German “synodal way” votes for blessing homosexual unions; defends contraception, masturbation
The document was approved by the Synodal Way in a 168 to 28, vote with five abstentions; sixty-nine of the Synodal Assembly members are German bishops.
The co-presidents of Germany's Synodal Path project, Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops' conference, and Thomas Sternberg, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics, speak to women during a protest by Maria 2.0 and We Are Church outside the Synodal Assembly in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 30, 2021. (CNS photo/Julia Steinbrecht, KNA)
The “Synodal Way,” a conference consisting of German bishops, priests, religious, and laity, on Friday approved a draft document that appears to undermine Catholic doctrine on fundamental points of sexual morality, offering a defense of homosexual relationships, “self-stimulating sexuality,” contraception, and civil divorce and remarriage.
The document, titled “Living in Successful Relationships – Living Love in Sexuality and Partnership,” is described by Vatican News as giving “a clear rejection to so-called conversion therapies for homosexuals” and as pleading on behalf of “homosexual partnerships as well as remarried divorcees ‘to be able to see themselves under the blessing of God expressly granted by the church.’” However, the document reaffirmed the doctrine that sacramental marriage is only between a man and a woman.
The document also “moves away from a radical condemnation of masturbation,” notes Vatican News.
The document was approved by the Synodal Way in a 168 to 28, vote with five abstentions. Sixty-nine of the Synodal Assembly members are German bishops. Another sixty-nine are members of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), a prominent organization of Catholic laity that has a history of dissent from Catholic doctrine and practice. The remaining 37 members are elected representatives of German priests and those in religious life.
No tally identifying the votes of individual members has been published by the Synodal Way.
The ZdK’s history of dissent includes a 2015 declaration that endorsed the blessing of homosexual unions, and a study commissioned that concluded that the Church’s condemnation of homosexuality had contributed to the sex abuse crisis.
The powerful influence of the ZdK appears in the document’s unexplained claim, made in the preamble, that “the Church’s sexual ethics has also favored the crimes of sexual abuse in the Church. We sincerely ask for forgiveness of all people who have suffered from the effects of church teaching on sexuality.”
The preamble of the document also claims “knowledge of the human sciences” should be the basis for ensuring “a change in the teaching and practice of the Church in dealing with human sexuality.” Elsewhere in the document such changes are characterized as different forms of “accentuation” or emphasis, rather than a change in doctrinal content.
The basic text criticizes the Catholic Church’s condemnation of contraception and its insistence in affirming the procreative function of the sexual act, claiming that most people see the teaching of the Catholic Church on the immorality of contraception as “a misunderstanding of the human significance of human sexuality for every person and as an implausible imposition.”
It also defends masturbation as opening up “the possibility of discovering and experiencing oneself physically” and experiencing “pleasure, identity and transcendence,” and claims that homosexual relationships “should always be recognized without reservation” if they are characterized by “love and compassion.”
Homosexual orientation should not be a “basis for exclusion” from ordination to the clergy, the text states, claiming that homosexuality “is not a risk factor for sexual abuse,” nor an illness.
The document remains in draft form and must be approved a second time when the Synodal Way meets again in early 2022 before it is made official. It will then be presented to the Vatican for approval, according to Synodal Way organizers.
Other draft documents approved for future review reportedly questioned priestly celibacy and applauded the notion of ordaining women to the priesthood, something that Pope John Paul II said the Church had “no authority whatsoever” to do, decreeing in 1994 that “this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”
The endorsement of blessing homosexual unions by the “Synodal Way” was made in defiance of repeated admonitions made by Pope Francis and his allies among the cardinals, who have warned the Synodal Way against radical departures from Catholic doctrine not endorsed by the pope.
In particular, the document appears to be a direct contradiction of a recent declaration by the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith repudiating blessings of homosexual unions and other “partnerships” involving extra-marital sexual activity. Pope Francis approved the declaration, which appeared as a “dubium” or answer to a question submitted to the congregation, in February of this year.
To the question, “Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?” the Congregation answered, “Negative,” explaining that “it is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex.”
“The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan,” the Congregation added, noting that such blessings “would constitute a certain imitation or analogue of the nuptial blessing invoked on the man and woman united in the sacrament of Matrimony,” and quoting Pope Francis’ statement that “there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.”
The leadership of the German bishops appeared to have little concern for potential conflict with the Vatican. The Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference and President of the Synodal Way, Bishop Dr. Georg Bätzing, was quoted as saying: “There were texts debated that are not just texts, but dreams put into words about how we want to change the church in Germany: a church that is participatory, gender equitable, and journeys with people.”
Bätzing reportedly lashed out at the Vatican last Monday, according to Francis X. Rocca at the Wall Street Journal, decrying “warning words or clarifications from the Roman Curia on questions that have long been answered in our enlightened and freedom-loving society,” and adding that the prohibition of blessing homosexual unions had provoked “indignation and head-shaking among many people.”
The Synodal Way’s Vice President, Dr. Franz-Josef Bode, Bishop of Osnabrück, hailed the completion of this year’s Synodal Way session as “a decisive step for a growing synodality,” and expressed hope that the synod’s decision would be incorporated into the “worldwide Synodal Way,” and that there would be a “real dialogue soon” with the Vatican and Pope Francis.
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Matthew Cullinan Hoffman is a Catholic essayist and journalist, and the author and translator of The Book of Gomorrah and St. Peter Damian's Struggle Against Ecclesiastical Corruption (2015). His award-winning articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, London Sunday Times, Catholic World Report, LifeSite News, Crisis, the National Catholic Register, and many other publications. He holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Holy Apostles College and Seminary, with a focus on Thomism.
Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA
CNA Staff, Mar 13, 2024 / 12:00 pm (CNA).
