In recent months, two gravely important matters of particular concern to canon law experts came to the fore:
On May 20th, Archbishop Gänswein (a canon lawyer by training) confirmed what Stefano Violi, Professor of Canon Law at the Faculty of Theology in Bologna and Lugano, had been saying since 2013:
Benedict XVI did not intend to resign the Petrine ministry whole and entire, but rather to “transform” and “expand” it in such way as to include two members; one “active,” and the other, “contemplative.”
Less than a month later, Francis the Loquacious stunned the Catholic world by stating that the “great majority” of sacramental marriages are invalid.
In spite of the magnificent confusion that ensued in the aftermath of these events, the one man considered by many neo-conservatives to be the most qualified of all canon lawyers living today, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, has been conspicuously quiet.
On July 20th, however, he broke his silence; not with respect to the aforementioned scandals, but on the topic of Islam.
Predictably, Cardinal Burke’s words, which we will examine more closely momentarily, are being applauded by poor undernourished Catholics as an example of courage and straightforwardness.
I suspect that most are doing so, not out of malice, but out of sheer ignorance. Perhaps rereading Burke’s commentary through a Catholic lens (for those willing to endure a little discomfort) may prove helpful.
In any case, it ends up that Cardinal Burke has been quietly spending time in Wisconsin (his home state) working on a new book entitled, “Hope for the World: To Unite All Things in Christ,” which will be an extended interview conducted by a French journalist.
Speaking with David Gibson for Religion News Service in promotion of the effort, Cardinal Burke was quoted as saying that Islam is “fundamentally a form of government” that “wants to govern the world.”
He went on to say that he is concerned that many people do not understand that, in his view, “when they (Muslims) become the majority in any country they have the duty to submit the whole population to Shariah,” as the Islamic code of law is known.
According to Gibson, Cardinal Burke made it a point to stress that he did not want to be “disrespectful” of Islam or “generate hostility.”
As for an appropriate reaction to Islam, Burke is quoted as saying:
“The Church really should be afraid of it.”
Cardinal Burke had more to say, but at this, let’s see if we can untangle the mess he has created thus far.
First, let it be said that Islam, unlike monarchy, socialism, democracy, etc., is not “fundamentally a form of government.”
Yes, Islam does wish to rule the world, but here’s the key to truly understanding it:
Islam is first and foremost a false religion; one that directly opposes the reign of Christ the King and the Holy Catholic Church that He established for our salvation. As such, Islam labors to institute a system of worship and governance according to the diabolical ravings of the warmongering pedophile “prophet,” Muhammad, in service to the false god, Allah.
Cowardly clerics of the conciliar kind, like Cardinal Raymond Burke, cannot bring themselves to acknowledge as much; in fact, he is ever so careful not to be seen as being “disrespectful” toward Islam.
Think about that for a moment…
In exactly what way does this evil enterprise merit the respect of faithful Catholics?
Clearly, Islam doesn’t deserve anyone’s respect.
Much less is it the case, as Cardinal Burke states, that “the Church really should be afraid of it.”
It amazes me how many Catholics, far from finding fault with this ludicrous statement, saw fit to approve of it!
How many times did Our Blessed Lord encourage His followers to “be not afraid”?
Yes, but Islam is a religion of the sword. Fear in this case is prudent!
Oh, really?
St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, tells us otherwise, saying:
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us? Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword? (Romans 8:31,35)
The reason St. Paul’s words seem to have escaped Cardinal Burke is simple – they don’t really apply to his manner of thinking; i.e., God is not for those who think as he does.
Cardinal Burke went on to say:
When they (Muslims) become a majority in any country then they have the religious obligation to govern that country. If that’s what the citizens of a nation want, well, then, they should just allow this to go on. But if that’s not what they want, then they have to find a way to deal with it.”
Note the contradiction (otherwise recognized as disorientation):
On the one hand, Burke insists that Islam is “fundamentally a form of government.” On the other, he clearly recognizes that its quest to govern the world concerns “the religious obligation” to do so!
Indeed, Islam is fundamentally – that is, primarily and most basically – a false religion, and make no mistake about it – the Church need not fear it in the least.
