Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
"You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." - Matthew 23:15
"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." - 2 Timothy 3-4
We are told these days to trust the science - about everything - yet science is not infallible. In fact some of it can be connected to 'cleverly concocted myths'. I'm not disputing the information on vaccinations and the pandemic - it is what it is. Here I'm talking about new teaching on gender and sexuality. The science is not trustworthy, it is in part based upon erroneous ideologies of the 19th century. Sadly, it appears not only Fr. Martin, SJ and New Ways Ministry support, but now at least one - or more Cardinals support as well.
In an interview, Cardinal Hollerich said that Catholic teaching on the morality of homosexual sexual acts is “false” and could be changed. “So I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer correct, what one formerly condemned was sodomy.
“One thought at that time that in the sperm of the man, the whole child was kept. And one has simply transferred this to homosexual men. - Catholic Herald
How can we trust the science that doesn't believe abortion is murder? That sodomy is an abomination? That 'chicks with dicks' are female and vice versa?
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. - Matthew 23There are studies connecting early late 19th century movements, such as Theosophical doctrines to gender ideology - which necessarily is related to sexuality and the concept of family and traditional marriage. Hollerich seems to me to be gravely misled.
Having said that - they cannot change Catholic teaching. They can change wording/language and place their trust in science - but Catholic teaching and natural law cannot change. Civil law can change all it wants - according the social winds of change. So same sex marriage, along with the occult concept of the androgyne and the revaluations of traditional gender roles can change - and apparently has - but that does not make Catholic teaching false.
Individual churchmen and their followers can accept and promote such errors - but the Church cannot.
I think we are witnessing the great schism unfolding before our eyes. Truth is the foundation of doctrine. Truth, in todays world, is whatever you want it to be. I am reminded of the scripture verse “you will know it by it’s fruit.” As we go forward in this crazy world & the divisions deepen we can only hope & pray that we can be steadfast to the Truth. Science is after all only a compendium of man’s knowledge and only a drop in the ocean compared to God’s.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I think. I pretty much lived my life never believing what was happening would ever take place in my lifetime. Once again - I have to thank God for everything - what was he thinking when he willed us to be here today? Every day I thank God for his goodness.
DeleteI think you are entirely correct about this, dear Terry. And it makes me very uneasy.
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes our pastors, bishops, and even the Pope forget or underestimate the influence they have on those of us whom they lead. Recently, I had a long, ongoing discussion with my pastor about a group he promoted within our parish which, in reality, promotes married clergy, female clergy, gay "marriage", etc. They picket the Diocesan Ordination every year and have organized "field trips" to attend "masses" officiated by women "priests", which they encourage parishioners to attend. Father was unaware of this. They misleadingly named themselves "The Wilderness Group" and are affiliated with a dissident group in our diocese named FutureChurch. My unsuspecting young pastor thought they simply prayed together, shared meals, and took meditative walks in the woods. I told him, as a member of parish council, I was against the parish sponsoring and supporting such a group, no matter how much I like and love the members (which I do). If our pastors and parishes throw their support behind a group or a movement, it *must* be fully obedient to the teachings of the Church or these groups will lead them into sin. And our parishioners should be able to trust the discernment of our pastors and parishes on these things. Thankfully, Father did some digging and came to the same conclusion, which I expect he would have done without my big mouth.
Well God bless your "big mouth," Susan, and having the courage to speak out!
DeleteSame here - happy that you spoke up. I'm very troubled by all of this stuff - I've heard of Future Church. I have limited knowledge - but this whole non-binary thing and the new thinking proposed by this Cardinal to change teaching on sexuality is so directly related to women priests - which is another thing that the Church has no authority to approve.
DeleteThe past couple of weeks we've had a visiting young priest for Mass, since our pastor has covid. His reverence at Mass, especially at the consecration is almost supernatural - it is as if I see the Real Presence - I don't know how to describe it - and yes, it's the Ordinary Form. In addition his homilies on the readings are like his own impression of awe before the Divinity, and his awe is infectious - Mass is such a living experience. So we need to cling to the Eucharist and the Mass - Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist - all of it. The encounter with the source and summit of our faith sustains sustains us.
I'm happy your priest listened to you Susan.
FutureChurch is flat out evil, IMHO. I am ashamed to say they originate in my Diocese. Their agenda is right up there with New Ways Ministries. Sadly, they are *very* persuasive. It takes a real servant of the Church, such as our late Bishop Richard Lennon, to have the courage to stand up to them. I think one of the problems today is that no one in the hierarchy wants to antagonize these people - or maybe they are in agreement with them, deep down. It is very disturbing.