March 13 marks the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 266th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23-28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato Si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19-22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22-27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 24, 2015. . L’Osservatore Romano.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26-31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12-13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15-21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25-26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3-28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22-27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21-24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6-27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary “urbi et orbi” blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5-8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis Custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2-6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate Evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24-30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31-Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Pope Francis greets a young boy a Mass in Juba, South Sudan on Feb. 5, 2023. Vatican Media
March 29-April 1 — Pope Francis is hospitalized for a respiratory infection. During his stay at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, he visits the pediatric cancer ward and baptizes a newborn baby.
April 5 — The pope appears in the Disney documentary “The Pope: Answers,” which is in Spanish, answering six “hot-button” issues from members of Gen Z from various backgrounds. The group discusses immigration, depression, abortion, clergy sexual and psychological abuse, transgenderism, pornography, and loss of faith.
April 28-30 — Pope Francis visits Hungary to meet with government officials, civil society members, bishops, priests, seminarians, Jesuits, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers. He celebrates Mass on the final day of the trip in Kossuth Lajos Square.
Pope Francis stands on an altar erected outside the Parliament Building in Budapest’s Kossuth Lajos’ Square during a public outdoor Mass on April 30, 2023. Vatican Media
June 7 — The Vatican announces that Pope Francis will undergo abdominal surgery that afternoon under general anesthesia due to a hernia that is causing painful, recurring, and worsening symptoms. In his general audience that morning before the surgery, Francis says he intends to publish an apostolic letter on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “patroness of the missions,” to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth.
June 15 — After successful surgery and a week of recovery, Pope Francis is released from Gemelli Hospital.
Aug. 2-6 — Pope Francis travels to Lisbon, Portugal, for World Youth Day 2023, taking place from Aug. 1-6. He meets with Church and civil leaders ahead of presiding at the welcoming Mass and Stations of the Cross. He also hears the confessions of several pilgrims. On Aug. 5, he visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, where he prays the rosary with young people with disabilities. That evening he presides over the vigil and on Sunday, Aug. 6, he celebrates the closing Mass, where he urges the 1.5 million young people present to “be not afraid,” echoing the words of the founder of World Youth Days, St. John Paul II.
Pope Francis waves at the crowd of 1.5 million people who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 6, 2023. Vatican Media.
Aug. 31-Sept. 4 — Pope Francis travels to Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country. The trip makes Francis the first pope to visit the Asian country that shares a 2,880-mile border with China, its most significant economic partner. Mongolia has a population of about 1,300 Catholics in a country of more than 3 million people.
Pope Francis meets with local priests and religious of Mongolia, which includes only 25 priests (19 religious and six diocesan), 33 women religious, and one bishop — Cardinal Giorgio Marengo — in Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on Sept. 2, 2023. Credit: Vatican Media
Sept. 22-23 — On a two-day trip to Marseille, France, Pope Francis meets with local civil and religious leaders and participates in the Mediterranean Encounter, a gathering of some 120 young people of various creeds with bishops from 30 countries.
Pope Francis asks for a moment of silence at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. A Camargue cross, which comes from the Camargue area of France, represents the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The three tridents represent faith, the anchor represents hope, and the heart represents charity. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Oct. 4-29 — The Vatican hosts the first of two monthlong global assemblies of the Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in 2021 to enhance the communion, participation, and mission of the Church. Pope Francis celebrates the closing Mass of the synod at St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29. The second and final global assembly will take place at the Vatican in October 2024.
Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican Media
Nov. 25 — Pope Francis visits the hospital briefly for precautionary testing after coming down with the flu earlier in the day. Although he still participates in scheduled activities, other officials read his prepared remarks. The Vatican on Nov. 28 cancels the pope’s planned Dec. 1–3 trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate conference, where he was scheduled to deliver a speech, due to his illness.
Dec. 18 — The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issues the declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which authorizes nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and couples in “irregular situations.” Various bishops from around the world voice both support for and criticism of the document.
2024
Jan. 4 — Amid widespread backlash to Fiducia Supplicans, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, publishes a five-page press release that refers to Fiducia Supplicans as “perennial doctrine” and underlines that pastoral blessings of couples in irregular situations should not be “an endorsement of the life led by those who request them.”
Jan. 14 — Pope Francis for the first time responds publicly to questions about Fiducia Supplicans in an interview on an Italian television show. The pope underlines that “the Lord blesses everyone” and that a blessing is an invitation to enter into a conversation “to see what the road is that the Lord proposes to them.”
Feb. 11 — In a ceremony attended by Argentine president Javier Milei, Pope Francis canonizes María Antonia of St. Joseph — known affectionately in the pope’s home country as “Mama Antula” — in a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. The president and the former archbishop of Buenos Aires embrace after the ceremony. Pope Francis, who has not returned to his homeland since becoming pope in 2013, has said he wants to visit Argentina in the second half of this year.
Pope Francis meets with Argentina President Javier Milei in a private audience on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Feb. 28 — After canceling audiences the previous Saturday and having an aide read his prepared remarks at his Wednesday audience due to a “mild flu,” Pope Francis visits the hospital for diagnostic tests but returns to the Vatican afterward.
March 2 — Despite having an aide read his speech “because of bronchitis,” the pope presides over the inauguration of the 95th Judicial Year of the Vatican City State and maintains a full schedule.
March 13 — Pope Francis celebrates 11 years as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
CNA Staff, Jan 29, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis encouraged Catholic organizations on Friday to continue to fight against “unacceptable poverty.”
In a message to two Belgian groups released on Jan. 29, the pope said that the coronav… […]
Pope Francis marks name day with Rome’s poor receiving COVID-19 vaccine. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Apr 23, 2021 / 05:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Friday celebrated the feast of St. George, his namesake, with 600 of Rome’s poor and needy, as … […]
The synod is falling on its sword, finally. And what we hear is the sound of a escaping quorum. We also read that the synod “moves away from a radical condemnation of masturbation.” Indeed, the entire synod is an breathtaking exercise in ideological masturbation.
And as for Batzing’s two-faced clarification that “There were texts debated that are not just texts, but dreams….” Dreams! A waiting world discerns that, except for the spelling, there is little difference between sexual abuse and the synod’s textual abuse.
