4:00 – 6:00 – Catholic Relief Services and the Population Research Institute Come Together to Air Their Differences AND We Analyze the Pope's Lengthy Interview in America Magazine that is Capturing the World's Attention Today
Big show today as we bring together representatives from Catholic Relief Services and the Population Research Institute to discuss the controversy raised in a 100+ page report issued by PRI criticizing some of the work of CRS in Africa. We try to shed light and get to the heart of the disagreement. Also, a lengthy interview that Pope Francis granted America Magazine is sending shockwaves around the world - and great amounts of misreporting. We look at what was ACTUALLY said and what he did not say.
Al, I'm really looking forward to hearing this discussion. I have to say, I'm feeling really disoriented with our Holy Father's recent comments on many issues. I know that you'll help me understand this from a Catholic worldview. Right now I'm feeling a pretty overwhelming temptation to just "throw in the towel" - NFP, stewardship, discipleship, making the tough sacrifices - all of it. I can't really see how any of it makes a difference according to Francis' view.
ReplyDeleteAl's defensive reactions to the Pope's warning, amounting to citing the number of paragraphs devoted to abortion, contraception and homosexuality in the Catechism, was quite laughable. Al and the other conservative Catholic commentators are, as the Pope said, obsessed with these topics. Al's spent decades attacking abortion and contraception. His demeaning references to lawfully recognized gay marriages as "so-called marriages" gives the lie to his claim that he's not obsessed.
ReplyDeleteGod has given us this Pope, let us remember. We are fools not to listen to him. Al, when the Pope speaks, honestly report what he's saying, and stop rewriting the Pope's views or downplaying them to make them more palatable to your deeply conservative views. Francis isn't Benedict.
Peter David, I assume you were similarly robust in your defense of Benedict? After all, God gave us him too.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you find abortion laughable, I don't know. Again, I'm going to assume that you gave equal credence to both Benedict and JPII as you obviously give to Francis. If there is one topic to be "obsessed" about, I think abortion is it - you know the killing of babies in the womb.
Actually I greatly admire Benedict for his intellect and scholarship, although his prissiness is less than attractive. I hate abortion. But I don't equate the use of contraception with "death." I would prefer an even more "liberal" pope than Francis, but he may be a bridge to the future.
Delete> But I don't equate the use of contraception with "death."
DeleteAre you aware that oral contraceptives are also abortifacients? When break-through ovulation occurs while using OCs, which is not uncommon, they prevent implantation of fertilized embryos -- a chemical abortion.
Have you read Pope Paul VI's explanation of the evils of contraception and the inevitable consequences -- which are playing out before our very eyes -- in "Humanae Vitae"?
Like most American Catholics, I don't find the Church's reasoning on contraception -- the pill -- persuasive. Contraception allows for many good things to happen in life. How much is a college education? I can tell you! about 100,000 per child. Plus I sent my kids to private high school. Now I help them in graduate school. All that wouldn't have been possible without contraception. The idea that routine contraception means participation in a culture of death is exactly the kind of talk that drives folks away from the Catholic Church. Much like calling gay marriage "so-called" marriage. Francis is trying to change the rhetoric (not the substance, perhaps, at least not yet).
DeleteI am afraid that many Catholics who already misunderstand Christ's message in Scripture due in no small part to inadequate, and often misleading, catechesis. There are two main aspects to the problem:
ReplyDelete(a) A false dichotomy involving justice and mercy, rejecting the natural connection between the two with an implicit presumption of mercy without repentance. As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; (and) justice without mercy is cruelty."
(b) Deeply ingrained moral relativism which results in a rejection of the true nature of many sins. Morality is viewed as a matter of personal opinion and cultural norms rather than objective and unchanging fact.
Sadly, Fr. Robert D. Smith's book "The Other Side of Christ," which very effectively uses Scripture to expose both forms of error, is long out of print.
In answering a question about divorced and remarried, same sex couples, and other difficult situations, Pope Francis replied: ..."The church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. ... We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, ...". This is a statement, or warning if you will, that all in the church should pray and think about. Beautiful ideas are throughout this interview. Thank God for Pope Francis!
ReplyDeleteIt is not clear what approach the Holy Father is suggesting here since both of these situations are objectively gravely immoral -- something the Church does not have the power to change.
DeleteI think the real problem is that most people don't understand the nature of sin and its effects on God, the individual, and mankind. Sin is seen as some arbitrary restriction on their freedom - another concept that is grossly misunderstood - rather than as a violation of our very nature and thus an offense against God.
Practically, sin is viewed as a line in the sand that is to be toed as closely as possible without crossing -- when we even worry about whether they cross it. In reality, sin is something to stay as far away from as possible. If there were a chemical tanker carrying a toxic load overturned ahead on the road, would you get as close as possible to see what is going on? Or turn away and head in the opposite direction?
For those who love God, sin is easier to avoid when we consider its effects on Him -- that each sin added to Jesus' suffering at Calvary -- rather than a restriction on us. The real question is how to accomplish this. It will require a great deal of fasting and penance as well as a very thorough house cleaning, or at least conversion, within the ranks of the clergy.
In the interview, Pope Francis is clear how he would approach such issues. When asked if he approves of homosexuality, the Holy Father replied we must consider the person. As God accompanies the person, we must do likewise, and do so with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing. Not sure if you've read the interview.
DeletePoor Pope Benedict couldn't buy this kind of media coverage because he didn't fit the character profile! He said almost the exact same thing in 2006 that caused all this controversy the other day with Pope Francis:
ReplyDelete"We should not allow our faith to be drained by too many discussions of multiple, minor details, but rather, should always keep our eyes in the first place on the greatness of Christianity. I remember, when I used go to Germany in the 1980s and '90s, that I was asked to give interviews and I always knew the questions in advance. They concerned the ordination of women, contraception, abortion and other such constantly recurring problems. If we let ourselves be drawn into these discussions, the Church is then identified with certain commandments or prohibitions; we give the impression that we are moralists with a few somewhat antiquated convictions, and not even a hint of the true greatness of the faith appears. I therefore consider it essential always to highlight the greatness of our faith - a commitment from which we must not allow such situations to divert us." (Pope Benedict XVI, 2006, to Swiss bishops)