The Wanderer in its issue dated June 16 published an article by John-Henry Westen of LifeSiteNews entitled, “Confusing Even the Devout…The Troubling Statements of Pope Francis.”
Just that fast, Catholics were once again faced with a series of pontifical ramblings that seemingly assaulted the unchanging and inviolable teachings of Jesus Christ on marriage and chastity.
We cite once more a LifeSiteNews report from John-Henry Westen, dated June 17:
“Pope Francis spoke yesterday at a pastoral congress on the family for the Diocese of Rome, and his remarks are causing consternation among faithful Catholics. In off-the-cuff remarks, the Pope made the dual claim that the ‘great majority’ of Catholic marriages are ‘null’ — in other words, not actual marriages — and that some cohabitating couples are in a ‘real marriage,’ receiving the grace of the sacrament.
“ ‘I’ve seen a lot of fidelity in these cohabitations, and I am sure that this is a real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity,’ he said.
“The Vatican has provided video of the full remarks by the Pope as well as a full transcript of his remarks. In the transcript, however, the words of the Pope as heard clearly in the video (at 1:14:20) are changed from saying the ‘great majority’ of Catholic marriages are null, to ‘a part’ of them are null.
“The Pope’s remarks on cohabitation came in response to a question on the crisis in marriage today. He began by speaking of living in a ‘culture of the provisional’ recalling a story of a boy who wanted to be a priest, ‘but only for ten years.’
“ ‘It’s provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null,’ he said. ‘Because they say “yes, for the rest of my life!” but they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they don’t know.’
“Later in his reply Pope Francis spoke of couples preferring to cohabitate, and told priests not to tell them to marry, but to accompany them instead. ‘They prefer to cohabitate, and this is a challenge, a task. Not to ask “why don’t you marry?” No, to accompany, to wait, and to help them to mature, help fidelity to mature.’
“He added, ‘In Argentina’s northeast countryside, couples have a child and live together. They have a civil wedding when the child goes to school, and when they become grandparents they “get married religiously”.’
“ ‘It’s a superstition, because marriage frightens the husband. It’s a superstition we have to overcome,’ the Pope said. ‘I’ve seen a lot of fidelity in these cohabitations, and I am sure that this is a real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity’.”
Westen then cited n. 2391 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which says:
“Some today claim a ‘right to a trial marriage’ where there is an intention of getting married later. However firm the purpose of those who engage in premature sexual relations may be, ‘the fact is that such liaisons can scarcely ensure mutual sincerity and fidelity in a relationship between a man and a woman, nor, especially, can they protect it from inconstancy of desires or whim.’ Carnal union is morally legitimate only when a definitive community of life between a man and woman has been established. Human love does not tolerate ‘trial marriages.’ It demands a total and definitive gift of persons to one another.”
And, Westen noted, Pope St. John Paul II’s Familiaris Consortio spelled out the harm of cohabitation. The factors leading up to cohabitation present “the Church with arduous pastoral problems, by reason of the serious consequences deriving from them, both religious and moral (the loss of the religious sense of marriage seen in the light of the Covenant of God with His people; deprivation of the grace of the sacrament; grave scandal), and also social consequences (the destruction of the concept of the family; the weakening of the sense of fidelity, also towards society; possible psychological damage to the children; the strengthening of selfishness).”
Indeed, the Pope’s remarks on cohabitation would seem to be even more damaging than his remarks on “null” marriages. Just ask any Catholic parents, striving in today’s sex-crazed, instant gratification society to educate and raise their children in the moral precepts of the Catholic Church. Of course, these parents are upset and appalled by Pope Francis’ speculations on cohabitation.
Catholic parents have powerful, secular headwinds to navigate through — they need a doctrinally clear voice from their Pope.
And let’s not forget that papal remarks like the above plague the lives of orthodox Catholic pastors.
Recall the famous October 14, 2014 Crisis essay by Fr. Dwight Longenecker titled, “Advice for the Pope in Light of the Synod.” (This was at the time of the notorious midterm relatio of the Extraordinary Synod of 2014, marked by its acceptance of the “law of graduality.”)
After noting and agreeing with Pope Francis’ call for priests to “smell like the sheep” and “to welcome all with compassion, forgiveness and mercy,” Longenecker stated:
“However, I can only do this if the timeless truths of the Catholic faith are firmly defined and defended. The dogmas, doctrines, and disciplines of the Catholic faith are the tools of my trade. They provide the rules for engagement, the playbook for the game, the map for the journey and the content for the mercy and compassion I wish to display.”
Longenecker affirmed the principle of subsidiarity in trying to make the Church more caring and compassionate, and said: “If you try to tinker with these matters at the global level it doesn’t help. It makes life more confusing and frustrating for us at the local level.”
He wrote: “Here is an example: twice in the last week I have had to deal with Catholics in irregular marriages. One woman married outside the church and told me that she thought it was now okay for her to come to communion because, ‘The pope has changed all those old rules.’ Another man has divorced his wife and is living with another woman. He also assured me very confidently that it was now fine for him to come to communion because, ‘Pope Francis has changed the rules’.”
Longenecker cited another instance: “A young couple came for marriage preparation. They do not practice their faith and are living together already as husband and wife. I welcomed them and listened to their story. I told them it was good that they wanted to be married. I said we would help prepare them not only for a Catholic wedding, but for a Catholic marriage.
“However, when I gently began a conversation about their irregular lifestyle the girl began to pout and accuse me of being ‘unwelcoming.’ Then she said, ‘I thought with this new pope we would be welcomed.’ What she meant by this was, ‘I expected Pope Francis’ Catholic Church to condone cohabitation’.”
It is all these doctrinally distorted statements that are causing a growing sense of anger and confusion among the Catholic flock. As more and more of these “off the cuff” statements go without correction, the Shepherd is in danger of scattering and losing more of his flock and the Church will continue to suffer.
The faithful are entitled to understand what the Pope is saying and to hear it from him — not from a group of handlers and interpreters.
The Wanderer will continue its efforts to question these errors and to ask for clarity and look for guidance among members of the hierarchy in the days ahead.
We recall the concluding words of Professor Emeritus Robert Spaemann, University of Munich, in a recent interview with Anian Christoph Wimmer, editor of Catholic News Agency’s German-language edition (see The Wanderer, May 12, 2016, p. 1):
“Every single cardinal, but also every bishop and priest, is called upon to preserve uprightly the Catholic discipline of the sacraments within his realm of responsibility and to confess it publicly. In case the Pope is not ready to make corrections, it remains reserved for a later Pope to officially make things right.”
The title of the Spaemann interview was “Amoris Laetitia: Chaos Was Raised to a Principle,” referring to the Pope’s recent apostolic exhortation on the Synod on the Family.
From the synod to Amoris Laetitia to these most recent unfortunate papal remarks, it’s a twisted pathway with endless room for more divergence from doctrine.
These are certainly troubling times which call for much prayer for our Church and its members and especially for our leader Pope Francis.
— The Editors
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress