Vatican Tells Bishops Not To Reform Faster Than Pope Francis

[Apotheoun]

Vatican tells bishops not to reform faster than Pope Francis

 

By Tom Heneghan, Reuters

 

PARIS, FRANCE — The Vatican warned bishops on Tuesday not to reform faster than Pope Francis, after a German diocese said that some divorced and remarried Catholics would now be allowed to receive communion and other sacraments.

 

Vatican spokesman Rev Federico Lombardi, announcing the pope would hold a special synod of bishops in October 2014 to discuss issues facing the family, said local churches that come up with their own reforms in the meantime could create confusion.

 

Pope Francis has indicated he could consider exceptions to a Church law that bars remarried Catholics from the sacraments because Rome considers marriage to be inviolable. Many bishops have mentioned this as a growing problem in their dioceses.

 

The archdiocese of Freiburg in Germany issued a guidebook on Monday for priests ministering to remarried Catholics that spelled out a way for them to express remorse for their failed first marriage and receive communion and other sacraments.

 

Speaking at the Vatican, Lombardi did not mention the Freiburg guidebook but stressed that Francis was working with his bishops on a reform of family issues.

 

"In this context, offering special pastoral solutions by individuals or local offices can risk causing confusion," he said in a statement, stressing the importance of "conducting a journey in full communion with the Church community."

 

The Argentine-born pope has shaken up the Church since his election in March by focusing more on reform and forgiveness than issues such as abortion and homosexuality, where Vatican opposition to current social trends is well known.

 

But he is also consulting his advisers closely, and they have stressed the reform process will take some time to complete.

 

MIXED RECEPTION

 

The unexpected initiative from Freiburg, whose Archbishop Robert Zollitsch is head of the national bishops conference, received a mixed reception in Germany, where this is a major issue.

 

"This is showing ways how people who take their faith seriously can again have access to full participation in the life of the Church," said Alois Glueck, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics.

 

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[Nihil Obstat]

I do not think Pope Francis actually indicated that he is considering 'reforming' (what a misleading word) practices on this issue, although as usual what he did say can be interpreted in several different and contradictory ways. Remind me if I am misremembering this one in particular.

IIRC, the official word is that family issues, etc., are going to be 'studied'.

Therefore this article reeks of being agenda driven and sloppy journalism. Again, as usual.

[Apotheoun]

I am taking a wait and see approach to the matter. 

[Nihil Obstat]

IMO allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion is an implicit statement that their situation is 'not so bad'. While it seems harsh to bar such people, it is medicinal and instructive, in a time when most Catholics do not really know what the Church teaches anyway.

[Nihil Obstat]

I wonder if this will be another Humanae Vitae situation, where all the so-call experts recommend the Pope change Church teachings and the Pope, to his credit, holds fast.

[Apotheoun]

IMO allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion is an implicit statement that their situation is 'not so bad'. While it seems harsh to bar such people, it is medicinal and instructive, in a time when most Catholics do not really know what the Church teaches anyway.

I suppose that that is one way of looking at it. Pope Francis will decide what way is best.

[Nihil Obstat]

I suppose that that is one way of looking at it. Pope Francis will decide what way is best.

What is your opinion? :hehe:

[Apotheoun]

What is your opinion? :hehe:

I think that the Pope is preparing the Church for hope and change.

[Nihil Obstat]

I think that the Pope is preparing the Church for hope and change.

:shock: He is going to restore the traditional Mass as normative for the Roman Church??

[Apotheoun]

:shock: He is going to restore the traditional Mass as normative for the Roman Church??

Yes, in Bizzaro World.

[arfink]

I have been wondering when they'd address this, as divorce and remarriage is so common and barring people from the sacraments isn't medicinal when the first offense was done out of ignorance and (often) without full culpability. People just aren't being taught properly. You could argue that the punishment is medicinal, and in some cases it is. However, I find it's more common that these people who have divorced and remarried were put into that position largely by poor instruction, and so using a punishment like this on them is a little like enforcing a law nobody's ever heard of.

[Nihil Obstat]

I have been wondering when they'd address this, as divorce and remarriage is so common and barring people from the sacraments isn't medicinal when the first offense was done out of ignorance and (often) without full culpability. People just aren't being taught properly. You could argue that the punishment is medicinal, and in some cases it is. However, I find it's more common that these people who have divorced and remarried were put into that position largely by poor instruction, and so using a punishment like this on them is a little like enforcing a law nobody's ever heard of.

Certainly pastors need to be reminded even more forcefully how important it is that they impress upon their congregations how marriage is indissoluble. But I think it would be completely wrong-headed to allow "no one ever told me that!" to be an acceptable excuse. Ultimately it would further diminish the perception of the sanctity of marriage, which is already on far too low an ebb.

[Apotheoun]

Interesting perspective, but isn't withholding communion from a person who is not properly prepared to receive it a charitable act, because it protects him from committing an act of sacrilege that could dam[i][/i]n him eternally?

Edited October 9, 2013 by Apotheoun

[Anastasia13]

Certainly pastors need to be reminded even more forcefully how important it is that they impress upon their congregations how marriage is indissoluble. But I think it would be completely wrong-headed to allow "no one ever told me that!" to be an acceptable excuse. Ultimately it would further diminish the perception of the sanctity of marriage, which is already on far too low an ebb.

 

If someone has to get a legal divorce because the spouse is on drugs, abusive, etc., and it's a safety issue, but they haven't quite got the don't go around having sex part down, I would still rather they remarry someone they can make it work with than sleep around.

[Apotheoun]

Certainly pastors need to be reminded even more forcefully how important it is that they impress upon their congregations how marriage is indissoluble. But I think it would be completely wrong-headed to allow "no one ever told me that!" to be an acceptable excuse. Ultimately it would further diminish the perception of the sanctity of marriage, which is already on far too low an ebb.

Pope Francis has said: "Vatican II was a re-reading of the Gospel in light of contemporary culture." Perhaps he wants to apply this "re-reading" to family issues and the moral norm.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Apotheoun