Well, now, the horse and the horse’s ass is out of the barn, and surely the synod can figure out what to do with that too.
Why doesn’t the German Catholic church quit turning their backs on Christ,
as well as quit tormenting faithful Catholics by just going ahead with their apostasy and join the followers if Luther? Let’s all stop pretending that they are One with the Catholic Church.
The same goes with all the other apostates: find any one of dozens of protestant churches to join that will allow you to believe whatever lies you want to.
“…the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy, neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions, and which, under the pretext of freedom and human dignity, would bring back to the world (if such a Church could overcome) the reign of legalized cunning and force, and the oppression of the weak, and of all those who toil and suffer. […] Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.”
Pope Pius X
Our question, that is those of us holding fast to Apostolic Tradition, is will the reptile that slithered out of Amazonia to Germany be decapitated by Rome, or will there be further Kabuki theatre? If so what does that hold for the great Synod on synodality? Dr Bode and Bishop Bätzing are unified on their “dream” of a progressive, free German church. Free to masturbate both physically and intellectually, that is, morality and theology as is now practiced. “Knowledge of the human sciences” is the intellectualist rather faith based premise that gives sanction to the morally obscene, as if return to pre Christian pagan morals was actually progress. Freedom in Germany likened to Liberty in America determines what is morally good. So is then, is “the church in Germany: a church that is participatory, gender equitable, and journeys with people [the model for a] worldwide Synodal Way”? If Christ is effectively jettisoned in Germany, Pope Francis is thoroughly obligated to act decisively. Words and letters of warning will not suffice. Otherwise, the Amazonia creature [a true beast from Hades] will find an endless feeding ground, bishops topping the menu in the vast yet to be explored expanses of the great Synod of synods.
Right. They figured out that they are smarter than God who is so stupid, He couldn’t figure out how to give guidance to humanity on how they should order their lives together until these smartypants prelates and theologians showed up to correct God’s incompetence.
According to these Bishops, there appear to be NO sexual sins at all. At least, not if “love” is involved or one makes a determination with their own “conscience”. Can we assume that means adultery is no longer prohibited as long as the parties involved still love each other? What about singles living with unmarried partners, often in serial monogamy, with many different people over the years?? You know, “trying out” being married. What about multiple partner relationships? Where does this stop? Are we to believe that allowing women priests, or a married priesthood, would magically erase all clergy homosexual advances to seminarians? That seems improbable, since such men are not interested in women at all. The Pope should have stopped the direction of the German Bishops long ago. He either lacks the will, or agrees with their statements.In either case, at this point it would appear that he has failed to protect church teaching. Regarding “conscience” ( or secular popularity)as the sole guide by which to make decisions, it has been my observation that humans have a great capacity for self-justification, even if that involves twisting both truth and reality. Disgusting, overall.
Despite how or whether women priests or married priests would help to prevent sexual abuse, one method should work: to welcome openly gay priests. If a gay man is called to the priesthood, and his moral mandate is celibacy, there is no time like the present to promote this complementary goal!
Although, it must be true that today many fewer gay men remain traditionally Catholic or closeted.
The secrecy, shame and–quite likely–emotional immaturity of young matriculates has surely contributed to gay priests abusing boys. Many more factors come to mind…This is a complex issue that the Church hasn’t seemed to tackle head on. Am I correct?
No, you are completely wrong. A priest stands in persona Christi capitis and represents Christ the Bridegroom to the Church within and without the liturgy. It is, obviously enough, intrinsically impossible for a homosexual to do so. In fact, I would argue that no homosexual can be validly ordained since his disorder renders him incapable of receiving Holy Orders
You are badly mistaken. You are the victim of much-parroted “conventional wisdom” and pop psych that defies the actual science as well as common sense not tainted by ideology. Careful research (e.g, the investigations of Fr. Paul Sullins, PhD sociologist with the Ruth Institute) has made it painfully clear that the child sexual abuse problem in the Church is primarily (80%) a problem of homosexual men pursuing teens or teens and young men. As to true pedophiles (not including ephebophiles and those sexually preying on teens and young adults), any child protective service social worker can tell you that the predilection for molesting children is set well before they reach college age, the earliest that candidates for the priesthood can enter a seminary in Western nations. Psychologically, the lack of shame in pedophiles is a serious problem; if they felt more guilt and did less rationalization there would be far fewer abuse victims.
Hear, hear Deacon Peitler! I would add that they a) take only their personal items with them, B) change into their street clothes, c) leave the Church buildings built by the CATHOLIC CHURCH and d) NO LONGER call themselves Catholic, because they are not Catholic. I pray, however, they see the light of Christ and repent of their ways but each day my hope sinks more and more. I am so ashamed of them!
Why pretend that it’s primarily a German problem? It exists throughout the entire Western Church, admittedly to a less publicly notorious degree. The fact is that the German Catholic Church is not Catholic. To pretend that traditional Catholics are in communion with German “Catholic”-Lutheran heretics is a farce. Yet this same farce continues in France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States where vast majorities of “Catholic” bishops and laity do not believe or practice Catholic doctrine or morality. The Western Catholic Church is disintegrating into a sea of heresy and schism of which the German situation is model and emblem.
Ohhhh…..you’re all much too pessimistic! Never fear, my fellow Catholics, this is why we have a Pope, yes? To stamp out this sort of hanky panky before it gains traction. Even now, as we speak, the Holy Francis is preparing to put a stop to this apostasy and we can be completely confident that he will do so, right?………..right?……….hello??
Catholics who love the Vetus Ordo are treated with contempt. But blatant heresy and Schism like this does apparently doesn’t even warrant harsh words from the current Vatican leadership. If this were a sane world, all the German Bishops (barring Voderholzer, Woelki and the few other remaining faithful ones) would have been laicized and excommunicated, along with the “Central Committee of German Catholics”.
Somewhere I read that this group believes that they need to walk with the people. Yes, walk with them but let Christ lead the way. Their way leads not to the heavenly home but to Hell. Right now, it seems that you want to take millions of your fellow country men and women to a very bad place. I pray that you do not go down that path, and if you do, then I pray that nobody follows you.
