseleehw
Guest
I agree with your sentiments. The clergy is clearly divided on this issue. We’ve seen evidence of this in the press, particularly during the synod and now with all of the guidelines coming out. I still remember some of the articles written by a couple of U.S. bishops who believed that the synod was rigged against them and their opinions (Archbishop Chaput’s article in the Wall Street Journal during the synod comes to mind here). The official word is that everyone’s in harmony no matter what guidelines come out, but I think they’re trying to downplay the disagreement on this matter.
My interpretation of the intent of Pope’s letter to the Argentine bishops about their draft guidelines is that Pope Francis is attempting to subtly influence bishops who have still yet to release their guidelines on AL’s implementation to the public by virtually stating outright that this is how he wants AL to be implemented (“there is no other possible interpretation”), without directly ordering bishops to do so. Pope Francis doesn’t seem to want to outright order the bishops what to do so this is his attempt to see that AL is implemented as much as possible based on his wishes. I admit that I have no hard evidence of this theory, it’s just my intuition based on the available information out there.
I actually don’t think that this issue will ever be settled while Pope Francis is still Pope, even if that’s another 10 or 15 years. If I had to attempt to predict the future, I think this issue will remain unsettled until a future Pope makes a hard ruling on the matter and finds some way to make his decision stick.
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fin
Guest
You’re right. I’m very happy to hear that you are converted to the Faith. Take heart and be of good cheer. That said, I’m also sad to hear of other converts to the Catholic Church who left because of the ambiguous statements coming from the hierarchy. It is happening. There are also cradle Catholics who left and joined Eastern Orthodoxy because they have had it. I’m not talking about cafeteria Catholics, mind you, but faithful ones who just couldn’t take it anymore.
Stay close to Christ through the sacraments, Adoration, prayer, including praying the Rosary. No matter what happens, the Catholic Church is the one true Church founded by Christ. We love Christ and His Church, and we’re not gonna leave.
Stay close to Christ through the sacraments, Adoration, prayer, including praying the Rosary. No matter what happens, the Catholic Church is the one true Church founded by Christ. We love Christ and His Church, and we’re not gonna leave.
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fin
Guest
Popes come,
Popes go.
Church stays,
I stick.
Popes go.
Church stays,
I stick.
T
twf
Guest
As I said in my earlier post, the Pope hasn’t changed canon law nor issued any binding directives to the global episcopate. Pastoral application on this matter seems to be in the bishops’ hands right now…so follow your bishop. The Pope can settle disputes within the Church, and has many times throughout history, but that doesn’t take away from the autonomy of the local bishop.
O
OraLabora
Guest
Adultery is grave matter. Whether the culpability is mortal or not requires three elements, like any other mortal sin: grave matter, full knowledge, and full will. AL is saying that there are circumstances, perhaps rare, but most likely not in our increasingly messed up world, where either one or both of the other elements aren’t present and thus the penitent is not mortally culpable.
That said, remember the promise of the keys that Jesus made to Peter and by extension every pope since, about binding and loosing. This is extremely important. The pope and and does change discipline, but not doctrine. The pastoral discipline of recognizing different levels of culpability and thus admissibility to communion does not change the doctrine.
If we lose faith in the promise of the keys, and the protection of the Pope from doctrinal error, we lose faith in the Church, and the promise of the keys from Jesus Himself thus becomes false, and that throws out the credibility of the entirety of the Gospels.
Knowing this makes it easier (for me at least) to assent to disciplinary ambiguity, and to remain faithful and obedient to the Holy Father, which also flows from my Benedictine commitment.
I know how hard it is for recent converts to see the shades of grey in what at first appears to be black-and-white. I had the same issues when I reverted back to the faith nearly 20 years ago. However we can’t categorize all situations as black-and-white and apply strictly legalistic prescriptions to situations requiring the healing of souls that find themselves in complex and often very sad circumstances. It took me some time to assent to this, but it was necessary to do so if I was to be in harmony with the promise of the keys.
J
john81
Guest
Well said. We can’t help fix the church if we can’t fix ourselves first. Along with the above I would just add “do your duty of state”. i.e. Student, teacher, husband, wife, occupation. That is your first obligation and it comes from God’s providence. Do the above, perform your duty of state in God’s grace, and the “rest shall be given unto you”.
Let us pray and fast for our Pope and Bishops who have the monumental task of feeding Christ’s lambs. Traditionally today is an ember day, so let us try and add fasting to our prayers which scripture states is very efficacious!!
God bless
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