Friday, September 13, 2013

Even Drudge

if you want to know what the Church ACTUALLY teaches i suggest the Catechism not the media. Every time they get hold of a few words-or for that matter a rumor-the media runs with it. Even Drudge. I wish they would stay out of the business of reporting on religion UNLESS they're willing to do some background work first. Two: Catholics do not get their doctrine/dogma from Drudge or the media PERIOD. The media wants to make the lede story eye catching so by nature it has to be provocative.This is definitely provocative. Who could pass up reading the Drudge report after that screenshot? Now let's delve into what the Church actually teaches then we can read the print on Drudge with a great deal of skepticism.

  • 1. Celibacy is a discipline,not a dogma. This means the Church could conceivably permit priests to marry. The obligation to be celibate is seen as a consequence of the obligation to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.

  • Matthew Chapter 19: 1 * When Jesus* finished these words,* he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan. 2 Great crowds followed him, and he cured them there. 3 a Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him,* saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” 4 * b He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ 5 c and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” 7 * d They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?” 8 He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 e I say to you,* whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” 10 [His] disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 He answered, “Not all can accept [this] word,* but only those to whom that is granted. 12 Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage* for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

    In the Eastern Catholic Church the discipline IS different. An Eastern Catholic priest can be married but he must be married before being ordained. IMHO it would be better not to change the discipline but that's ONLY my opinion.

  • 2. Women may NOT be ordained priests and that's set in stone. It's not a discipline and it's because the priest is in persona Christi. The PERSON of Christ which is MALE. The apostles were the only ones present when the Eucharist was instituted and it was only to them the authority was given to DO this in memory (amnesis;memorial sacrifice).The Catholic Church is not going to have priestesses.
  • If any Catholic tells you otherwise it's wishful thinking that the Church could and directly contradicts Church teaching. Kind of a no no(heretical or an outright lie).
  • 3. A person who doesn't believe in God MAY go to heaven.Pope Francis statement was not a shocker nor was it meant to be taken that we can outright reject God and the moral life. The Cathechism states: "Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion but the imputability of the offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances" (CCC#2125). Another words if someone has no way of knowing that God exists,that they cannot overcome their ignorance; perhaps they live in circumstances that prevents them from coming to the knowledge of God's existence(a wall that cannot be overcome)then if they have lived a morally good life as God commanded ALL of us then it is POSSIBLE they could go to heaven.
  • I honestly don't know how anyone could not see God in creation or in the battle between good and evil that is so manifest in our world but it's possible that there are people who for one reason or another just don't get it and they're really searching. There are people who reject God and are deliberately NOT seeking truth. We also have to admit that people (like myself)who claim to be Catholic are going to be held accountable for what we were given.I would never PRESUME i am going to heaven and never DESPAIR of God's mercy and believe i am condemned to hell. The Catholic Church teaches exactly that.

  • Last,but not least, the Church teaches that we have a moral obligation to follow our conscience. A caveat; that means an INFORMED conscience not a dead one or one that ignores the teaching of the Church. We are to have an informed conscience. If we don't know Church teaching re a matter or we are struggling with Church teaching re a matter we have an obligation to find out what the Church teaches. We have a moral obligation to have an informed conscience and also to submit to Church teaching.When we say the Creed("I BELIEVE")we say we believe in one,holy,Catholic and apostolic Church. It's not lip service.
  • We do not get our doctrine from the media. Not even the Drudge report.

    For a first rate commentary re the same article I HIGHLY recommend Fr Z's blog->Fr Z's blog formerly called WDTPRS on word press

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