ACOLO este un pic o senzație de scufundare în intestinul meu. Am procesat-o toată săptămâna înainte de a scrie astăzi. După ce ați citit comentariile publice de la catolici chiar cunoscuți, către mass-media „conservatoare” către un laic obișnuit ... este clar că găinile au venit acasă să se culce. Lipsa catehezei, a formării morale, a gândirii critice și a virtuților de bază din cultura catolică occidentală își înalță capul disfuncțional. În cuvintele arhiepiscopului Charles Chaput din Philadelphia:
... nu există o modalitate ușoară de a o spune. Biserica din Statele Unite a făcut o treabă slabă de a forma credința și conștiința catolicilor de mai bine de 40 de ani. Și acum culegem rezultatele - în piața publică, în familiile noastre și în confuzia vieții noastre personale. —Arhiepiscopul Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., Redarea către Cezar: vocația politică catolică, 23 februarie 2009, Toronto, Canada
Astăzi, mulți creștini nu mai sunt nici măcar conștienți de învățăturile de bază ale credinței ... —Cardinalul Gerhard Müller, 8 februarie 2019, Agenția Catolică de Știri
The “results” resemble a trainwreck—as, for example, “Catholic” politicians who frequently lead the charge to mandate abortion, assisted-suicide and gender ideology; or clergy grappling with sexual abuse coverups while remaining conspicuously silent 
on moral teaching; or the laity, nearly shepherdless for decades now, either embracing moral relativism as their informal creed, or on the other extreme, publically damning anyone who does not subscribe to their view of what spirituality, the liturgy or the pope should be like.
It’s a mess. Go onto any Catholic news website, blog, forum or Facebook page and read the comments. They are embarrassing. If I was not a Catholic, what I read on a regular basis on the internet would probably ensure that I never would be. The verbal assaults against Pope Francis are almost unprecedented (though on par with Martin Luther’s sometimes rancid remarks). The public condemning and damning of fellow Catholics who do not follow a certain liturgical style, or who embrace a certain private revelation, or who simply disagree with one another on other matters constitutes in itself a ultraj. De ce?
pentru că the unity of the Church is her witness!
Prin aceasta vor cunoaște toți oamenii că sunteți ucenicii Mei, dacă veți avea dragoste unii pentru alții. (Ioan 13:35)
This is why my heart is sinking today. While the world closes in on the Catholic Church (in the East, literally beheading Christians and driving them underground, while in the West, legislating the Church out of existence) Catholics themselves are tearing one another apart!
Starting with the Pope…
CATHOLIC ANARCHY
I remember the very day that this pontificate began to be publicly rejected by many “conservative” Catholics for the direction he chose to take the Barque of Peter in:
Slujirea pastorală a Bisericii nu poate fi obsedată de transmiterea unei multitudini neîntrerupte de doctrine care să fie impusă insistent. Proclamația în stil misionar se concentrează pe esențial, pe lucrurile necesare: acesta este, de asemenea, ceea ce fascinează și atrage mai mult, ceea ce face ca inima să ardă, așa cum a făcut-o pentru discipolii de la Emaus. Trebuie să găsim un nou echilibru; în caz contrar, chiar și edificiul moral al Bisericii va cădea ca o casă de cărți, pierzând prospețimea și parfumul Evangheliei. Propunerea Evangheliei trebuie să fie mai simplă, mai profundă, mai strălucitoare. Din această propunere curg atunci consecințele morale. —POPE FRANCIS, 30 septembrie 2013; americamagazine.org
He elaborated further in his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, that at this time in the world when mankind has become so intoxicated by sin, the Church must return to the kerygma, the “first announcement”:
On the lips of the catechist the first proclamation must ring out over and over: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.” -Evangelii Gaudium, nu. 164
As someone who has evangelized in the Catholic Church for over thirty years, I totally got it, as have many others I know in ministry. The heart of our faith is not our stance against abortion, euthanasia, gender experimentation, etc.. It’s the love and mercy of Iisus Hristos, His quest for the lost and brokenhearted and the salvation He offers them.
But what a firestorm the Pope’s initial statement created! And the Pope, perceiving too legalistic a mindset in the Church, has chosen not to bend, not to answer most questions asking him to clarify some of his confusing statements or actions since then. I’m not saying the Pope’s silence is necessarily right. Confirming the brethren in the faith is not only his duty, but I think would only întări his evangelistic exhortation. But it’s up to him how he feels best to do that. So perhaps others să be much more tăcut, especially when publically charging the Holy Father with “heresy” while seemingly not understanding what canonically constitutes a heresy or a heretic. [1]cf. Jimmy Akins’ response Ambiguity is not the same as heresy.