They are following the Sankt Gallen Madiz, Mal. Bergoglio charged his C6 politbureau member Cardinal Marx to well and truly Synodise the Vicar of Christ’s fatherland as he watches on in silence. Germany is being well and truly Bergoglioed.
What is left to say? These people are no longer Christians, if they ever were. No Catholic in Germany should seek communion with them, even if they number bishops among their group. They possess the churches, the schools, the properties, but they are schismatics. If the Pope accepts (or “receives”) any of this trash, he is schismatic as well. There is no point – and no virtue – in denying the state we are in.
Well, this looks a lot like the 93rd, 94th and 95th theses being drafted for nailing to the CDF’s door. I’m thinking these bishops and their followers would be much happier in a different faith tradition. My hope is that the CDF works swiftly to help them find one.
Thank you, Deacon. On an administrative note: This is my first time posting on a CWR story. LexOrandi is the screen name I picked. It’s certainly possible another person used that screen name before me, in which case I could be confusing you by using someone else’s screen name. Let me know if that’s the case, and if it is, I’ll use a different screen name for any future posts.
“Lex orandi” was the screen name of a truly orthodox person who used to weigh-in over at Crisis before they ceased entertaining reader comments. But, that said, no one has ownership rights over any adopted screen name. Welcome to CWR.
Many thanks, Deacon. By your description, I can only aspire to the “original” LexOrandi’s orthodoxy and holiness. To avoid confusion, I’ll use a different screen name for any future posts.
Lex, it’s good to see that you’re weighing in here.
I’m certain that the likes of Father James Martin are giddy about what’s happening in Germany.
At the same time, I’m still waiting for discipline, if not excommunication, proceedings from the Pope/Rome. Should I be holding my breath?
CNA also has reported that the German synodalists voted 95 to 94 to abolish the priesthood!
Evidently, ‘in persona Christi’ isn’t something the majority of synodalists prefer to be. Consider that no one coerced or forced their career choice. Consider that nothing and no one prevents such fools from walking away from their jobs today. That would be the honorable course; only malice or stupidity outweighs such common sense.
If past behavior predicts future performance, the Roman shepherd will eventually shine a shaft of ambiguity toward the mortified sheep in order that they loosen up and not remain so rigid. See?
In the wonderful utopia of nonrigidity, let those who seek nonpriestly priests have nonpriestly priests and those who want priestly priests can have priestly priests. Problem solved. Only the rigid think anything else needs to be said on the matter. Nothing ambiguous. Francis need not go down that rabbit hole. He can return to addressing plastic straws on the beach and planning this year’s new Christmas Nativity Spectacular that will top last year’s that had baby Jesus as a coil spring from a railroad freight train.
It would be laughable if not so damming to their souls. Welcome to the democratic, protestant, secular catholic church! A majority rules, no sin, an individual interpretation of the Bible, no magisterium needed. Do not apply if you believe in Christ’s (remember Him) Teachings found in the scriptures, Tradition, and the Magisterium.
Many have commented on the Holy Spirit’s role in choosing a pope. Theologians from many sides of the spectrum seem to say that the Holy Spirit lends assistance but men are free to listen and then not follow the Spirit’s advice.
Just because you do not want to accept Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ, I am not going to change my view that the Holy Spirit is guiding the proceedings.
What I think is not the issue. The issue is what theologians and Church leaders have thought and taught about the Holy Spirit. That is what I shared with you.
God has granted us all freedom to hold onto any erroneous or unreasonable opinion at odds with learned leaders if that is our choice. You are surely free to believe whatever any wish about me, whether true or false, with or without charity, with or without bias or prejudice. Knock yourself out.
“The term “Christ” means “anointed,” and Jesus is indeed the one anointed by God’s Spirit. One of the titles commonly given to the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ.” Becoming Pope, therefore, will involve a special outpouring of the Spirit.” https://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=2061
The Cardinals present might not personally experience something supernatural, but the Holy Spirit’s influence is always there. His gifts are many.
Mal, it is a fact that Bergoglio has relegated the title “Vicar of Christ” to the footnote on his biographical in the Year Book published by the Holy See. It states “historical title…” as in no longer in use. The title does, however, still fully apply to the holder of the Munus who gives valid Apostolic Blessings from the bottom of the Vatican Gardens. We both believe there is a Vicar of Christ in Rome. One of the two Popes still believes in that title.
Mike, it is indeed a fact. However, that was done only in one publication, and that too, once. It was done by the Diocese of Rome in a document that listed all those who were associated with that diocese. Pope Francis was listed there as Bishop of the diocese and not as Pope of the Church.
Pope Francis is the one that our Lords wants as his Vicar at this critical time.
You lack the necessary acumen to accurately discern and definitively state that the election of Bergoglio was in fact the ordained will of Almighty God and not simply His permissive will. You continue to poorly exercise your free will by promoting your own myth.
These now open heretics aren’t Catholic. However, as mentioned above (by Paul) they are only “the worst.” Other so-called “Catholics” exist outside of Germany.
In this context, it is best to be reminded of what the Catholic Church is.
“Q. 489. What is the Church?
A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible Head.”
So those who maintain, for instance, that abortion isn’t murder, or that sodomy, “self-abuse,” or contraception isn’t wrong aren’t Catholics. There have been popes in the past who have given great scandal, but they haven’t taught that their immoral behaviors were moral. For those in authority to tolerate heresy or other immorality is to be an accessory to the sin.
To add injustice to heresy, German Catholics have to pay a church tax, which presumably pays the salaries of these clerics who believe that God has changed his mind about sin.
Let’s not forget that the German Church Tax was criticized by PPBXVI who said it was outdated and needed scrapping. He was ridiculed, just as his request that the German Novos Ordo translation of the words of consecration of the precious blood be corrected to make it valid was flatly rejected by Cardinal C6 politbureau Marx.
All starting with the footnotes in AMORIS LAETITIA and the German Church, along with Austria and Malta, ran with it. And the Pope confirmed that was the way.