A Catholic view of the Muhammadan menace is to realize that the Church must confront and condemn Islam for the evil that it is, and to labor for its eradication by way of conversion as she carries out the mission that was given to her by Christ the King.
The Burkes of the world no longer possess the clarity of thought that flows from a genuine sensus Catholicus, and the reason is that they have, willingly or not, abandoned the true faith in exchange for the conciliar counterfeit; the same that embraces the Americanist version of religious liberty as if it were sure doctrine.
As reported by Gibson:
When asked how the West should respond, the cardinal did not cite or endorse specific proposals, like those championed by the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and other conservatives, to ban or limit Muslims coming into the U.S.
“I think the appropriate response,” he said, “is to be firm about the Christian origin of our own nation, and certainly in Europe, and the Christian foundations of the government, and to fortify those.”
God Bless America!
As for precisely which one – Jesus Christ, Allah, Buddha, Vishnu, or Mother Earth (one of Francis’ favorites) – well, that’s an entirely personal decision.
Seriously, folks, can we please dispense with the lie about “the Christian origin of our own (American) nation”?
The origins of this nation are not Christian; they are deist, protestant, and decidedly anti-Catholic.
The United States of America is constitutionally forbidden by law to formally and publicly recognize the exclusive rights of Christ the King and the Holy Catholic Church – the obligation of every individual, society and State.
Truly, Cardinal Burke provides a far better example of steadfast Americanism than he does authentic Catholicism – the former of which champions “the consent of the governed;” the latter the Sovereign Rights of Christ the King.
How else can one explain his insistence concerning Shariah law, “When they (Muslims) become a majority in any country … if that’s what the citizens of a nation want, well, then, they should just allow this to go on”?
In conclusion, I always take considerable heat from certain readers when I expose the hollowness of Cardinal Burke’s rhetoric. I’ve lost any number of supporters for this one reason alone. (If you feel moved to help offset that loss, I’d be most grateful.)
My intent in these posts is not to denigrate the man, but rather to urge readers to scrutinize everything, even those things that come from churchmen they happen to admire; measuring every last thought and idea against the mind of the Church as made known with clarity in the centuries leading up to Vatican Council II.
Yes, it takes effort, and it may very well lead to disappointment in men once idolized, but all of this pales in comparison to the joy of knowing the immutable truth that comes to us from Christ through His Holy Catholic Church.
Oh! Those scawy scawy Mohamedans —
http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2014/10/06/one-man-antonio-primaldo-and-799-other-martyrs-save-rome-in-1480/
Agree with you totally, Louie. Very unimpressed with Cardinal Burke’s milquetoast words in the face of this enormous existential battle we face.
Catholics–you know…the real ones–find little enough encouragment these days from any source. They hope to find what hope there is in sites like this. In the last several months, Louie, you don’t seem to see hope anywhere any more. You don’t seem to be militant on behalf of the Church; you just seem angry and depressed. That is contagious. You seem to be as obsessed with criticizing what remains of faithful leaders, e.g Sarah and Burke etc., as Voris is with the SSPX and the “untouchable” heretic in Rome. I started coming here–and stayed–because I found hope and comfort, someone I could identify with and find cognitive consonance. By the way, as someone who has traveled to the Middle East frequently for years and who has actually read the Qu’ran and Hadith and knows how the surahs are organized, Ann Barnhardt–and apparently Cardinal Burke–are correct; Islam is an ideology that uses the facade of religion as cover for violence and, frankly, sin in order to conquer territory, dominate enemies and gain wealth. That post Hijra Medina approach was so much more “prophet”-able than the Mecca years.
I disagree Tradproffesor. Louie comes across as serenely confident in the truth and beauty of Catholicism and demonstrated how ludicrous the Cardinal’s words are in light of the gospel.
“…you remember in particular what happened to the Count of Chambord. He was criticized for not accepting to be made king of France after the 1870 Revolution in France on the grounds of changing the French flag. But it was not so much a question of the flag. Rather, he refused to submit to the principles of the Revolution. He said, ‘I shall never consent to being the lawful King of the Revolution.’ He was right! For he would have been voted in by the country, voted in by the French Parliament, but on condition he accept to be a Parliamentary King, and so accept the principles of the Revolution. He said ‘No. If I am to be King, I shall be King like my ancestors were, before the Revolution.’ He was right. One has to choose. He chose to stay with the Pope, and with pre-Revolutionary principles.
