"Deeply Disturbing" --- On March 19th The Post-Synodal Letter About the Family Appears

Archbishop Paglia in Portugal:  Pope Francis Will Publish the Post-Synodal
Letter in March

Edit: Rorate is saying that it will be Tucho Fernandez who writes the letter.



(Rome) The post-synodal letter to the Synod of Bishops on the Family will be published in March. The chairman of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, told the Portuguese news agency Agencia Ecclesia.

The Agency wrote:

"The information was reported by Agencia Ecclesia, quoting the President of the Pontifical Family Council, Don Vincenzo Paglia, during the training days scheduled for priests which taking place until Thursday in the southern ecclesiastical province in Albufeira in the Algarve."

Initially it was said that the post-synodal letter would appear in February. The letter will be eagerly awaited. Since Pope Francis has creaated considerable tension in the Church when announcing the double-Synod of Bishops on the Family in 2013. A fundamental dispute about the indissolubility of marriage and the Catholic moral teaching has broken out. It is about the admission of remarried divorcees to the sacraments, and thus to the de facto recognition of a second marriage, and the acceptance of homosexuality. Both points are being promoted by the liberal group in the Church. The spokesman for the divorced and remarried is Cardinal Walter Kasper. One of the spokesmen for the recognition of homosexuality is curia Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia.

The Synod of Bishops ended in October 2015 with a laborious compromise which just avoided a break in the Church. The Kasperians were supported by Pope Francis suffered a defeat, but they want to still want to twist by way of "interpretation" and thanks to support from the Pope, into a victory.

The draft "puts the natural law in question"

The Vatican expert Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register reported today that the letter will be unveiled to the public on March 19, on the feast of St. Joseph and the third anniversary of the inauguration of Pope Francis.

According Pentin's "well informed sources" Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, the ghostwriter of Pope Francis and rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, should be the principal author of the letter. Fernandez is one of the closest confidants of Pope Francis. He even appointed him as Archbishop of Buenos Aires Rector despite great resistance by the competent Roman Congregation for Education. When Pope Francis was elected, he let those feel his wrath, who had at the time opposed the appointment of Fernandez, while he raised Fernandez to Titular Archbishop and personally appointed him as a votinng member of the Synod of Bishops.

A moral theologian, says Pentin, has seen the draft and is "deeply disturbed" about it. The draft "puts the natural law in question".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Secretum meum mihi (Sreenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Radio Vatican Shows its Pride: Attacks Catholic Moral Theology

Update: removed the photo which is a licentious photo of two women kissing each other. It seemed important to include the photo to document just how far Radio Vatican has gone, and that they've done this before. (People probably complained about the two sodomites kissing and waving a flag, too.)

Edit: the photo and the following article appeared in Radio Vatican, German Section. Obviously, the people who work in the office who endorse moral depravity are still there, from the last time we noticed an article like this. The Servite priest from Tyrol being extolled here is, by considerable negligence, along with others like him, is still able to address these issues for the Vatican. Apologies in advance for the photo, but blame Vatican Radio German Section. Here is a translation:

The Church's sexual morality "is in motion". Sexuality will be "perceived in its  personal and holistic dimension more and more"  explains Brixen moral theologian Martin Lintner in the current issue of the Christian weekly newspaper "Die Furche". The President of the "European Society for Catholic Theology" explained his assessment with a shift away from natural law concerning certain "moral acts" in which every single sexual act was judged on whether he corresponded to "natural sexuality" towards a view  already expressed in the Second Vatican Council that "sexual behavior applies to physical communication." 

At the level of concrete sexual ethical norms, despite this positive change, things have not changed much  for the better in the Catholic Church,  writes Lintner. This is revealed in the issue of homosexuality, where the argument of biological procreation function continues to stand apart from the criteria of personal judgment. A mediation between the natural law and personal reasoning is difficult here.

Nevertheless, this reveals a "rethinking", according to  Leitner, not least in the discussions during the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in the autumn of 2014 and the recently published working paper for the family Synod in October 2015, in dealing with gay people: "The Church is sensitive to the suffering experiences of victims and families where gay people live." This development appears to  the renowned South Tyrolean moral theologians and members of the Servite Order as "significant,"  even if the Church emphasizes that a homosexual partnership differs from  a marriage.

Link to Radio Vatican

Primate of Belgium Criticizes the Parliament

MPs were taking the right to decide by majority what the difference between men and women are.  A proper political order can but only recognize natural law principles, which must precede the legislation.



(kath.net/KNA)The Belgian Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, has criticized the national parliament. The delegates assumed the right, per majority vote to decide about the meaning of sexuality, the meaninging of the word "marriage" or the difference between man and woman, said the newspaper "La Libre" this Friday on a new book by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Leonard called upon Christians to get involved in the political debate. A proper political order recognizes that there are principles of natural law which should precede any legislation. (C) 2012 Catholic News Agency KNA Inc. All rights reserved. Link to kath.net...

