normally i stay away from religion but there are a couple news stories making the rounds that are related. I also happen to BE Catholic. While i don't know everything, I do know some basics.
I highly recommend the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Saint John Paul II's Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan. They're both excellent reading for a good understanding of Catholic teaching; even if you're a non Catholic. Links provided at the conclusion.
Let's talk about some common myths or misunderstandings that even some Catholics don't seem to get.
Infallibility- it does NOT mean a Pope is sinless or without fault. It does mean when a Pope speaks ex cathedra (from the seat of Peter)regarding faith and morals the teaching is protected by infallibility.
It's why doctrine has remain unchanged for thousands of years. Have we gained greater understanding over the years and clarified a teaching? Yes. Does it mean a Pope can change doctrine? Emphatic NO.
A Pope can have an opinion and you are free to disagree with it. A Pope can show bad judgement. You can criticize it.
I heard a call into Mark Levin from a homosexual Catholic who had his 'marriage' blessed and believes that is ok. NO IT IS NOT. A priest can bless an individual even a homosexual.
He should not bless a same sex union or "marriage". It's obvious why. It's one thing to bless the people. It's quite another to bless what is against Church teaching and bascially give it a seal of approval. It's an ungodly act.
So what is a Catholic to do knowing this is our current Pope? Speak out of course. Respectfully. Keep your head down and live your faith in spite of him. You tell people why it is wrong.
They may not even know it is wrong. The Pope is not acting according to an infallible teaching here and you're under no obligation to condone his actions. NONE.
At this point it's up to the bishops to guide the faithful and teach orthodox Catholic teaching. Pray for our Pope and the Church.
What he cannot do is bless a 'marriage' between 2 homosexuals because it is not a marriage for one and the Church does not recognize a same sex 'marriage' for another.
He can't give a nod of approval for a civil union either. He'll have to answer for himself but it's also up to each of us to know Church teaching, live by it and know what he is doing is wrong.
It's not a pagan practice to ask God to bless anything because we understand that what God has created gives glory to Him and we set it aside for God when it is blessed.
The laity cannot perform a baptism except in certain circumstances but the laity can give a blessing. Only the sacrament is for the priest alone because he is in persona Christi; meaning in the person of Christ.
It would also give the wrong impression that the Church approves of same sex marriage and same sex relationships: both are a sin and blessing a same sex relationship causes scandal.
I know it's difficult in today's culture. We're under a lot of pressure to conform. The powers that be make it sound like you're the one with a problem if you don't conform to the standards [teally the lack of]set today.
When they talk about tolerance they mean for everything but Christianity and Judaism. As long are you agree with them, they are very tolerant.
The Church does not accept same sex marriage anymore than it accepts abortion.
I know some Catholic politicians claim to be Catholic. You know what a RINO is,right? There are baptized Catholics who do not practice their faith. You could say they're a CINO. Get the Catechism. Know what the Church teaches.
These politicians rationalize, excuse or twist Church teaching. I wouldn't listen to them for 2 seconds. They would rather risk losing eternal salvation than give up power and prestige.
Homosexuals may have a piece of paper saying they're married but as far as the Church is concerned that is all that it is.They also cause scandal. Scandal means to possibly cause others to sin or to cause people to stay away from the Church.
It may be difficult but a Catholic homosexual must practice chastity and celibacy both. Now let's clarify what those 2 things are.
They are not the same thing.
Celibacy-a priest takes a vow of celibacy. This means a priest will not MARRY. A homosexual must remain celibate. The requirements of any Catholic depend upon his/ her state in life.
A priest has a given state of life. A lay person has another state of life. A married couple another. A homosexual in order to avoid grave sin practices celibacy.
A priest takes a VOW of celibacy. It is serious for both the laity and the clergy but more serious for a priest because he has taken a vow.
Chastity-ALL Christians, from the Pope to our priests to the laity, must practice chastity.Chastity is leading a pure life as difficult as that may be.
He/she doesn't give up marriage unless it is same sex marriage which is not a recognized 'union'. It's not impossible. If a priest can remain celibate certainly anyone can.
Chastity may be difficult but it's not impossible either.
It is not a sin to be homosexual. It is a sin to act on it.
For the benefit of any person struggling with a disordered attraction it would be helpful to form disinterested friendships.
We all have a cross to carry and it's the road to our sanctification.
If we believe in grace at all we certainly believe that God can give each person the grace to live up to their state in life. Attend Mass, go to confession, receive the Eucharist, pray the rosary.
If you keep your spiritual life healthy it will make avoiding homosexual acts easier than if you didn't. If you immerse yourself in the gay lifestyle and away from the Church it's not going to end well.
Abortion-life begins at conception and ends at natural death. We can't put an arbitary date where abortions would be ok. We don't approve of a given time table based on subjective opinion.
People are all over the map on when they would say abortion is ok. See how that works? It doesn't. It's too serious a question to leave it to the subjective opinion of people.
It's either wrong or it isn't. It's either taking a human life or it isn't. The Church does not approve of abortion. Nancy Pelosi does not speak for the Church.
I don't either but i'm not telling you what i think the Church teaches. I'm sticking with what i know the Church teaches.
Pelosi and Biden should stay away from communion. Don't be surprised if their bishop says they cannot receive.
I get that not everyone is Catholic. President Trump himself never brought up the question of same sex marriage. The president is not a pastor, minister, priest and he's definitely not my Pope.
He's OUR President. He figures the court settled it and it's law. He has a duty to uphold our laws like them or not.
If he/she is not engaged in outrageous conduct himself/herself I don't have a problem-i'm going to live according to the dictates of my conscience.
As long as President Trump makes sure my right to follow my conscience is protected i'm fine with him.As long as he doesn't do anything to disgrace the office of Pres. i'm fine with him.
He starts to take away my right to follow the dictates of my own conscience then we have a problem.
Biden and Pelosi are Catholic so i expect them to act like Catholics. Right now my biggest problem is with our Pope. I'm floored. I hope our bishops will speak with the faithful.
I hate to say this and it's no way meant to disrespect Our Holy Father, but he doesn't strike me as having the intellect of our 2 previous great minds John Paul II and Benedict the XVI nor does he have the experience they had with Nazism and Communisim.
Francis comes from a whole different background in South America.
The Church will survive. We've had terrible popes that make Pope Francis seem mild, we've had mediocre ones and we had the blessing to have 2 great Popes one after the other. My favorite was John Paul II.
Jesus didn't promise evil would not exist in the Church (people are people)but He did promise evil would not triumph over her.
Anyone have questions feel free to leave them in the comment section. i'll do my best to answer them. I am not going to continue to discuss religion here but i thought it was especially important to clear the air at this time.
https://www.amazon.com/Catechism-Catholic-Church-Second-U-S/dp/0385508190 Catechism of the Catholic Church
https://www.amazon.com/Theology-Human-Divine-Parish-Resources/dp/0819873942/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=theology+of+the+body%3B+human+love+in+the+divine+plan&s=books&sr=1-1 Theology of the Body, Pope John Paul II
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