Ouch on the highlighted part. I am so sorry that happened to your parents. I am glad she had the courage to try again. Being in a stuck type of situation, like your mother would have been had she not tried again, is very hard (it is sort of personal to me).
The Elephant in the room that is not being talked about. It would be foolish to think that this is not real reason for concern. And In Germany that Religious affiliation box on the tax forms comes into play here. .
Yes, I know these people. They take all the easy stuff so they always look good on paper. Let’s hope there is no numbers game going on where the priest who refers too many cases that fail gets scolded by his superiors. I consider it unlikely, given the probable lack of a profit motive to do it.
Because a lot of people are going to think that Pope Francis has done away with Jesus’ clear, unambiguous statement: divorce and marry another, you commit adultery. We are treating this issue like a Gordian Knot, while Jesus has already cut it.Why would you feel neglected and ostracized if the situation of that lost sheep didn’t apply to yourself?
I am not divorced and remarried, I am in my first marriage, albeit it was irregular until I had it convalidated. So the situations the Holy Father is talking about no longer apply to me.
Yet I don’t feel threatened because my shepherd has to leave me for a few moments to seek out my lost sibling. Rather the opposite the care He shows for the lost sheep reassures me that if ever I myself become lost again, He will seek me out. I will know I am in the hands of a Good Shepherd and a Loving Father who won’t abandon me.
I don’t get it. Most of the people complaining about communion for the divorced and remarried are not… divorced and remarried
Yes, it could be bad. Any sort of deviation from truth/reality has the potential to cause harm, even if it goes unrecognized. Me personally, I think they ought to be more willing to help the person who is still actively married to their original first spouse, but who suspects they aren’t validly married.
I don’t either. I think its secularisms impact on the understanding of marriage.
I tend to agree. If so, this is a problem to address before marriage, in formation or pre-cana or something, but how exactly?
Oops! You are right…thanks for catching that, Pug!
Except that he also said in an extremely “ambiguous” manner, “lewd conduct is a separate case,” said that divorcing a woman forces her to commit adultery, is silent on whether a new marriage can be regularized through any mechanism, certainly doesn’t say anything about annulments, so on, and so forth. It’s also not exactly crystal whether stating that not all can accept this teaching applies to the whole discussion or just the last few statements about celibacy. Then add to the mix that Paul says you also become “one” with a prostitute should you go to one. Suddenly everything’s not so unambiguous. In light of that what does two becoming one actually mean? Is someone who became one with a prostitute now barred from marriage? None of these answers are explicitly in the text. It actually is a complicated question, which takes complicated analysis if you want to understand it. This is not the Pope’s fault.
It’s so unfortunate that you see those who attempt to teach the Truths of the Catholic Church as harsh judges. We are ALL sinners. Instead of causing unnecessary divisions by pointing out faults of others, we need to humbly follow Christ Crucified. On the one hand, we cannot judge the state of another’s soul. But we can objectively call certain actions sinful - offending against God’s laws and commandments. And we can objectively say that persisting in grave sin darkens the intellect of the one discerning whether or not he/she dead or alive in the grace of God. Which is why the merciful Church, not wanting her members to eat or drink to their own condemnation, has always forbidden Communion to the divorced/civilly remarried.
Kind like how the good son felt when the prodigal son returned?
If they the Church founded by Jesus, and follow the holder of the keys, the person Jesus made responsible for the flock, then why would they scatter?
I have not read the whole document, just the parts being discussed. Which are the parts that are troublesome.
I get why some people get confused. Seems to me it occurs when one statement is taken out of context of the other statements made by the same person.
Ouch! Thanks for the reprimand.
To improve on this letter, what I find fails is the typical error of suggesting a remedy where the remedy itself comes with conditions in order for it to have the desired effect. For instance rather than just say "presupposes the formation of conscience", he should explain what that is before he uses it. He assumes this lazy generation will research what it calls to have a "formed conscience". It is too critical an issue in our age to leave it out. The modern reader's focus and alertness will be on how this paper effects him and his state, and all that with the less work by him has possible. He will search for ways to scapegoat(YuTube: Bishop Barron on René Girard) and get someone else to blame if he rejects it. The opportunity for us to teach while remaining lucid and avoid obfuscation must be taken in every letter.
For example, if we take the opening paragraph "Decisions involving responsible parenthood presupposes the formation of conscience, which is ......."
Should be preceded by:
"The conscience must be properly honed in order for it to serve the individual with confidence. A properly honed conscience can only mature through a life of virtue and adherence to Dogmatic principles of the Church(Mater et Magistra). The individual will know his conscience can be depended on by his state of disposition or friendship with God....... Decisions involving responsible parenthood presupposes this formation of conscience, which is ......."
Dogma cannot ever come second place to conscience. It is the latter that thrives on [radioreplies.info/site-search.php?s=20&q=conscience](http://www.radioreplies.info/site-search.php?s=20&q=conscience)One should follow a right conscience. But conscience can be warped just as any other judgment. Therefore a man needs some test by which he can know his conscience is true. What is that test? He must see whether his conscience squares with the known law of God. The Church tells us clearly that law in this matter, and once we know the law from the mouth of the Church, conscience bids us follow it.*
The personal issues of today in the majority can be attributed to some error made in the past. Choosing a religion with lax or man made principles is a commonality in all these stories. We need to be firm and truthful while maintaining a caring composure. It is crucial that our zeal to succeed should not influence the use of proper methods of pastoral care. All statements should accompany a grain of seriousness that it is. If mortal sin is a factor, it's seriousness and precarious circumstances should be reflected in our tone. Some will be offended, maybe even the majority, but some will be saved. This is not part of our mandate. The Holy Spirit concerns with success.No. I was never treated as a second class citizen, nor was anyone else I knew who was divorced and remarried treated as such. The only place I was made to feel like I should wear a sign that said “Unclean” was in an SSPX chapel. I lived in fear that someone would find out I had been married before and had an annulment. But never in my parish, nor any other parish we attended, was I made to feel that way.
I depends on what is meant by “change.” There is real development of doctrine, by no jarring break with the past.