We too have chosen to be Counter revolutionary, to stay with the Syllabus, to be against the modern errors, to stay with Catholic Truth, to defend Catholic truth. We are right!”
Archbishop Lefebvre
Louie’s hope is in Our Lady and not in our emasculated prelates. You are projecting your own despair, Tradprofessor. Louie seems like a highly skilled surgeon and with his retractors is exposing the malignancy invading the Church. He is teaching us to recognize the widespread metasteses.
Time is a great legitimizer. The devil knows this very well, and uses this to his great advantage. Islam has been around since the 7th century, Protestantism has been around for 500 years, the United States has been around for a couple hundred years, the Church after the second Vatican council has been around for 5 decades now. Surely, many people assume, these things are “legitimate” or contain some legitimacy, after all they’ve been around for so long. This combined with the unclear teaching in the Church since VII, makes one susceptible to take a position where you can point out unreconcilable errors in some of these areas, but still consider them legitimate (such as admitting that Muslims want to take over the world, but not wanting to disrespect islam). You are very correct, Louie, to measure everything against the benchmark of the Church as it has taught through the centuries. After all, this is part of the Church’s mission – to protect against error.
But but your holiness , I don’t want to wear a burka and become a dhimmi.
Or become a slave, I want to at least have a decent job to pay my bills.
My goodness , has the diabolical disorientation gone so far as to see the last of the orthodox princes of the church give sway to Islam ?
Quote ” but if that’s not they want, than they have to find a way to deal with it”
There’s only one way to deal with it, if you don’t want it and that is to pay the jezia. Give up your job your home and your decent salary job and become a second class citizen, this is how the average Christians in the Middle East deals with it. Is this what he’s suggesting we do as well,?
in Islam its intention is to cause the Christain to live in such dire miserable conditions, that they will convert to escape starvation , beatings , and on and on, So you can just imagine how those Christians in the Middle East have such strong faith to endure it. Christianity is far too weak over here to just deal with it. We are so use to our easy way of life, with all its comforts and commodities, it outweighs the faith. Many would convert to avoid such hardships. This is what the Cardinal either don’t see , or don’t care. Is he not the watchman ? Why isn’t he doing his duty! Islam is a dangerous enemy approaching and this is how he rings the tower bells ? That’s it just deal with it?
” if the people want it. ” if the people don’t want it”
Give sway to the governing people’ a illusion if there ever was one. And one that screams “your on your own.”
Has the cardinal even went so far as to actually express he has accepted his dhimmitude status ? Because that is exactly what he’s telling the rest of us to do when he says “just deal with it.”
Where’s our second sword given by Christ the King to defend his church and his people ? Is it locked up tight in a golden chess in the vaults of the Vatican?
What will he do , if and when the Muslims – 12th imam ( Mahdi the prophet , supposedly reborn Mohammed , a prefigure of the antichrist ) rises to power, they are trying to rise up this monster now, with the top cleric leader members of the OIC pledging alligence to one particular Islamic leader, to become the Islamic caliphate who will reign him in , is he going to lay down his head for this character Like the Egyptian president will end up doing ? Maybe he should have a visit with ol admiral Ace and get an up date. Because he surely don’t have the faith as I once believed he did.
We can only hope that before erdogans Ottoman Empire becomes great and glorious again in the year of Our Lord 2023,as he promised to the Islamic world that the triumph of Our Lady will put his ottoman dreams to rest.
This is certainly not the time to be cowtowing to Islam with the Middle East on fire , Europe on fire , and the muruna so close to succeeding in the west.
Islam brings with it, the days when to try to live your catholic faith could mean the lost of your life, then we will be in those glorious moments of history which Our Lord spoke about martyrdom , ” He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it. ”
Islam
The fundamentals of a world class heresy. Some have went so far as to call it a Christian curse.
please dear Lady of Fatima, please help us.
