VATICAN CITY
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
The Family Synod’s initial and disappointing report confirms what was obvious all last week. Pope Francis and his Synod appear to be changing the sharp lyrics, but so far basically to be retaining the harsh tune. It appears to me that the report had been mostly written before the Synod even began.
See the report at:
As stated in pertinent part in the report’s conclusion:
“58. The reflections put forward, the fruit of the Synodal dialog that took place in great freedom and a spirit of reciprocal listening, are intended to raise questions and indicate perspectives that will have to be matured and made clearer … These are not decisions that have been made nor simply points of view. All the same the collegial path of the bishops and the involvement of all God’s people under the guidance of the Holy Spirit will lead us to find roads of truth and mercy for all. ….
Cutting through the scholastic smokescreen of “graduality” and “mercy”, the Bishops have in effect decided, it appears, at the direction of Francis and his Vatican clique, obviously, with no effective input from 99.9% of the world’s Catholic faithful, that “sinners”, included the divorced and remarried, those who rely on the Pill to responsibly plan their families, and gay couples, should not be called “sinners” so often or so loudly.
Instead, these sinners must be smoothly dragged through better theological messaging to enable them to follow more closely the Holy Bishops’ “divinely inspired” and ultimately condemnatory message against divorce, contraception and gay marriage. And maybe the Vatican will also make annulments easier, if not cheaper, another hypocritical Vatican exercise.
In the ultimate irony, the Catholic hierarchy appears now to be applying their failed approach to the clerical rape of children to a new, “more merciful” , “more gradualitistic”, approach to divorce, contraception and gay marriage — acknowledge these are all seriously sinful, but avoid talking about them so much, while somehow still inculcating the Vatican’s party line. This appears theologically to be talking out of both sides of the papal mouth, no?
The Sopranos “FUGEDABOUTIT” is seemingly being baptized by “graduality” and “mercy” into a theological maxim. Why should or would Catholics accept this massive dose of papal “doublespeak”? Will this initial report by reversed during this next week? Given the careful “stage management” so far, this is highly unlikely.
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