{"id":4312,"date":"2016-04-12T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=4312"},"modified":"2016-04-12T09:05:05","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T15:05:05","slug":"what-the-pope-said-doesnt-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/04\/what-the-pope-said-doesnt-matter.html","title":{"rendered":"What the Pope said doesn’t matter . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

at least, not nearly as much as what bishops, priests, and ordinary Joes think<\/em> he said, with the last of these coming largely from how the media reports it and what bishops and other prominent Catholics have to say about it. \u00a0\u201cIt\u201d being, of course, whether there\u2019s a change in doctrine and\/or practice with respect to remarried Catholics, as a consequence of Amoris Laetitia<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I am not going to try to interpret Amoris Laetitia. \u00a0<\/em>I will not dig into the footnotes, and tell you whether Francis meant to give the all-clear to those who want changes or was very careful to encourage greater welcome without doing so, staying entirely within the existing framework of conscience. \u00a0There\u2019s really no way of knowing what his intention was, absent him making a statement that he appears to be unwilling to make.<\/p>\n

But Archbishop Cupich\u2019s comments, on the other hand, concern me greatly. \u00a0In addition to his statement reported in the Trib that it\u2019s a \u201cgame-changer\u201d (which I cited in a post on Saturday<\/a>), the (liberal) National Catholic Reporter quotes him<\/a> as having said that \u201cdoctrines are at the service of the pastoral mission.\u201d \u00a0This statement was quoted without context, and I was unable to find a full transcript of the press conference, but it\u2019s a rather worrisome statement. \u00a0Taken with his other comments, it suggests that he doesn\u2019t see the teachings of the Catholic Church on morality as expressing any larger truth, but just a set of rules that the Church has arbitrarily decreed \u2014 rules which, to be sure, are meant to help society function, but offer room for modification if they seem to pose hardship in particular cases.<\/p>\n

How far, after all, does he extend his idea of\u00a0showing compassion above all, and accompanying people in their small steps? \u00a0How would he counsel an adulterer not ready to change his ways? \u00a0An unrepentent domestic abuser? \u00a0A white-collar criminal stealing from his employer? \u00a0A business owner cheating his workers by shaving hours off their timecards? \u00a0A woman contemplating abortion, or a man encouraging his partner to abort? \u00a0Would he advise these people to just maybe \u201ccheat a little less,\u201d \u201chit with a little less force,\u201d or \u201cjust try harder not to get pregnant next time\u201d?<\/p>\n

Probably not.<\/p>\n

But it would be consistent with his objective to be \u201cpastoral\u201d above all, wouldn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Anyway, it\u2019s very unsettling. \u00a0What\u2019s Cupich really up to? \u00a0What does he really believe? \u00a0Does he see himself as the head of the local church, or of a community social services organization in need of restructuring for changing times?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

at least, not nearly as much as what bishops, priests, and ordinary Joes think he said, with the last of these coming largely from how the media reports it and what bishops and other prominent Catholics have to say about it. \u00a0\u201cIt\u201d being, of course, whether there\u2019s a change in doctrine and\/or practice with respect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[370,69],"class_list":["post-4312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-amoris-laetitia","tag-archbishop-cupich"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat the Pope said doesn't matter . . .<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"at least, not nearly as much as what bishops, priests, and ordinary Joes think he said, with the last of these coming largely from how the media reports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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