Posted on 01/17/2017 3:40:32 AM PST by Petrosius
Over the weekend and especially after the troubling new public (and promiscuous) guidelines from the Bishops of Malta concerning Communion for the remarried divorcees more questions have now been raised with regard to Cardinal Gerhard Müllers own recent and explicit endorsement of the papal document Amoris Laetitia. For, the cardinal called that Apostolic Exhortation both doctrinally sound and not a danger to the Faith.
But at least two demurring voices have thus come to us now, one from Germany, and one from the United States. First, let us consider and here I translate the entire post what the German pro-life activist and book author, Mathias von Gersdorff, has politely written. On Sunday, January 15, he published a comment entitled: The Guidelines of Malta Concerning Communion Refute Cardinal Müllers Statement:
Not a week after the Prefect of the Congregation for the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, has openly criticized the dubia Cardinals and has described Amoris Laetitia as clear and as not being dangerous for the Faith, the Bishops of Malta publish guidelines which contradict Müller in this matter completely. For, the Bishops Conference of Malta interprets Amoris Laetitia in an especially liberal way: if a remarried divorcee is of the opinion that he is at peace with God, then he may permissibly receive Holy Communion. Thereby, not only the remarried divorcees are being admitted to the Table of the Lord, but, at the same time, the subjective conscience of the individual person is being established as decisive authority. Is there still any difference with regard to Protestantism? The initiative of Malta shows just how little Cardinal Müllers influence is anymore. Because, Cardinal Müller always upheld that Amoris Laetia is to be interpreted according to tradition, especially according to the clear rules of Familiars Consortia. In this Apostolic Exhortation promulgated by Pope John Paul II, the remarried divorcees are denied access to Communion should they not live in continuous continence. The guidelines of the Bishops of Malta could have now a weighty impact and heighten the crisis within the Church. Because, by now it should be clear that Pope Francis has no problem with the admittance of remarried divorcees to Communion. Likewise, the pope seems not to be worried that in different regions there are being established now different guidelines. However, this would mean nothing else but that the traditional moral teaching on sexuality is not any more universally valid. Can one then justly speak any more of one single Church? In this context, the warning from Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider himself a decisive supporter of the dubia cardinals against a coming schism is far from being an exaggeration. One has to consider that the problem of Communion for the remarried divorcees is not at all merely a problem of discipline. This topic touches upon three Sacraments (Eucharist, Matrimony, and Penance) as well as Church teaching on Grace and on Christology (in addition to her moral teaching, as has already been mentioned). Should the initiative of Malta now catch on (which is to be expected), we are heading into troubling times.In a similar vein, the U.S. canon lawyer Dr. Edward Peters is now saying that The Maltese Directive Makes Answering the Dubia Urgent. He himself now also brings into this discussion once more the role of Cardinal Müller himself when he says:
This ability of Amoris simultaneously to sustain orthodox, non-committal, and heterodox interpretations in matters of the gravest ecclesiastical import is exactly why the Four Cardinals dubia [sic] so urgently need answeringif not by Francis himself (and no one can force Francis hand) then at least by Francis right-hand man in matters of faith and morals, Cdl [Gerhard] Muller of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to whom the dubia was [sic] also (few seem to have noticed) addressed. Of course, the stakes involved in the dubia jumped dramatically over the weekend, not simply by the Maltese bishops making plain what sort of sacramental abuses Amoris could tolerate within its terms, but by the decision, taken at who-knows-what level, to publish the Maltese document in LOssevatore Romano, that [very same] instrument for spreading the teachings of the successor of Peter. [my emphasis]Dr. Peters brings out an important fact namely, that with the publishing of the Maltese guidelines in the Vaticans own newspaper, LOsservatore Romano, the pope gives his own indirect approval of the novel teaching as it concerns the matter of the remarried divorcees.
In the meantime, Edward Pentin, the well-informed Rome Correspondent, has published an update concerning Cardinal Müllers recent 8 January critique of the Four Cardinals dubia:
Update 12 January 2016: A spokesman for Cardinal Müller told the Register that he [Müller] was speaking out of his authority as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and was not advised by anyone to do so. He also said that a recent interview with Carlos Granados published in Spanish entitled Informe sobre la esperanza (Madrid 2016) is [soon to be] forthcoming in English and entitled The Cardinal Müller Report (Ignatius 2017). In this book the third chapter is entitled What can we hope for from the family? This will be an excellent point of reference regarding the Cardinals comments on the Sacrament of Marriage.Here we see that Cardinal Müller continues his own policy of showing that he interprets Amoris Laetitia in a more traditional way. Not long ago, I was able to publish a book review of that same 2016 book on Hope written by the German cardinal. When double checking the third chapter of that book as recently referred to by the spokesman for Cardinal Müller, one important aspect can be seen: Müller repeats in detail the teaching of Familiars Consortia 84 concerning the divorced and remarried who are continuously bound to live chastely if they still wish to have access to the Sacraments. Here is an excerpt of these aspects, as summarized by me from the third chapter on hope and the family:
All things considered, it is my ardent prayer now to Our Lady and to Our Lord that the good cardinal may now receive the Graces necessary for a direct, public, and strong defense of Christs uncensored and merciful teaching before it is too late to avert more confusion and ruin.
“the subjective conscience of the individual person is being established as decisive authority. “
Is that how it is? I still wonder if Pope Benedict is the true Pope - how could he, as a man, “retire” from the Office bestowed on him from Christ?
The subjective conscience of the individual person is being established as DIVINE authority.
What is happening is the divinization of man.
This is the materialist viewpoint. For a man’s conscience to be the final arbiter of what is just, moral, and correct as opposed to natural or revealed law has led to disaster through the ages and destroyed people.
Well said Opus.
I would go even further. Rightly understood, the conscience is a attribute of the reason, a judgment of one’s actions against the objective moral standard of God’s revelation. What we actually have is the obliteration of the conscience and the elevation of the one’s will, even over that of God, as the final authority. Yes, this is indeed the divination of man.
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