Asked if it were wrong to ask for Pope Francis’ resignation, as the former nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, has done in his 11-page letter, Cardinal Raymond L. Burke responded, “I cannot say it is wrong.”
“I can only say that to arrive at this one must investigate and respond in this regard. The request for resignation is in any case licit; anyone can make it in the face of whatever pastor that errs greatly in the fulfillment of his office, but the facts need to be verified,” he said in an interview published this morning in La Repubblica, Italy’s highest circulation daily.
Cardinal Burke was among the first of a small number of bishops to come out publicly in support of Archbishop Viganò’s denunciation of the pope. It came as no surprise; he is widely considered one of the leaders of the traditionalist groups that oppose Francis, and the archbishop and Cardinal Burke both contest aspects of the pope’s exhortation on the family (“Amoris Laetitia”). The former nuncio publicly sided with the dissenters to “Amoris Laetitia” when, last January, he added his name to the Kazakh bishops’ “profession of immutable truths about sacramental marriage.”
“I was deeply shaken because the entire document is most grave,” Cardinal Burke said.
“I was deeply shaken because the entire document is most grave,” Cardinal Burke said. “I had to read it several times because the first reading left me speechless. I believe that at this point there is need for a complete and objective report on the part of the pope and the Vatican.”
When it was pointed out that while Viganò’ contested Pope Francis’ handling of the McCarrick case he glossed over the way John Paul II and Benedict XVI had dealt with the allegations against the former cardinal during their pontificates, Cardinal Burke replied: “I cannot make a judgment on the merit. I can only say that here, too, it is necessary that there is clarity, by going through all the documents to arrive at the truth.”
Commenting on the fact that Archbishop Viganò’s letter states that there are cardinals and bishops who wish to change the church’s doctrine on homosexuality, Cardinal Burke said, “Yes, there are attempts to relativize the teaching of the church according to which a homosexual act is intrinsically bad.” He recalled the first session of the Synod of Bishops on the Family “where the idea was presented that the church should recognize the positive elements present in homosexual relations.” But, he added, “all this cannot have positive aspects.” Moreover, he described as “a problem” the “support that churchmen give to the Jesuit James Martin, who has an ‘open’ and wrong position on homosexuality.”
Cardinal Burke insisted that he is not “an antagonist” of Francis and has “nothing personal against the pope.”
He went on to point out that “the data show that the major part of sexual abuse committed by priests are in reality homosexual acts committed with young people.”
Cardinal Burke stated: “I think a homosexual person cannot become a priest because he is not able to exercise in depth that paternity that is required. He must have all the characteristics to be a father.”
He insisted in the interview that he is not “an antagonist” of Francis and has “nothing personal against the pope.” He explained, “I try simply to defend the truth of the faith and the clarity of the presentation of the faith.” The U.S. cardinal was one of four cardinals—two now dead, Joachim Meisner (Germany) and Carlo Caffarra (Italy), the fourth being Walter Brandmuller (Germany)—who wrote a letter to Pope Francis, which they later made public, raising doubts (“dubia”) about aspects of his teaching on marriage in the exhortation “Amoris Laetitia.” The doubts regarded the possibility for divorced and remarried people to receive the Eucharist under certain circumstances. In the interview, Cardinal Burke said that he did not know why the pope had not answered their questions.
He acknowledged in the interview that he contests Pope Francis’ magisterium, for example, “on the fact that persons in mortal sin can go to Communion. Or that non-Catholics can receive it in certain circumstances, beyond what is the present discipline of the church. It is not possible.”
Questioned about his relationship with Steve Bannon, the cardinal said the former advisor of President Trump had interviewed him once, at the time of the canonization of John Paul II, “and after that I have not seen him.”
