Posted on 05/22/2014 12:03:30 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
Martha Holzer, a senior leader in the dissident Catholic group We Are Church, is “shocked” that Pope Francis has taken the extraordinary step of excommunicating her and her husband Gert.
Pope Francis took this action after the pair “simulated the Mass”–that is, they regularly took part in “private Eucharistic celebrations” at her home with no priest present. The Church considers the simulation of the Mass a delictum gravius, or “grave delict”.
We Are Church, which has members in more than 20 countries, is notorious for its disregard for the priesthood–insisting, as they do, that all participate in the “priesthood of all believers” and that both men and women should be ordained to the ministerial priesthood.
Here in the United States, We Are Church’s member organizations are a Who’s Who of dissident groups including the American Catholic Council, Call To Action, Catholics Speak Out, Corpus, DignityUSA, FutureChurch, PaxChristi/Maine, the Women’s Ordination Conference, and others.
(Excerpt) Read more at patheos.com ...
it will take awhile but they will come to the conclusion eventually that they have been set free.
I agree. A similar comparison is how the left is now high-jacking words and institutions (marriage) and trying to change them. Start your own or join one that aligns with your beliefs. If you are not practicing Catholic doctrine then don’t call yourself Catholic.
"Finding his way" seems overly generous. Still seems way in the hole to me.
They don't want to be "set free" from the Catholic Church - they want to change its teachings to their liking.
They chose to enslave themselves to the zeitgeist.
“Now he just needs to excommunicate pro-abort Catholics”
But they tend to be redistributionist. So ain’t gonna happen.
Agreed.
Semantically, you're correct.
I am of two minds on this.
On the one hand, I can find nothing in Scripture that requires that Communion be conducted in church or be administered by a minister. The only admonitions I can find are that the believer examine himself/herself before partaking to insure that we are not partaking unworthily - that is with unrepented sin in our lives - and that when we partake in Communion, we do so in remembrance of Him.
On the other hand, if you want to call yourself Catholic, you should be willing to abide by the teachings of the Catholic Church. If you are not willing to do so, and are very public about it, then you should not be surprised when you are removed from the body of that organization.
I’m in complete agreement with your assessment of this. Churches have rules, if you don’t like them you can go all martin luther on them if you want.
But nowadays tape is as good as a nail.
Thread killer! ;-)
Excommunication is much more severe than mere removal from an organization.
I know, logic and reason certainly don’t do much to spice up a thread, do they? :-)
steve86:
Well he is still the Pope and as Pope Benedict taught, even by his resignation, we should never get caught up in the personality of the Pope. Francis is a Jesuit so that will take some getting use to. But 2 excommunications on the issue of woman’s ordination is a very good sign, you through that in with the excommunication of Fr. Reynolds of Australia, who participated in a womyn’s ordination in Australia, that is 3 in the last few months.
yep, they get to join some protestant group and make up religion to their own liking. Good for them.
For a Catholic, I am sure it is much more serious. I am speaking, of course, as a lay Christian not a part of the Catholic Church. As such, a Catholic priest telling me I was excommunicated would not affect me or my relationship with God at all...
The fallen world is a dangerous place.
;-)
“They want all to actually be catholic priests.”
According to your catechism, they already are:
“1268 The baptized have become “living stones” to be “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.”74 By Baptism they share in the priesthood of Christ, in his prophetic and royal mission. They are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that [they] may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called [them] out of darkness into his marvelous light.”75 Baptism gives a share in the common priesthood of all believers.”
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm
Though, this seems a fairly meaningless concession, since the Catholic church doesn’t seem to think members of this priesthood are able to perform priestly duties.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.