You have to understand what Louie is doing tradprofessor. He’s measuring everything against the immutable Truth of the Catholic Church, which was quite popular in the centuries before VII. We are so used to confusion and ambiguity nowadays that when someone shows some conservatism, such as Cardinal Burke, we think we’ve found gold! But we can’t think that since this is the best we have we need to just go along. The Truth is what counts. As great people in the Church have always taught, Truth mixed with a little error can be more dangerous than outright error. This is why it’s vital to measure everything, even statements by more conservative people like Cardinal Burke, against the immutable Truths of the Church.
I definitely see Louie’s anger more over the past several months (and who can blame him) but I never once detected depression. Personally speaking, I believe that way too few of us aren’t as angry as we should be. There are lots of blogs that like to downplay what is happening and give certain people a free pass…I come here specifically because this isnt one of those blogs.
I appreciate all comments here; your attempt at diagnosing my state of mind from whatever distance you happen to write, Tradprofessor, included. Truly.
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I can’t help but notice that conspicuously missing from your comment, however, is anything that even remotely challenges the points that I made in my post.
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The reality of the situation in the Church is what it is, and unfortunately, it’s not a pretty picture.
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If by “hope” you’re looking for someone to rally around churchmen, like Burke, who have (as demonstrated time and again) all but abandoned the mission of the Church as given by Christ, I readily admit – you won’t find it here.
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Churchmen such as these (the Burkes and the Sarahs) might be the best of a sorry lot and occasionally poignant, but “faithful leaders”? Please. They are shills for the Council and therefore a major part of the problem.
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I do my best to find and tell the truth as made known via tradition and apply it to present circumstances. No doubt, I don’t always get it right. When I happen to get something wrong, please let me know. You can begin with the actual content of this post if you’d like.
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Thanks for reading and commenting. I do hope you hang in there.
I should say that way to MANY of us aren’t as angry as we should be.
“The Church should really be afraid of Bergoglio”—-When will Burke work up the courage to say THAT???? He isn’t angry and depressed enough. That’s his problem. Apparently, he’s content with what is going on in Rome. Islam is a safer topic for him rather than tackling the heresies of this “papacy”.
I’m convinced that the Devil raised up Islam to be nothing other than a counterfeit distorted caricature of the Church simply in order to shut Catholics up about the rights of Christ so that nobody draws a comparison between the Church and Islam.
The State should be a Catholic Confessional State!
– What? Like the Islamic State?
Women should dress modestly!
– What? They should wear a burka and niqab?
The husband is the head of his family!
– What? And treat women like the Muslims do?
Homosexuality is immoral!
– What? Are you going to toss them off of buildings too?
We should pray the Liturgy of the Hours and the Divine Office.
-What? Should we bow down on carpets too?
The priest and laity should all face East at the Mass!
– What? Should we also face Mecca too?
The State’s laws should be subject to Christ the King.
– What? What happened to freedom?
States should recognize the true religion and put restrictions on non-Catholic and anti-Catholic practices and seek to convert them.
– What? Like the Shariah Law? Are you going to kill people if they refuse?
And so on and so forth…
All this is why Islam is liberal secular society’s best friend. It keeps the Catholics from talking. We can’t be compared to those savages! How about we side with the precious US Constitution? Religious Freedom! Everyone is equal! Let’s all get along! See? We’re not like them! There is no God but the Masonic Deist God and America is its prophet! Blessings be upon her!
Oh, Father Carota is dearly missed!
Yes, as surreal as it feels, Bergoglio is the true threat.
If Cardinal Burke did not clearly denounce Lumen Gentium 16 and CCC 841 as blasphemy then he failed his duty as a Bishop and as a Catholic. I am surprised some “traditional” Catholics like Chris Jackson of the Remnant actually wrote an article saying it is a blasphemy but it is no big deal because it was a diplomatic gesture from Vatican II Fathers.
As always Louie breaks it down with clarity. The VII disorientation weighs heavily on the good Cardinal Burke. Praying to Our Lady for the graces needed for him to come to the realization that all this placating accomplishes nada and as to his views that America was founded by Christians he’s yet to swallow the bitter pill that the Freemasons have played a cruel trick on the unsuspecting of this country and the world.
“The person who does not become irate when he has cause to be, sins. For an unreasonable patience is the hotbed of many vices: it fosters negligence, and stimulates not only the wicked, but above all the good, to do wrong.”
St. John Chrysostom, Homily XI super Matheum, 1c, nt.7.
