Answers to some attacks against Pope Francis

Recently a priest who was dismissed by Opus Dei with the approval of Pope Francis, has come up with a four-point attack against the Holy Father. 

His continued attacks, the very reason for his dismissal, have been answered by many erudite people.

Here are their replies:

1. Coexistence laws for homosexuals. Eminent authors, Ryan Anderson and Robert George, wrote that "there is nothing intrinsic to a civil union (a legal fiction created by positive law) that has to conflict with moral reality." They quote Archbishop Cordilione, the bishop who refused communion to Nancy Pelosi, as saying that a civil union will have to "be as inclusive as possible," and can benefit a brother and sister for their mutual support. 

Their article at the Catholic Education Resource Center has a deep analysis of context and theology. 

2. Communion for pro-abortion politicians. Fr. Raymond de Souza, in National Catholic Register, pointed out the words of Pope Francis to put in context what he said during the in-flight interview: "It’s homicide, whoever has an abortion, kills...the Church is so harsh on this issue, because if it accepts this, it is as if it accepts daily murder." He quoted the words of the future Pope Francis in 2010: people who have “devastated the lives of many persons cannot receive Communion.”

Regarding the recent communion of Nancy Pelosi at the Vatican, John Allen, Jr. in Crux clarified: "To be clear, Pelosi did not receive communion directly from Pope Francis, who did not preside over the liturgy due to his ongoing knee issues, but rather restricted himself to delivering the homily. Instead, like everyone else, Pelosi took communion from an unidentified priest assisting at the Mass, who very well may not even have known who she was."

To say that Pope Francis "certainly, consciously and premeditatedly" allowed Nancy Pelosi to receive communion is not just grave slander, but grave rash judgment. 

3. Hysterectomy. The National Catholic Bioethics Center concluded its analysis of the CDF statement, saying: "Nothing contained in the 2018 responsum can be properly understood as modifying previous Church teachings." 

4. Propose continence. An article from Obey the Pope examines the use of the word "propose" in the Church, and quotes St. John Paul II's indication: "On her part, the Church addresses people with full respect for their freedom. Her mission does not restrict freedom but rather promotes it. The Church proposes; she imposes nothing."

The context is the pastoral approach of the bishops of Buenos Aires "instructing priests on the circumstances in which they can propose the commitment to continence. It is implied but not explicitly stated that a priest should not propose the commitment to continence if it is not feasible. ... Nothing in the Buenos Aires guidelines authorizes a priest to propose something other than Church teaching."

Catholics who are confused with some issues raised in the internet may find answers by searching in sites faithful to the Magisterium and have a high level of critical analysis, for example those cited in the links above. The Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC), which you can find here, is especially good. 

It is important not to take part in the spread of attacks and doubts about the teachings of Pope Francis, lest we "become an accomplice of evil"--as the pope himself warned as regards "fake news". He also quoted St. Francis: "Where there is ambiguity, let us bring clarity." 

Please continue to pray for the Holy Father and his intentions, so people may understand how the grace of the papacy continues to support Pope Francis in his task of leading the Church founded by Jesus--who chose St. Peter as the Rock on which to build his Church, and as the shepherd who will feed his sheep. (cf Mt 16:18; Jn 21:15-17)

To adhere to this truth, we need faith. As St. Josemaria loves to repeat as regards problematic situations: "It is a matter of faith." 

Related article:  Heretic Francis?  On Amoris Laetitia and the view of Benedict XVI and the teachings of St. Thomas. 

Note: I wrote these in my personal capacity as a theologian and author of Jesus-Centered: Guide to the Happiest Life. 

Heretic Francis?

By Dr. Raul Nidoy

Is Pope Francis a heretic, as some conservatives in the Church claim? To settle that question, or any other question, a reasonable approach for a layperson is to look for the most competent expert in the type of question. An expert has a comprehensive grasp of all issues, and can easily spot mistakes.

Since this is a theological question, who is the most intelligent, most competent theologian, with the grace of state of sacred episcopal powers? This person is, in my opinion, Benedict XVI.

When Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope and took the name Benedict, a cardinal quipped: He has the intellect of 20 German theologians and the simplicity of a child receiving first communion. Before he was elected, he was acknowledged as a towering expert in the history of theology.

And he is not just any bishop, with sacred powers to teach; he is pope emeritus.

Two months after the release of the bone of contention, Amoris Laetitia, Benedict told Francis:

My true home is your goodness. There I feel safe. Thank you for everything. We hope that you will continue to go forward with all of us on this road of Divine Mercy, showing us the way of Jesus, toward Jesus, toward God.

By referring to Divine Mercy, Benedict was referring to the theological principle behind the new pastoral directions of Amoris Laetitia.

Undoubtedly, in declaring that he feels safe and by encouraging Francis to go forward after two months of reflecting on “Amoris,” Benedict is also telling the Church that we are safe in the boat captained by the Pope.

A widespread but false reading of “Amoris” says that even unrepentant divorcees and remarried people can take Communion. In What if we’re wrong about ‘Amoris’ all along? Fr. Matthew Schneider recalls the intent of the document of not creating new rules, which means it is in unity with tradition. It quotes texts, such as “discernment can never prescind from the Gospel demands as proposed by the Church” and “flaunting an objective sin … separates from the community.”