Holy Father Says Homosexuality a Violation of the Natural Law

Thanks to Louis Welcome for this notification. Isn't there some putative blue law on the books in England where the Pope can be arrested for offending homosexuals like this? We know that many homosexuals want people who teach the contra-natural nature of their behaviors to be locked in jail. But this story is interesting because of its title, and it's interesting to us because there are quite a few churchmen in the United States who deny the actuality (if that's the word) of the natural law. We think that there are a lot of people, particularly at places like St. John's Abbey, who would like for there not to be a natural law. They at least have a vested interest in there not being one, because it means that there are, as their mantra goes, "no moral absolutes" and they can be creative about morality. What they mean is that they want to invent a justification for their moral infirmities to the point of creating a society which praises their activities, or at least turns a blind eye...

Guardian

The Pope yesterday made an unprecedented attack on Britain's equality legislation, claiming Harriet Harman's attempts to bring in new laws enforced sinful behaviour.

Benedict XVl condemned Labour's Equality Bill in extraordinary terms as an assault on the 'natural law' of Christianity - in other words a sin.
His remarks came in a speech at the Vatican moments after he confirmed he will visit the UK in September.

We like this article for other reasons as well in that it affirms Benedict's vision of encouraging the Bishops of Wales and England to adhere to Catholic teaching, particularly in regard to the natural law, which Guardian, unfortunately defines this way:

By natural law, the Pope meant the Christian and Biblical teaching on which Roman Catholic beliefs are based, including the Ten Commandments. Rejection of the natural law is sinful in Catholic theology.

Actually, as Catholic Encylcopedia, quoting St. Thomas, has it, natural law is defined thusly:

...the natural law is "nothing else than the rational creature's participation in the eternal law" (I-II.94). The eternal law is God's wisdom, inasmuch as it is the directive norm of all movement and action. When God willed to give existence to creatures,He willed to ordain and direct them to an end. In the case of inanimate things, this Divine direction is provided for in the nature which God has given to each; in them determinism reigns. Like all the rest of creation, man is destined by God to an end, and receives from Him a direction towards this end. This ordination is of a character in harmony with his free intelligent nature. In virtue of his intelligence and free will, man is master of his conduct. Unlike the things of the mere material world he can vary his action, act, or abstain from action, as he pleases. Yet he is not a lawless being in an ordered universe. In the very constitution of his nature, he too has a law laid down for him, reflecting that ordination and direction of all things, which is the eternal law. The rule, then, which God has prescribed for our conduct, is found in our nature itself. Those actions which conform with its tendencies, lead to our destined end, and are thereby constituted right and morally good; those at variance with our nature are wrong and immoral.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247706/Pope-condemns-Harriet-Harman-equality-drive-violation-natural-law.html#ixzz0eO0C1aiI

Pope's Address to Doctrine Congregation

"Natural Moral Law Is Neither Exclusively Nor Mainly Confessional"

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered Jan. 15 upon receiving in audience members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the end of the dicastery's four-day plenary assembly.

* * *

Your Eminences,

Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Dear Faithful Collaborators,

It gives me great joy to meet you on the occasion of the Plenary Session and to express to you my sentiments of deep gratitude and cordial appreciation of the work you carry out at the service of the Successor of Peter in his ministry of strengthening his brethren in the faith (cf. Luke 22: 32).

I thank Cardinal William Joseph Levada for his greeting in which he recalled the topics that the Congregation is occupied at this time. He also recalled the new responsibilities that the Motu Proprio Ecclesiae Unitatem has entrusted to the Dicastery by closely joining with it the Ecclesia Dei Commission.

I would now like to reflect briefly on certain aspects that you, Your Eminence, have mentioned.

First of all I wish to emphasize that your Congregation participates in the ministry of unity that is entrusted to the Roman Pontiff in a special way, through his commitment to doctrinal fidelity. This unity, in fact, is primarily a unity of faith, supported by the sacred deposit whose main custodian and defender is the Successor of Peter.

Strengthening brothers and sisters in the faith, keeping them united in the confession of the Crucified and Risen Christ, is the first and fundamental task that Jesus conferred upon the one seated on the Chair of Peter. It is a binding service on which depends the effectiveness of the Church's evangelizing action to the end of time.

The Bishop of Rome, in whose "potestas docendi" your Congregation participates, is bound to proclaim ceaselessly: "Dominus Iesus" "Jesus is Lord". The "potestas docendi," in fact, entails obedience to the faith so that the Truth which is Christ may continue to shine out in its grandeur and resonate in its integrity and purity for all humankind, and thus that there may be one flock gathered round the one Pastor.

