Cardinals Standing On The Precipice

As I have written before, I don't think any Church document since Humanae Vitae in 1968 has produced as much controversy and outright rebellion in the Catholic Church as we have seen from Amoris Laetitia.

I have been watching the conservative/traditionalist blogosphere tear into Pope Francis over Amoris Laetitia, labeling the Holy Father and the document as heretical and destructive to the Catholic Faith. We now have four Cardinals - four princes of the Church - Cardinals Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra, Walter Brandmüller and Joachim Meisner - who are challenging Pope Francis to a spiritual duel and calling for everyone else to jump on board with them.

There have probably been thousands of articles and blog posts written on this subject of the Cardinals' letter to Pope Francis. A Google search on this subject produces 378,000 results. I have not read anywhere near all of these articles, but of those I have read, I have not seen any that delve very deeply into the specifics of the Cardinals' letter. The articles have mostly been cheering sections, urging the Cardinals on in their battle against the Holy Father.

Not many articles actually quote directly from the Cardinals' letter, and I doubt very much if many people have read the actual letter. If you are interested, you can read the entire letter HERE. 

Cardinal Burke said he and the others made the decision to go public with their letter when they learned that Pope Francis had decided not to respond to them.  

The burning question is, why did Pope Francis ignore this letter from four princes of the Church?

As I previously wrote, a group of Bishops in Argentina also released a document concerning Amoris Laetitia. However, this was far different from our four Cardinals. The Argentinian bishops stated that they understood the mercy and compassion of the Holy Father in writing AL. These bishops felt Pope Francis was very clear in Amoris Laetitia, and they outlined specifically how they intend to follow the document in dealing with the people in their dioceses. The Holy Father's comment to Argentinian Bishops' document was as follows:

The document is very good and thoroughly specifies the meaning of chapter VIII of Amoris laetitia. There are no further interpretations. I am confident that it will do much good.

It seems that if the four Cardinals who wrote to Pope Francis were really truly interested in an answer, all they would need to do is read the document from the Argentinian Bishops.  But they do not even seem to be aware that this document exists as it is nowhere mentioned in their letter to the Holy Father.  

As you will see if you take the time to read the Cardinals' letter, it is written like a legal document. The Cardinals are interested in the letter of the law. They want to know exactly what is right and wrong. They want everything in black and white. 

The Cardinals start out by stating that their letter is an act of justice and charity:

Of justice: with our initiative we profess that the Petrine ministry is the ministry of unity, and that to Peter, to the Pope, belongs the service of confirming in the faith.

Of charity: we want to help the Pope to prevent divisions and conflicts in the Church, asking him to dispel all ambiguity.

The Cardinals are telling us justice means the acknowledgement that the role of the Pope is to confirm the faith - no argument there.  The Cardinals then say their letter is an act of charity because they "want to help the Pope to prevent divisions and conflicts in the Church, asking him to dispel all ambiguity."  I find that statement rather ironic because the release of this letter has resulted in even more and harsher division and conflict in the Church than we had before.  Their letter has given rise to blatant talk of schism and open rebellion against the Pope.

In reading the Cardinals' letter, it seems to hard to believe that they read the same document that I did.

There is no mention in the Cardinals' letter about the great problem of millions of Catholics who are estranged from the Church, unable to receive the Sacraments because of their marital situation.  There is no compassion shown for those who are told they must choose between their families and the Church.  If they choose their families, they are told they are going to hell.  If they choose the Church, then they are being disloyal to the most important people in their lives and those who need them the most.

The Holy Father and the Synod Fathers looked at the divorce and remarried with eyes of compassion and mercy. They realize that this isn't just a a matter of just saying no to disordered passions and lusts. Divorced and remarried Catholics are in an extremely difficult situation in that they can't just walk away from their sin like an alcoholic or someone involved in sexual sin. They are being told they must walk away and turn their backs on the greatest responsibility one can have in life - our families - in order to remain loyal to the Church. Remember the movie, Sophie's Choice? Sophie was a Polish Jew in a concentration camp who was forced to choose which of her two children should die. That is how the divorced and remarried in the Church feel.

Yes, it would have been better if they had not allowed themselves to get into such a situation. But we can't change the past. We must deal with people where they are. And this is exactly what Pope Francis is attempting to do, with mercy and compassion, bringing these lost sheep back to the fold like the good shepherd he is commanded to be.

The Argentinian bishops understood this. Why can't our four cardinals understand?

As we can see in the letter, the four cardinals - like the religious leaders in Jesus' time - are stuck on the letter of the law. They consider that to be of utmost importance, far more important than the people. This can be seen in their questions and statements to the Holy Father:

It is asked whether, following the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (nn. 300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the sacrament of penance and thus to admit to Holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person more uxorio without fulfilling the conditions provided for by Familiaris Consortio n. 84 and subsequently reaffirmed by Reconciliatio et Paenitentia n. 34 and Sacramentum Caritatis n. 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in note 351 (n. 305) of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live more uxorio?

