“So faith, hope, love abide, these three,” Saint Paul reminds us, “but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). The Sacrament of Penance is a Sacrament of mercy. In the service of love, priests help penitents identify their predominant faults and help them chip away at them over time.
A priest sits in the confessional with awareness of the words of Jesus. How many times must I forgive my brother, seven times? “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (Mt. 18:22). God also uses the Sacrament of Penance to remind the priest of his own sins. It is charitable for the priest to know and profess the difference between right and wrong.
Scriptural teaching is unambiguous. The unrepented sins of Sodom and Gomorrah inflamed God’s wrath, and He destroyed the cities with fire and brimstone. Jesus warns against adultery and lust with complete clarity: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt. 5:27-28). Saint Paul is inclusive with his heavenly exclusions: “Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10).
In 1975, Pope Paul VI wrote in Evangelii Nuntiandi:
Another sign of love will be the effort to transmit to Christians not doubts and uncertainties born of an erudition poorly assimilated but certainties that are solid because they are anchored in the Word of God. The faithful need these certainties for their Christian life; they have a right to them, as children of God who abandon themselves entirely into His arms and to the exigencies of love.
In contrast to the firm certainties of faith, ambiguity is like a stealth fighter plane. The danger is often unnoticed until too late. Indeed, ambiguities even silence sober churchmen lest they stand accused as “hateful” and “judgmental.” In 1986, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger unmasked the technique. He identified ambiguity as a tool of the gay agenda:
A careful examination of their public statements and the activities they promote reveals a studied ambiguity by which they [those promoting a change to the Church’s teaching on homosexuality] attempt to mislead the pastors and the faithful… Some of these groups will use the word ‘Catholic’ to describe either the organization or its intended members, yet they do not defend and promote the teaching of the Magisterium; indeed, they even openly attack it. While their members may claim a desire to conform their lives to the teaching of Jesus, in fact they abandon the teaching of his Church.
Cardinal Ratzinger hardly extinguished corrosive doctrinal ambiguities under the cover of pastoral sensitivities. In 1996, shortly before his death, Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago requested the Windy City Gay Chorus to perform at his funeral. It took place at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral. Marianne Duddy, president of the national Gay Catholic group, Dignity U.S.A observed, “This is a magnificent gesture to let it be known that he acknowledged the presence of Gay and Lesbian people within the Church community.”
Studied ambiguity has become a cornerstone of much of contemporary ecclesiastical policy-making. Pope Francis recently appointed Archbishop (now Cardinal-designate) Victor Manuel Fernández as the head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). The Archbishop is the author of Heal Me With Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing and seems to be an expert on marriage, but undoes a clear understanding of marriage with LGBTQ ambiguities: …marriage” in the strict sense is only one thing: that stable union of two beings as different as male and female, who in that difference are capable of generating new life. There is nothing that can be compared to that and using that name to express something else is not good or correct. At the same time, I believe that gestures or actions that may express something different should be avoided. That is why I think that the greatest care that must be taken is to avoid rites or blessings that could feed this confusion. Now, if a blessing is given in such a way that it does not cause that confusion, it will have to be analyzed and confirmed.
Ambiguous hypotheticals to the contrary, there will never be a blessing for same-sex “unions” that doesn’t confuse.
Archbishop Fernández’s studied ambiguity is not without precedent. In 2006 he undermined the Church’s teaching on contraception using the “Christian hierarchy of values crowned by charity” to rationalize the intrinsic evil of contraception. He describes a difficult marital situation and then laments an “inflexible refusal of any use of condoms.”
However, Cardinal-designate Fernández — the new watchdog for Catholic orthodoxy in the Vatican — isn’t ambiguous about the art of kissing: “The penetrating kiss is when you suck and slurp with the lips. The penetrating kiss is when you stick in your tongue. Watch out for teeth.” In his defense, the Cardinal-designate explained his early book targeted, well, teenagers and quoted many of their descriptions of kissing. What bishop would issue a “letter of good standing” for a priest who speaks to kids like this? A breathtaking double standard….