"In April this year, Vigano attended a conservative conference, entitled “the limits of papal authority”, where Burke was the main speaker. Tosatti was also there. Some conference participants openly referred to Francis as the precursor of the coming of the anti-Christ and the end of the world. The conference agreed to a declaration saying “a grave danger to the faith and the unity of the Church” had emerged under Francis." https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-abuse-escalation/defenders-rally-around-pope-fear-conservatives-escalating-war-idUSKCN1LD27Y
It seems possible that the Vigano letter is the product of this group plotting to oust Francis on whatever pretext could be hatched, the accusations to be published at the worst possible time for Francis. They fear Francis' openness to those on the margins, which means that they probably also fear Christ the way the Temple caste feared him and delivered him over to crucifixion on trumped up charges.
Yes, the uncovering of homosexual predation by priests is all a pretext. (rolls eyes)
(Rolls eyes even more theatrically) ... The hatched pretext I am referring to is the allegation that BXVI sanctioned McCarrick, and that Francis revoked these sanctions. As pointed out in this America article, "The historical record is rife with evidence that McCarrick had lived under no such restrictions ..." https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/08/28/popes-alleged-cover-pivots-if-and-when-sanctions-were-imposed-mccarrick
I don't think anyone really cares about the McCarrick-Popes allegations. What people care about is the long-standing sexual molestation that has been ongoing and unresolved for decades. Vigano's letter is important not because of its allegations against Francis, but because of his focus on the fact that McCarrick is just one of many homosexual predators who have been provided protection not by individuals but by a culture of many.
(Yet another dramatic eye roll) The whole point of Vigano's letter was to force Francis to resign! And the means to this end was the allegation that Francis reversed BXVI's sanctioning of McCarrick.
Edward Pentin claimed that the NC Register had “independently confirmed that the allegations against McCarrick were certainly known to Benedict, and the pope emeritus remembers instructing Cardinal [Tarcisio] Bertone to impose measures but cannot recall their exact nature.” We now know that this was a lie ... Archbishop Gänswein has declared the claims that BXVI had “confirmed” Vigano’s testimony were “fake news.” This whole attempt at toppling Francis' pontificate was birthed with a lie ...
As for your crass machinations vis-a-vis the homosocial culture of the Catholic clergy, I recommend Fr James Alison's article which explores this phenomenon in exquisite detail ... see http://jamesalison.co.uk/texts/were-in-for-a-rough-ride/
Mike - none of the PA Grand Jury or other investigations suggest a new problem with child sex abuse. In fact, it seems to have gone down dramatically in incidence since the Dallas Charter and zero tolerance. The current story of McCarrick is about abuse of young adults in seminaries by a gay faction in the Church. That is a different type of scandal as it involves a much higher percentage of the clergy (10-20%), a code of secrecy, privileges, preferences, promotions based on in-group membership, and is far removed from the holy chaste life according to the Gospel.
Thank you, Vincent, for providing some factual context about these conservative enemies of His Holiness Pope Francis. The US Bishops are looking over the precipice as more investigations loom over their lack of shepherding the flock. It is my opinion that the US Bishops ought to tender their resignations enmass, the sooner the better. The US National Review Board, which was founded in 2002 to advise the USCCB, has recommended that an investigation be led by parishioners because the people in power can't be in charge of investigating themselves." https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/national-review-board-calls-for-lay-investigation-of-all-misconduct-claims-78514
.
Vincent - you nailed it. I can see Pope Francis’ long-time detractors gleefully looking to seize the opportunity. These are the same people who try to convince us that priests should never be challenged. If Francis resigns, exactly who will the cardinals find who has not bought into that flawed thinking?
I would say if there is no document found that sanctions McCarrick, and an alternative letter explaining his contemporaneous transfer from the seminary grounds to St. Thomas parish, then Vigano and Lantheaume will be proven wrong. If a document is found, then they are proven right and Pope Francis owes us an explanation (even if it was mercy). If Pope Francis and Benedict XVI speak, this will also settle the issue. So, this could be simple.
The words, "Who am I to judge" are backfiring on this Pope as the real cause of the abuse crisis will be affirmed in jurisdiction after jurisdiction and in country after country: Homosexual Predation. Promoting Jesuit James Martin to Vatican Spokesman for the Normalization of Homosexuality in the Church did not help.