What Pope refuses to clarify his own Encyclical???
All that I love is falling apart before my very eyes! I feel so abandoned and alone! Where is the Church I love? Where are the teachers I so much admired and learned from? Where are the voices that are supposed to speak for Christ and God’s Plan. I cannot live without the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church! Nor do I want to! I cry to the bottom of by soul! Sweet Jesus, please help us!
Since practised homosexuality/sodomy has been their favourite theme for some years now many of us ask why they just don’t come out of the closet instead of hiding behind a false compassion.
How many of those Bishops and priests will soon be seen photographed with their same sex ” marriage ” partner? The same with many lay people.
Just wait and see.
Do these Bishops and priests, lay people have any other interests than ” masturbation”, ” homosexuality ” ” remarriage ” ” divorce “?
They have already excommunicated themselves Heretics.
But God is not on their side.
I have to echo Paul and Shawn above that Germany is not alone. It is only the most publicity-attracting to us here in North America.
I’m guessing that Belgium, a country of particular interest to me, and others are pretty much on the same page.
We seem to be forgetting the fact that what we hear or read is merely the opinions expressed by various groups involved in this early stage of the process. Undue prominence is given to the voices that are startling. But, as Pope Francis told the Germans, this is not democracy but a spiritual journey. In the end, the Bishops will take all these views into consideration and then make their decisions known. They have already indicated that they will not go against the teachings of the Church. So, yes, we need to pray for them at this time.
Obedience to bishops is owed only in so far as they are obedient to Scripture and the teachings of the Church. These clowns don’t realize that they’re undermining their own authority. They’ve made themselves completely irrelevant.
I don’t know what I’d do if I was a Catholic living in one of these dioceses. TLM, Eastern Catholic…SSPX?! What would be a viable option?
You are right, IMHO, Andrew, that obedience to Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium Triumphant is prior over obedience to heretics and men who declaim “This is rupture” or “I do not believe in a Catholic God.” A Pope who denies the Incarnation and the Trinity in textual submission to Allah is not to be followed blindly into “Synodisme” The Catholic Church has a Synod. It is the college of Cardinals. Bergoglio spurned it and created a small politbureau of Cardinals – C9 reduced to C6 – who – like himself – have difficulty even leaving an airport if they dare to land in their home countries. 2000 years of Sacred Tradition or Modernism? Catholicism or Bergoglioism? You are right to choose TLM. It is the Mass of Saints and Martyrs.
Spiritual unilateral disarmament in action. The behavior of the German hierarchy suggests that the historic Catholic faith is not worth fighting for. No wonder the Church in Germany is in such sad shape.
“No wonder the Church in Germany is in such bad shape”.
To repeat, it’s not just the Church in Germany.
Bishop Bonny of Antwerp seems to be pretty much on the same page.
Seeing not just oneself but others too in the act of adoring The Lord in every tabernacle – good means to have the sense of sacredness of the persons around , even of the little ones since their souls too in the Heart of The Mother capable of same , in union with all ; all such vivid means of making reparations as narrated in the above meditations , trusting how same can bring lot more into lives even in the here and now instead of the feared for depravity – the Holy Father in allowing to proceed with the Synod very likely have such an intent .
The logo of the Synod , with the shining sun and the tree over the people as well as the place of honor that the Pope Emeritus have given to the St.Anibale at the Vatican , with him being one who is linked to Luisa as well all could be pointing to such a plan and thus ? to make up for the past negligences of the devotion too for its promised fruits .
The recent sad case of a newly ordained who fell into evil as well as the victims too – hope some of the answers including in prevention would be in the above realm .
Same would then be the remedy for the warning of Bl.Mother at Fatima on sins of the flesh , giving the struggling laity too to trust that there can be freedom from such slavery as well as good means of prevention .
Thank you for the 282 page pdf book, JPG on the Passion and the Divine Will. One cannot help but see PPBXVI’s Act of Sacrifice of the Active exercise of the ministerium in the light of this. One is ever reminded too that Judas played a Major role in the Divine Plan a plan greater by far than his own.
Being compassionate does not mean that any wrongdoing must be ignored or even embraced. People living in sinful relationships need our prayers, not our blessings. This applies also to individuals who have the urge to act sinfully.
There is a counter measure to this attack against the church. Today the word is seldom heard though.
Godly men and women must stand against this anathema. Some may posit that evil men have run amok on this papa’s watch. He must act in righteousness putting the ungodly rebels out of the church as an object lesson to all.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.
Revelation 3:21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The antiapostles of the antichurch.
So, just like the United Church.
How stylish. How modern!
The synod is falling on its sword, finally. And what we hear is the sound of a escaping quorum. We also read that the synod “moves away from a radical condemnation of masturbation.” Indeed, the entire synod is an breathtaking exercise in ideological masturbation.
And as for Batzing’s two-faced clarification that “There were texts debated that are not just texts, but dreams….” Dreams! A waiting world discerns that, except for the spelling, there is little difference between sexual abuse and the synod’s textual abuse.
Well, now, the horse and the horse’s ass is out of the barn, and surely the synod can figure out what to do with that too.
Why doesn’t the German Catholic church quit turning their backs on Christ,
as well as quit tormenting faithful Catholics by just going ahead with their apostasy and join the followers if Luther? Let’s all stop pretending that they are One with the Catholic Church.
The same goes with all the other apostates: find any one of dozens of protestant churches to join that will allow you to believe whatever lies you want to.
Rev Deacon you are right. In the modern world if the church doesn’t stick to traditional practice of faith, modernity will swallow us
“…the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy, neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions, and which, under the pretext of freedom and human dignity, would bring back to the world (if such a Church could overcome) the reign of legalized cunning and force, and the oppression of the weak, and of all those who toil and suffer. […] Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.”
Pope Pius X
Bishop Batzing – “. . . questions that have long been answered by our enlightened and freedom-loving society”.
That says it all IMHO.