DeleteI must say, Terry, your experience with the kind young priest who is assisting your pastor is much the same as mine. My pastor has just turned 37 and has been ordained for 10 years. He is pastor of my parish and our sister parish, oversees their grade school, is chaplain to the notably faithful Newman Center of the University of Akron (ranked 18th in the US by the Newman Society in terms of faithfulness), coordinates daily feeding of the street people at our doors (100+ daily) as well as hot meals several times/month, is chaplain of our local children's hospital - all of this in addition to taking care of all our parishioners and those of our sister parish, including daily Mass, regular Confessions and Adoration, and far more. And he does it all with the greatest of joy and enthusiasm. We are blessed.
My good pastor only listened because I am such a pest, but I am glad he did as well. The same issue came up with my former pastor, and he became violently angry and told me to leave the parish. Which was highly unpleasant. But my husband and I just said, "whatever you say, Father," and continued to show up every week. Sadly, I get the awful feeling that many priests, especially my age (60) and older, provide cover and protection for these corrosive groups. Satan never sleeps.
God bless you, Terry, and all here! Susan, TOF
Here the thing, unless I live in a bubble, we are losing ground in all areas. Not a slow erosion either. Last week I gathered family at the Parish I grew up in where my siblings and I were baptized, made our first confession, first Communion, Confirmation, my sisters were married, my parents buried. The Church seats 840 and, in my day was full for multiple Masses. 2000 families were members, four priests were in residence. Last Sunday maybe 50 were present and half were us! Granted the neighborhood demographics have changed but my current suburban parish is declining in attendance also. The pastor told me after Mass that the Diocese is reorganizing into “families” of up to 6 parishes in order to staff with one priest. I have friends who have drifted to my current Dioceses’ alternative. Ironically they are aligned with a group named “Old Catholics.” They attract large numbers and do many outreach activities. They are also excommunicated, but no one seems to notice or care. I really can’t make much sense of all this division. I feel like I have fallen down the rabbit hole and attending the Mad Hatters tea party. Anyway, the Mass last week was for my sister in place of a funeral Mass could not take place last year due to COVID restrictions . I finally feel a closure & acceptance. Now I can go forward. Same, I think for our Church. What can we do but stay faithful, morn for our losses and go bravely forward. Susan you were right to speak up. I just cannot see a resolution.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your situation, my dear Mr. H. I think what Pope Benedict stated several years ago, to the effect that the Church will become smaller, but far more faithful, is turning out to be true. Which is not really a bad thing. It is sort of a self-cleansing, in that the remaining Church will be stronger morally, and far more faithful.
DeleteMy Diocese is not quite to the point where yours is. My pastor is responsible for two parishes, which keeps him terribly busy and working 16+ hour days. He has the assistance of our retired parochial vicar, who is close to 80 and still works a full day. I cannot imagine how they would handle four more parishes.
The Toledo Diocese, where my husband grew up, has not closed nor merged churches. Instead, they are stretching their priestly resources, perhaps like your Diocese, Mr. H. It is far more rural than the Cleveland Diocese where we live. The pastor of my husband's home parish oversees his small-town parish as well as three other very rural parishes in the county, which only have one weekend Mass. Father also oversees a parish grade school, the local Catholic high school, and several other concerns, in addition to his primary duties as a priest. It must be absolutely exhausting.
Whatever happens, we must never allow ourselves to be drawn to the schismatics, or worse, to no Faith at all. I remember attending Mass at the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Beaupre, north of Quebec City. We were in the midst of the horrific revelations of the sex scandals of the early 2000s, and Catholic morale was very bad. A saintly priest, who celebrated Mass in English, told us he was so very grateful to be living as a Catholic in these times. He reminded us that the Church and those who love her suffered dreadfully over the years - the early Christian persecution, the heresies, the plague and other pandemics like the Spanish Flu, the Reformation, various oppressions including that of the Catholic Irish, two World Wars, the Communist persecutions of the Polish, Albanians, Hungarians, Czechs, Russians, Cubans, and so many more.
It really put things into perspective. In a way, we are the masters of our fate. We *can* defend our Faith to the world. Evil can be confronted by the Truth. It isn't easy, and for some, it may be painful or even cost them their lives. But we can get through this and the Church will prevail, as we were promised.
God bless you Mr. H and Terry!
Thank you Susan for your insightful & uplifting comments. I may not
Deletehave been clear in my rambling post. I grew up in Buffalo NY at a very large parish with a diverse membership. Croatian, Hungarian, Polish & to a lesser degree Irish. The current Pastor is struggling to keep going. He told me the Buffalo Diocese is implementing the “Family Model” to keep parishes solvent and staffed. Six parishes to a family with shared staff. My Diocese is adjacent, Rochester. We have merged parishes, usually two sharing one priest. So far my parish has its own priest, but he is nearing retirement and the future seems to indicate merging is ahead. All we can do is pray and hope in a future that is more positive. I never really thought about your observations about being thankful to live in challenging times. I feel we, American Catholics, especially of my generation, have been blessed, maybe spoiled, in having grown up in a golden age with so few challenges, until now. Peace.