Francis' silence suggests that he wants the Church to be destroyed; or he is powerless to do anything about it.
you already posted that comment on other pages. Take a break, go to Confession and spend an hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, then visit the sick, the imprisoned, feed the hungry...you know the drill
Ha Guillermo - but you too posted your comment already as well.
Cardinal Burke's calling it licit to call for Pope Francis to resign is immature and irresponsible at this point. Every Cardinal, Bishop, Priest and a Pope must be assumed to be innocent until proven guilty of a serious immoral act. Cardinal Burke has lost his credibility when he called Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation (e.g., Amoris Laetitia) something akin to heresy. He is a far right conservative wedded to a rigorist theology focused on the letter of the law with little or no room for its spirit. That was the problem with the Pharisees.
I say let a lay-lead, impartial, transparent and courageous investigation play itself out before jumping to conclusions. If Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope JP II are found guilty of Vigano's accusations, then let's pray for appropriate justice for them and others, and the significant reforms our Church desperately needs.
It is sad how this has polarized the Church along doctrinal affiliation lines, with people seeking to maintain doctrine calling for investigations and people seeking to defend the pope resorting to personal attacks on Vigano and ignoring the substance of his accusatoions. I would find the pope's supporters more convincing if they addressed the specific accusations about McCarrick, Francis, et. al., instead of resorting to ad hominem attacks. Cupich's response was a classic case of denial and distraction. Without getting into any specifics, he commented on
1) Climate change
2) Immigration
3) Racism
Of course, Francis is of Italian heritage, just like Vigano, and one of Vigano's main complaints about Francis was that he was passing over the Mexican-born Gomez and the Native American Chaput in favor of good old white boys like Wuerl, Tobin, and Cupich.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/cardinal-cupich-pope-bigger-agenda_Chicago-491855581.html
The defense reeks of desperation. I wish, though, that the calls for investigation would be more even handed. Then, I might trust that people really care about ridding the Church of sex abuse and not just defending their personal fiefdoms. In that sense, Vigano's lack of a fiefdom to defend also lends him credibility.
If you like dark humor, compare Cupich's defense to a Babylon Bee satirical article from a couple weeks ago. When satirists act as prophets, something is deeply disordered.
https://babylonbee.com/news/pope-says-he-will-address-sex-abuse-scandal-once-hes-finished-talking-about-climate-change/
I have so much anxiety and sadness from this. I feel like a child being torn apart by parents threatening divorce.
Having lived in St. Louis for some time where Cardinal Burke was Archbishop, I know he is a very holy a wise man. And, having met Pope Francis once and reading all he has said and wrote, I have a sincere belief that he is also a holy and wise man.
All I can do is pray and fast for the Church. Come Lord Jesus.
Focus On Christ
all else is tertiary. This all might be a blessing actually. The Right / Conservatives have been denouncing Popes since Vatican II. Blessed Paul VI ecclaimed the “smoke of Satan” had entered the Church. Conservatives hated JPII when he was Pope but now they love him. Such fickle cowards. None of these right wing zealots have read a papal encyclical in their lives never mind led a parish ministry group to, wait for it, evangelize. Heck, all Trads whom I know have children fallen away from the Faith. Need we say more?
St Augustine had it far worse in waging wars with other bishops. St John of the Cross was killed by zealot monks, St Ignatius of Loyola was imprisoned twice, St Teresa de Avila brought before the Inquisition twice.
This too shall pass. If you have read the Good Book, you know how it ends. Chin up!
Strange bedfellows? The conservative , traditionalist, homophobic, anti women's ordination faction, is now aligned with the progressive, anti clerical, feminist faction, against the Pope!
Lead the way out, Burke.
I am saddened and outraged that Cardinal Burke states "the data show that the major part of sexual abuse committed by priests are in reality homosexual acts committed with young people.”
