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Thursday 8 December 2016

Catholic Scholars and Pastors express full support for the four Cardinals and express "grave" concern!

I have, this morning, received an email from Dr. Joseph Shaw. Dr. Shaw as one of the original signatories to the letter of academics to Pope Francis on Amoris Laetitia.


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Statement of Support for the Four Cardinals’ Dubia


     As Catholic scholars and pastors of souls, we wish to express our profound gratitude and full support for the courageous initiative of four members of the College of Cardinals, Their Eminences Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Leo Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner. As has been widely publicized, these cardinals have formally submitted five dubia to Pope Francis, asking him to clarify five fundamental points of Catholic doctrine and sacramental discipline, the treatment of which in Chapter 8 of the recent Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL) appears to conflict with Scripture and/or Tradition and the teaching of previous papal documents – notably Pope St. John Paul II’s Encyclical Veritatis Splendor and his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio. Pope Francis has so far declined to answer the four cardinals; but since they are in effect asking him whether the above weighty magisterial documents still require our full assent, we think that the Holy Father’s continued silence may open him to the charge of negligence in the exercise of the Petrine duty of confirming his brethren in the faith.

     Several prominent prelates have been sharply critical of the four cardinals’ submission, but without shedding any light on their pertinent and searching questions. We have read attempts to interpret the apostolic exhortation within a ‘hermeneutic of continuity’ by Christoph Cardinal Schӧnborn and Professor Rocco Buttiglione; but we find that they fail to demonstrate their central claim that the novel elements found in AL do not endanger divine law, but merely envisage legitimate changes in pastoral practice and ecclesiastical discipline.

     Indeed, a number of commentators, notably Professor Claudio Pierantoni in an extensive new historical-theological study, have argued that as a result of the widespread confusion and disunity following the promulgation of AL, the universal Church is now entering a gravely critical moment in her history that shows alarming similarities with the great Arian crisis of the fourth century. During that catastrophic conflict the great majority of bishops, including even the Successor of Peter, vacillated over the very divinity of Christ. Many did not fully lapse into heresy; however, disarmed by confusion or weakened by timidity, they sought convenient compromise formulae in the interests of “peace” and “unity”. Today we are witnessing a similar metastasizing crisis, this time over fundamental aspects of Christian living. Continued lip service is given to the indissolubility of marriage, the grave objective sinfulness of fornication, adultery and sodomy, the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist, and the terrible reality of mortal sin. But in practice, increasing numbers of highly placed prelates and theologians are undermining or effectively denying these dogmas – and indeed, the very existence of exceptionless negative prohibitions in the divine law governing sexual conduct – by virtue of their exaggerated or one-sided emphasis on “mercy”, “pastoral accompaniment”, and “mitigating circumstances”.

     With the reigning Pontiff now sounding a very uncertain trumpet in this battle against the ‘principalities and powers’ of the Enemy, the barque of Peter is drifting perilously like a ship without a rudder, and indeed, shows symptoms of incipient disintegration. In such a situation, we believe that all Successors of the Apostles have a grave and pressing duty to speak out clearly and strongly in confirmation of the moral teachings clearly expounded in the magisterial teachings of previous popes and the Council of Trent. Several bishops and another cardinal have already said they find the five dubia opportune and appropriate. We ardently hope, and fervently pray, that many more of them will now endorse publicly not only the four cardinals’ respectful request that Peter’s Successor confirm his brethren in these five points of the faith “delivered once and for all to the saints” (Jude 3), but also Cardinal Burke’s recommendation that if the Holy Father fails to do so, the cardinals then collectively approach him with some form of fraternal correction, in the spirit of Paul’s admonition to his fellow apostle Peter at Antioch (cf. Gal. 2:11).

     We entrust this grave problem to the care and heavenly intercession of Mary Immaculate, Mother of the Church and Vanquisher of all heresies.