Nu. Acest Papa este ortodox, adică sănătos din punct de vedere doctrinar în sens catolic. Dar sarcina lui este de a aduce Biserica laolaltă în adevăr și ar fi periculos dacă ar ceda tentației de a opune tabăra care se mândrește cu progresismul ei, împotriva restului Bisericii ... —Cardinalul Gerhard Müller, „Als hätte Gott selbst gesprochen”, Der Spiegel, 16 februarie 2019, p. 50
Another area of division is over the liturgy. In a kind of blowback against modernism and Pope Francis (whom some deem its proponent), there is a growing trend of Catholics seeking out the Tridentine Liturgy, the old Latin rite. There is 
no problem with those who want to worship in that, or any of the other authorized rites. Moreover, the present Roman liturgy, the ordo Missae, and the rubrics, sacred music, and reverence surrounding it, have indeed been greatly watered-down and wounded, if not omitted altogether. It’s a real tragedy, to be sure. But what is even more grievous is how some Catholics who prefer the Tridentine rite are turning against the clergy and laity, who remain in the ordinary form of the Mass, with the most rancid public comments, images, and posts. They openly mock Francis, ridicule priests and condescend others who aren’t apparently as “pious” as them (see Weaponizing the Mass). It’s an embarrassment on top of all the other embarrassments we are enduring in the Church today. I can’t be mad, tempted as I am. We have to be merciful toward one another, especially when people are obviously blinded by hubris.
Perhaps as a last example is the ugly division over the mystical aspects of Church life. Here I am speaking of “private revelation” or the charisms of the Holy Spirit. I have read recent comments, for example, calling the priests, bishops, cardinals and millions of laity who go to Medjugorje yearly as being “fanatical Mary-idolaters”, “apparition chasers” and “zealots”, even though the Vatican continues to discern the phenomenon there and even recently encouraged pilgrimages. These comments did not come from atheists or fundamentalists, but “faithful” catolicii.
ANTIDOTUL
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, St. Paul said that a time would come when there would be a great rebeliune against Christ and the Church. This is mostly understood as a revolt against the true teachings of the Faith. However, at the beginning of the Book of Revelation, Jesus issues Cinci corecturi of the Church toward both “conservatives” and “progressives.” Does this rebellion also involve an element of revolt against the Vicar of Christ, not only by those who reject Catholic teaching, but those who reject papal authority in the name of “orthodoxy” (ie. who enter into schism)?[2] schismă is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.” —Catehismul Bisericii Catolice, n. 2089
The common thread in everything I’ve outlined above is essentially a repudiation of the authority of the Vicar of Christ and the Magisterium that, in fact, is itself scandalous as it undermines a credible united Catholic witness:
Prin urmare, ei merg pe calea unei erori periculoase, care cred că îl pot accepta pe Hristos ca Șef al Bisericii, în timp ce nu aderă loial la Vicarul Său de pe pământ. Ei au luat capul vizibil, au rupt legăturile vizibile ale unității și au lăsat Corpul Mistic al Răscumpărătorului atât de ascuns și atât de mutilat, încât cei care caută refugiul mântuirii veșnice nu-l pot nici vedea, nici găsi. -PAPA PIUS XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (Despre trupul mistic al lui Hristos), 29 iunie 1943; n. 41; vatican.va
At the end of his discourse on the coming of the Antichrist or “lawless one,” St. Paul gives the antidote:
De aceea, fraților, rămâneți ferm și țineți ferm tradițiile pe care vi le-ați învățat, fie printr-o declarație orală, fie printr-o scrisoare a noastră. (2 Tesaloniceni 2: 13-15)
But one cannot hold fast to the traditions we have been taught without at the same time remaining in communion with the 
Pope and bishops in communion him—warts and all. Indeed, one can readily see in those who have entered into schism with Rome the deviations in their beliefs from the one true faith. Christ established His Church on one rock only, and that is Peter.
It is on [Peter] that He builds the Church, and to him that He entrusts the sheep to feed. And although he assigns power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair, thus establishing by His own authority the source and hallmark of the Churches’ oneness… a primacy is given to Peter and it is thus made clear that there is but one Church and one chair… If a man does not hold fast to this oneness of Peter, does he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he deserts the Chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, has he still confidence that he is in the Church? - Sf. Ciprian, episcop de Cartagina, „Despre unitatea Bisericii Catolice”, n. 4; Credința părinților timpurii, Vol. 1, p. 220-221
But what happens when the Pope is confusing or when he seems to teach something contrary? Oh, you mean like the primul pope did?