Being Gay does not mean you are a pedophile. This is fact and been proven with data. How can we expect intelligent, faithful resolution to any of this crisis, if there is such a blatant disregard for the truth? Unfortunately, this is the reason we are losing hope. Jesus Christ loved not hated and Pope Francis, as well as Fr. James Martin live that truth. The Cardinal seems to be taking the opportunity to destroy and distort based on his fears and hate of these 2 faithful leaders. I cannot help but notice that he said acts committed WITH not against young people, He should be removed immediately!
You are conflating the sexual molestations committed by homosexual priests on male minors with pedophilia. Burke (and VIgano) are calling attention to the fact that the molestations were mostly against pubescent and post-pubescent boys, thereby making them homosexual molestations and not pedophilia.
Burke? A well-known critic of Pope Francis in the same line with Vigano and the Italian journalist that help Vigano pen the letter… Does it sound familiar? There is nothing but distortion and deception coming out from them. No wonder why the teens are leaving the Church. They see the utmost examples of hypocrites in people like Burke and Vigano.
I totally agree with Michael that we should let a lay-lead, impartial, transparent and courageous investigation play itself out before jumping to conclusions. However, so far, the arguments from Burke, Vigano, etc. seem to be of ad hominem attacks on Pope Francis rather than of any constructive basis.
Agreed.
consider the source.
LOL. Ya think? This is morphing into something far better than any Broadway show.
Burke, Chaput, Alt Right Bishops say Vigano has integrity, while his brother, a Jesuit priest and scholar, says otherwise. There is only two words to describe the Vigano mess: gay drama
“Throughout his power struggle, Archbishop Viganò had been writing urgent appeals to Benedict to stay in the Vatican. He said he needed to stay because his brother, a Jesuit biblical scholar, was sick and needed care, and he accused Cardinal Bertone of breaking his promise to promote him to the rank of cardinal” (Hell hath no fury like a queen scorned)
“But Archbishop Viganò’s brother, Lorenzo Viganò, told Italian journalists that his brother “lied” to Benedict that he had to remain in Rome “because he had to take care of me, sick.” To the contrary, he said he had lived in Chicago and was fine and hadn’t talked to his brother in years over an inheritance dispute.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/world/europe/archbishop-carlo-maria-vigano-pope-francis.html
Pope Francis was right: let the journalists do the research and sleuthing. In another week, Vigano will have slith his wrists or hung himself ala Judas Iscariot. For good reason he told Tossati he was going into hiding. Cowards are like that
“The archbishop told him, “Now that I have finished, I can leave, and leave Rome too,” according to Mr. Tosatti.
“Where will you go?” Mr. Tosatti recalled asking.
“I will not tell you so that when they ask you, you will not have to lie — and I will shut off my phone,” the archbishop said, according to the reporter, who said that both men suspected the Vatican of tapping their phones.”
cue the dramatic music
Oh man! – From the beginning, I looked at Vigano as a pitiful coward… Now, it seems even worse than that! Again, people like Vigano is the reason that teens are leaving the Church. I saw this myself in my nephews and nieces. I’m trying desperately to keep my 2 adult children to stay and I’m not sure for how long…
Pope Francis - please listen to Bishop Philip Egan (Portsmouth, England Diocese) and his request to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the life and ministry of clergy. Please support the USCCB's investigation into McCarrick. Please open the doors and windows of the Vatican files to let the light in. You will find support across the spectrum for this.
It is an interesting affair because neither Left nor Right in the RCC teach the truth of the Word of God.
I have one question/puzzle. Cardinal Burke and the others are not happy that gay people are allowed into the seminary and claim that homosexuality is the cause (or contributes) to the sexual abuse problem. Cardinal Burke, himself, appears to most people to be a gay man. Would not their proposals to rid the Church of gay clerics not mean that he, himself, must step down?
