Archbishop Gänswein: no disagreement between two popes on Communion for remarried

[McCall1981]

catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/01/22/archbishop-ganswein-no-disagreement-between-two-popes-on-communion-for-remarried/

Archbishop Gänswein: no disagreement between two popes on Communion for remarried

by Madeleine Teahan posted Thursday, 22 Jan 2015

Archbishop George Gänswein, the prefect of the papal household and personal secretary to the pope emeritus, has said there is no disagreement between Benedict XVI and Pope Francis on the question of communion for the divorced and remarried.

In an interview with the German magazine supplement, Christ & Welt, translated by the In Caelo et in Terra blog, Archbishop Gänswein said the notion that there was opposition between the two popes on the subject was “artificial”.

He said: “I do not share that impression. It creates an artificial opposition which does not exist. The Pope is the first guarantor and keeper of the doctrine of the Church and at the same the first shepherd, the first pastor. Doctrine and pastoral care are not in opposition, they are like twins.”

Archbishop Gänswein said it would be “absurd” to suggest that Pope Francis’s doctrinal statements contradicted his predecessors. He continued: “It is one thing to emphasise the pastoral efforts more clearly because the situation requires it. It is something else entirely to make a change in teaching. I can only act pastorally sensitive, consistent and conscientious when I do so on the basis of full Catholic teaching. The substance of the sacraments is not left to the discretion of pastors, but has been given to the Church by the Lord. That is also and especially true for the sacrament of marriage.”

(Read the rest there)

 

[Justin_Swanton]

Archbishop Gänswein said it would be “absurd” to suggest that Pope Francis’s doctrinal statements contradicted his predecessors.

Obviously. Doctrine per se regarding the indissolubility of marriage has been reiterated more than once. The issue is not one of doctrine.

He continued: “It is one thing to emphasise the pastoral efforts more clearly because the situation requires it. It is something else entirely to make a change in teaching. I can only act pastorally sensitive, consistent and conscientious when I do so on the basis of full Catholic teaching. The substance of the sacraments is not left to the discretion of pastors, but has been given to the Church by the Lord. That is also and especially true for the sacrament of marriage.”

Fine. The rub though is the pastoral approach towards giving Communion to remarried divorcees. The Pope is clearly in favour of this, at least for remarried divorcees who sincerely want to receive Communion and find it morally impossible to rectify their situation either by living as brother and sister or by complete separation. His holiness’s stance is that one is not held to a law that is morally - or humanly - impossible to keep, hence remarried divorcees who come forward for Communion are doing all they humanly can to live a Christian life, and hence are not in grave sin - even though they sleep with their partners. This is where the problem lies.

***Should ***Communion for remarried divorcees be allowed following the next Synod it will open a Pandora’s Box of unimaginable proportions. I don’t, with all due respect, think the Pope grasps the implications. He is strong and clear in his defence of doctrine and morality, and in his insistence that people must live a moral and Christian life to the best of their ability. But there are times when it goes further, and God requires of us things we would think impossible to do: ‘What is impossible for man is possible for God’. Living a matrimonial life with one’s lawful spouse or with nobody is one of these.

 

[Joe_5859]

Interesting read. I followed the article to their original source:

incaelo.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/from-the-front-row-new-interview-with-archbishop-ganswein/

It’s the blog of a Dutch Catholic guy who translated the original German interview. Here are the complete quotes that the Catholic Herald relies on for the story:

With the Synods on the pastoral care for families this past and the coming autumn, Francis created a focal point. Especially the question of allowing divorced and remarried faithful access to the sacraments causes much disagreement. Some also have the impression that Francis is more concerned with pastoral care than with doctrine…

I do not share that impression. It creates an artificial opposition which does not exist. The Pope is the first guarantor and keeper of the doctrine of the Church and at the same the first shepherd, the first pastor. Doctrine and pastoral care are not in opposition, they are like twins.

Do the current and the retired Pope take opposite views in the debate about divorced and remarried Catholics?

I know of no doctrinal statements from Pope Francis which are contrary to the statements of his predecessor. That would be absurd too. It is one thing to emphasise the pastoral efforts more clearly because the situation requires it. It is something else entirely to make a change in teaching. I can only act pastorally sensitive, consistent and conscientious when I do so on the basis of full Catholic teaching. The substance of the sacraments is not left to the discretion of pastors, but has been given to the Church by the Lord. That is also and especially true for the sacrament of marriage.

Was there a visit of some cardinals to Benedict during the Synod, with the request that he intervene to rescue the dogma?

There has not been such a visit to Pope Benedict. A supposed intervention by the Pope emeritus is pure invention.