Cardinal Cupich launches Amoris Laetitia seminars for US bishops

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...amoris-laetitia-seminars-for-us-bishops-38684

Dr. Natalia Imperatori-Lee, who last year criticized the Church’s ‘infantilization of the laity,’ saying that ‘lay people are infantilized by a logic…where pastors serve as gatekeepers, offering permission for sacraments, rather than as counselors who accompany laypersons on their sacramental journeys.’
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In a 2016 essay in the magazine America, she Imperatori-Lee wrote ‘any claim that there are only two kinds of humans, male and female, is simplistic.’”
 
Cardinal Cupich has selected quite a line up by the looks of the bishops and theologians. For example, why would he invite theologians who advocate for same-sex marriage and women’s ordination, such as Dr. Kate Ward from Marquette University? This does not help with the credibility of the mission or help with the confusion surrounding Amoris Laetitia… unless, of course, there is an agenda.
 
irenaeus1 said:
Cardinal Cupich has selected quite a line up by the looks of the bishops and theologians. For example, why would he invite theologians who advocate for same-sex marriage and women’s ordination, such as Dr. Kate Ward from Marquette University? This does not help with the credibility of the mission or help with the confusion surrounding Amoris Laetitia… unless, of course, there is an agenda.
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They are not just looking at Amoris Laetitia, they are using that to reconsider the Church’s position on gay marriage and prolife. The decision to select certain theologians makes that clear, if you look at the positions taken by them.

It would be comparable to having a conference on a topic unrelated to race; but you invite a White Supremacist as a speaker. This sends a message, not by what is said but by what is left unsaid. I hope to God the prolifers in those areas organize a LifeChain outside the venues. Make them cross a prolife picket line.
 
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The “voice of conscience—the voice of God…could very well affirm the necessity of living at some distance from the Church’s understanding of the ideal, while nevertheless calling a person ‘to new stages of growth and to new decisions which can enable the ideal to be more fully realized,’” [Cupich] said…

The cardinal said that a pastoral, not “merely doctrinal,” approach is needed in work with families, because “the conscience based Christian moral life does not focus primarily on the automatic application of universal precepts. Rather, it is continually immersed in the concrete situations which give vital context to our moral choices.”
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This is very disconcerting. I really can’t believe what the Cardinal is suggesting, and all Catholics should be deeply concerned. What does it mean to be “living at some distance from the Church’s understanding of the ideal”? Isn’t this just a euphemism? What is the “ideal”? Is the living out of one’s marriage vows now simply an ideal?

Our bishops and clergy need our prayers. The language being used in this speech is exactly what Pope St. John Paul II warned us against. It’s so sad that his words and wisdom are completely ignored. Here’s St. John Paul on “concrete circumstances”, italics in original, bolding mine:
"You well know that often the fidelity on the part of priests - let us say, indeed, of the Church - to this truth [on conjugal love] and to the consequent moral norms, those, I mean, taught by Humanae Vitae and Familiaris Consortio, must often be paid at a price high. It is often mocked, accused of misunderstanding and harshness, and more…

"There exists a real difficulty to the reconciliation of the human consciences of married couples with the God of Truth and Love; it is of quite another kind from the one just indicated.

"Reconciliation does not occur if the spouses know only how to perceive the truth of their conjugal love: it is necessary that by their freedom they make the truth effective and put it into practice. The real difficulty is that the heart of man and woman is prey to concupiscence; and concupiscence urges freedom not to consent to the authentic demands of conjugal love. It would be a very serious error to conclude from this that the Church’s teaching in this matter is in itself only an “ideal” which must then be adapted, proportioned, graduated to the so-called concrete possibilities of man: according to a “balancing of the various goods in question”. But what are the “concrete possibilities of man”? And of which man are we speaking? Of the man dominated by lust or of the man redeemed by Christ ? Because this is the matter in question: the reality of Christ’s redemption.

"Christ has redeemed us! This means: he has given us the opportunity to realize the entire truth of our being; he has liberated our freedom from the domination of lust. And if the redeemed man still sins, this is not due to an imperfection of Christ’s redemptive act, but to man’s will not to avail himself of the grace which flows from that act."
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The best way we can respond to this destructive process is prayer, including intercession with St. Pope JP II. After that, the most important part, the next thing people who live nearby can do is form a LifeChain outside the venue. Do not block anyone, but hold signs reflecting the Church’s teaching on sanctity of Life, and Marriage. (Some of the participants have specifically opposed the Natural Law, and undermined teaching on abortion. There is a great deal at stake here besides Divorce/Remarriage issues).
 