From Father Jerry Pokorsky in Catholic World Report
Excellent article, but you left out the second half about Jimmy Martin, S.Gay. I encourage readers to click on the link to the original article, especially jon because this article eviscerates his ill-considered defense of every jot and tittle that that the pope or a bishop issues. The present magisterium is definitely using deliberate ambiguity in support of advancing the cause of blessing gay unions and gay sex. The chief purpose of the synod on synodality is to try to get gay unions officially blessed by the church. I’m not fearmongering; I’m just connecting the dots.
The Vatican said no to same sex blessings.
Why can’t you take no for an answer?
Saying ‘no” and meaning “no” are different things. That was often Paul VI’s problem. He’d decry heresy then promote or ignore heretics in Vatican offices. If ss blessings are wrong what will Francis do to cardinals and theologians who keep insisting on them? Will they be removed from office? Publicly corrected? I’m a retired teacher and will affirm that nothing is worse for discipline than a rule that is loudly announced but never practically enforced. It’s sanctioning a behavior de facto.
as Paul VI aged, a kind of dementia possibly set in. A friend of mine was in a private group audience with Paul VI several years before his death in Aug 1978 and was alarmed that the Holy Father seemed spaced out and dreamy in words with the guests. this may explain part of the inattention to heresy as he trusted others to be faithful and true
No means no.
The Pope said no to the TLM. Look how effective that no has been.
I say, it is indeed true that Pope Francis was definitely not ambiguous when he wrote in the accompanying letter to “Traditionis custodes” that there are those who are “exploiting” the Mass of Pope John XXIII (that’s the Extraordinary Form for you Protestants out there) in order “to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the Church, block her path, and expose her to the peril of division.”
This upcoming synod is all about normalizing same sex couplings with a Church blessing.
Yes, it’s about the gay-ing of the Church which will not stand.
Watch what they do, not what they say.
Ambiguity is just plain dishonest.
You can always get claification.
Best to be honest in the first place. Clarification should be unnecessary, with a dedicated Catholic leader. Nobody had any problems of ambiguity, with Pope St. John Paul II, or Pope Benedict. These popes were deeply dedicated, and cared enough to state the truth about Catholic teaching– and stand by it, always.
I don’t find it ambiguous.
So maybe you just don’t understand it.
Some of it though I have to go over more than once to understand it.
My in-laws had a dispensation to use birth control because another pregnancy would have killed the mother of 5 kids.
Before Vatican II.
Now she could go to a doctor who would tell her differently and encourage her and her husband to use Natural Family Planning. The contraceptive pill, aka birth control pill, is a carcinogen (cancer exacerbating) and contributes to many other medical problems in women. Look at the label.
I am alive today because 32 years ago an older priest told me not to take the birth control pills a Catholic doctor wanted to give me. Had I taken the pills it would have exacerbated the small breast tumors that I had on each side, caused them to grow faster, and I would have died a long time ago.
It was before the Pill.
It was not before the Pill. Go back and check your facts. He gave me some samples. I went to take one and found they were outdated. I called him, and he told me. to come into his office, and he would give me a prescription. I felt uneasy, so talked to my parish priest, an elderly man. He told me to try Natural Family Planning instead. I went shopping and after ended up at a shrine in Santa Clara where a prolife female gynecologist was talking about Natural Family Planning after Mass. She and another prolife doctor saved my life.
Not you, them.
The ambiguity thing is highly annoying.
If you don’t understand, ask somebody.
No. Ask the “ambiguous” prelate to speak clearly– and nean it.
No. Ask the “ambiguous” prelate to speak clearly– and mean it.
The weirdest thing is if there were blessings for same sex couples everybody would go “What???”
But because these people who are so afraid of it have gotten us used to the idea, if it happens we will just go “OK.”
If it happens, I will stop going to Mass and quit my job working for the church.