Our question, that is those of us holding fast to Apostolic Tradition, is will the reptile that slithered out of Amazonia to Germany be decapitated by Rome, or will there be further Kabuki theatre? If so what does that hold for the great Synod on synodality? Dr Bode and Bishop Bätzing are unified on their “dream” of a progressive, free German church. Free to masturbate both physically and intellectually, that is, morality and theology as is now practiced. “Knowledge of the human sciences” is the intellectualist rather faith based premise that gives sanction to the morally obscene, as if return to pre Christian pagan morals was actually progress. Freedom in Germany likened to Liberty in America determines what is morally good. So is then, is “the church in Germany: a church that is participatory, gender equitable, and journeys with people [the model for a] worldwide Synodal Way”? If Christ is effectively jettisoned in Germany, Pope Francis is thoroughly obligated to act decisively. Words and letters of warning will not suffice. Otherwise, the Amazonia creature [a true beast from Hades] will find an endless feeding ground, bishops topping the menu in the vast yet to be explored expanses of the great Synod of synods.
Disgraceful.
Jennifer, thank you. You summed up all the other comments in one word. The Catholic Church in Germany has gone completely nuts.
Ah, I see. The Church has had it wrong for 2,000 years.
The purpose of sexual congress has nothing to do with children.
It’s all about orgasms.
Nice.
Right. They figured out that they are smarter than God who is so stupid, He couldn’t figure out how to give guidance to humanity on how they should order their lives together until these smartypants prelates and theologians showed up to correct God’s incompetence.
According to these Bishops, there appear to be NO sexual sins at all. At least, not if “love” is involved or one makes a determination with their own “conscience”. Can we assume that means adultery is no longer prohibited as long as the parties involved still love each other? What about singles living with unmarried partners, often in serial monogamy, with many different people over the years?? You know, “trying out” being married. What about multiple partner relationships? Where does this stop? Are we to believe that allowing women priests, or a married priesthood, would magically erase all clergy homosexual advances to seminarians? That seems improbable, since such men are not interested in women at all. The Pope should have stopped the direction of the German Bishops long ago. He either lacks the will, or agrees with their statements.In either case, at this point it would appear that he has failed to protect church teaching. Regarding “conscience” ( or secular popularity)as the sole guide by which to make decisions, it has been my observation that humans have a great capacity for self-justification, even if that involves twisting both truth and reality. Disgusting, overall.
Despite how or whether women priests or married priests would help to prevent sexual abuse, one method should work: to welcome openly gay priests. If a gay man is called to the priesthood, and his moral mandate is celibacy, there is no time like the present to promote this complementary goal!
Although, it must be true that today many fewer gay men remain traditionally Catholic or closeted.
The secrecy, shame and–quite likely–emotional immaturity of young matriculates has surely contributed to gay priests abusing boys. Many more factors come to mind…This is a complex issue that the Church hasn’t seemed to tackle head on. Am I correct?
No, you are completely wrong. A priest stands in persona Christi capitis and represents Christ the Bridegroom to the Church within and without the liturgy. It is, obviously enough, intrinsically impossible for a homosexual to do so. In fact, I would argue that no homosexual can be validly ordained since his disorder renders him incapable of receiving Holy Orders
You are badly mistaken. You are the victim of much-parroted “conventional wisdom” and pop psych that defies the actual science as well as common sense not tainted by ideology. Careful research (e.g, the investigations of Fr. Paul Sullins, PhD sociologist with the Ruth Institute) has made it painfully clear that the child sexual abuse problem in the Church is primarily (80%) a problem of homosexual men pursuing teens or teens and young men. As to true pedophiles (not including ephebophiles and those sexually preying on teens and young adults), any child protective service social worker can tell you that the predilection for molesting children is set well before they reach college age, the earliest that candidates for the priesthood can enter a seminary in Western nations. Psychologically, the lack of shame in pedophiles is a serious problem; if they felt more guilt and did less rationalization there would be far fewer abuse victims.
Hear, hear Deacon Peitler! I would add that they a) take only their personal items with them, B) change into their street clothes, c) leave the Church buildings built by the CATHOLIC CHURCH and d) NO LONGER call themselves Catholic, because they are not Catholic. I pray, however, they see the light of Christ and repent of their ways but each day my hope sinks more and more. I am so ashamed of them!
Why pretend that it’s primarily a German problem? It exists throughout the entire Western Church, admittedly to a less publicly notorious degree. The fact is that the German Catholic Church is not Catholic. To pretend that traditional Catholics are in communion with German “Catholic”-Lutheran heretics is a farce. Yet this same farce continues in France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States where vast majorities of “Catholic” bishops and laity do not believe or practice Catholic doctrine or morality. The Western Catholic Church is disintegrating into a sea of heresy and schism of which the German situation is model and emblem.
Thanks’ a for the RENEWAL Vatican II
Ohhhh…..you’re all much too pessimistic! Never fear, my fellow Catholics, this is why we have a Pope, yes? To stamp out this sort of hanky panky before it gains traction. Even now, as we speak, the Holy Francis is preparing to put a stop to this apostasy and we can be completely confident that he will do so, right?………..right?……….hello??
Catholics who love the Vetus Ordo are treated with contempt. But blatant heresy and Schism like this does apparently doesn’t even warrant harsh words from the current Vatican leadership. If this were a sane world, all the German Bishops (barring Voderholzer, Woelki and the few other remaining faithful ones) would have been laicized and excommunicated, along with the “Central Committee of German Catholics”.
Somewhere I read that this group believes that they need to walk with the people. Yes, walk with them but let Christ lead the way. Their way leads not to the heavenly home but to Hell. Right now, it seems that you want to take millions of your fellow country men and women to a very bad place. I pray that you do not go down that path, and if you do, then I pray that nobody follows you.
They are following the Sankt Gallen Madiz, Mal. Bergoglio charged his C6 politbureau member Cardinal Marx to well and truly Synodise the Vicar of Christ’s fatherland as he watches on in silence. Germany is being well and truly Bergoglioed.
Please read Mafia above.
