Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13) On my Facebook wall this past weekend, we were discussing this topic: Let’s have compassion on people who commit suicide and not judge them. You can find the thread here. As is typical, someone somewhere said something stupid and merciless (in this case about a person suffering from suicidal ideation); I got wind of it; and made a post.... Read more
The National So-Called Catholic Reporter falls down in a paroxysm of joy. In their spasms they write: Pope Francis has announced he will create a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church, signaling an historic openness to the possibility of ending the global institution’s practice of an all-male clergy. Now, let’s get one thing straight here before people rush through the streets throwing confetti in the air; or plunging daggers... Read more
Note: This is Part 5 of a five-part response to Dr. E. Christian Brugger’s critique of Amoris Laetitia. Part 1 can be found here. Dr. Brugger’s article can be found at Catholic World Report here. Amoris Laetitia can be found here. *** Dr. Brugger’s fifth and final claim about Amoris Laetitia is that it is “inconsistent” with the Council of Trent. This one is very briefly refuted. He is thinking of AL 301: Hence it is can no longer simply... Read more
Note: This is Part 4 of a five-part response to Dr. E. Christian Brugger’s critique of Amoris Laetitia. Part 1 can be found here. Dr. Brugger’s article can be found at Catholic World Report here. Amoris Laetitia can be found here. I wish Pope Francis had not used the word “ideal” at all in reference to the moral law; if for no other reason than its potential to mislead. I can be frank about that. The word can suggest... Read more
Note: This is Part 3 of a five-part response to Dr. E. Christian Brugger’s critique of Amoris Laetitia. Part 1 can be found here. Dr. Brugger’s article can be found at Catholic World Report here. Amoris Laetitia can be found here. Of five “serious problems” Dr. E. Christian Brugger claims to find in Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia, the third is “its account of the role of conscience in acquitting persons in objectively sinful situations.” Specifically, Dr. Brugger finds... Read more
This post is intended as a brief follow-up to yesterday’s (here), in which I noted Card. Schonborn’s clarifying words on the issue of commmunion for divorced and remarried Catholics. Briefly, Card. Schonborn noted that footnote 351 in Amoris Laetitia—the one that has been getting all the attention and being used to claim that Pope Francis permits a change in this regard—is only meant to be read consistently with Familiaris Consortio 84. In footnote 351, Pope Francis says that “in certain... Read more
The following is a guest post by Deacon Jim Russell, a regular contributor to Crisis Magazine. Deacon Jim has been one of the strongest defenders of Amoris Laetitia in his conversations on Facebook. He gives a much-needed historical perspective on what the pope’s exhortation means for the future of the Church, particularly in the United States. This post on Amoris Laetitia will not cite the text directly; nor will it get into why other commenters’ interpretations fall short of... Read more
I became aware of the video embedded at the bottom of this post by a reader who posted it in the comments here. The video was uploaded to YouTube on April 20. My reader posted it because he seemed to think that Schonborn’s discussion of Amoris Laetitia 305 supports the view of Prof. Spaemann and others: namely, that the pope permits communion for Catholics in an irregular marriage. That is to say, the pope permits adultery. So always willing to... Read more
Dr. Robert Spaemann, a retired German philosophy professor—why is it always the Germans?—who was an adviser to St. John Paul II and is a friend of Benedict XVI, gave an interview in the German press, critical of Amoris Laetitia (AL), warning of schism; and it has been picked up by all the suspect media. One Vader Five carried the story; as did LSD News. One cannot wave a blithe hand and dismiss Spaemann, however pleasant that would be. And so... Read more
It was bound to happen. I am glad I could help contribute, entirely as a free gift, to the merchandising of One Vader Five. Now, perhaps, they’ll be able to afford that Death Star they’ve always talked about building. Join them, Catholics, give in to your anger, and they will complete your training. *** If you like the content on this blog, your generous gift to the author helps to keep it active. I remember all my supporters in my... Read more
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