This pontificate is rightly seen as a repudiation of the restorationist priorities of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than on the matter of long-neglected canon law. Discussions about it had intensified under those two previous pontificates. It appeared, for example, that the Church, after many years of laxity, was on the cusp of finally applying canon law to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. Pope Benedict XVI, who was on record favoring a denial of Communion to them, spoke of the “pseudo-pastoral” claims made by progressive churchmen that had rendered canon law impotent. In retrospect, those comments read like a warning about his successor’s pontificate, which has been defined by that pseudo-pastoralism.
In its name, Pope Francis has relaxed sacramental discipline for the divorced-and-remarried. He often casts canon law in contrast to “mercy,” a distortion his predecessors called false mercy and said misrepresented canon law’s purpose. Canon law is not contrary to true mercy but a safeguard of it, said Pope Benedict XVI. “It is necessary to note the widespread and deeply rooted, though not always evident, tendency to place justice and charity in opposition to one another, as if the two were mutually exclusive,” he said in 2011. In other words, canon law exists for the salvation of souls. Hence, the Church cannot fulfill her mission by setting it aside. The consequences of doing so, among others, are sacrilege and scandal.
The self-consciously “pastoral” Catholicism of Pope Francis is a revival of the very sophistries his predecessor had condemned. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, therefore, that his Vatican has signaled to Joe Biden, despite presiding over the most pro-abortion administration ever, that he has nothing to fear from the Church. This last week the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in effect told the U.S. bishops to keep giving him and other pro-abortion Catholic politicians Communion.
This CDF letter seeks to downplay Pope Benedict XVI’s previous canonical case against Communion for pro-abortion Catholic politicians. It treats that view as a mere opinion rather than a simple restatement of canon law that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent to the U.S. bishops in a “private communication.” (That 2004 letter to the bishops was suppressed by the now-defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.)
[Read It All]
See Also:
(1) Biden Is Off to a Disastrous Start
(2) The Woke Generation is Demonizing Dissent and Due Process
(3) Texas Governor Expected to Sign Bill Banning Abortions When Fetal Heartbeat Is Detected
(4) Cops nationwide face firing or demotion for social-media posts critical of Black Lives Matter
(5) Media reports: Biden will name Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan
Watch:
