Will You Submit To A Church That Tells You “No”?

In my last article, I addressed the importance of Christian unity, and the means God provided to maintain unity in His Church. To summarize:

God provided the Church with legitimate and continuous apostolic authorities (bishops and the Pope) to maintain unity through the use, if need, of excommunications and anathemas. The use of such authority remains an essential part of maintaining Christian unity to this day.

In other words, the Church possesses the authority to tell individual Christians “no.” In the 4^th century, the priest Arius demanded all Christians submit to his individual interpretation of Scripture regarding the nature of Christ. In response, the Church told him “no.” Likewise, twelve hundred years later, Martin Luther demanded all Christians submit to his individual interpretation of Scripture concerning justification. Again, the Church told him “no.”

Furthermore, the Church, even today, still tells those within her “no.”

Below, I provide three modern examples of the Church telling those within her “no.” How do we as faithful Catholics react when the Church says “no”? Do we, like Arius and Luther, insist on our way and threaten schism? Or do we, in a spirit of docility, humbly submit to the Church?

Example 1: Can the Church Ordain Women? No.

In May of 2024, Pope Francis sat for an interview with 60 Minutes’ Norah O’Donnell. When asked directly concerning the possibility of women’s ordination to the diaconate, the Pope answered with one word: “no.” However, he did offer a clarification:

If it is deacons with holy orders, no. But women have always had, I would say, the function of deaconesses without being deacons. Women are of great service, as women, not as ministers, as ministers in this regard within the Holy Orders.

These words reflect the unbroken teaching of the Catholic Church and teaching of the late St. Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.

Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32). I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.

Will those Catholics who continue to push for women’s ordination, in a spirit of docility, humbly submit to the Church?

Example 2: Can a Catholic Support Invitro Fertilization (IVF), Abortion, and Euthanasia? No.

In a papal audience in November 2014, with the Italian Catholic Physicians’ Association, Pope Francis made the following remarks on the perceived “false compassion” of IVF, abortion, and euthanasia:

The predominant school of thought sometimes leads to “false compassion” which holds that it is a benefit to women to promote abortion; an act of dignity to perform euthanasia; a scientific breakthrough to “produce” a child, considered as a right rather than a gift to be welcomed; or to using human lives as laboratory animals, allegedly in order to save others. Instead, the compassion of the Gospel is what accompanies us in times of need, that compassion of the Good Samaritan, who “sees”, “has compassion”, draws near and provides concrete help (cf. Lk 10:33).

Moreover, in the same 60 Minutes interview, Pope Francis also condemns the use of surrogate mothers.

In regard to surrogate motherhood in the strictest sense of the term, it is not authorized.

As with women’s ordination, the Church provides an emphatic “no” to Catholics who support IVF, abortion, and euthanasia. For the sake of unity, these Catholics must, in a spirit of docility, humbly submit to the Church.

Example 3: Can the Church Change Her Teaching on Human Sexuality? No.

In December of 2023, the Vatican released the controversial document, Fiducia Supplicans (FS). The controversy surrounding this document concerns the blessing of same sex attracted people in irregular “unions.” Some in the Church mistakenly viewed this document as signaling a change in Church teaching on human sexuality, including Norah O’Donnell. This misreading of FS presents itself in the following question to Pope Francis during the interview:

Q: Last year you decided to allow Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples. That’s a big change. Why?

A: No. What I allowed was not to bless the union. That cannot be done because that is not the Sacrament. I cannot. The Lord made it that way but to bless each person yes, the blessing is for everyone. [emphasis added]

Addressing participants at the International Conference “Man-Woman: Image of God” in March of 2024, Pope Francis called out gender ideology as a “danger” and “ugly ideology of our time…” for erasing the differenced between men and women. He stated:

…it is very important for there to be this encounter, this encounter between men and women, because today the worst danger is gender ideology, which cancels out differences. I asked for studies to be made on this ugly ideology of our time, which erases differences and makes everything the same; to erase difference is to erase humanity. Man and woman, on the other hand, stand in fruitful “tension”.

Clearly, regarding the Church’s teaching on human sexuality, Pope Francis reaffirms it and corrects those who misrepresent it for their own personal reasons. He also warns the faithful of the dangers inherent in an ideology that seeks to alter or erase humanity.

As seen with women’s ordination and IVF, abortion, and euthanasia, the Church again says “no” to changing her teaching on human sexuality. For the sake of unity, will Catholics who call for change, in a spirit of docility, humbly submit to the Church? Or will they stand firm in their resistance and encourage dissent and eventual schism?

Final Thoughts…

I concluded with a final appeal to those Catholics who cannot submit to the Church’s “no.” Whatever your reasons, ask yourself if you truly believe Christ founded a Church with the authority to bind you to her teachings. Also, if you refuse to submit to the Church’s “no,” what separates you from liberal Protestants who do likewise?

Finally, those who post examples of Church teachings that cause supposed discomfort to “conservative” Catholics in the comment section: go ahead. Issues like immigration and the environment, while important, do not receive the same clear “no” as those listed above. This means that faithful Catholics may hold diverse views on immigration and the environment and still remain “faithful” Catholics.

Is this true for the issues listed above? I stand with the Church and declare with her an emphatic “no.”