Bingo!
You’ve discovered the reason the NWO folks are propping up Islam and its current invasion of Europe. Francis included.
Elderly priest in Normandy has his throat slashed by two Isis animals, nuns and parishioners were held hostage…….horrifyingly more to come…..it is not a religion!
Well said. We should be afraid of the destruction of Faith and morals that Francis is continually effecting with his evil doing, the defiance of God and damnation of souls. Lord have mercy. Eternal Rest grant unto the priest murdered while offering Holy Mass in Normandy this morning.
Reflecting on what you said, Johnno, and Danielpan, thank you for pointing this out:
841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.”330
If anyone should be depressed, it should be those who acknowledge the above as truth.
In Lucia’s last public interview with Fr. Fuentes in 1957:
“Father, the Blessed Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but I understood this for three reasons:
“The first is because she told me that the Devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, a decisive battle. It is a final battle where one party will be victorious and the other will suffer defeat. So, from now on, we are either with God or we are with the Devil; there is no middle ground.
So, since the devil is engaging in a battle with the Virgin, and we must choose sides clearly than I could only imagine the clarity in which Louie understands the gravity of the situation, being that he has devoted his life to the cause of CLEARLY spreading the truth during these times when the devil is lashing his tail about. Thank you, Louie.
Perhaps people have said that these extremely serious children of Fatima were depressed. For they saw more clearly than any of us the gravity of the situation which The Virgin came to warn us of. There is no word invented that could properly label what they must have felt in their little hearts for the rest of their lives after seeing hell and understanding the gravity of our times and the massive amounts of souls going to hell. Yes, Louie, it’s all about Fatima. And it is time to get serious. Let us Choose sides.
http://www.google.com/search?q=children+of+Fatima&client=ms-android-verizon&site=webhp&prmd=inv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi188n6npHOAhXG4iYKHeSlDWcQ_AUIBygB&biw=360&bih=615
Francis is “shocked” at this outrageous act, but cannot condemn the source of this violence (ISIS) because he invited them! As far as I’m concerned, Burke is STILL silent until he points his finger in the right direction–the man in white who lives in the Vatican but is currently corrupting the youth of Poland at WYD. By the way, how much money is spent on these useless trips which could better serve the poor? Pope Francis, the Worst!!
Mr. V., thanks for forging on with clarity concerning Divinely revealed truth, even though true charity -as always- requires denouncing errors that come from popular and kindly-looking souls like Cardinal Burke.
I think too many people still don’t realize the grave harm done by anyone who publicly praises a false religion. Pius XI emphasized it in “Mortalium Animos” writing:
“how does it happen that this charity tends to injure faith? Everyone knows that John himself, the Apostle of love,….altogether forbade any intercourse with those who professed a mutilated and corrupt version of Christ’s teaching.”
“… the Conception of the Mother of God without stain of original sin…the mystery of the August Trinity, and the Incarnation of our Lord… Are these truths not equally certain, or not equally to be believed… Has not God revealed them all? ”
“.. whosoever therefore is not united with the body is no member of it, neither is he in communion with Christ its head.”
Let them hear Lactantius crying out: “The Catholic Church is alone in keeping the true worship. This is the fount of truth, this the house of Faith, this the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation.”
” Let none delude himself with obstinate wrangling. For life and salvation are here concerned, which will be lost and entirely destroyed, unless their interests are carefully and assiduously kept in mind.”
“… not with the intention and the hope that “the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” will cast aside the integrity of the faith and tolerate their errors, but, on the contrary, that they themselves submit to its teaching and government.”
” Would that God our Savior, “Who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” would hear us when We humbly beg that He would deign to recall all who stray to the unity of the Church! In this most important undertaking We ask and wish that others should ask the prayers of Blessed Mary the Virgin, Mother of divine grace, victorious over all heresies and Help of Christians, that She may implore for Us the speedy coming of the much hoped-for day, when all men shall hear the voice of Her divine Son, and shall be “careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Excellent analogy, Akita. I could not agree with you more!
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Louie “sees” things that others do not. He thinks clearly, by the grace of God, and writes with Catholic clarity.
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May God reward you and protect you, Louie. May Our Holy Mother and Queen surround you with Her Mantle.