December 8, 2016, Feast of the Immaculate Conception

(Signed):

Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro Carambula, STD, JD
Chaplain and Faculty Member of the Roman Forum

Rev. Claude Barthe,
France  

Dr. Robert Beddard, MA (Oxon et Cantab), D.Phil (Oxon)
Fellow emeritus and former Vice Provost of Oriel College Oxford.

Carlos A. Casanova Guerra
Doctor of Philosophy, Full Professor,
Universidad Santo Tomás, Santiago de Chile

Salvatore J. Ciresi MA
Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College
Director of the St. Jerome Biblical Guild   

Luke Gormally, PhL
Director Emeritus, The Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics (1981-2000)
Sometime Research Professor, Ave Maria School of Law, Ann Arbor, Michigan (2001-2007)
Ordinary Member, The Pontifical Academy for Life

Rev. Brian W. Harrison OS, MA, STD
Associate Professor of Theology (retired), Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico; Scholar-in-Residence, Oblates of Wisdom Study Center, St. Louis, Missouri

Rev. John Hunwicke, MA (Oxon.)
Former Senior Research Fellow, Pusey House, Oxford; Priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham; Member, Roman Forum

Peter A. Kwasniewski PhD (Philosophy)
Professor, Wyoming Catholic College

Rev. Dr. Dr Stephen Morgan
Academies Conversion Project Leader & Oeconomus
Diocese of Portsmouth

Don Alfredo Morselli STL
Parish priest of the Archdiocese of Bologna

Rev. Richard A. Munkelt PhD (Philosophy)
Chaplain and Faculty Member, Roman Forum

Rev. John Osman MA, STL
Parish priest in the archdiocese of Birmingham,
former Catholic chaplain to the University of Cambridge

Dr Paolo Pasqualucci
Professor of Philosophy (retired),
University of Perugia

Dr Claudio Pierantoni
Professor of Medieval Philosophy in the Philosophy Faculty of the University of Chile
Former Professor of Church History and Patrology at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Member of the International Association of Patristic Studies

Dr John C. Rao D.Phil (Oxon.)
Associate Professor of History, St. John's University (NYC)
Chairman, Roman Forum
  
Dr Nicholas Richardson. MA, DPhil (Oxon.)
Fellow emeritus and Sub-Warden of Merton College, Oxford
and former Warden of Greyfriars, Oxford.

Dr Joseph Shaw MA, DPhil (Oxon.) FRSA
Senior Research Fellow (Philosophy) at St Benet's Hall,
Oxford University

Dr Anna M. Silvas FAHA,
Adjunct research fellow, University of New England,
Armidale, NSW, Australia.

Michael G. Sirilla PhD
Director of Graduate Theology,
Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio

Professor Dr Thomas Stark
Phil.-Theol. Hochschule Benedikt XVI, Heiligenkreuz

Rev.  Glen Tattersall
Parish Priest, Parish of Bl. John Henry Newman, Archdiocese of Melbourne
Rector, St Aloysius' Church, Melbourne

Rev. Dr David Watt STL, PhD (Cantab.)
Priest of the Archdiocese of Perth
Chaplain, St Philomena’s chapel, Malaga



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9 comments:

Dorota Mosiewicz-Patalas said...

Jorge Bergoglio is quick to psychoanalyse faithful Catholics. I will not call them rigid traditionalists or neo-pelagians, because adopting the non-catholic paradigm and the language of modernists would mean giving them an unfair advantage.
I never heard him consider the positive aspects of faithfulness, of which there are many.

There are reasons (which can be easily supported with solid historical data), why our beautiful Christian civilization, one which provides sinners with ideals of virtue, truth and beauty, was attacked and degraded.

I propose, that the state of degradation we are suffering under today, is not a reason to adjust the ideals. It is a reason to adjust our practices, including pastoral. We don't need lower standards. We need pastors who will remind us, what are God's standards for us.

Lower standards, as has been observed since the sixties sexual revolution, bring about a farther lowering, farther degradation. Families suffer, children suffer, sodomites now claim a right to adopt children... It is getting p-r-o-g-r-e-s-s-i-v-e-l-y worse.

