Cardinal Raymond Burke has written a response to Amoris Laetitia; one that, unfortunately, proves what I said of him weeks ago:
He simply isn’t man enough to stand up in defense of the truth; plainly pointing out errors and condemning unequivocally the dangers that are threatening his entire family.
Right out of the gate, Cardinal Burke plays the neo-con’s favorite card by blaming the latest and greatest Franciscan scandal on, you guessed it, the media:
The secular media and even some Catholic media are describing the recently-issued post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, “On Love in the Family,” as a revolution in the Church, as a radical departure from the teaching and practice of the Church … Such a view of the document is both a source of wonder and confusion to the faithful, and potentially a source of scandal…
Once again, the Gospel reading from last Sunday’s Mass comes to mind:
But the hireling and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf casteth and scattereth the sheep…
If nothing else, we can be thankful to Cardinal Burke for revealing his true identity to those who as yet may have fancied him a shepherd.
At this, let us recall what the document in question actually states:
Hence it can no longer simply be said that all those in any “irregular” situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. (AL 301)
Let’s be clear: “Irregular situations” refers to relationships that are characterized by adultery and fornication. As such, the participants in these situations are in an objective state of mortal sin, the definition of which is the deprivation of sanctifying grace.
That’s not my assessment of the matter; it’s Divine Law and the dogmatic teaching of the Holy Catholic Church. (See Council of Trent, Session VI, Chapter XV)
There can be no doubt whatsoever that Cardinal Burke knows this.
Amoris Laetitia further declares:
It [conscience] can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God [the ‘irregular situation’], and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal. (AL 303)
To maintain that Almighty God Himself asks us to sin, by engaging in adultery or fornication no less, is nothing less serious than blasphemy!
Cardinal Burke knows this as well.
It is entirely beyond debate: Amoris Laetitia makes claims that do in fact constitute “a radical departure from the teaching and practice of the Church.” This is the source of the present scandal!
And yet, Cardinal Burke counsels his flock by saying that this garbage “should be received with the profound respect owed to the Roman Pontiff as the Vicar of Christ…”
The only persons who show profound respect for heresy and blasphemy are heretics and blasphemers!
According to Cardinal Burke, however, one of the biggest problems associated with Amoris Laetitia is that people like me haven’t properly employed the correct interpretive key to Francis’ love letter to Lucifer:
The only key to the correct interpretation of Amoris Laetitia is the constant teaching of the Church and her discipline that safeguards and fosters this teaching.
Cardinal Burke insists that the document must be “read in the light of … what the Church has always taught and practiced in accord with her teaching.”
This is rather like stating that Fifty Shades of Grey must be read and interpreted in the light of Canticle of Canticles.
That said, the reality is that when one does shine the light of “what the Church has always taught and practiced” on Amoris Laetitia, heresy and blasphemy are revealed plain as day!
No matter, according to Cardinal Burke:
Pope Francis makes clear, from the beginning, that the post-synodal apostolic exhortation is not an act of the magisterium (No. 3) … In other words, the Holy Father is proposing what he personally believes is the will of Christ for His Church, but he does not intend to impose his point of view…
Does Cardinal Burke not recognize the power of the Holy Father’s words in directing the affairs of men for either good or for evil? Does he not know that the exhortations of the popes represent the most powerful of forces on earth; whether or not they have binding magisterial weight?
Of course he does, and that’s what makes his claims so shameful. Cardinal Burke sees the wolf. He knows that it is capable of devouring the souls in his care, but when put to the test, the best he can muster is to advise the flock not to take the beast too seriously.
As if Cardinal Burke hadn’t already relinquished all claims to Catholic credibility, he goes on to say:
The Church has historically been sensitive to the erroneous tendency to interpret every word of the pope as binding in conscience, which, of course, is absurd.
Let’s talk about erroneous tendencies vis-à-vis the Church’s historical wisdom, shall we.
Holy Church has always understood that the words of the pope carry a great deal of weight given the tremendous impact they bear even when they are issued without the intent of binding the faithful in conscience.
Take, for example, the controversial case of Pope Honorius I.
As you may know, Honorius was posthumously condemned as a heretic and anathematized by the Third Council of Constantinople; a ruling that was later confirmed by two subsequent councils.
His crime?
Without going into needless detail over matters still debated; let it be said that Honorius failed to adequately safeguard the doctrine of the faith against the Monothelites as evidenced in letters the pope had sent to Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, in response to queries the latter had sent to Rome.
Did you get that?
Honorius was condemned a heretic for the contents of his correspondence with the Patriarch, Sergius!