The achievement of the common witness to faith of all Christians therefore constitutes the priority of the Church of all time, in order to lead all people to the encounter with God. In this spirit I trust in particular in the Dicastery's commitment to overcome doctrinal problems that are still an obstacle to the achievement of full communion with the Church on the part of the Society of St Pius X.

I would also like to congratulate you on your commitment to fully integrating formerly Anglican groups and individual members of the faithful into the Church's life, in accordance with what is stipulated in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. The faithful adherence of these groups to the truth received from Christ and presented by the Magisterium of the Church is in no way contrary to the ecumenical movement but rather shows its ultimate purpose, which consists in the achievement of the full and visible communion of the Lord's disciples.

In recalling your invaluable service to the Vicar of Christ, I must also mention that in September 2008 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published the Instruction "Dignitas Personae" on Certain Bioethical Questions.

Following the Encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" by the Servant of God John Paul ii in March 1995 this doctrinal document, centered on the theme of the dignity of the person created in Christ and for Christ, is a new landmark in the proclamation of the Gospel in full continuity with the Instruction "Donum Vitae," published by this Dicastery in February 1987.

Concerning delicate and timely topics such as procreation and the new forms of treatment that involve the manipulation of embryos and the human genetic patrimony, the Instruction recalls that "the ethical value of biomedical science is gauged in reference to both the unconditional respect owed to every human being at every moment of his or her existence, and the defense of the specific character of the personal act which transmits life" ("Instruction Dignitas Personae," No. 10).

In this way the Magisterium of the Church wishes to make its own contribution to the formation of consciences, not only of believers but also of all who seek the truth and want to listen to arguments stemming not only from faith but also from reason. In fact the Church, in proposing moral evaluations for biomedical research on human life, draws on the light of both reason and faith (cf. ibid., No. 3), since she is convinced that "what is human is not only received and respected by faith, but is also purified, elevated and perfected" (ibid., No. 7).

In this context a response is likewise given to the widespread mentality that presents faith as an obstacle to scientific freedom and research, because it presumes that faith is made up of a pattern of prejudices that hinder the objective understanding of reality.

Faced with this attitude that strives to replace truth with a consensus that is fragile and easy to manipulate, the Christian faith, instead, makes a real contribution in the ethical and philosophical context. It does not provide pre-constituted solutions to concrete problems like bio-medical research and experimentation, but rather proposes reliable moral perspectives within which human reason can seek and find valid solutions.

There are in fact specific contents of Christian revelation that cast light on bioethical problems: the value of human life, the relational and social dimension of the person, the connection between the unitive and the procreative aspects of sexuality, and the centrality of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman. These matters engraved in the human heart are also rationally understandable as an element of natural moral law and can be accepted also by those who do not identify with the Christian faith.

The natural moral law is neither exclusively nor mainly confessional, even if the Christian Revelation and the fulfillment of Man in the mystery of Christ fully illumines and develops its doctrine. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, it "states the first and essential precepts which govern the moral life" (No. 1955).

Established in human nature itself and accessible to every rational creature, the natural moral law thus determines the basis for initiating dialogue with all who seek the truth and, more generally, with civil and secular society. This law, engraved in every human being's heart, touches on one of the essential problems of reflection on law and likewise challenges the conscience and responsibility of legislators.

As I encourage you to persevere in your demanding and important service, I would also like on this occasion to express my spiritual closeness to you, as a pledge of my affection and gratitude, as I warmly impart the Apostolic Blessing to you all.

© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Holy Father: Failure to Recognize Natural Law Leads to "Dictatorship of Relativism"

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - If we fail to recognize the value of natural law, or of the immutable truth, inherent in the human heart, which urges concern for the common good and rejects attacks on life, then we risk a "dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything definitive and leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self and ones own desires". This is the warning that Benedict XVI traced today from the life and thoughts of John of Salisbury, a twelfth century English theologian, the subject of his catechesis delivered to nine thousand people present in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican for the General audience.

John was born between 1100 and 1120 in Salisbury, England. According to a wealth of letters left us by the theologian, between 1136 and 1148 he devoted himself to studies by attending the lectures of the most famous masters of his time, particularly those of the theological school of Chartres. "As often was the case with the most brilliant students” he was a sought after collaborator by bishops and sovereigns of the time and between 1150 and 1161 he became secretary and chaplain to Theobald, the aging archbishop of the primary See of Canterbury. "With unflagging zeal," while he continued in his studies, he carried out an intense diplomatic activity, frequently travelling to Rome to ensure ongoing relations with the papacy. An Englishman, Adrian IV, was pope at the time. He died in 1159. In those years, there was "serious tension between church and kingdom, which sought to assert its authority, limiting freedom" in England.

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