Posted on 08/29/2012 1:24:15 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY, August 28, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In his Angelus address Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Judas betrayal of Christ, saying that Judas problem was failing to leave Christ when he no longer believed a falsehood, said the Pope, which is a mark of the devil.
Judas, said Pope Benedict, could have left, as many of the disciples did; indeed, he would have left if he were honest. Instead he remained with Jesus. He did not remain because of faith, or because of love, but with the secret intention of taking vengeance on the Master.
According to Human Life International Rome Director, Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro, the comments are very relevant to the current situation in the Catholic Church. Msgr. Barreiro, who holds a doctorate in Dogmatic theology, told LifeSiteNews that for those Catholics who cannot bring themselves to believe the formal teachings of the Church on life and family matters it would be more honest to leave the Church rather than betraying Her.
But, he added, We regret very much that the person is so inclined and we wish they would have a conversion to truly believe.
Pope Benedict, in his remarks, drew a distinction between believing and understanding, noting that some disciples walked away from Christ because they did not believe. However, he said, even those who remained believed before they fully understood.
The HLI Rome Director commented, Intellectual difficulty is not disobedience. He explained, You might have teachings you find difficult to accept. However, (in those circumstances) it is virtuous to believe since you make a sacrifice of your own will, taking as your own the mind of the Church.
Msgr. Barriero noted that submission of will and intellect is required when it comes to the official teachings of the Church, rather than prudential opinions. For example, he said, it is required for the teaching on abortion, but there can be legitimate differences of opinion among Catholics on how to take care of the poor.
Giving another example, he pointed out that while the Church can never ordain women as priests, there can be difference on how to ensure all are provided access to medical care.
The pope concluded with a prayer asking God to help us to believe in Jesus, as St. Peter did, and to always be sincere with Him and with all people.
Ping!
The Pope finally spoke the obvious.
Of course, The Pontiff is right. I’ve never understood those people who would rather destroy the Church from within rather than join any number of churches which support abortion, gay marriage, and other abominations.
I suggested this once on FR and got hate mail. :-) I’m glad to see I’m in good company now!
I suggested this once on FR and got hate mail. :-) I’m glad to see I’m in good company now!
This puts paid to the notion that the Church cares more about filling the pews than maintaining the faith delivered to it.
That is the point: destruction.
Agreed. Now if he’d just tell Mexicans that they need to respect the law of the land and get in line to get a visa, IAW St. Paul’s order for us to respect the civil authorities. JPII was terrible on that one.
It takes a strong character to say those words given the position he is in. When you fill the traditional roll of the representative of God on the earth you must be expected to say what God would have you say.
I haven’t heard this before. It may have been said before, if it was I didn’t hear it, but it is refreshing to hear it now.
This has nothing to do with Nuns or any other group, it is about individual souls being lost.
I think I have never agreed more with anything said by a Pontiff.
If you do not want to be Catholic, no one is holding a gun to your head, go away!
A difficulty is not a (willful) doubt.
The way you deal eith a difficulty is: you learn more about it. You read the apologetics people, you ask questions, you look it up in the catechism, you pray about it, you reason about it, and you reasonably accept that there are many things that are true that you don't fully understand.
Like, that's my stance towards computers, economics and finance topics, the Pashtun language, and my husband :o)
The process of "leaving" isn't exactly a cakewalk, but let's give people a chance to exercise their honesty:
"Roman Catholics, the largest U.S. church with a reported 69 million members, start counting baptized infants as members and often dont remove people until they die. Most membership surveys dont actually count whos in the pews on Sunday. To be disenrolled, Catholics must write a bishop to ask that their baptisms be revoked..."....it is possible, for example, to be born Catholic, married Methodist, die Lutheran and still be listed as a member of the 1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.... "...The Catholic understanding of membership is that a person becomes a member upon baptism and remains a member for life," Gautier said. "Whether you show up at church or not is not what determines whether you're a member."
-- from the thread When It Comes to Church Membership Numbers, the Devil's in the Details....as of last year [2006] there is now a procedure in place for removing oneself from membership in the Roman Catholic Church. While this procedure essentially results in the defector being regarded as "apostate" rather than an "ex-Catholic," it is the most forceful way to formally declare one's voluntary separation from Rome.
Information about the declaration can be found here, [ http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/ciltformaldefect.HTM ] but I had some difficulty finding out the exact procedure required for executing it. After calling the diocese of the church where I was baptized, I was ultimately directed to the diocese of Knoxville where I now reside. I was put in touch with a deacon there who was able to outline the steps needed to complete my personal exodus. As he has described it, there are 3 steps required....
-- from the thread Actus Formalis Defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica....Earlier this year [2010] the Catholic Church modified Canon Law removing all references to the act of formal defection. In response to this CountMeOut.ie has been contacted in recent weeks by several people who were concerned about delays concerning their defection request. Most received notice from the Dublin Catholic Archdiocese stating that they are unable to process their application until the Archdiocese decides how to implement canon law changes....
....The Dublin Archdiocese have confirmed that at the end of August changes were introduced to Canon Law and as a result it will no longer be possible for individuals to formally defect from the Catholic Church. However it added that the Archdiocese will maintain a register of names for those who have expressed the desire to defect.
-- from the thread Irish service offering defection from Catholic Church is suspended ["no longer possible to defect"]
It is a shame that there is no real belief in what it meant to rise from the dead,as Jesus did,after Judas betrayed him.While that betrayal and the death of Christ should take center stage.
What happened afterwards should remain relevant.I am not Catholic,I consider myself Protestant as I believe in talking to my God directly.Again though I agree that if you don’t understand Christianity,sticking around and trying to pimp out believers is a spiritual dead end.
Many times it is not a problem with belief but a problem with the man made CHURCH. As man makes “rules” that are divine one’s belief in the CHURCH not the Faith becomes an issue.
Yes, and I think that had something to do with my conversion and joining the Christ-made Church.
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