By contrast, the dreadful exhortation of Pope Francis (I refuse to call it “Apostolic”), Amoris Laetitia, is addressed to “Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, Consecrated Persons, Christian Married Couples, and all the Lay Faithful;” in other words, the entire Church! What’s more, it not only fails to defend the faith, it plainly contradicts it!
And yet, according to Cardinal Burke, in sounding the alarm, people like me are doing “a disservice to the nature of the document as the fruit of the Synod of Bishops.”
Don’t be fooled by Cardinal Burke’s posturing. He knows very well that Francis is practicing a false and dangerous brand of “pastoral” care.
Consider the following excerpt from an interview of Cardinal Burke conducted during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI:
I think that in latter years there has been a false sense of being pastoral, in the sense that priests and bishops can only talk about positive things. The whole notion about confronting the evils of society — especially those things that have become politically acceptable — became difficult, as if these subjects should not be raised. But the fact of the matter is that if we are true to the Holy Scriptures, priests and bishops have always been sentinels who alert people in their care about the evils that destroy individuals and society. (Cardinal Raymond Burke, Legatus Magazine, 5 Dec 2011)
Are these words concerning the duty of priests and bishops to alert the people in their care about certain evils not entirely applicable to the present situation?
If Cardinal Burke were a genuine shepherd, he would be taking his own advice this very day. As it is, however, he chooses instead to hide behind weak arguments concerning the weight, or lack thereof, of Amoris Laetitia:
While the Roman Pontiff has personal reflections which are interesting and can be inspiring, the Church must be ever attentive to point out that their publication is a personal act and not an exercise of the Papal Magisterium.
Cardinal Burke writes as if Amoris Laetitia presents no real danger since it is, in his estimation, of no more heft than Jorge Bergoglio’s diary, and in this he is being too clever by half.
He is engaging in a bit of Romanitas, playing the part of the obedient papal subject while insulting the pope’s exhortation as unworthy of serious consideration.
At this, please allow me to address Cardinal Burke directly:
Your Excellency,
We get it; you’re one sly old fox who knows how to play the Roman game. But guess what, Cardinal Burke? Game time is over and souls are at stake!
How dare you blame people like me for doing what you don’t have the spine to do yourself – taking on the task of the sentinel who is willing to endure persecution and ridicule for daring to alert God’s people to the evils that threaten to destroy individuals and society.
Pope Francis was right about you all along: You are merely a hireling, available for the price of a prestigious honorary position that affords you the luxury of international travel and the perks of global celebrity.
Enjoy it while you can, sir, for unless you change course, you can be rather certain that indeed you have received your reward.
“They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved.”
-Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church
“Saint Teresa, as the Roman Rota attests, never
fell into any mortal sin; but still Our Lord showed her the place prepared for her in Hell; not because she deserved Hell, but because, had she not risen from the state of lukewarmness in which she lived, she would in the end have lost the grace of God and been damned.”
-Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori, Doctor of the Church
“Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter.”
-Saint John Mary Vianney
Now the serpent was more merciful than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are excommunicated and must not eat from any tree in my integrated garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it’s doctrine, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that factors may exist which limit the ability to make a decision. Hence it is can no longer simply be said that all who eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil are deprived of grace & life forever. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule. You may know full well the rule, yet have great difficulty in understanding “its inherent values””
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, this put her in a concrete situation that didn’t allow her to act differently and decide otherwise, so she took some and ate it.
She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, least the intimacy between them be lacking and further endanger their faithfulness.”
This is rather like stating that Fifty Shades of Grey must be read and interpreted in the light of Canticle of Canticles.
LMAO now that is a perfect response to all of this heretical and sulphurous blasphemy
Card. Burke’s effeminate manner of speaking has always raised my skeptical antennae. It’s amazing how prevalent this is even among those men who aren’t sodomites. It’s especially common among cuckservatives.
Louie, all we have is a lifetime. However lomg that is is determined by God. All we could do is His Will. Imagine how much sufferings Our Lady endured in her earthly lifetime by saying yes to God’s will all the time. It’s very sad that so many who may see God’s Will refuse to do it for fear of suffering through which they will only be drawn closer to God and to true happiness. I am grateful that you have said yes to God’s Will even though you must be suffering some earthly trials. This whole Church thing is extremely painful to endure for so many, yet it is still a blessing to be allowed to see, hear and suffer through it. I offer up many prayers and personal sufferings for your continued perseverance and fortitude as you do God’s Will in your brief lifetime on earth. God speed!
The Cardinals response weighs heavy on the heart. Rorate Caeli has A guest Op- Ed: Pope Francis Pro Mundum, worth a read and was written by a newly ordained priest. Very sad that the Cardinal has chosen the path strewn with roses , hopefully he will see the errors of his statements and love the flock as Our Divine Savior has called him to love us.
