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Saturday 14 July 2018

Bergoglio's work is summed up as an "Obliteration of the Sacraments"

There is so much to write on, so much to report on. As usual, this is my most demanding time of year professionally speaking, so blogging is going to be light. Even so, I do hope you will continue to come by, at least to get access to many of the best Catholic bloggers in the English speaking world all linked at the left. I will have less of an opportunity to write original posts, but I will try to post articles of interest and importance. Personally, I do enjoy all of your comments and the debate in the comment box, so do please keep it going.

Recently, Sandro Magister wrote and included this article from "Catholica."

http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2018/07/09/a-monk-and-theologian-breaks-the-silence-on-the-churchs-metamorphosis/

“AMORIS LAETITIA” AND THE OBLITERATION OF THE SACRAMENTS

by Giulio Meiattini, OSB
(passages selected from the interview in “Catholica” no. 140)

NOT DISCERNMENT, BUT CUNNING

Couverture_140The situation of confusion is evident. Naturally, there are those who deny that this is a matter of confusion, maintaining that this is the positive result of a style of ecclesial governance aimed at “initiating processes rather than possessing spaces” (cf. “Evangelii Gaudium” 223). Therefore, the first discernment to be made would be precisely on the nature of this situation: can confusion, disagreement among bishops on sensitive doctrinal points, be fruits of the Spirit? To me it seems not. To discern also means understanding if it is appropriate or not to initiate processes in certain fields, and also with what timing, modalities, and objectives.
Let us observe, for example, the manner in which the new discipline for the “divorced and remarried” was reached.
After Cardinal Kasper’s talk at the consistory had prepared the terrain so to speak, the two synods, with an intermediate year of heated discussions, were unable to give rise to a common approach on the problem discussed. Those who read the accounts of the “circuli minores” of the 2015 synod realize very well that on the point in question there was not a shared perspective.
But one thing is clear: that a large majority of the fathers had not developed the conviction to change the traditional discipline. So much so that the authors of the “Relatio finalis,” on the controversial point, took care not to introduce innovations.
But - here is another small step - they drafted formulas of an indefinite tone that, while not providing for access to the sacraments, changed the atmosphere so to speak. Thus the “non-opposition” to those hesitant formulas (which had trouble getting two thirds of the votes) was enough to allow another subsequent small step: a couple of ambiguous little footnotes in “Amoris Laetitia,” which do not affirm or deny but hint at a certain direction.
This further passage smashed the interpretive boundaries, until in the autumn of 2017 - another step - there came the pope’s official approval of the “Criteria” of the bishops of the region of Buenos Aires on chapter VIII of “Amoris Laetitia.”
But these criteria, if one is honest, are not a simple interpretation of “Amoris Laetitia.” They add and say things that are not to be found in “Amoris Laetitia” and that, above all, had never been approved at the synods and never would have been. […]
Thus, through small successive steps, over the course of three years a very large one was made and the discipline was slowly changed, but certainly not in a synodal manner, in my view.
I may be wrong, but this “modus operandi” is not discernment, but rather cunning. In place of reasonable and open debate (the famous “dubia” have never received a response!), the strategy of persuasion and of the fait accompli took hold.

FAITH REDUCED TO ETHICS

Among the ethical demands and the sacramental foundation of Christian existence, the center is undoubtedly the sacrament, which is the communication to the believer of the grace that saves, and, in that it is welcomed by and transforms man, is also an act of glorification, doxology. […] Ethics is neither the first word not the last.
In “Amoris Laetitia,” however, the opposite logic is followed: the starting points are categories taken from the natural law and principles of general ethics (attenuating factors, the relationship between universal norm and subjective situation, non-imputability, etc.), and from these major premises are drawn the consequences for the pastoral practice of the sacraments.
In this way, the dimension of the symbolic and the sacramental, which should anchor, embrace, and transcend the moral sphere, loses its significance and becomes a mere appendix to ethics. […] The demonstration is given by the fact that in concrete terms the sin of adultery loses its public significance linked to the testimonial aspect of the sacrament, and can be remitted in the “internal forum” without any need to explain before the community why a spouse who publicly contradicts the sacramental sign of fidelity should publicly receive the Eucharist.
In short, the result of the decisions of “Amoris Laetitia” is the reduction of the sacramental to the moral, meaning of faith to ethics, which to me does not seem to be a mere question of pastoral practice. What is at stake here is something essential to the nature of Christianity.

A “TREMENDOUS BURDEN”?