You should think about your own soul and its salvation.
What would change for you?
If you stayed in the Church, nothing.
If you leave the Church, everything.
This is a time when you should be selfish and do what is in your own best interest.
Pray over whether it would alter anything you need to go to Heaven.
(I would have serious qualms about ever leaving the Church. I did that once before. The results were misery but I did not know that it was a result of throwing away my salvation. Mary came to my aid.)
Everybody wants more power than God gave them.
James 4:11-12Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor?
James 4:7 Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
When the devil suggests that the Catholic Church is going to do something that agitates you, submit yourself to God.
Lord, it is Your Church. May your Holy Will be done.
And your post and mindset is what gave us the scandals and the problems that we have now , the hierarchy has ruined their own credibility. Speaking clearly , directly and honestly is the best way to be understood , that they continue to insult and abuse the laity shows the contempt we are held in .
That’s ridiculous.
Galatians 5:14-15
For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.
What happened to honesty? “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” As noted, Pope Benedict warned us about “studied ambiguity.” Why do so many bishops not speak in an honest and straightforward way? Jesus, our Lord, said, “Simply let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’ Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Mt. 5:37)
Cardinal Fernandez, are you for “blessing” any “couples” (as couples) engaging in sex outside of marriage, gay or straight?
Cardinal McElroy, why do you tolerate abortion promotion at USD?
Bishop Cantu, why did you appoint an abortion promoting, gender-confusing president of the only diocesan high school, MItty?
Are those questions too much to ask? (Should the lay faithful and clergy simply obey and pay? Or, may adults have respectful discussions about these matters?) So often, inquiries, even certified letters, go unanswered by some bishops.
Those bishops do speak publicly and are the responsible parties for the areas under their jurisdictions.
See Acts 20:27-31a.
Drewelow-does that therefore also mean that I can believe that Pope St. Pius X’s brain in later years may have been damaged due to his cocaine use (Vin Mariani)? And perhaps that may have therefore affected the content of that Encyclical he wrote 7 years prior to his death-you know, the one hyperbolic traditionalists are always appealing to? Let the downvotes to my post begin…..
A faithful Catholic does not need those answers and does not need to confront people.
They just trust Jesus.
Matthew 18: 15-18 If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Father Jerry Pokorsky, please don’t do this.
You do not understand who is behind all this.
Number one- the devil.
Number two-some wealthy people with Internet clout.
Obey Christ.
Don’t follow lay people.
With this in mind, this Congregation wishes to ask the Bishops to be especially cautious of any programmes which may seek to pressure the Church to change her teaching, even while claiming not to do so. A careful examination of their public statements and the activities they promote reveals a studied ambiguity by which they attempt to mislead the pastors and the faithful. For example, they may present the teaching of the Magisterium, but only as if it were an optional source for the formation of one’s conscience. Its specific authority is not recognized. Some of these groups will use the word “Catholic” to describe either the organization or its intended members, yet they do not defend and promote the teaching of the Magisterium; indeed, they even openly attack it. While their members may claim a desire to conform their lives to the teaching of Jesus, in fact they abandon the teaching of his Church. This contradictory action should not have the support of the Bishops in any way.
Your Guardian Angel is always with you. Even if you are not in a state of grace.
I didn’t know that the gay choir sang at Cardinal Bernardin’s funeral Mass. Several things wrong with that, and it has lowered my opinion or the creator of the “seamless garment” ruse that has allowed pro-abortion politicians cover for their baby killing views. First, a funeral Mass should not have performance music; it should have liturgical music. Second, it sends the signal that the author identified: that the church is now accepting gayness as normal and good, and accepting gay unions; even if not explicit, it’s implied. Third, to make such a specific request for that group signals he probably had other priorities than Catholic faith and was gay himself. God have mercy on his soul. He did great damage to the church in Chicago and in the U.S. Gays don’t belong in the priesthood, but a lot of them are gay.