Good post louie i agree 100% with you. Cardinal burke lets not not forget is still novus ordo church. ( i would of been shocked had he challeged francis) lets hope in light of this Bishop Fellay doesnt stay silent or passify his flock he should as you have done tell the truth about francis’s document hence all talks off rome has lost the faith. I would love to be proven wrong on this. I dont beleive Bishop Fellay will do the correct thing. ??
Fellay has already offered his initial reaction:
“… An Apostolic Exhortation which bears the title “The joy of love,” but that makes us cry. This exhortation is a summary of the two synods on marriage. It is very long and contains many things that are right, that they are beautiful, and after building a beautiful building, a beautiful boat, the Supreme Pontiff has made a hole in the keel of the boat, along the waterline. You all know what is happening. Needless to say, the hole was made by taking all possible precautions, thus it is needless to say that the hole is small: the boat sinks! Our Lord himself said that even an iota, not a single iota will be taken away by the law of God. When God speaks, his words do not admit exceptions, when God commands, he is of infinite wisdom that has provided for all possible cases. There is no exception to the law of God. And now, suddenly, it is claimed that this law of marriage, which keeps saying that “marriage is indissoluble” (the repeats this sentence, it must be said), then it says you can, despite everything, have exceptions in the sense that these so-called divorced and remarried in this state of mortal sin may be in a state of grace, and therefore could receive communion. It is very serious! Very serious! I think they do not sufficiently measure the seriousness of what has been said. Needless to say, are small exceptions put there in the corner; that’s how it went to Communion in the hand and as I explained with the little hole in the vessel is appropriate, the boat sinks! “
“taking on the task of the sentinel who is willing to endure persecution and ridicule for daring to alert God’s people to the evils that threaten to destroy individuals and society.”
Do you ever say anything at St. Alphonsus? Do you even pass out cards to your blog or any of your blog posts on what is happening in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore? Are you or are you not a member of the Archdiocese of Baltimore? Are not souls in danger there? Do most of the congregation even know you have a blog or that you are anything but in complete agreement with the Church that you attend (and belong to)?
http://www.outtraveler.com/2016/1/11/watch-inside-lgbt-friendly-catholic-church-baltimore
“lying awake last night thinking about the coming storm (yea… this stuff literally keeps me awake at night) … we will know tomorrow if indeed Amoris Laetitia opens wide the door to contraception and condoms in the name of “responsible parenthood,” but if it does, be not surprised, either by it or by the deafening episcopal silence that will most certainly follow.”
https://akacatholic.com/amoris-laetitia-a-trial-balloon-of-epic-proportions/
The other day reading that post, I couldn’t help but wonder, what about the deafening silence of the priest at St. Alphonsus about all these issues–doesn’t that bother him? Did he ever lose sleep over his own use of artificial birth control (I assume this based on 3 children & married to a non-Catholic knowing I could be very wrong!)? What about all his friends, siblings, children, mother and father who habitually use(d) birth control for all their childbearing YEARS (could possibly fall asleep just trying to count the number of times (like sheep)!)? Surely, if no sleep is being lost over all the USING of birth control, what difference does it make what Law is on some musty canon law book in Rome? When is the first or last time your priest at TLM MASS has instructed the faithful on why use of artificial birth control is a mortal sin or on the ends of marriage or how to choose their vocation (state in life) or practical means to work out their salvation (i.e. how to practice their Faith)? You think you have w/stood some persecution, but you will never be persecuted and ridiculed the way you can be in your own home, town and church (and never have a greater impact than you can make in living flesh and blood as a sentinel)–Chapter 3 of the Apocalypse is addressed to the LOCAL churches–encourage all to ask oneself: in my local church and milieu, who knows what I believe or stand for (while I’m so brave on blogs)? What will Jesus Christ say to me about MY deafening silence in the face of the offenses to Him going on right in front of my face (not to mention how many times i was a full fledged participant)?
So the deal with modernist rome is off then ??
Or is it little treats here and there like continued faculties for hearing confessions beyond the year of mercy
http://www.novusordowatch.org/wire/#.Vmg9aIqQHCQ
What keeps coming to mind is Christ saying to Cardinal Burke
“Et tu, Raymond?
(As used to express surprise and dismay at the treachery of a supposed friend)
I think I’ve found my punching bag.