I sincerely do not understand how a bishop, above all that of Rome, could write phrases of this kind: “There is no need to lay upon two limited persons the tremendous burden of having to reproduce perfectly the union existing between Christ and his Church” (“Amoris Laetitia” 122).
Here is the glaring exemplification of what I stated before in a general way: if the evangelical ethic is isolated from the sacrament and reduced to a general norm it becomes “a tremendous burden,” like the Mosaic law, instead of “an easy yoke and a light burden.” Whatever happened, in this perspective, to the transformative effect of the sacrament? […] So then we could ask ourselves whether the encouragement of bearing witness to faith in Christ to the point of bloodshed is not an even more tremendous burden, not to be placed on the shoulders of the people. […]
One arrives at this point only if one is accustomed to conceiving of Christianity - perhaps without fully realizing it - as ethics.

“SIMUL IUSTUS ET PECCATOR”

“Amoris Laetitia” goes so far as to say that even if according to outward appearances one is living in a condition of objective sin, on account of attenuating factors one could be in the state of grace and even “grow in the life of grace” (no. 305).
It is clear that if this is the way things are, the interruption between sacrament and moral action, as already highlighted, leads to outcomes that overlap with the Lutheran conception of “simul iustus et peccator,” condemned by the Council of Trent. […] In this way, one could be at the same time just (before God, invisibly) and a sinner (before the Church, visibly). Works are at risk of having no more significance in the “discernment” of grace.

CATHOLIC COMMUNION EVEN FOR A BUDDHIST?

The direction that is taking shape around intercommunion between Catholics and Protestants obeys the same logic: it is not symbolic realism that determines the decision, but the simple evaluation of the presumed interior condition: if a Protestant is presumably in the state of grace (based on the attenuating factors of invincible ignorance, diminished responsibility, an honest way of life, etc.), why could he not receive the Catholic Eucharist? Perhaps one does not realize that posing the question this way could lead to making the same argument for a Buddhist or a Hindu who lives a good and just life. Tampering with the relationship between morality and the sacraments ultimately can lead to ecclesiological conceptions that are not Catholic.

(English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.)

14 comments:

Ana Milan said...

When are Catholics going to waken up & realise God has been marginalised by these usurpers? Do they not care or are they simply so lethargic as to not consider it their duty to speak & act with other concerned Catholics to rid the OHC&A Church founded by Jesus Christ Our Saviour. We are receiving no active leadership from our prelates. The small opposing voice has been silenced for the past nineteen months, having reneged on a promise of a call to arms that had everyone waiting with baited breath. We should have known better! There are no St. Athanasius's to grapple with PF as he & his cronies continue to desecrate & annihilate our Christian heritage. It has to be accepted at this stage that the whole of the Hierarchy is infested with demonic possession & will not lead us to a safe place. There is no point in flying to the hills or entering caves if there will be no priests to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass & hear Confessions. If Plan B is not fully compiled, made known & activated upon, this calamity will just continue with the majority of souls lost through apathy, false obedience to a false semi pope who has not been denounced as such by those who undoubtedly know what is happening but prefer to keep their mouths shut. What kind of service do they render to God & His people? None! They serve Satan whether they realise this or not, & at this stage I cannot believe they don't understand that.

Barbara Jensen said...

Here is the crux of what the Bergoglian 'pontificate' is accomplishing. The meaning of the precious Sacraments, which Christ gave to us, is made human and profane. Bergoglio's 'cunning'--and that is what it is--is trashing the supernatural dimension of the Sacraments which are in essence avenues to deep union with God through Christ. On the horizon is the falsification of the Holy Liturgy in order that our Lutheran brethren can participate in it without scruple. The Catholic Church, as everyone who is awake can see, is being co- opted as a political rallying point for the formation of the New World Order. What was long mocked by the shallow as foolish conspiracy has now been made obvious for all to see as the reality before us. The mystics, those who have been dismissed as fanatical doom sayers, are so right in their prophetic witness. The Church is being made a human entity and stripped of Her supernatural power. We are on the way to distortion and trivialization of the Body, Blood. Soul, and Divinity of Christ, in Whom the total Church is contained. Still, those with the authority to speak say nothing. They are not going to, so stop looking for the to do so. The true Church will soon be underground and we must prepare for this. Bergoglio and his cabal now own the institutional Church and soon the reality of what the Church is will be cast out. There is no way at all any one of us can be excluded form the decision that will be before us each.

Barbara Jensen said...

There is a new article in La Salette Journey about which I just wrote in my first comment. People of God prepare yourselves for what is coming soon. Only those who are steeped in Christ will be able to endure.

Anonymous said...

The present Church crisis can only be resolved by a group of cardinals who find that the election of "Francis the Merciful" in 2013 was invalid, Monsignor RenĂ© Gracida (94), the retired bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, wrote on June 2 on his blog “abyssum.org”.

Already in April, he stated that he considers Francis an anti-pope.

According to Gracida, some Cardinals including Jorge Bergoglio, violated Canon law by plotting what became known as the “St Gallen mafia”, and they are therefore now excommunicated.

Tom A. said...