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Time to say another Rosary.
Well said, Cortez!
Here is a picture of the children of Fatima after Our Lady showed them the vision of hell.
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http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/images_A-E/E065_Seers.jpg
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They do indeed look “depressed.” After this vision, Jacinta could think of nothing else but those souls falling into hell for the rest of her holy life.
The countenances of those standing at the foot of the Cross certainly resembled those of these children’s.
You are in good company, Louie.
We are in the passion of Holy Mother Church. A certain “sobriety” is entirely appropriate.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
Our Lady of Good Success, pray for us.
Mother Marianna de Jesus Torres DIED a literal death after her vision of the present state of affairs in this time we are currently living in.
Amazing. How insightful, Johnno.
“The Church should really be afraid of Bergolio.”
I got a chuckle out of this, but really, it’s SO true. The biggest threat to the Church today is Pope Francis. But militant Islam is a problem, too.
I think that Cardinal Burke may not have proper understanding of the Reign of Christ the King. I don’t recall that he’s ever mentioned it. Certainly the post-conciliar church doesn’t believe in Christ the King. Rather, it believes that all religions have rights. But Catholic teaching, until Vll, had always maintained that the only legitimate religion is that of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Burke has no doubt been influenced more than he thinks in regards to Vll.
It’s possible that civil war will break out in Europe, or at least in France, due to the terrorist attacks and the fear of the general population. So in this respect, Cardinal Burke is correct to speak out about it – especially where he mentioned that Islam is a political system that will always try to take over and rule through sharia law. It’s more of a problem in Europe than here in the U.S., and Cardinal Burke has a close connection to Europe.
CATHOLIC HERALD
A letter asks the cardinals to request a clarification from the Pope that some interpretations of Amoris Laetitia are heretical
The names of forty-five priests and theologians who are asking for a clarification of Amoris Laetitia have been revealed.
The National Catholic Reporter has published the list of signatories to the letter, which has been sent to all 218 cardinals and patriarchs.
They include Fr Aidan Nichols, one of Britain’s most distinguished theologians; the bioethicist Professor Luke Gormally, a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life; Fr Giovanni Scalese, the leader of Catholics in Afghanistan; and many other well-known names, including seminary professors and university teachers.
The letter, which has been seen by the Catholic Herald, asks the cardinals to request a clarification from the Pope that some interpretations of Amoris Laetitia are heretical.
The letter does not accuse Pope Francis of false teaching; but it says some passages can easily give rise to interpretations at odds with Catholic doctrine.
It says that a clarification would allow the “many valuable teachings” of Amoris Laetitia to “have their true effect, by distinguishing them from the problematic elements in the document and neutralising the threat to the faith posed by them.”
For instance, the letter asks for a clarification on a passage saying that someone in an “‘irregular’ situation” might “be in a concrete situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide otherwise without further sin”.
The signatories say a heretical reading would be “that a person with full knowledge of a divine law can sin by choosing to obey that law”.
They cite the Council of Trent and other authoritative Church documents.
The spokesman for the group, Dr Joseph Shaw, told the National Catholic Reporter: “What we’re asking the cardinals to do is to request of the Holy Father that he make it clear that some interpretations are wrong.
“That what was contrary to the faith remains so, what the Council of Trent taught remains the teaching of the church.”
Dr Shaw, a member of the philosophy faculty at the University of Oxford, is one of several British signatories to the document.
Others include Fr Ray Blake, Fr Thomas Crean OP, Fr Neil Ferguson OP, Dr Alan Fimister, Fr Simon Henry, Dr Anthony McCarthy, Fr Stephen Morgan and Fr John Osman. There are also two Ordinariate priests, Fr John Hunwicke and Fr David Palmer.
Other noteworthy names include the theologian Fr Brian Harrison OS and the Australian scholar Dr Anna Silvas, who has written a thorough critique of Amoris Laetitia.
One of the signatories, Dr Alan Fimister, who teaches at St John Vianney Seminary in Colorado, told the Catholic Herald: “I am constantly approached by people citing this or that passage of Amoris Laetitia and asking how it could be reconciled with the faith as they have received it.” He said that a clarification was necessary to show what was and wasn’t a legitimate interpretation.