Thanks Louie. Keep up the Good Fight. Everyone hear me. Do not get discouraged. Our Blessed Mother prophesied what was coming from Akita. We also know our Holy Mother Church will never be defeated when all seems lost. Continue to Pray The Rosary Daily and Pray that The True Militants within the Church speak up and get Louder and Louder. Remember Our Rosary Daily is OUR WEAPON against all the evil that is now in overdrive because satan’s time is coming quickly to his end. In the meantime make sure we all stay in the State of Grace and we FIGHT for Our Blessed Lord, Redeemer, Brother, Friend and Saviour. Blessed Be God Forever!
Let’s see…according to the New Thinking, I can beat my wife once or twice a year because I am incapable of reaching “the ideal” and my conscience says for now its the best I can do for ya God, ’cause its just toooooo complex and beyond my limits, (especially when she interrupts my TV football game), but hey… who cares? it’s not the objective ideal – so I’m going to get me some Eucharist to fit in ’cause I’m just as good as those rigid non-wife-beaters.
Maybe next week I’ll take up embezzlement….and parking in the handicapped spots.
Michael F Poulin
Deep down in their heart of hearts, the modernist heretic does not believe Jesus Christ, son of Mary, is God become man, who redeemed us through the Cross – and further they do not believe in His true and total presence in the Eucharist. Nothing else explains the wackiness of these fairies.
Compared to the size of the ship, the beautiful and luxurious Titanic went down with a “small hole”. Fellay’s analogy is perfect. The ship is going down and the band plays on. Captain Smith of the Titanic’s last words to the crew was “Be British”. We have nothing left to do but “Be Catholic”—(aka Catholic!)
interesting …the same manner as in Christoph Schönborn – you don’t have to know Czech or German to notice it. The soft-spokenness doesn’t necessarily mean effeminacy but they give off a lightness that surely does not impress any sense of leadership and command, nor do they instill confidence. These are not men of a type that other men would follow into battle and die for. Cupich is another . I am positive this is part of the reason men drift away from the Church.
My2cents
So knowing the ship has a hole and his going to sink he wouldnt want to lead all faithfull that are on the safe ship of archbishop Lefebvre (SSPX) onto the sinking ship of conciliar rome under francis would he ?? . So logic has to be talks are off with rome (francis) until they return to their senses.
Which in my opinion will never happen as we are living in the end times under the false prophet francis and im sorry to say WW3 is round the corner with the ANTICHRIST to make his apperence as the peace maker. Ps i believe Bishop fellay hasnt been holding the true Sspx line since the doctrinal declaration of 2012 anyway.
I think they built the ship around the hole.
Cardinal Maradiaga:
“The Pope wants to take this Church renovation to the point where it becomes irreversible. The wind that propels the sails of the Church towards the open sea of its deep and total renovation is Mercy.”
John 6
I agree with the essence of your assessment. However, at this point, I don’t think continuing talks with Rome will lead to capitulation. I hope and pray this is the case. Time will tell. The Vatican 2 “church” is too far gone to return to their senses. I’m in total agreement on that score.
Too true.
There have been plenty of errors, outrages, and blasphemies, in the last 50, 60, even 70 years, and the program just goes on and on. Churchmen, by and large, do nothing, going along to get along. They may finally be reaching the deadly temperature heated by this gradual boil. If they don’t jump out of the pot now, it may be too late very soon. Physical chastisement may be next.
Archbishop Blase Cupich:
“It can no longer be said, according to Pope Francis, that all those living in an ‘irregular situation’ are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace,” Cupich said….Asked in what specific situations he would allow a divorced and remarried person to receive Communion, Cupich refused to rule anyone out.
“I wouldn’t exclude anyone,” he said. “I would like our pastors to have discussion in all of those folks who are in these kinds of situations. … I know in my experience as a pastor, if you’ve seen a marriage then you’ve seen one marriage. There is no instance that can be replicated. Every situation has its variables that are part of it.”
————————————————
Remember!
“Will this Pope re-write controversial Church doctrines? No. But that isn’t how doctrine changes. Doctrine changes when pastoral contexts shift and new insights emerge such that particularly doctrinal formulations no longer mediate the saving message of God’s transforming love. Doctrine changes when the Church has leaders and teachers who are not afraid to take note of new contexts and emerging insights. It changes when the Church has pastors who do what Francis has been insisting: leave the securities of your chanceries, of your rectories, of your safe places, of your episcopal residences go set aside the small minded rules that often keep you locked up and shielded from the world.”
It was bound to happen. Just a matter of time before this goes mainstream.
“Live in sin”, talk to your Novus Ordo priest, ask for mercy based on discernment from Amoris Laetitia. He will give it to you and to your…significant other. 🙂
Its a shame that Christ founded such a horrible, error-ridden Church. Thank goodness francis is here to clean up the mess.