The Argentinian bishops actually answered their question very succinctly in their document:

Firstly, we should remember that it is not advisable to speak of “permissions” to have access to sacraments, but of a discernment process in the company of a pastor. It is a “personal and pastoral discernment” (300).

The Cardinals see everything in black and white, making no personal discernment but treating everyone on the same level.  They see no reason to take circumstances into account whatsoever.  This is exactly what we see in the Pharisees in Jesus' time.  A woman is caught in the act of adultery, and she must suffer the consequences of being stoned to death.

As far as the Pharisees are concerned, there can be no forgiveness.  The law has been broken and the penalty must be paid.  People don't count.  The real priorities are rules and regulations.

You can see this in all of the questions posed by the Cardinals:

After Amoris Laetitia (n. 301) is it still possible to affirm that a person who habitually lives in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, as for instance the one that prohibits adultery (cf. Mt 19:3-9), finds him or herself in an objective situation of grave habitual sin (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration, June 24, 2000)?

After the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (n. 302) on “circumstances which mitigate moral responsibility,” does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 81, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, according to which “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice”?

After Amoris Laetitia (n. 303) does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 56, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, that excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and that emphasizes that conscience can never be authorized to legitimate exceptions to absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts by virtue of their object?

For the Cardinals, it is all about judging whether an action is objectively right or wrong. There is no reaching out to individual people, no discernment, no pastoring involved.

This is in stark contrast to the Argentinian bishops:

2) In this path, the pastor should emphasize the fundamental proclamation, the kerygma, so as to foster or renew a personal encounter with the living Christ (cf. 58).

3) Pastoral accompaniment is an exercise of the “via caritas.” It is an invitation to follow “the way of Jesus, the way of mercy and reinstatement” (296). This itinerary requires the pastoral charity of the priest who receives the penitent, listens to him/her attentively and shows him/her the maternal face of the Church, while also accepting his/her righteous intention and good purpose to devote his/her whole life to the light of the Gospel and to practise charity (cf. 306).

Unlike the four Cardinals, the Argentinian bishops do not see sinners in need of judgment. They see lost sheep who need to be guided back home to Jesus Christ and the Church.

Pope Francis has not changed one teaching in the Church. The teaching on the family remains as it always has. The change is how we approach those in irregular situations. The Cardinals - and all who support them - seem totally unable to recognize this fact. They truly are following in the footsteps of the Pharisees of Jesus' time, sitting in judgment of the people, and not showing any mercy or compassion for individual situations.

The four Cardinals - and those who support them - seem unable to understand that Pope Francis wants to reach out to people on an individual basis, look carefully at their specific, unique circumstances, and bring them back to Christ in whatever way is possible. As the Argentinian bishops explained:

However, it should not be understood that this possibility implies unlimited access to sacraments, or that all situations warrant such unlimited access. The proposal is to properly discern each case. For example, special care should be taken of “a new union arising from a recent divorce” or “the case of someone who has consistently failed in his obligations to the family” (298). Also, when there is a sort of apology or ostentation of the person’s situation “as if it were part of the Christian ideal” (297). In these difficult cases, we should be patient companions, and seek a path of reinstatement (cf. 297, 299).

Pope Francis is not a fan of "hit and run" ministry, that is ministry which involves explaining right and wrong, and then leaving people on their own as we go on our merry way smug in the knowledge of what good people we are.  As the Holy Father has said, he wants his priests to be "shepherds living with the smell of the sheep."

As Pope Francis stated in his response to the Argentinian bishops:

We know this is tiring, it is “hand-to-hand” pastoral care which cannot be fully addressed with programmatic, organizational or legal measures, even if these are also necessary. It simply entails accepting, accompanying, discerning, reinstating.

Out of these four pastoral attitudes the least refined and practised is discernment; and I deem it urgent to include training in personal and community discernment in our Seminaries and Presbyteries.

If the four cardinals are really interested, they would know that Pope Francis and others have answered each and every statement and question in their letter.  The answer boils down to this:  we have millions of Catholics who are estranged from the Church.  They need help in finding their way back.  We need to go out to them and guide them back home, however it may be done.  We cannot just give them a pat answer and walk away.  We need to be there, walking with them and guiding them along this very difficult path.

Pope Francis is absolutely right in not answering the cardinals' letter.  These cardinals seem totally uninterested in the spiritual plight of millions of Catholics.   Nowhere in their letter is there any compassion shown towards those in the difficult situation of divorce and remarriage.  They really don't even address the issue.  They are acting as lawyers who have Pope Francis on the witness stand, and they are attempting to paint him in the worst possible light.

It is quite obvious that these princes of the Church are not interested in anything the Holy Father has to say. If they were, they would already have their answers because the answers are already out there. This letter was written to accuse the Holy Father and basically start a war with him.

These cardinals and all who support them are on a very dangerous precipice, looking into a great gulf out of which they may not be able to climb.