Fimister said that when asked to add his name to the signatories, “I couldn’t see how in conscience I could refuse to sign. The faith isn’t a hermeneutical game whereby we find new and interesting ways to give meaning to the same words every few decades, it is the way of eternal life.”
Fimister said he had been “deeply affected” by Archbishop Samuel Aquila’s article pointing out that the martyrs of the English reformation had died for the indissolubility of marriage.
Like many other observers, Archbishop Aquila argued that this teaching was threatened by proposals to admit the divorced and remarried to Communion.
Archbishop Aquila’s article was entitled, “Did Thomas More and John Fisher die for nothing?” Fimister said: “As an English Catholic I feel a sacred duty to do what little I can to see that they did not.”
The full list of signatories, according to the National Catholic Reporter, is below:
Dr Jose Tomas Alvarado
Associate Professor
Institute of Philosophy, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
Rev Fr Scott Anthony Armstrong PhD
Brisbane Oratory in formation
Rev Claude Barthe
Rev Ray Blake
Parish priest of the diocese of Arundel and Brighton
Fr Louis-Marie de Blignieres FSVF
Doctor of Philosophy
Dr Philip Blosser
Professor of Philosophy
Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Archdiocese of Detroit
Mgr Ignacio Barreiro Carambula, STD, JD
Chaplain and Faculty Member of the Roman Forum
Rev Fr Thomas Crean OP, STD
Holy Cross parish, Leicester
Fr Albert-Marie Crignion FSVF
Doctor designatus of Theology
Robert de Mattei
Professor of History of Christianity, European University of Rome
Cyrille Dounot JCL
Professor of Law, the University of Auvergne
Ecclesiastical advocate, archdiocese of Lyon
Fr Neil Ferguson OP, MA, BD
Lecturer in sacred Scripture, Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford
Dr Alan Fimister STL, PhD
Assistant Professor of Theology, St. John Vianney Seminary, archdiocese of Denver
Luke Gormally
Director Emeritus, The Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics
Sometime Research Professor, Ave Maria School of Law, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ordinary Member, The Pontifical Academy for Life
Carlos A Casanova Guerra
Doctor of Philosophy, Full Professor of Universidad Santo Tomas de Chile
Rev Brian W Harrison OS, MA, STD
Associate Professor of Theology (retired), Pontifical University of Puerto Rico; Scholar-in-Residence, Oblates of Wisdom Study Center, St. Louis, Missouri; Chaplain, St. Mary of Victories Chapel, St. Louis, Missouri
Rev Simon Henry BA (Hons), MA
Parish priest of the archdiocese of Liverpool
Rev John Hunwicke
Former Senior Research Fellow, Pusey House, Oxford; Priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
Peter A Kwasniewski PhD, Philosophy
Professor, Wyoming Catholic College
Dr. John RT Lamont STL, D.Phil
Fr Serafino M Lanzetta, PhD
Lecturer in Dogmatic Theology, Theological Faculty of Lugano, Switzerland
Priest in charge of St Mary’s, Gosport, in the diocese of Portsmouth
Dr Anthony McCarthy
Visiting Lecturer in Moral Philosophy at the International Theological Institute, Austria
Rev Stephen Morgan D.Phil (Oxon)
Lecturer & Tutor in Theology, Maryvale Higher Institute of Religious Sciences
Don Alfredo Morselli STL
Parish priest of the archdiocese of Bologna
Rev Richard A Munkelt PhD
Chaplain and Faculty Member, Roman Forum
Fr Aidan Nichols OP, PhD
Formerly John Paul II Lecturer in Roman Catholic Theology, University of Oxford
Prior of the Convent of St. Michael, Cambridge
Fr Robert Nortz MMA, STL
Director of Studies, Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, Massachusetts (Maronite)
Rev John Osman MA, STL
Parish priest in the archdiocese of Birmingham, former Catholic chaplain to the University of Cambridge
Christopher D Owens STL (Cand.)
Adjunct Instructor, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, St. John’s University (NYC)
Director, St Albert the Great Center for Scholastic Studies
Rev David Palmer MA
Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
Chair of Marriage and Family Life Commission, Diocese of Nottingham
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 Catolica de Chile
Member of the International Association of Patristic Studies
Fr Anthony Pillari JCL (Cand.)