Pray for Pope Benedict XVI, who, no doubt, has been silenced by the apostates, but continues to Pray for Holy Mother Church.
The question for faithful Catholics is : Do we remain in communion with these pagans, or do we break with them?
What is left to say? These people are no longer Christians, if they ever were. No Catholic in Germany should seek communion with them, even if they number bishops among their group. They possess the churches, the schools, the properties, but they are schismatics. If the Pope accepts (or “receives”) any of this trash, he is schismatic as well. There is no point – and no virtue – in denying the state we are in.
Well, this looks a lot like the 93rd, 94th and 95th theses being drafted for nailing to the CDF’s door. I’m thinking these bishops and their followers would be much happier in a different faith tradition. My hope is that the CDF works swiftly to help them find one.
Lex, it’s good to see you here.
Thank you, Deacon. On an administrative note: This is my first time posting on a CWR story. LexOrandi is the screen name I picked. It’s certainly possible another person used that screen name before me, in which case I could be confusing you by using someone else’s screen name. Let me know if that’s the case, and if it is, I’ll use a different screen name for any future posts.
“Lex orandi” was the screen name of a truly orthodox person who used to weigh-in over at Crisis before they ceased entertaining reader comments. But, that said, no one has ownership rights over any adopted screen name. Welcome to CWR.
Many thanks, Deacon. By your description, I can only aspire to the “original” LexOrandi’s orthodoxy and holiness. To avoid confusion, I’ll use a different screen name for any future posts.
Lex, it’s good to see that you’re weighing in here.
I’m certain that the likes of Father James Martin are giddy about what’s happening in Germany.
At the same time, I’m still waiting for discipline, if not excommunication, proceedings from the Pope/Rome. Should I be holding my breath?
I’m hoping he’ll move there…
CNA also has reported that the German synodalists voted 95 to 94 to abolish the priesthood!
Evidently, ‘in persona Christi’ isn’t something the majority of synodalists prefer to be. Consider that no one coerced or forced their career choice. Consider that nothing and no one prevents such fools from walking away from their jobs today. That would be the honorable course; only malice or stupidity outweighs such common sense.
If past behavior predicts future performance, the Roman shepherd will eventually shine a shaft of ambiguity toward the mortified sheep in order that they loosen up and not remain so rigid. See?
I
In the wonderful utopia of nonrigidity, let those who seek nonpriestly priests have nonpriestly priests and those who want priestly priests can have priestly priests. Problem solved. Only the rigid think anything else needs to be said on the matter. Nothing ambiguous. Francis need not go down that rabbit hole. He can return to addressing plastic straws on the beach and planning this year’s new Christmas Nativity Spectacular that will top last year’s that had baby Jesus as a coil spring from a railroad freight train.
It would be laughable if not so damming to their souls. Welcome to the democratic, protestant, secular catholic church! A majority rules, no sin, an individual interpretation of the Bible, no magisterium needed. Do not apply if you believe in Christ’s (remember Him) Teachings found in the scriptures, Tradition, and the Magisterium.
Pope Francis has unleashed a beast that he can no longer control.
I beg to differ slightly…
Bergoglio was unleashed on the Church, and the Sankt Gallen Mafia are in full control.
I strongly differ. Pope Francis is the one that our Lords wants as his Vicar at this critical time. You still push your myths.
Many have commented on the Holy Spirit’s role in choosing a pope. Theologians from many sides of the spectrum seem to say that the Holy Spirit lends assistance but men are free to listen and then not follow the Spirit’s advice.
Theologians as different from as Benedict XVI and James Martin SJ have basically said the same. https://thejesuitpost.org/2013/03/worth-reading-does-the-holy-spirit-choose-the-pope/
Just because you do not want to accept Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ, I am not going to change my view that the Holy Spirit is guiding the proceedings.
What I think is not the issue. The issue is what theologians and Church leaders have thought and taught about the Holy Spirit. That is what I shared with you.
God has granted us all freedom to hold onto any erroneous or unreasonable opinion at odds with learned leaders if that is our choice. You are surely free to believe whatever any wish about me, whether true or false, with or without charity, with or without bias or prejudice. Knock yourself out.
Well, Mal–I see you’re back. And who says so?
“The term “Christ” means “anointed,” and Jesus is indeed the one anointed by God’s Spirit. One of the titles commonly given to the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ.” Becoming Pope, therefore, will involve a special outpouring of the Spirit.” https://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=2061
The Cardinals present might not personally experience something supernatural, but the Holy Spirit’s influence is always there. His gifts are many.
Mal, it is a fact that Bergoglio has relegated the title “Vicar of Christ” to the footnote on his biographical in the Year Book published by the Holy See. It states “historical title…” as in no longer in use. The title does, however, still fully apply to the holder of the Munus who gives valid Apostolic Blessings from the bottom of the Vatican Gardens. We both believe there is a Vicar of Christ in Rome. One of the two Popes still believes in that title.
Mike, it is indeed a fact. However, that was done only in one publication, and that too, once. It was done by the Diocese of Rome in a document that listed all those who were associated with that diocese. Pope Francis was listed there as Bishop of the diocese and not as Pope of the Church.
Pope Francis is the one that our Lords wants as his Vicar at this critical time.
You lack the necessary acumen to accurately discern and definitively state that the election of Bergoglio was in fact the ordained will of Almighty God and not simply His permissive will. You continue to poorly exercise your free will by promoting your own myth.
These now open heretics aren’t Catholic. However, as mentioned above (by Paul) they are only “the worst.” Other so-called “Catholics” exist outside of Germany.
In this context, it is best to be reminded of what the Catholic Church is.
“Q. 489. What is the Church?
A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible Head.”
http://www.baltimore-catechism.com/lesson11.htm
So those who maintain, for instance, that abortion isn’t murder, or that sodomy, “self-abuse,” or contraception isn’t wrong aren’t Catholics. There have been popes in the past who have given great scandal, but they haven’t taught that their immoral behaviors were moral. For those in authority to tolerate heresy or other immorality is to be an accessory to the sin.