Bernardin left the choice of musical selections for his wake to a committee that was formed more than a month ago, at his request. Besides Walsh, the members include Mary Beth Kunde-Anderson, director of the Chicago archdiocese Office of Divine Worship; J. Michael Thompson, director of the music ministry at St. Peter’s Church in the Loop; and Arlene Michna, director of music at the Archdiocesan Seminary of Mundelein.
Bernardin made only one music-related request, according to Walsh. “He specifically requested that (a setting of) the Magnificat be performed at his mass. He had a strong devotion to Mary.”
From the Chicago Tribune
The info that he requested the Gay chorus is from a newspaper in Washington D.C. called the Washington Blade, which stated that he made the request 3 weeks before he died.
The missions of the Son and the Spirit are continued in the mission of the Church.
CCC257
260 The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: “If a man loves me”, says the Lord, “he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him”:
O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
More simply, the aim of this pope and his preferred cadre of bishops and priests is to devise doctrinal and pastoral statements that can be interpreted as being in harmony with past doctrinal teaching yet are open to alternative interpretations that invite changes to past doctrinal teaching that actually contradict that past teaching.
Example: “Of course 2+2=4, but in the concrete details of a person’s experience and existence, we must accompany him to understand what 2 means and what = means for him. Someone might say 2+2=5. Is he wrong? It can no longer simply be said that someone who says 2+2=5 is wrong, because what he understands as 2, 5, and = could legitimately lead to the conclusion that 2+2=5 in the concrete circumstances of his existence. Indeed, we must avoid any confusion that 2+2=4 and 2+2=5, yet if 2+2=5 were proposed in a way that did not cause such confusion, it will need to be analyzed and confirmed.”
Any mathematician who made such a proposal would be laughed out of the room and excommunicated by his professional colleagues. Yet we have the pope and his circle of cardinals, bishops and priests doing an analogous thing with Catholic doctrines, and they are taken seriously and praised for it.
Mary accompanied me.
Instead of spreading the Faith and creating confidence in the Faith, the people who are “standing up for the Faith” are actually the ones undermining it.
Spread the Gospel.
This stuff has been going on for decades.
The gay blessing thing is just the newest tentacle.
People who have belief and not faith will fall for it.
Smaller and holier.
“On the ordination of women in the Catholic church, the last word is clear,” Francis responded, before mentioning John Paul’s 1994 apostolic letter banning the practice, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. “It was given by St. John Paul II and this remains.”
National Catholic Reporter Nov 1, 2016
Rome — March 15, 2021The Vatican decreed Monday that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.”
The Vatican’s orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions.
The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was “negative.”
From National Catholic Reporter
The church used to say yes to the death penalty. Then it “evolved” and reversed its teaching. Watch it “evolve” on gay unions and change its teaching on that too.
Yet blessing gay unions is happening in the church and there are no penal consequences for priests or bishops who perform them. If you say, “no,” but don’t back it up with penalties for infractions and disobedience, then your “no,” means “yes” because you crossed your fingers when you said, “no,” or you winked when you said, “no,” and the people you wanted to communicate your real message to got that message while the people who don’t pay close enough attention only read or heard the “no” and think everything is alright on account of it because they didn’t realize that the real message was the “yes” implied behind the “no”.
Catholic clergy cannot bless gay unions.
If someone is doing that, it is against the Church.
They are doing it. And if the church does nothing about it, then it’s permitted through the back door.
Remember that priests molesting boys was against the church too, but bishops looked the other way even when they had full knowledge of what a priest was doing. Thereby gay culture in seminaries and among priests was encouraged through the back door.
Don’t trust bishops to do the right thing. Most of them haven’t a clue about what to do for the church. They are winging it and going for a customer satisfaction approach to ministry.
“In the service of love, priests help penitents identify their predominant faults and help them chip away at them over time.”
That is not what I have experienced in confession.
On reviling:
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3072.htm
True to form, Pope Francis told world leaders to do more to stop climate change.