I think how the US bishops respond to this will tell us a lot about the future of the Catholic Church, here or elsewhere.
 
But the media will make sure many Catholics and non Catholics are made aware, so the laity have to respond, too. If you have theologians given a platform who somewhat dissent from Church teaching on abortion, and totally dissent on ordination of women, and gay marriage, this has an impact way beyond Amoris Laeticia.
 
Yes, I totally agree. It is a sort of crossroads. The Pope is bringing the AL battle to the US, up close and personal. My point was the US bishops can either take a stand or not. And you and I both know what they will do. It will fall to the laity to carry the cross, right? Defend the Church. Don’t get me started here on what this all says about the state of the Church…😶 Just know that I support the bishops, clergy and laity who have the courage and vision to resist this, I really do.
 
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commenter said:
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irenaeus1:
Cardinal Cupich has selected quite a line up by the looks of the bishops and theologians. For example, why would he invite theologians who advocate for same-sex marriage and women’s ordination, such as Dr. Kate Ward from Marquette University? This does not help with the credibility of the mission or help with the confusion surrounding Amoris Laetitia… unless, of course, there is an agenda.
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They are not just looking at Amoris Laetitia, they are using that to reconsider the Church’s position on gay marriage and prolife. The decision to select certain theologians makes that clear, if you look at the positions taken by them.

It would be comparable to having a conference on a topic unrelated to race; but you invite a White Supremacist as a speaker. This sends a message, not by what is said but by what is left unsaid. I hope to God the prolifers in those areas organize a LifeChain outside the venues. Make them cross a prolife picket line.
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There is no indication that any Life issue is open to discussion. Please stop making false and inflammatory claims. If anything the trend among the Bishops is to embrace a consistent ethic of life approach.

 
Luke6_37 said:
There is no indication that any Life issue is open to discussion. Please stop making false and inflammatory claims.
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Dr. Kate Ward, one of the invited experts, co edited a book, “Hungering and Thirsting for Justice: Real Life Stories by Young Adult Catholics” (2012). The blurb that goes with it: Sep 15, 2012 - “Ten real-life stories, written and edited by young adult Catholics trying to discover how they are called to carry out their faith in daily lives. You will be both inspired and challenged by their passion, dedication, courage, and love for God and others”.

One of the chapters is written by a Clinic Escort. She inspires and challenges readers by describing her ministry bringing women through the picket lines of evil prolifers, with the prolifers holding up pictures of the Virgin Mary. Her “passion, dedication and courage” is her commitment to abortion, and her shame as a Catholic about the hostility of the Church, and laity on the sidewalk, against women. She give detail about the necessary training that goes into this courageous apostolate, of getting women into their abortions.The other chapters in the book are equally faithful and courageous.

This is one of the people they are giving a platform, providing with public credibility. Perhaps she will have a table with some of her books at the seminar.
 
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Luke6_37:
There is no indication that any Life issue is open to discussion. Please stop making false and inflammatory claims.
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Dr. Kate Ward, one of the invited experts, co edited a book, “Hungering and Thirsting for Justice: Real Life Stories by Young Adult Catholics” (2012). The blurb that goes with it: Sep 15, 2012 - “Ten real-life stories, written and edited by young adult Catholics trying to discover how they are called to carry out their faith in daily lives. You will be both inspired and challenged by their passion, dedication, courage, and love for God and others”.

This is one of the people they are giving a platform, providing with public credibility. Perhaps she will have a table with some of her books at the seminar.
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The conference is about Amoris Laetitia. It is not about abortion or any life issue. Some of the theologians invited may represent the margins of Catholic thinking on various issues, but I don’t think that should be taken as the Church endorsing of their views. Rather, it should be seen as the Church listening to all Catholic voices, including those that dissent from current teachings and practices. I would rather have a Church that listens, responds and builds bridges, than one that builds walls or “LifeChains” to keep people out.

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel,” - Pope Francis

I just bought the book you mentioned by Lacey Louwagie & Kate Ward ($4.61 on Google books) and read the chapter “Gory Stuff and the Virgin Mary” by Johanna Hatch. Unfortunately, I found nothing in it that chapter I would endorse. I was equally appalled by the behavior of both Ms. Hatch and the protesters. To both sides I would say, “The ends do not justify the means!”. Ms. Hatch believes she is called to accompany the outcast and marginalized. The Catholic protesters believe they are called to save lives. However, the means used by both to achieve these ends undermines the good thing they are trying to do. It is a sorry situation.