It concludes that “contrary to popular opinion, the text of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ does not allow those flagrantly or intentionally having marital-like relations in a ‘second marriage’ to receive absolution or Communion. However, Francis emphasizes mercy for those who are either ignorant, or who intend to abstain from sexual relations but occasionally fail.”

To further give light, we can also look for the greatest theologian of all time. Surely, St. Thomas is a key choice for this title. One quote from St. Thomas, that Pope Francis “earnestly” pleaded to be included in all pastoral discernment, says: “In matters of action, truth or practical rectitude is not the same for all, as to matters of detail, but only as to the general principles… The principle will be found to fail, according as we descend further into detail.”

Also, St. Thomas teaches: “What is most perfect in all nature—or in all reality—is the person.” Thus, the good of any person is worth dying for, and there are, as Benedict XVI quipped, as many ways to heaven as there are persons! As the first teacher, Jesus Christ, said: The Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Clearly, a person has to be in the state of grace to be able to receive Communion, but to be in mortal sin requires that the act is on a grave matter, with full knowledge and full consent. And there are endless combinations of partial consent and partial knowledge based on the circumstances of each person.
Thus, when applying the truth of moral laws to the details of other persons, we have to be extremely understanding, to put ourselves in their shoes, as Pope Francis is helping us to do in “Amoris Laetitia.”

Note: This article was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer here.

Further reading

If the above is valid and true, how do we explain all the issues raised against Pope Francis’ teachings and his silence about the dubia and the accusations?  This article, Open Letter to the Dubia Cardinals, can help explain these.

The four-hour seminar of Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, the editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, authoritative interpreter of Amoris Laetitia, and a Domican, is enlightening as it brought out the Thomistic basis of Amoris Laetitia, and the challenge of discernment, that requires sacrifice.

Articles in MercatorNet on Amoris Laetitia are also quite useful in clarifying misconceptions and seeing Amoris Laetitia’s true significance. (If the link does not work, please go the website and search the term Amoris Laetitia. )

Please also note: A year after, Benedict XVI was said to have agreed with his former student and confidante, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, that Familiaris Consortio and Amoris Laetitia formed a "dyptych", a painting for the altar composed of two panels hinged together as one.

Francis: Love needs truth

Francis didn't even use the word dogma, but "love over dogma" was the take-away summary of the secularist press of the Pope's first interview. Catchy and pithy, the phrase does the job of calling attention to the centrality of love in Christianity and in the thinking of the recent Popes.

However, it can lead people to think the Pope is throwing away dogmatic truth. Francis in his more precise teachings has actually said: "love needs truth". He stressed that "If love is not tied to truth, it falls prey to fickle emotions and cannot stand the test of time."

These he said in his first and most important teaching, the Encyclical Lumen Fidei, the Light of Faith:

Most people nowadays would not consider love as related in any way to truth. Love is seen as an experience associated with the world of fleeting emotions, no longer with truth.

But is this an adequate description of love? Love cannot be reduced to an ephemeral emotion... love aims at union with the beloved. Here we begin to see how love requires truth. Only to the extent that love is grounded in truth can it endure over time, can it transcend the passing moment and be sufficiently solid to sustain a shared journey. If love is not tied to truth, it falls prey to fickle emotions and cannot stand the test of time...

Without truth, love is incapable of establishing a firm bond; it cannot liberate our isolated ego or redeem it from the fleeting moment in order to create life and bear fruit.

The phrase "love over dogma", although missing in the actual text, brings forward a key strategy of effective leaders: First things, first. The essentially first truth of Christianity is love. God in his innermost life is love, and his project is aimed at leading his creatures to become like him: love incarnate. Truth and dogma are for this one goal of the universe. "The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching," the Catechism teaches, "must be directed to the love that never ends."

Francis knows this full well, and acutely understands that to help people open themselves to the essential and central truth of Christianity people have to experience God's love through the Pope's own attitude -- an experience of mercy, understanding and healing. And, by his example, he wants more people to experience the same through us.

Love the sinner, hate the sin is an ancient but timeless aphorism that bears its order of application. Thus Francis has been timing --and balancing, as he says -- his reminders on demanding truths. Only after he talked about mercy and healing, not judging and not condemning (all basic Catholic moral teachings), did he blast away at abortion. Nobody cares how much you know, said one wise man, until they know how much you care. And thank God, it seems to be working.

We can further understand the relationship between love and truth from the angle of the two great conflicting political ideologies of our time. These pervading biases have colored people's way of reacting to Pope Francis. "Liberals prioritize personal freedom. Conservatives prioritize objective truth," said Peter Kreeft with some over-generalization. "Liberals absolutize persons and see truth as relative to persons. Conservatives absolutize truth and see persons as relative to truth. (Both are right in what they affirm and wrong in what they deny. Both persons and truth are absolute.)"

"If love needs truth, truth also needs love," preached Pope Francis. "Love and truth are inseparable."