The NO sacraments have been toyed with since 1968, starting with the Ordination Rites and the New Mass. Also tinkered with were Confirmation and Extreme Unction. The Rites of Exorcism (though not a sacrament) were also "adjusted" for modern sensibilities. So dramatic are the changes taken in their entirety and so much has the average pewsitters knowledge of the sacraments changed, that there really isnt any reason anymore to deny anyone any of the NO sacraments. This was the goal all along of ecumenism. Mission completed.

Kathleen1031 said...

Yeah, they've pretty much gotten it done. We have no power, except the power of the purse, there is nothing else these men respect or care about. They have all the power, the titles, the buildings, the Vatican. We have faith.
These men are not Catholic. I don't know what they are, could be Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Peronists, homosexualists, atheists, Protestants, Masons, but whatever they are, they aren't Catholics. No entity whose head and men at the top work as hard as they do to destroy it could survive for long, but this is God's church, it's up to Him.
We have to just hang on, stay faithful as best we can. We have no leaders.

Barbara Jensen said...

There will always be priests to offer Mass. Out of the desecration and destruction of the true Faith will arise the martyr-priests who will witness to Christ, and who will offer their lives through fidelity to their priestly vocation. Waiting for present-day prelates to do what they should and to say what they should say is a waste of precious time. They are not going to do it or they already would have done it. God will not abandon His remnant, but to keep harping that those tasked with the responsibility to say and do what they should is futile beyond words. It will not happen. Trust not in princes but in christ Who will provide. the Church is already well into schism and still the bishops say and do nothing.

Anonymous said...

Search engine the satanic mitre of Benedict XVI. Take a look at the new catechism with the god pan discreetly pictured on it's cover. Could it be even worse than we think? How have evil predators risen to the top even with knowledge that they are evil predators? Then ask the question....is it in spite of their vile failings are exactly because they have vile failings? Prepare to tremble at what may be the answer.

guy mcclung, rockport, texas said...

All should cease using the terms "catholic" or :Church" in any connection with anything Jorge Bergolgio says or does. I am going to develop this in more detail. Everyone should stop now calling it “FrancisChurch;” for two main reasons: 1. Calling Jorge Bergoglio “Francis” implies he was validly elected pope; and 2. Calling his cult “church” implies that this is Jesus’s Church. Use “Jorge’s cult;” “Jorgecult:” “Jorge’s denomination;” “Jorge’s cabal:” “Jorge’s cadre;” etc.

My favorite: Jorge’s junta.

Look at the marks of Jorg’e junta: not one, unholy, not catholic, hirlings/wolves. And note with all their debauchery, effinacy, and corruption how they are the darkness and their hierarchy are the world rulers of this present darkness compared to Jesus’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

Guy McClung, Texas

Tom A. said...

Ana, listen to Bp Sanborn and Fr Cekada if you want to hear what true Catholic opposition to Bergolio sounds like. There are many voices who are not afraid at all to speak out and denounce the usurper. Your problem is that you are looking for your hero inside the false NO V2 sect. Everyone in the false NO V2 sect is compromised one way or another. You do not have to agree with their view on sedevacatism to appreciate their condemnations of all the garbage that spews from Bergolio's mouth.

Tom A. said...

Dont expect your priest-martyrs to have been formed in NO seminaries and ordained in the NO Rites.

Mar said...

Many thanks to Giulio Meiattini, OSB for writing this article; thanks to Matthew Sherry for translating it into English; and thanks to Vox for giving it prominence on his blog.

What a blessing to hear a Catholic theologian of our days who is also a religious (one would think a recipe for disaster) counter the 'new paradigm' with such calm and clarity, and with such faithfulness to the perennial Magisterium.

May his words inspire other Catholic theologians and religious, and give hope to the laity.

Mar

orate fratman said...

There are excellent comments here (as is usually the case) on this article, which is also great. guy mcclung, you have hit it on the head, and I have been doing that for several years, now. My name for him: "Bergo." It reads off the paper easily, and rolls off the tongue just as easily. Something else manifests. There is gog, and magog, and now we have bergog.

Barbara Jensen said...

I recently read an article from Abyssum (site fully titled in favorites of Vox) which starts with the words, 'Do not grow weary and faint" in which it is stated that the Japanese Church existed for two centuries with very sparse access to priests and even to a bishop or Pope. The simple Faith in the hearts of loyal followers of Jesus kept alive the fullness of the Faith for two hundred years. It is not that the institutional Church is not important, but it will be the mystical Church in the hearts of true Catholics which will sustain the faithful for the long period of persecution that is coming. These are important truths for us to understand as the darkness that in enveloping the world will be the blackest it has ever been. God will dwell in our hearts through Faith. We will have access to the Sacraments due to those priests who will risk their lives for Christ and His own. We wiill either be true and deep followers of Christ or we will be nothing.