From a reader in a comment…
QUAERITUR:
When “going to the periphery” crosses the line is when the exception becomes the rule of law. What about COURAGE ministry, isn’t this a slap in the face of those trying to enact 12 step program to leave homosexual lifestyle?
Yes, it is a slap in the face.
It is a slap in the face of every faithful Catholic priest who has tried to preach about human sexuality with both compassion and truth.
It is a slap in the face of every faithful Catholic struggling with same-sex attraction and striving to live a continent life.
It is a slap in the face of every faithful Catholic politician who has worked to defend or pass laws that uphold the natural law.
It is a slap of every Roman Pontiff who has taught about this difficult topic with charity and clarity.
It is a slap in the face of the human writers of every verse of Sacred Scripture which reveals the mind of the Creator about human sexuality.
It is a slap in the incorporeal faces of the Holy Angels who are horrified when certain acts are committed.
It is a slap in the face of St. Joseph, Pillar of Families.
It is a slap in the face of the Blessed Virgin, Mother Most Chaste.
It is a slap in the face of the Lord who said, “Go and sin no more!”
It is a slap in the face of the Trinity, which models the relationships of God’s created images.
Yes, it is a slap in the face.
What we are witnessing in the consternation and open resistance of many Catholics to the recent world-conforming statements is the sensus fidei fidelium, “the faithful’s sense of the Faith”.
Sensus fidelium is the deeply rooted resonance of the faithful with the Truth as taught by the Church and which reverberates in us as images of God.
Sensus fidelium is not the whim of a majority.
The sine qua non of sensus fidei fidelium is that one has to be faithful to have it.
And “faithful” means faithful to the Tradition as interpreted by the authentic Magisterium.
Yes, it is a slap in the face.
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Thank you for this answer. It is such a comfort. It is so painful when these attacks occur. It is an outrageous attack on Those we love; Jesus our King and His and our beautiful Mother. We have to face triumphant behind -the-hand, finally-the-Catholic Church-falls smirks from those who embrace this ideology. They think we have a kindly Pope who is finally leading us to the truth! This is so unhelpful and undoes any amount of work we have done already. Sigh.
Analogy: In prohibition days, authority says– “you alcoholics, live in this speak easy, & we’ll give you a liquor license to boot so you will be the only ones who can legally be alcoholics (though you may or may not want to)”. Screw this, I’m going to give alms to COURAGE ministry in the new year just to spite Francis!
What I am wondering is whether this was calculated or instead a blunder. It seems to have been a blunder. The Pope’s usual m.o. is to create ambiguity on an issue through an ambiguous statement that gives the Pope plausible deniability and allows him to play both sides of the fence. This time though he said something that is in-your-face contrary to Church teaching and did so on film. No deniability there. As a consequence the Pope is boxed in now. At some point he will need to further address the matter and will have to either double down, which is indefensible and would cause a fire storm, or back down, which would be at a minimum embarrassing and if this was part of some gambit to advance the liberal agenda, a stunning defeat for the gambit and the agenda. I understand that within the Vatican there are orders to stay silent on the whole matter. Who knows what is behind those orders but the image that comes to mind is that of a panicked group of clerics trying to figure out what to do.
Not for the first time in this Pontificate…..as a father of 7 kids (when so many others, including my siblings through contraception, have easier families of only one or two kids), as a faithful husband (when so many couples divorce or cheat on eachother), as a Catholic physician (facing the scorn or bewilderment of colleagues for my values)…it feels like a slap in the face for working so hard to always do the right thing because of my Catholic Faith.
Apparently Francis doesn’t really think anyone else needs to do the right thing. Just people like me.
Just chumps like me.
Yes, I also wondered about “Plausible deniability” This has just happened too many times.
“Plausible deniability is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by others in an organizational hierarchy because of a lack or absence of evidence that can confirm their participation, even if they were personally involved in or at least willfully ignorant of the actions”
The cartoon on the editorial page of my hometown newspaper this morning: Francis beams benignly on four rainbow-fleeced lambs cuddled in his arms. The caption: in large type “The Good Shepherd.” in smaller type “Pope Embraces Gay Marriage” (sic).
https://politicalcartoons.com/sku/244633/
It’s not just a slap in the face.
To the parents of SSA children, who are seduced by the lies and false promises of the world that acting on and celebrating their SSA is “healthy, this is a humiliating kick in the crotch against the tears, prayers and anguish they experience at tying to save and help their beloved children.
PF will NEVER get that – neither will Fr James Martin. This is one thing where the parents are the experts.
I’m very, very angry with PF right now.
And it’s a slap in the face of my 14 year old son. What kind of advice will he be getting in the confessional in the coming years ?!
In all honesty, with each passing day, it is increasingly difficult to refute the Sedevancantists position on the validity of Francis’ papacy. I had a very bad feeling when Francis stepped out on the loggia on the night of his election as Pope, refusing to wear to the Papal stole. He shunned tradition immediately and it’s been downhill since. The Bride of Christ has become a battered spouse, the Vicar of Christ guilty of battery upon the Church. Domine, misere nobis.
Catholic friends, find the Latin Rite, please. There are online lists of those closest to you, and quite a bit of variety within those Masses, most likely. Please don’t be intimidated by the Latin Rite, which is the Holy Mass as it was offered for most of church history. It is the “true” Mass, without all the changes inflicted it on it by clerical tinkerers. If you love your Catholic faith, there is no way you will not love the Latin Rite. The focus there is on Jesus Christ, it is a “vertical” Mass, more oriented toward God than communing with your neighbor. If you are weary of all the changes, all the horrors coming out of Francis and of Rome and in the church at large, find the Latin Rite and regain some peace. No one will notice or care if you don’t know the Latin! No one is looking at you, they are there to worship God in peace. You can sit in the way back until you pick up on the rhythm of the Mass and the responses. Buy a Missal with Latin on one side and English on the other. Super easy. The authenticity and beauty of it will surprise you.
Francis showed us who he was a long time ago. We should not be surprised any longer. It will get worse. Step away from that. Keep what is good, the Rosary, prayer, Scripture, devotions, and the Latin Rite, but leave behind Francis and the cabal. God sees, He knows, and He knows that we are being faithful despite the utter collapse of all that we know. Just stay the course, but adjust what you are willing to put up with and how you practice your faith. I want with all my heart to stay Catholic as long as I am on this earth, but I am not willing to put up with or support Francis and his church.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Pope Francis did not advocate or excuse sexual activities between persons of the same sex. He mentioned civil unions: such unions can be chaste and based on close friendship with a commitment to chastity and continence.
[Riiiiiight.]
Again Francis has said something that has caused widespread comment and confusion. He doesn’t learn but then does he want to? One blunder or two you can forgive but this has become his style. And after he says these things he never steps back or clarifies. His minions have once or twice but generally not. And this statement(s) he has said nothing to clarify. The Sunday Angelus would have been opportune. Speak to us about the beauty of Catholic marriage. Speak to us of the nobility of Catholic family life. No, I fear he meant everything he said. He meant to cause the raucous he has brought about. It is what it is. He is what he is.
This man needs prayers.
@Simon_GNR: ¿Francis is implying bro-bro, sis-sis relationship in same-sex civil union, but not bro-sis relationship in Amoris Laetitia?
Pray for the health of Benedict XVI