Jorge Bergoglio calls this degradation process one inspired by the Holy Spirit. He is changing God's commandments, simply because today's world, like Sodom and Gomorrah, has denied His wisdom and authority. He calls it progress, a moving forward. By doing this, he is attempting to degrade God.

It is unbearable and frightening to witness this.

We speak against this, of course, And we do not move "forward", toward paganism, toward a world before Christ and His cross, but we look to the merciful God, who gave us His Son to look up to.


We have high standards and a difficult, narrow path, not beach and pizza (Bergoglian outreach to the homeless, rather than the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ).

Anonymous said...

Dear Vox,

This is wonderful news. If I could, I'd sign my name to it also.

In 1846 - 8 years before the infallible dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, the Roman Catholic bishops of the United States declared Her the Patroness of the USA.

May all our Bishops - American, Canadian and throughout the world - have the courage and fortitude to proclaim the truth "in season and out of season" (1 or 2 Timothy).

O Mary conceived without sin, Patroness of the United States of America, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

In Christ the King,

Margaret

Anonymous said...

@ Paul Morphy : this public decoration for the four cardinals from the catholic scholars is very welcome news. Deo gratias.

The other slumbering cardinals who make up the college and the bishops said to support the Pope need to wake up and bear witness to the Truth.

The hireling on the seat of St.Peter needs to be deposed.

Kathleen1031 said...

Our hearts are full of admiration and gratitude for the men and women who signed this document. Each one of them can know they represent many lay Catholics who are watching these events with a now finely tuned sense of what is going on, a pope that is out of control and, incredibly, purposefully steering the barque of Peter onto the rocks. We have watched this for what seems an eternity, and prayed, and waited for Cardinals and Bishops to step up and defend Christ and the church, only to see them attacked and persecuted, by our own pope and his henchmen. This situation cannot go on, it cannot. Thanks be to God for the faithful Cardinals and Bishops, how tragic it is that there are not more of them! The clergy are losing the opportunity to defend Christ! Forevermore their chance is gone, once this evil is remedied, and it will be, this cannot last much longer, and they will know, and we will know, their inaction.
God bless these men and women, God bless our faithful Cardinals and Bishops, few as they are! May God help them, and help us, weather this terrible storm.

Unknown said...

No one from Canada ....

Anonymous said...

Now there are some resistance inside the very wall of modernist church, and that's a positive step I would gladly say that,but the battle is not between liberals & Conservatives,the battle is between Catholics and modernists.
Brgoglian apostasy is based on nothing but that revolution that started with 2nd Vatican council.
The good people who supported the Dubia cardinals have to do something bigger then that.
We are all fighting with revolutionary modernist church so being a conservative won't work we have to become counter revolutionary.
After all that's a positive news for Catholics but very little.

Deo Gratias

Romeo

Anonymous said...

Since Francis tweets, thousands of people ahould tweet him "RESPOND TO THE DUBIA". His head would explode.

Anonymous said...

On behalf of the faithful Catholics in Melbourne Australia, we sincerely thank Fr. Glen Tattersall for not only defending the lord, our most Holy savior Jesus Christ and his mystical body, the church but also the laity..Fr Glen Tattersall faithful servant of the lord we are praying for you for we know that the true disciples of Christ are being persecuted from the very top... We have been for the last three years living the 3rd secret of Fatima...Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to pull their head out of the sand.. God have mercy on C Jorge!!!!

Ana Milan said...

I have been wondering if the academics/pastors who wrote the open letter to PF some time ago would publicly support the Dubia. Now that they have, it is incumbent on those within the Hierarchy & Episcopate who have been refraining from adding their signatures to any document requesting clarification of AL to come out of the woodwork & do so immediately.

I have already tweeted @pontifex as a number of other posters have also done, but to get the numbers to do so is a difficult job. Too many fence sitters!