In all seriousness though, it will be a monumental task for any of us to avoid hell…..but the very thought of how badly these high ranking men of the Church will almost surely suffer is enough to cause nightmares.
Well said.
novusordowatch? PLEASE. The disingenuous, dishonest owner of that site, Mario Derkson, has a this point lost all credibility.
–
http://www.acatholicthinker.net/a-response-to-novus-ordo-watch/
Even more importantly, for anyone tempted to see Derkson (AKA “novusordowatch”) as any sort of authority on the Catholic Faith, see this:
–
http://www.trueorfalsepope.com/p/sedevacantist-watch.html
John6, I’m downright surprised you feel that way. (That was sarcasm.)
–
http://www.acatholicthinker.net/a-response-to-the-sspx-resista/
“Or is it little treats here and there like continued faculties for hearing confessions beyond the year of mercy.”
–
Pathetic sentiment. A bishop who did not recognize and treat with the Vicar of Christ – *as Archbishop Lefebvre never failed to do* – would be a schismatic. Like some commenters here, for example.
Well that sums it up in a nutshell! very well said.
I must have missed it, so Francis called Cardinal Burke a “hireling”? What did this happen? what was the context? Has anyone read the sermon of Bishop Fellay in which he said AL is like a hole below the waterline of a boat? But I am pretty sure SSPX members already know that. Do you guys think Bishop Fellay has done his duty as a prince of the Church, one of the successors of the Apostles on this issue? Should he either rebuke Francis personally (didn’t they have a meeting?) or write an open letter to clearly resist Francis’ position? Anyone is aware of any bishop doing what St. Paul did FOR St. Peter?
Can anyone tell me how to do a search on an old post of Louie in which he translated with subtitle what Francis was saying in a sermon in Italian something like the Church is not fair in saying the public adulterers can go to Mass but “that is it and no more…” If we can pull that video out and show it everything would be so clear to Neo Catholics.
Catholic thinker.
Has francis offered Bishop Fellay continued faculties for confession after the year of mercy ?
Don’t hold your breath. Nothing will be clear to Neo Catholics but fire falling from the sky and a mushroom cloud over Rome. And even then they probably won’t get it.
The Bishops of the Philippines are caving in.
“After collective discernment, your bishops will come up with more concrete guidelines on the implementation of the Apostolic Exhortation. But mercy cannot wait. Mercy should not wait. Even now, bishops and priests must open welcoming arms to those who have kept themselves out of the Church because of a sense of guilt and of shame. The laity must do no less. When our brothers and sisters who, because of broken relations, broken families and broken lives, stand timidly at the doors of our churches – and of our lives – unsure whether they are welcome or not, let us go out to meet them, as the Pope urges us to, and assure them that at the table of sinners at which the All-Holy Lord offers himself as food for the wretched, there is always room. O res mirabilis manducat Dominum pauper, servus et humilis…O wonderful reality that the poor, the slave and the lowly should partake of the Lord. This is a disposition of mercy, an openness of heart and of spirit that needs no law, awaits no guideline, nor bides on prompting. It can and should happen immediately.”
http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=75671
I truly wonder what the actual percentage is of homosexuals in the vatican 2 church. I am disgusted any time I hear any of them speak. Im guessing the number is likely north of 75%.
I’m prepared to defer judgment on Bishop Fellay’s meeting with the Pope. Although the timing was atrocious (and Bishop Fellay should have refused on that basis alone), Bishop Fellay was with the Pope for 40min and I don’t think it would have taken the Pope 40 min to outline what he wants to do with the SSPX before strangling it- that should only have taken 5 mins. So allowing some time for pleasantries, Bishop fellay must have had at least 20-25min to blast the pope to his face about his heresies. So let us wait and see if we get more details…
With that reservation made, allow me to offer a comment: I do not believe it is enough for a priest/bishop/cardinal to preach to the converted. At the time of our Lord’s passion, all the bishops/clergy abandoned Our Lord except St John. They sinned grievously by their lack of Faith. However, they did not do nothing. They would have huddled together, probably in the upper room with the doors locked, and made comments to each other, like we do in the com-boxes, about how terribly unjust it all was. But none of them DID anything in public, none of them gave public witness of the unjustice, nor did they witness to the Divinity and Kingship of Our Lord (That was left to laymen, and non-Christians to boot!). None of them stood by Our Lord in His time of trial. None of them stood with the Church.
Bishop Fellay must lead the charge in a public confrontation with the Pope over his heresies- even to the point of rejecting the Popes offers of rapprochement until he converts (what is the point of a rapprochement with a heretic anyway)
I hope and pray he will.
Maybe it is time for a bishop of the SSPX to call the pope an antichrist again….