Catholic Culture’s Jeff Mirus wrote about this in May of 2020. https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/german-synodal-path-noteworthy-or-not-worthy/
To add injustice to heresy, German Catholics have to pay a church tax, which presumably pays the salaries of these clerics who believe that God has changed his mind about sin.
Let’s not forget that the German Church Tax was criticized by PPBXVI who said it was outdated and needed scrapping. He was ridiculed, just as his request that the German Novos Ordo translation of the words of consecration of the precious blood be corrected to make it valid was flatly rejected by Cardinal C6 politbureau Marx.
Unfortunately, the German Catholic Church (and probably other taxpayer-supported denominations) are little more than social welfare organizations.
All starting with the footnotes in AMORIS LAETITIA and the German Church, along with Austria and Malta, ran with it. And the Pope confirmed that was the way.
What Pope refuses to clarify his own Encyclical???
All that I love is falling apart before my very eyes! I feel so abandoned and alone! Where is the Church I love? Where are the teachers I so much admired and learned from? Where are the voices that are supposed to speak for Christ and God’s Plan. I cannot live without the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church! Nor do I want to! I cry to the bottom of by soul! Sweet Jesus, please help us!
Since practised homosexuality/sodomy has been their favourite theme for some years now many of us ask why they just don’t come out of the closet instead of hiding behind a false compassion.
How many of those Bishops and priests will soon be seen photographed with their same sex ” marriage ” partner? The same with many lay people.
Just wait and see.
Do these Bishops and priests, lay people have any other interests than ” masturbation”, ” homosexuality ” ” remarriage ” ” divorce “?
They have already excommunicated themselves Heretics.
But God is not on their side.
Thank you, Christine for your comments. I pray for you and your family.
I have to echo Paul and Shawn above that Germany is not alone. It is only the most publicity-attracting to us here in North America.
I’m guessing that Belgium, a country of particular interest to me, and others are pretty much on the same page.
We seem to be forgetting the fact that what we hear or read is merely the opinions expressed by various groups involved in this early stage of the process. Undue prominence is given to the voices that are startling. But, as Pope Francis told the Germans, this is not democracy but a spiritual journey. In the end, the Bishops will take all these views into consideration and then make their decisions known. They have already indicated that they will not go against the teachings of the Church. So, yes, we need to pray for them at this time.
Spiritual journey?
The German bishops are being quoted directly and the vote for blessing sodomy actually took place.
Two more years before they vote.
Obedience to bishops is owed only in so far as they are obedient to Scripture and the teachings of the Church. These clowns don’t realize that they’re undermining their own authority. They’ve made themselves completely irrelevant.
I don’t know what I’d do if I was a Catholic living in one of these dioceses. TLM, Eastern Catholic…SSPX?! What would be a viable option?
You are right, IMHO, Andrew, that obedience to Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium Triumphant is prior over obedience to heretics and men who declaim “This is rupture” or “I do not believe in a Catholic God.” A Pope who denies the Incarnation and the Trinity in textual submission to Allah is not to be followed blindly into “Synodisme” The Catholic Church has a Synod. It is the college of Cardinals. Bergoglio spurned it and created a small politbureau of Cardinals – C9 reduced to C6 – who – like himself – have difficulty even leaving an airport if they dare to land in their home countries. 2000 years of Sacred Tradition or Modernism? Catholicism or Bergoglioism? You are right to choose TLM. It is the Mass of Saints and Martyrs.
Spiritual unilateral disarmament in action. The behavior of the German hierarchy suggests that the historic Catholic faith is not worth fighting for. No wonder the Church in Germany is in such sad shape.
“No wonder the Church in Germany is in such bad shape”.
To repeat, it’s not just the Church in Germany.
Bishop Bonny of Antwerp seems to be pretty much on the same page.
The Netherlands is part of that rogue’s gallery, too.
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8).
The Passion meditations in Divine Will mention the desire / intent to adore The Lord in every tabernacle , to also make reparations for the ooccasion when persons abandon the Divine Will – http://www.preghiereagesuemaria.it/DV-inglese/THE%20HOURS%20OF%20THE%20PASSION%20FINAL%20EDITION%202014.pdf
Seeing not just oneself but others too in the act of adoring The Lord in every tabernacle – good means to have the sense of sacredness of the persons around , even of the little ones since their souls too in the Heart of The Mother capable of same , in union with all ; all such vivid means of making reparations as narrated in the above meditations , trusting how same can bring lot more into lives even in the here and now instead of the feared for depravity – the Holy Father in allowing to proceed with the Synod very likely have such an intent .
The logo of the Synod , with the shining sun and the tree over the people as well as the place of honor that the Pope Emeritus have given to the St.Anibale at the Vatican , with him being one who is linked to Luisa as well all could be pointing to such a plan and thus ? to make up for the past negligences of the devotion too for its promised fruits .
The recent sad case of a newly ordained who fell into evil as well as the victims too – hope some of the answers including in prevention would be in the above realm .
Same would then be the remedy for the warning of Bl.Mother at Fatima on sins of the flesh , giving the struggling laity too to trust that there can be freedom from such slavery as well as good means of prevention .
FIAT !
Thank you for the 282 page pdf book, JPG on the Passion and the Divine Will. One cannot help but see PPBXVI’s Act of Sacrifice of the Active exercise of the ministerium in the light of this. One is ever reminded too that Judas played a Major role in the Divine Plan a plan greater by far than his own.
Being compassionate does not mean that any wrongdoing must be ignored or even embraced. People living in sinful relationships need our prayers, not our blessings. This applies also to individuals who have the urge to act sinfully.
Indeed!
Please stop tithing. Put a self addressed stamped envelope to the vatican with your reasons why.
There is a counter measure to this attack against the church. Today the word is seldom heard though.
Godly men and women must stand against this anathema. Some may posit that evil men have run amok on this papa’s watch. He must act in righteousness putting the ungodly rebels out of the church as an object lesson to all.
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.
Revelation 3:21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.