But when [Peter] came to Antioch I [Paul] opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned… I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel (Galatians 2:11-14)
Two things to take from this. It was a fellow episcop who issued a “filial correction” of the first pope. Second, he did it “to his face.”
Asked what he would advise Pope Francis to reply to the “Dubia” cardinals who were still waiting for an answer from him, [Cardinal] Müller said the whole affair should never have been made public but should have been settled internally. “We believe in the one Church of Christ united in faith and love,” he said. -Tableta, Mai 17th, 2019
Jesus did not establish a willy-nilly Church on earth, but a body, organized with a hierarchy upon whom He bestowed His own authority. To honor that authority is to honor Christ. For to His disciples, He said:
Cine te ascultă mă ascultă. Cine te respinge pe mine mă respinge. Și cine mă respinge, îl respinge pe cel care m-a trimis. (Luca 10:16)
... acest Magisteriu nu este superior Cuvântului lui Dumnezeu, ci este slujitorul său. Învață doar ceea ce i-a fost predat. La porunca divină și cu ajutorul Duhului Sfânt, ascultă acest lucru cu devotament, îl păzește cu dăruire și îl expune cu fidelitate. Tot ceea ce propune credinței ca fiind revelat divin este extras din acest depozit unic al credinței. -Catehismul Bisericii Catolice, 86
You can see what’s coming brothers and sisters—and why I feel a rock in my gut. We appear to be moving toward, and are already in a time when there will be those who will promote a false church, an anti-gospel. On the other hand, there are and will be those who will reject the papacy of Pope Francis, thinking they are remaining in the “true church.” Caught in the middle will be the rest who, while holding fast to the traditions of the Church, will still remain in communion with the Vicar of Christ. I believe it will constitute a great part of the “trial” coming which the Catechism says will “shake the faith of many believers.”[3]CCC, n. 675
If you do not wish to be deceived by the spirit of antichrist prevalent in society today, a spirit of rebeliune, apoi “stand 
firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught.” And you were taught, brothers and sisters, by Peter and the Apostles and their succesori throughout the centuries.
[I] nu este obligat să asculte preoții care sunt în Biserică - aceia care, așa cum am arătat, posedă succesiunea apostolilor; cei care, alături de succesiunea episcopatului, au primit infalibila carismă a adevărului, după bunul plac al Tatălui. -Sf. Irineu din Lyon (189 d.Hr.), Împotriva ereziilor, 4: 33: 8
If you want to walk safely with Christ, you trebuie sa walk with His Church, which is Lui Mystical Body. There was a time when I struggled with the Church’s teaching on birth control. But rather than become a “cafeteria Catholic” who picks and chooses when he will agree with the Magisterium, my wife and I embraced the Church’s teaching (see O mărturie intimă). Twenty-seven years later, we have eight children and three grandkids (so far!) that we would never want to live a second without.
Când vine vorba de papal controversies, Pentru a revelație privată, la Charismatic Renewal (“baptism in the Spirit”), Pentru a doctrinal questions, do not become your own magisterium, a little vatican, an armchair pope. Be humble. Submit to the authentic Magisterium. And recognize that the Church is at once holy but also consists of sinners, from the top down. Discern cu the Mother, taking her hand, not casting it aside because of a hangnail or callouses.
Trust Jesus, who has not built His Church on sand, but rock—that in the end, the gates of hell will never prevail, even if things do get a little hot from time to time…
This is my commandment:
love one another as I love you.
(Evanghelia de astăzi)
ÎNTREBĂRI LEGATE
Papalitatea nu este un singur Papă
Medjugorje ... Ce s-ar putea să nu știți
Raționalismul și moartea misterului
Mark vine în Ontario și Vermont
în primăvara anului 2019!
Vedea aici pentru mai multe informatii.
Mark va juca sunetul superb
Chitară acustică fabricată manual McGillivray.
Vedea
mcgillivrayguitars.com
Cuvântul Acum este un serviciu cu normă întreagă care
continuă prin sprijinul dumneavoastră.
Te binecuvântează și îți mulțumesc.
Să călătorești cu Mark în Acum Word,
faceți clic pe bannerul de mai jos pentru a subscrie.
E-mailul dvs. nu va fi distribuit nimănui.
Note de subsol
| ↑1 | cf. Jimmy Akins’ response |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | schismă is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.” —Catehismul Bisericii Catolice, n. 2089 |
| ↑3 | CCC, n. 675 |