From James Alison ... "Would it shock you to know that the leading force behind the term “gender ideology” and the campaign against it, was a gay cardinal? Or that a gay priest wrote the official 2005 explanation as to why gay men could not be priests? I learned of the (now dead) Latin American Cardinal’s reputation for violence towards the rentboys he frequented from a social worker in his home town, and later discovered that this and other outrages were open secrets in both his homeland and Rome. Paris-based Mgr Tony Anatrella was a Vatican expert on homosexuality, one of very few authors the CDF recommended on the subject, alongside Drs Joseph Nicolosi, Gerard van den Aardweg and Aquilino Polaino, gay-cure proponents all. Anatrella had long been reported to have engaged in inappropriate touching with seminarians and others who came to him for help in dealing with their so-called “same-sex attraction”. As recently as this last June, and after many years of shameful ecclesiastical obfuscation in France and Italy, those reports have been found to be credible, and Anatrella has been suspended from public ministry. If it does shock you that such public paragons of homophobia-dressed-as-Christianity might have been “protesting too much”, then prepare yourself for a rough ride over the next few years."
http://jamesalison.co.uk/texts/were-in-for-a-rough-ride/
In a nutshell, the more homophobic their pronouncements, the more likely that they are very damaged, very closeted gay men!
Beth, I am one of those homosexuals who believes Burke is a homosexual. In my experience as a gay man, and my husband believes likewise, when someone is so virulent anti-homosexual, particularly when they are a conservative male, it is in large part because they are homophobic towards their own inner homosexuality.
I can always tell when I am in the midst of a straight man or gay man. I'm a muscular, hairy, alpha guy who enjoys bodybuilding. A straight guy will ignore me or jump out of the way in the gym while making a positive remark. A gay man will keep his eyes on me because he thinks I am straight and attractive. It's the "straight" guys in the gym that follow me into the locker room that I have to cut off and tell them I'm married. Then they show me their wedding ring and I roll my eyes.
There are so many gay men who are married to women. I should know: i've been with them when I was single. They only told me they were married to women after our meeting and drove me to rage. I hated being used by someone who didn't have the gravitas to be honest while I was. I hate cheaters and there are a lot of cheating "straight married" men.
So to Elaine and all of the females who hate men like me: chances are gay men have been approached by your husbands, sons, brothers, etc. Additionally, all of the pomp and silk that Raymond Burke wears.....I find it hilarious none of his adoring fans think he is gay. Color me purple but Burke is gay. Benedict/Ratzinger with his ermine furs and red shoes....you got to be kidding!!!!! Francis wears black shoes so he is definitely straight. :)
Thanks Bill and Vincent, for your replies. That is what I suspected, it's just strange that no one is pointing this out. I did notice that Michael Sean Winters over at NCR (himself a gay man) suspected that the conservative hoopla against Homosexuality was rooted in self-hatred. It just seems as if we are tiptoeing around the elephant in the middle of the room here. I've read reports that 70% of Catholic priests are gay. That doesn't seems so off the mark to me.
Beth - The 70% is raised to try to explain the high rate of same-sex teen abuse, but I think this is preposterous. But, if you are right and 70% of priests are gay, then Pope Francis's concern about the gay lobby is pretty-well proven and there will need to be massive resignations. Going forward, the pope's stipulation that homosexuals should not be ordained needs to be more aggressively implemented.
Bill - you search for the greatest insult for Cardinal Burke and come up with this? That has always been one of the strangest anomalies of the gay claim. "He's so bad he must secretly be one of us." Another common LGBTQ claim is that gays can't be typecast by appearance and behavior, then you and Beth make the gay diagnosis on these very things.
Burke is gay, Tim. Look at the above picture. What straight man would want to dress so flamboyantly but one who needs so much attention? Vigano likewise. A heterosexual man doesnt need to flaunt his maleness but a gay man insists on drawing attention. I enjoy bodybuilding to construct a male persona in direct rebuke to the ultra feminine anima some homosexuals do. Burke is gay. Benedict reminds me of Valentino with all his opulent furs and attire. Yet their being gay does not diminish the potential to be a chaste priest. You conflate being homosexual and being intrinsically evil, words from the prima donna himself
Let's not conflate unwanted same-sex attraction with embracing same-sex attraction. Burke might have the attraction, but if he is outspoken against homosexuality and does not engage in same-sex acts, then how can he be considered "gay?" Gays are the guys who accept their homosexuality and accept same-sex sodomy as moral acts in which man would and do engage in. I'm all for more anti-gay men in the priesthood, whether they have same-sex attraction or not.
