Pope Francis’ teaching on marriage aims to help people in difficult family situations without departing from the broader context of Catholic teaching, Bishop Steven J. Lopes of the Personal Ordinariate of St. Peter has explained in a new pastoral letter.
“Only a careful and faithful reading of Amoris Laetitia will ensure that we receive the Holy Father’s words with the gratitude and respect due them, safeguarding this beautiful reflection from those who would misuse it to promote practices at odds with the Church’s teaching,” he wrote Jan. 16 in “A Pledged Troth”.
Concerning cases where a person’s first marriage was valid, Bishop Lopes cited both Amoris laetitia and St. John Paul II’s 1981 apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio. The entire community of the faithful must be attentive to a couple’s situation and ensure that they do not consider themselves separated from the Church. The community must help the couple and any of their children experience the Church “as a mother who welcomes them always.”
The bishop cited Pope Francis’ exhortation, which said pastoral discernment with the divorced-and-remarried must avoid the “grave danger” of misunderstandings, including the idea that “any priest can quickly grant ‘exceptions’.
Bishop Lopes explained that the prohibition against adultery “admits of no exceptions.” As Familiaris consortio says, discernment does not allow us to “look on the law as merely an ideal to be achieved in the future” and there are not different degrees of God’s law for different individuals and situations.
“Pastoral discernment admits of no exceptions to the moral law, nor does it replace moral law with the private judgments of conscience,” Bishop Lopes said.
His pastoral letter placed Pope Francis’ teaching in the context of St. John Paul II’s 2003 encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, which repeated the Council of Trent’s teaching that confessing one’s mortal sins must precede the worthy reception of the Eucharist.
A civilly remarried couple “committed to complete continence” could receive the Eucharist after proper discernment with their pastor and after making a sacramental confession, the bishop taught.
“A civilly remarried couple firmly resolving complete chastity thus resolves not to sin again, which differs in kind from a civilly remarried couple who do not firmly intend to live chastely, however much they may feel sorrow for the failure of their first marriage,” Bishop Lopes explained. “In this situation, they either do not acknowledge that their unchastity, which is adultery, is gravely wrong, or they do not firmly intend to avoid sin.”
Full story at Catholic News Agency.
The young Bishop Lopes is very good! Too bad he can’t be our Pope! I have been wondering about visiting an Anglican Ordinariate parish. Are they more CHRISTIAN than our regular Roman Catholic parishes?? I wonder!
Linda Maria, there is a website called Anglicanorum Coetibus Society, which is the new name for the Anglican Use Society. It lists all the Anglican Use services in the U.S. and some other countries. I could only find one in California. It is St. Augustine of Canterbury, which meets in the parish chapel of St. Elizabeth Seton at 6628 Santa Isabel Street, Carlsbad, Ca. The Anglican Use mass is Sunday at 10:30 am in the parish chapel. Phone: 949-436-0627. I might have the church names backward, but you can check further on the website.
As far as which is “more” Christian, it depends on the person, whether orthodox Catholicism is being taught there and what type of Mass one prefers to make one become a better Catholic.
Linda Maria, the Anonymous post today at 3:25 pm was mine — Anne T.
Anne T., I greatly appreciate your information! Wonderful!
Tragically, many so-called “Christians” of today, have forgotten that the virtue of Chastity is BASIC for those sincerely following Jesus Christ!
Bishop Lopes is a California boy!
Bp. Lopes studied at the St. Ignatius Institute at USF under Fr. Fessio. Bp. Lopes is brilliant and very orthodox. The Anglicans brought their beautiful Savred Liturgy and Sacred Music with them into the Roman Catholic Church. The Latin Church can learn much from the Ordinariates.
Everybody should recall that Bishop Lopes was appointed quite recently—and by none other than Pope Francis! this was a clear, concise article faithful to Catholic teaching. Sia lodato Gesu’ Cristo!!!
I agree, Peggy- what you are saying is all true! And Bishop Lopes is excellent! Yes– I, too, have always thought, especially since Vatican II– that our Latin Rite Church could learn much, from the beautiful Anglican tradition of sacred music and liturgy– formed under Cranmer, in the 16th century– with standards of excellence, for worship of God! (So sad– but I don’t think many Catholics of post-Vatican II, will know terms for our Church, such as the “Latin Rite Church!” So much of our heritage has been lost!)
P.S. For those who don’t know, the Anglican traditions in their sacred music and liturgy, extends back centuries, prior to their Reformation, under King Henry VIII, in the 16th century.
I commend Bp Lopes’ efforts, but I still bemoan the lack of clarity in the entire mess.
What’s clear to me is that there was no urgent need for the Synod on the Family … or for Amoris Lætitia (…or for Vatican II, for that matter).
Christ’s teachings are straightforward, but the Evil One ensures there’s never a shortage of meddlers standing by, ready to muddy the water at every turn.
I agree completely. As but one example, how can what Bishop Lopes has written be squared with the declarations of the Maltese bishops?