There is no reason why an honest, pastoral person acting in good faith would not and could not respond to the dubia.
There appears to be another passive-aggressive development.
T
his week, the Vatican's organ for promulgating the Official Acts of the Apostolic See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS), has published its October 2016 issue, containing Pope Francis' infamous Letter to the Buenos Aires Bishops. AAS not only published this letter, declaring that there are "no other interpretations" ("No hay otras interpretaciones") of Amoris Laetitia other than those of the Buenos Aires bishops, but it also published the full Buenos Aires guidelines themselves, which permit Holy Communion in some cases for couples in a state of permanent and public adultery who are not committed to living in complete continence...
Most significantly, AAS upgrades Pope Francis' private letter to the Buenos Aires bishops to the official magisterial status of an "Apostolic Letter" ("Epistola Apostolica") - AND it includes a special rescript as an addendum by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State. This rescript declares that Pope Francis expressly intends that BOTH documents - the pope's letter and the Buenos Aires guidelines themselves- bear the character of his "authentic Magisterium", and that the pope personally ordered their publication in AAS and on the Vatican website.
Under Canon 8 § 1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the AAS is the regular method by which "universal ecclesiastical laws" are to be promulgated: “Universal ecclesiastical laws are promulgated by publication in the official commentary Acta Apostolicae Sedis, unless some other manner of promulgation has been prescribed in particular cases.” While most papal documents appearing in AAS lack canonical or disciplinary force, the Pope's rescript at the hand of Cardinal Parolin is clearly intended to give the Buenos Aires Guidelines a significant level of Magisterial authority in the interpretation of Amoris Laetitia.
The pope's use of the term "authentic magisterium" is especially troubling because it appears intended to trigger Canon 752, to purportedly require "religious submission of the intellect and will" to the Buenos Aires guidelines' overturning of the traditional teaching of the Church:
Can. 752 Although not an assent of faith, a religious submission of the intellect and will must be given to a doctrine which the Supreme Pontiff or the college of bishops declares concerning faith or morals when they exercise the authentic magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim it by definitive act; therefore, the Christian faithful are to take care to avoid those things which do not agree with it.
In paragraph 6 of the Buenos Aires guidelines, now explicitly to be treated as belonging to Pope Francis' "authentic magisterium", the allowance for communion in cases of couples in a state of adultery without living in complete continence is made explicit...
Read the rest at Rorate Caeli.
I believe this is a checkmate.
Can't forsee how any legitimate faithful theologian and canonist who could find a defense from a charge of formal heresy.
6 comments:
Now the real fun begins......FORMALLY. Hang on!! We are now in the throws of an 'official' Francis tsunami. Probably just a few 'EXCOMMUNICATIONS' in sight, unless the Bishops take this bull by the horns, which I'm not real confident that they will. (ok....call me a 'cynic') But if I remember correctly or have read correctly, were not the faithful laity in the time of the Arian Heresy 'excommunicated'?? Actually 'thrown out' of their Churches?? I think I remember reading St. Athanasius telling them it was ok....'they' had the faith, the heretics only had the buildings.
Oh, and.....if this is indeed a 'checkmate', which I do believe it is, you are correct, it comes from none other than 'His Humbleness'. The 'humblest of the humble'. Indeed 'His Humbleness' is going to show us who's boss.
Is the Pope, Catholic?
Karl
How we long for the days when that was a joke.
Thanks Carol. My impression is that most Cardinals and Bishops don't much care about any of this. They believe, as is implicit in Vatican II, that the purpose of the Church is to make this world a better place to live, i.e., heaven on earth. The only thing that will get their attention is the possibility of a schism because that would reduce their political power. So....let's us talk of a potential schism.
Well Michael Dowd, I do believe you have a valid point there!! We have only a handful of faithful Churchmen who will fight for Christ in His Church! The rest are either 'humanists' as you say, or weak and effeminate. It seems you may be correct, they are afraid of a 'schism' because that would reduce their power, not only politically, but indeed financially as well.
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