I don’t think this chapter in this book means anything in the context of Kate Ward’s invitation to participate in the seminars on Amoris Laetitia. Academically, Kate Ward’s current focus is on economic justice. Maybe this is why she was invited to the conference. Economics is a huge factor in the stability of a marriage and family.

http://calendar.marquette.edu/Event...nformation_id=35945&type=&syndicate=syndicate
 
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I was a social worker for 40 years. I worked with many populations that were marginalized or outcast for various reasons. I have never been a single issue man.

I have also supported prolife, and stood on the sidewalk defending Life. There is no group more hated and despised than prolifers; not just by the secular society, but by powerful elements in the Church.

Suppose the cardinal invited a White Supremacist as an expert. One could argue that White Supremacists have been outcast, marginalized in society, and the Church. Shouldn’t their voices be listened to? The answer is, of course, that we should love them but not give them a Church platform.

Inviting an expert so bitterly opposed to the Catholic faith on prolife is obviously a slap in the fact of Prolifers, and an undermining of St. JP II’s gospel of life.
 
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If this is at all like Cardinal Cupich’s AL conference that was held at Boston College, it will be only loosely based on AL itself (and by “loosely” I mean the text will be used as a springboard to talk about topics not at all related to what was covered in AL).

That being said, I trust that there may be good that comes from his series of seminars. AL is full of all sorts of wonderful gems that we would do well to meditate upon. I hope and pray that these conferences will draw on those gems.
 
Phillip_Rolfes said:
If this is at all like Cardinal Cupich’s AL conference that was held at Boston College, it will be only loosely based on AL itself (and by “loosely” I mean the text will be used as a springboard to talk about topics not at all related to what was covered in AL).
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They already are sending a powerful message not part of AL itself, just by inviting a strong supporter of abortion clinic “escorts”. They could have sent a different message by inviting a prolifer, for their view on AL. They chose not to send that message.
 
commenter said:
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Phillip_Rolfes:
If this is at all like Cardinal Cupich’s AL conference that was held at Boston College, it will be only loosely based on AL itself (and by “loosely” I mean the text will be used as a springboard to talk about topics not at all related to what was covered in AL).
Click to expand...
They already are sending a powerful message not part of AL itself, just by inviting a strong supporter of abortion clinic “escorts”. They could have sent a different message by inviting a prolifer, for their view on AL. They chose not to send that message.
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You are being too judgemental. Including that young woman’s perspective in a book she edited does not in any way make Kate Ward a strong supporter of abortion clinic escorts. I think the justification offered by the woman in the story for why she became an abortion escort was incredibly lame, but reading her story gave me valuable insight into how some people think.

Nothing good comes from the kind of character assassination that equates a theologian with a white supremacist. That is exactly what the Church is trying to get away from, because it undermines her ability to reach out to those on the margins.
 
The prochoice movement is not remotely “on the margins”. It is very much establishment. It is not a secret as to why those people think that way. They tell us, all the time, on their TV networks, in the newspapers that support them, in higher education and politics, who rush to give them platforms.

The bishops might have been curious as to why prolifers think that way. This is not a voice heard much, it is usually silenced in American society. This could have been useful (name removed by moderator)ut regarding marriage and the family, but it is not the kind of (name removed by moderator)ut they were seeking.
 
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The prochoice movement is not remotely “on the margins”. It is very much establishment. It is not a secret as to why those people think that way. They tell us, all the time, on their TV networks, in the newspapers that support them, in higher education and politics, who rush to give them platforms.

The bishops might have been curious as to why prolifers think that way. This is not a voice heard much, it is usually silenced in American society. This could have been useful (name removed by moderator)ut regarding marriage and the family, but it is not the kind of (name removed by moderator)ut they were seeking.
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You are conflating the author of that story with the editor of the book. There is nothing in Kate Ward’s curriculum vitae to suggest she is personally Pro-Choice. She may not even have been the one who selected that particular story for the book - there were two editors on it.

Her willingness to listen with compassion rather than condemnation to those who are marginalized in the church because of their views, and are struggling with their faith, may be what the Bishops want for a pastoral conference.

This is all speculation. I don’t know why she was selected, but neither do you. I am deeply concerned about your leap to judgement based on one small piece of information about a person.

It disturbs me to read all the crazy talk about protests & creating “LifeChains” in opposition to the bishops, because you don’t like who they are talking to. To publicly oppose their authority makes you no better than those on the other extreme who also publically protest what they don’t like.

If you have a concern, say a prayer to the Holy Spitit for wisdom and then send Kate Ward a private email and ask her about what she will be presenting. Her email address is posted on her faculty page. Just don’t be rude.

http://www.marquette.edu/theology/kateward.shtml
 
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