Right Bill - "he is so bad, he must be one of us" and "you can tell someone is gay by the way they act or the clothes they wear." Are these PC claims? Yet, the gender ideology of today says none of this is permitted. In fact, one is not allowed to tell the sex of a person by the body they have. I want 4 things from clergy in the current environment: 1) No priest who has been sexually active (with a man or woman) as a priest should ever be consecrated a bishop. 2) Any bishop who has been sexually active needs to resign. 3) Any bishop who has covered for or enabled another clergy to be sexually active needs to resign, 4) any bishop who no longer believes in what the Church teaches should resign. Clean house. Only holy chaste men from now on. James 5:19-20 - "My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
Beth -
There are two types of men with same=sex attraction: those who accept it as a part of who they are and those who do not. This is an important distinction that homosexual activists intentionally conflate under the term "gay;" whereas the Catholic Church makes the distinction clear when it speaks of same-sex acts as sinful and homosexuality (attraction to the same sex) not sinful; or when it makes a distinction between seminarians with deep-seated homosexual tendencies and those without.
Right now the seminaries and the hierarchy are filled with "gay" men; that is, those with deep-seated homosexual attraction. There is no way to distinguish the wheat from the chaf, here, and the only thing to do in the interest of protecting young seminarians and adolescent males is the purge the priesthood of all with homosexual tendencies, then institute a better execution of the rules that restrict homosexuals in the priesthood.
Burke is a coward, and a hypocrite - now, apparently, he wants to play at schism and at making an antipope. He should have resigned already.
@ The misconception of meaning between pederasty and pedophilia
Pederasty was a culturally-sanctioned activity between heterosexual men and young boys in order that the semen of the adult would enter the child and begin the process of sexual maturation. Many scholars conclude that it was obligatory for purposes not only maturationally, but also bond-establishment. The biology of sexual development into adolescence was unknown in the ancient world. Pedophilia is not culturally-sanctioned and is engaged in primarily by heterosexual men. The research is clear; the data and historical analysis are obvious to anyone who cares to read about the topic. Further, true (i.e., non-neurotic) homosexuality within the priesthood would tend to seek out other homosexual adult persons rather than children. The clerics should only voice opinions about these matters if they know whereof they speak. Few do.
Oh, they know. But by intentionally conflating the two terms they protect the pederasts and the homosexual culture by characterizing the molestation crisis as both heterosexual and homosexual. The only answer is to purge the priesthood of all homosexuals.
As challenging as it would be and as time consuming as it would be, civil authorities in those countries we know to be impacted by clerical abuse should appoint an international lay commission with the purpose of making binding recommendations for institutional church reform that include repealing the statute of limitations.
Vigano's letter is a spiteful sideshow debunked by America's research.
As challenging as it would be and as time consuming as it would be, civil authorities in those countries we know to be impacted by clerical abuse should appoint an international lay commission with the purpose of making binding recommendations for institutional church reform that include repealing the statute of limitations.
Vigano's letter is a spiteful sideshow debunked by America's research.
In 5 short year Pope Francis has done more damage than that Augustinian,Martin Luther. He lacks charity and respect.It is obvious he hates America (the United States). He is blind to the need to address the crisis of drugs and free for all sexual activity that is killing our youth world wide and instead tries to ingratiate himself to the European and American left elite. He talks respect for women and then denigrates women e.g. mother in law jokes.He should go for the good of the Church.He is creating schism.
