That ship has already sailed. People have already made up their minds that they are going to do anything in the sexual realm that they want to, under the rubric that “the Church can’t tell me what to do”.I don’t care if Francis’ views are heresy or not. In the foreseeable future the Church won’t be able to impose its social conservatism in developed countries. Societies tolerate a wide array of sexual sins and if we complain about this we will be branded fascists. The Church should now concentrate on convincing people to accept its teachings on a personal level.
Some modern day Catholics dream of the return of the Papal state and the power to impose Catholic values on all citizens, but history doesn’t show that model in a favourable light. So often the persecuted become the persecutors when the shoe is on the other foot.I don’t care if Francis’ views are heresy or not. In the foreseeable future the Church won’t be able to impose its social conservatism in developed countries. Societies tolerate a wide array of sexual sins and if we complain about this we will be branded fascists.
The Vatican Councils vision of ecumenism is the best model we have at this time. Some charge that with ‘universalism’ but really what it evokes is the model of the early Church when it seems to me that the role of the Holy Spirit in uniting Christians into a visible Church without a top heavy bureaucracy, proved to be a sound model.The Church should now concentrate on convincing people to accept its teachings on a personal level.