During the two pontificates preceding Francis’, dogmatic conservatives were convinced that the post-conciliar turmoil generated by the radical “Spirit of Vatican II” had not only been halted, but clearly reversed by Saint John Paul II and Benedict. The idea of schism lay in the distant, past or future.
The call by Catholic liberals for a Vatican III, demanding radical change by Tracy, Kung and Metz in their 1978 book titled “Toward Vatican III, The Work that Needs to be Done” was a distant memory. The German contingent of cardinals and bishops, led by now retired Cardinal Kasper, had been duly chastised by two forceful pontiffs halting a raging disagreement with liberals demanding that the Church embrace Modernity and the Cult of the Individual.
Conservative complacency immediately evaporated upon Francis’ arrival on the throne of Peter. What appeared like dead embers of radical liberalism spontaneously burst into raging flame as Kasper became Francis’ guiding light on a wide range of issues.
Kasper is apparently untainted by the German tax scandal – a church tax imposed on German citizens by the State, payable to the various churches. Those Catholics who do not pay the tax are prohibited the Sacraments while those who do pay, though not in the state of grace due to deviancy or bigamy, are granted the Sacraments. In an attempt to maintain the Church’s coffers it becomes relatively obvious why Kasper is so determined to offer communion to divorced and remarried Catholics. Strongly encouraged and clearly supported by Francis, this divisive issue has become a lightning-rod during two synods plunging the Church into widespread confusion and division. By everyone’s accord the German Church is currently in de-facto schism as the practice to grant Communion to divorced Germans is widespread.
It remains clear to all that the division, including the threat of worldwide schism, cannot be laid directly at Francis’ door, but rather the radical “Spirit of Vatican II” demanding a reversal of Sacred Dogma.
The record of the last two synods clearly highlights, however, Francis’ strong encouragement and support for these divisive issues favoring Kasper’s interests. Francis, moving from Saint John Paul II’s focus on justice, hope and truth to Kasper’s fixation on mercy superseding justice, leads many to conclude that the Church is torn in two.
The Kasperites present the following arguments to support the granting of the Sacraments to divorced and remarried Catholics:
- The Change is Merely Pastoral, not Doctrinal: Granting Communion to divorced and remarried Catholics enables individuals and their new family the necessary strength to persevere in life. Mercy demands that pastoral needs supersede dogma.
Response: Who shall show mercy toward abandoned children and spouses deserted by an adulterous party?
If the Sacraments are merely medicinal, why only limit them to divorced and remarried Catholics? If this be the case they should particularly be granted to all Catholics deviating from the moral code, as well as to non-Catholics. Granting Communion to all is an explicit reversal of 2,000 years of Church dogma. - Develop a Regional Catholicism: Kasperites propound that bishops determine, within their own jurisdiction, whether to grant Communion to the divorced and remarried.
Response: This repeats the Modernist heresy, which propounded the establishment of a federation of Catholic churches, each pursuing its own end, under the vague guidance of a Roman Pontiff. Such a proposal destroys the Church’s universality, mimicking the fall of mainline Protestantism. - Dogmatic Conservatives are Fundamentalists, Propounding Crude Legalism: Biblical views, including those of Jesus’ human side, are limited by the times in which they were formed. Therefore, all scripture must be continually reinterpreted, dependent on time and place. Furthermore, one should observe the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law.
Response: Employing a relative interpretation of Scripture negates 2,000 years of lucid, rational and inspired Church teaching. Fidelity to dogma is not legalism! Divorce is in direct opposition to Natural Law, which explicitly concludes that marriage is indissoluble. - Employ Private Conscience: Kasperites employ the supremacy of private conscience to conclude that the individual is the final arbiter deciding whether he is eligible to receive the Sacraments.
Response: While the Church acknowledges private conscience as a dictate it clearly maintains that conscience is not a faculty of choice, which is detached from religion and rational, moral truth. The individual follows his conscience at his own peril. - “Internal Forum” (The Confessional): The final proposal propounded by German Cardinals and Bishops is to allow individual priests and penitents, to determine if the individual is eligible to receive the Sacraments.
Response: In effect, priest and penitent are now capable of dispensing and receiving the Sacraments as they see fit. Such a proposal expands the concept of regional Catholicism by having decisions made in each confessional, producing total doctrinal anarchy.
At the end of the second Synod, the Kasperites successfully incorporated their most devastating proposal as a final solution. In the Synod’s final report, the individual and his confessor become the final arbiters of Dogma.
Such demands do not bode well for a Church in crisis, it denies the necessity for stable, sound, and universal doctrines.
The sanctity of the family is at stake! Christ has granted the Church immortality; the family has no such guarantee. We await Francis’ “Apostolic Exhortation,” (final decision), in early spring. Divorce, despite a host of anti-family measures adopted by the modern world, remains the most destructive force facing the family unit. The Family is the primary unit of society, superseding both Church and State.
God protect the Family!
--Xavier Rynne