Priest of the archdiocese of San Antonio, chaplain to Carmelite nuns
Prof Enrico Maria Radaelli
International Science and Commonsense Association (ISCA)
Department of Metaphysics of Beauty and Philosophy of Arts, Research Director
Dr John C. Rao D.Phil (Oxford)
Associate Professor of History, St. John’s University (NYC)
Chairman, Roman Forum
Fr Reginald-Marie Rivoire FSVF
Doctor designatus of canon law
Rt Rev Giovanni Scalese CRSP, SThL, DPhil
Ordinary of Afghanistan
Dr Joseph Shaw
Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford University
Dr Anna M. Silvas FAHA
Adjunct research fellow, University of New England, NSW, Australia
Michael G. Sirilla, PhD
Professor of Systematic and Dogmatic Theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville
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
Giovanni Turco
Professor of the Philosophy of Public Law, University of Udine
Fr Edmund Waldstein OCist.
Vice-Rector of the Leopoldinum seminary and lecturer in moral theology at the Phil.-Theol. HochschuleBenedikt XVI, Heiligenkreuz
Nicholas Warembourg
Professeur agrege des facultes de droit
Ecole de Droit de la Sorbonne – Universite Paris 1
Thank you, eva. Good to know we are not alone. Everyone on this list is angry and depressed, as they should be!
There you go. Nice quote.
Excellent analogy. Couldn’t agree more. Thank you so much for this summary.
Which means that you’ve noticed the similarities between Tradism and Radical Islam.
I’m convinced that God, knowing what was to occur only a few years down the road, raised up the Holy Second Vatican Council to declare for all time that man has a right to religious freedom.
Which one of us is right, only time will tell.
Hey Johnno, Ann Barnhardt really liked your comment here–! Check it out:
http://www.barnhardt.biz/2016/07/28/comment-of-the-year-satan-using-islam-to-shut-up-christians/
I thought v2 didnt “declare” anything?
Ganganelli –
One hardly knows where to even begin tearing your post apart. You’d undoubtedly be a formal heretic were it not for the fact that all of us here believe you really didn’t think things through before you posted what you just did.
First I’d have to ask you just what you have against things like… oh… dressing modestly… that makes it a radicalist-Trad-only proposition for which we are going around slaughtering people in the name of God? And where precisely in Vatican II did it give you the green light to parade around in your underwear in public? Not to mention that the council itself would be found to uphold several things that Traditionalists fight for.
With regards to Religious Freedom, if you actually think God would come down here, go “Oops! I’ve messed up when I said ‘Thou Shalt have no other gods before me as Commandment #1” and was sooooo scared of Mohammad that he had to retcon His own divine law, then one must really question why you are following the Catholic faith in the first place! I can only assume it’s because you believe in Darwinian evolution too and thus adopt the error that all religions evolve. And that Catholicism just happens to be the more evolved one. That or the problem is not that I have “noticed the similarities between Tradism and Radical Islam.” But rather that you can’t even tell the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism and imagine them to be similar!
Even stupider is that if we consider the Church is going to up and retcon all it’s doctrine via Council, one should wonder what the Church is going to do if say some other crazy people decided to adopt every single idea in Vatican II and ‘Islamicize’ it and go around killing other people in the name of Religious Freedom as American does when it’s bombs away for spreading secular democracy where everyone will have freedom of religion when all the Traddies and logicians and people who believe in objective truth and not Masonic religious freedom are dead? Will it be time for Vatican III? Is this how the Church functions according to Gaganelli?
If anything, when the Anti-Christ comes preaching another changed evolved pastoral doctrine for our times I fully expect you to be one of the first suckers in line to worship him!
The truth cannot change. There exists no moral right nor freedom to purvey falsehood (evil).
“Some interpretations”?!! Rather, the only rational, natural interpretations . . .
I am new to AKACatholic and am blown away by Louie V’s points. I thought that there was something weak about what Cardinal Burke said but couldn’t put my finger on it until I read Louie V’s column. Louie’s questions about the transition from Benedict to Francis were the first I have ever heard, even though I thought I was a fairly informed Catholic. Thank you, Louie. I am very excited about the site and look forward to reading more of what you have to say!