From his book, Infiltration, chapter 32:
It seems apparent to me that Pope Francis actually holds the Eastern Orthodox position on the papacy, collegiality, divorce, and the “pastoral” notion of economia revamped as being true to conscience.
Orthodoxy (I have written a book about it with Eastern Catholic Fr. Deacon Daniel Dozier) allows divorce: a position which is contrary to both the early Church and Holy Scripture. Catholics believe in annulment, which is a completely different notion, and is also scriptural (at least by strong analogy).
Here we have a statement of alleged fact. Taylor Marshall thinks it is “apparent” that Pope Francis holds the “Orthodox position on . . . divorce” (which is: up to three marriages allowed, including remarriage after divorce, blessed by that communion, and a denial of the indissolubility of marriage). This assertion is demonstrably untrue.
And, as usual, it was not difficult to discover the disproofs (a few minutes searching on the Holy See website). Why Taylor Marshall and other papal bashers like Phil Lawler can’t bring themselves to do simple searches and research to nail down their points, is another inscrutable mystery and a whole discussion in and of itself. Here we go. I now cite Pope Francis:
The Synod Fathers asked that the procedures of marriage nullity be streamlined. I will leave it at that. The Motu Proprio speeds up the procedures, but it is not divorce, because a sacramental marriage is indissoluble. This is not something the Church can change. It is doctrine; as a sacrament, marriage is indissoluble. . . .
I am glad you asked about “Catholic divorce”. No, it doesn’t exist. Either there was no marriage – and this is nullity, that it did not exist – or, if there was a marriage, it is indissoluble. This is clear. (In-Flight Press Conference, 9-27-15; my italics and bolding)
With reference to the issue of giving communion to persons in a second union (because those who are divorced can receive communion, there is no problem, but when they are in a second union, they can’t…), I believe that we need to look at this within the larger context of the entire pastoral care of marriage. And so it is a problem. But also – a parenthesis – the Orthodox have a different practice. They follow the theology of what they call oikonomia, and they give a second chance, they allow it. (In-Flight Press Conference, 7-28-13; my italics and bolding)
Here, the Pontiff said, “is the fullness of truth, the truth that is powerful and blunt, but there is also human weakness, and hardness of heart”. And “Moses, the legislator, did this, but things remain clear: the truth is one thing, while the hardness of heart is another that is the sinful condition of us all”. Therefore, “Jesus leaves the door open here to God’s forgiveness, but at home to the disciples, he repeats the truth: ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery’”. Jesus “states it in a clear and blunt manner: ‘And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery’”. (Morning Meditation: “God is Not an Equation,” 5-20-16)
In the Gospel, Mark then describes the reaction of “the third group, the disciples, at home: they question him again on this subject so as to better understand, because they knew about this permission of Moses, this law of Moses”. And “Jesus is even clearer: ‘whoever divorces his wife’ — except for unchastity — ‘and marries another, commits adultery’”. (Morning Meditation: “Justice and mercy,” 2-24-17)
When we speak of marriage as a union between man and a woman, as God established it, as an image of God, it is a man and a woman. The image of God is not the male: it is both man and woman. Together. They become one flesh when they are united in marriage. This is the truth. It is true that, in this culture, conflicts and any number of problems are not well handled, and there are also philosophies like “Today I’ll enter this [marriage], and when I get tired of it, I’ll enter another, then a third, then a fourth…” This is the “world war” against marriage you were talking about. We need to be careful not to let these ideas take hold in us. But first of all, marriage is the image of God, man and woman in one flesh. When this is destroyed, the image of God is “marred” or distorted. (In-Flight Press Conference, 10-2-16)
This is God’s dream for his beloved creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self. It is the same plan which Jesus presents in today’s Gospel: “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female’. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh” (Mk 10:6-8; cf. Gen 1:27; 2:24).
To a rhetorical question – probably asked as a trap to make him unpopular with the crowd, which practiced divorce as an established and inviolable fact – Jesus responds in a straightforward and unexpected way. He brings everything back to the beginning, to the beginning of creation, to teach us that God blesses human love, that it is he who joins the hearts of two people who love one another, he who joins them in unity and indissolubility. This shows us that the goal of conjugal life is not simply to live together for life, but to love one another for life! In this way Jesus re-establishes the order which was present from the beginning. (Homily, 10-4-15)
Case closed. As long as these outrageous falsehoods and blatant misrepresentations of the teaching of Pope Francis (or Vatican II) keep occurring, division and confusion will continue to wreak havoc on the Church and her members. Truth and accuracy in reporting are paramount.
Will we follow the way, the truth, and the life, or the father of lies?
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Photo credit: mohamed_hassan (8-27-17) [Pixabay / Pixabay License]
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