Helen McCaffrey... what you are saying is so full of holes I’m not sure where to begin! You must not have read any of what this pope has written, witnessed his actions with people, especially marginalized people, or know any of his history. Yes, he has spoken out against the crisis of drug abuse and the loose sexual morals of young people...many times!!! Have you read or listened to his address before Congress? It’s obvious from it he has a deep respect for America and it’s people. His mother-in-law jokes are a result of his Italian heritage which is a blind spot for him. It’s forgivable because he truly does love and honor women, in a bit of an old fashioned way, but recognizing the rights of women to pursue their fullest potential. He’s had many close women friends who were high level professionals. And as far as schism...that is to be laid at the feet of those who do not see that the church must grow and change and fear their own need to open their hearts and minds
If Pope Francis resigns, who is going to succeed him? The entire ecclesiastical patriarchy is compromised. If the entire ecclesiastical patriarchy resigns, and is replaced by another ecclesiastical patriarchy, in a few years we are going to be back to the same mess.
The current sexual abuse crisis might be the "earthquake" that liberates the church from the patriarchal prison (cf. Acts 16:26ff). Some notes for your consideration:
Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, God made flesh, not a patriarch
God the Father is a person, but not a male
God the Son is a person, but was not a male before the incarnation
God the Holy Spirit is a person, but not a male
The Trinity is a communion of persons, not a patriarchate
The "Son of man" is God made flesh, not a patriarch
All men and women are consubstantial in their human nature
Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life, not the male of life
The substance of the Eucharist is BODY, not XX or XY chromosomes
The substance of the Eucharist is FLESH, not testosterone
Patriarchy is a disordered attachment to the supremacy of masculinity
The Church is a communion of persons, not a patriarchate
The Church is the body of Christ, not a woman with a male head
The Virgin Mary is the "type" of the Church, not a woman with a male head
The Marian dimension of the Church precedes the apostolic dimension
Apostolic succession is contingent on redeemed flesh, not on masculinity
The nuptial mystery of Christ and the Church is not a patriarchal marriage
Canon 1024 is an artificial contraceptive and abortifacient of female priestly vocations
Catechism 1577 reduces the priesthood of the New Law to priesthood of the Old Law
Catechism 1598 declares that ordaining only males is a choice, not a dogma
The exclusively male priesthood makes invisible the "feminine genius" in Christ
The Christian/Catholic/Orthodox faith is not intrinsically patriarchal
The conflation of patriarchal gender ideology and Christian doctrines is a disgrace
It is time to discard the patriarchal scaffolding that obscures the Catholic faith
The Vatican should stop fabricating patriarchal doctrines and allow Christ to call women to the priesthood and the episcopate. The theological foundation for doing it is crystal clear in St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body.
Burke,Viganò, each has an agenda. Neither sees the underlying issue with abuse as a symptom of the assumption of clerical 'specialness' - "clerics" in Francis' language. We ought not give the time of day to what either of them says.
So much opinions, and Jesus knows everything not Burke or Vigano. Remember, we go to church for Jesus, not the Pope, not the Cardinals or Bishops or those who think they know everytning.
You are correct: we are not Catholics because we like or deslike our clergy, or for the Pope or for the Bishops. We are not Catholics because of the good or bad priests. We go to meet Jesús in the Eucharist! Amen!
The Church is not a political movement or a club. It is the mystical body of Jesus where we find our way to sainthood.
Once again, a few traditionalist Cardinals going to the press, publishing their private letters and private conversations to press (pun intended) their own agenda. Instead of working for the church, by trying to remain United in Christ, they are creating division, Instead of attacking the problem at the root from their positions of power, they use their power to drive a wedge and debilitate the sacred body.
We have to stay strong, United and fight! We must fight together to protect our children and youth from those bad apples, to eliminate sin.
We have to fight to purify our beloved church, together as one, instead of debilitating our resolve with petty internal fights and stupid calls for resignation.
Burke and Co seem more interested in their own little egos than in the church. They want to be right and in pushing this, they are hurting the thing they claim to defend. Happened with the Dubia, it's happening again, they won't miss an opportunity!