Perhaps if Cardinal Cupich goes to heaven he could set up a Human Resources Department up there and then the angels will know what all these words mean. Poor angels.
Yes! True. Saint Jacina's words "we must be very, very good" keep echoing in my head. Though there are a great many good, saintly, holy Christians from many corners of the Christian world, one of the saddest errors of Protestantism is that technically, sin does not matter. Not really. Plead the blood, remember grace, everything's ok. Comforting, but not ultimately true.
Every paragraph in the final document passed and Pope Francis mentions the accuser again... Pope wraps up synod on youth claiming persecution over abuse By NICOLE WINFIELD and LUCA MAZZANTI | Associated Press | https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-wraps-up-synod-on-youth-claiming-persecution-over-abuse Pope Francis poses for a group photo with bishops and partecipants during the last day of the synod of bishops, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (Fabio Frustaci/ANSA via AP) Pope Francis reaches out his hand to greet a Vatican Swiss Guard as he arrives for the last day of the synod of bishops, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (Fabio Frustaci/ANSA via AP) VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis wrapped up a monthlong meeting of bishops dedicated to young people by saying Saturday the Catholic Church was being "persecuted" and "dirtied" by accusations from the devil — an apparent reference to claims that he covered up for a sexual predator that have thrown his papacy into turmoil. The Argentine pope made the comments to about 250 bishops, 30 young people and a handful of nuns who had just approved a 60-page final document at the close of a synod on how the church can better minister to today's youth. The sex abuse scandal, as well welcoming gays into the church and giving women a greater say in decision-making, were major topics of debate during the synod and featured in the final document. Those issues were also the ones that received the most contested votes as bishops voted "placet" or "non placet" — yay or nay — on each of the 167 paragraphs. While every paragraph passed with far more than the two-thirds vote necessary, one referencing "sexual inclinations" and the need to accompany gays received the most no votes, at 65. One calling for women to have a greater recognition and say in the church — and lamenting the "absence" of the female perspective — received 30 no votes. No woman was allowed to cast a ballot at the meeting. On abuse, the bishops stopped short of issuing a straight-forward communal apology for the decades of sex abuse and cover-up committed by priests and their superiors. While that section was entitled "Seek Pardon," the text voted on by bishops said merely that no amount of repentance can heal the trauma caused to victims. Thirty bishops voted against it. Delegates have said that many bishops, particularly from Africa, rejected the emphasis placed on the abuse issue during the meeting, which unfolded as the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S., Chile and elsewhere is once again under fire for its botched handling of the scandal. Francis himself has been drawn into the fray after a former Vatican ambassador accused him and a long line of Vatican officials before him of covering up for a now-disgraced ex-cardinal, Theodore McCarrick. Francis removed McCarrick as a cardinal in July after a U.S. church investigation determined an accusation he molested a teen-age altar boy was credible. In his concluding remarks to the synod, Francis appeared to be once again referring to the claims by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano that he had rehabilitated McCarrick from restrictions placed on him by the previous pope. Francis acknowledged that there were sinners all around, but he insisted that the church itself was holy and must be protected from attacks and "another type of persecution: continuous accusations that seek to dirty the church." Francis said the devil was behind the accusations and said now was the time to come to the defense of the church, which he referred to as "mother." "It's a difficult moment because the accuser, through us, is attacking the mother," he said. "And you don't touch the mother." ___ Winfield reported from New York. The following video includes a good interview with Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Vatican Youth Synod final doc approved. Read the most controversial passages. Diane Montagna | https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/v...l-doc-approved.-the-most-controversial-points ROME, October 27, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican Synod on ‘Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment’ concluded this evening, with the entire final document passing by the required two-thirds majority. Despite the overall approval of the 60-page document, several sections met with considerable opposition, including those on sexuality, synodality, conscience, the role of women in the Church, and the text’s treatment of the relationship between the final document and the working document (Instrumentum laboris). “This document opens up so many minefields,” a source close to the Synod told LifeSite. Following a German bishops’ press briefing held after the vote, respected Vatican journalist, Edward Pentin, tweeted out: Here below we highlight the three points that met with the greatest opposition. Sexuality The paragraph most opposed by the Synod Fathers was number 150, with 65 voting against (of a total of 248). It reads: 150. There are questions concerning the body, affectivity and sexuality which require a deepened anthropological, theological and pastoral elaboration, to be carried out in the most appropriate ways and at the most appropriate levels, from the local to the universal. Among these, those relating in particular to the difference and harmony between male and female identity and to sexual inclinations emerge. In this regard the Synod reaffirms that God loves every person and so does the Church, renewing its commitment against all discrimination and violence on a sexual basis. It also reaffirms the decisive anthropological relevance of the difference and reciprocity between man and woman and considers it reductive to define the identity of persons solely on the basis of their “sexual orientation” (CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH, Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, October 1, 1986, no. 16). In many Christian communities there are already paths of accompaniment in the faith of homosexual persons: the Synod recommends that these paths be encouraged. In these paths people are helped to understand their own [personal] history; to adhere freely and responsibly to their own baptismal call; to recognize the desire to belong to and contribute to the life of the community; and to discern the best ways of achieving it. In this way we help every young person, no one excluded, to integrate the sexual dimension more and more into their personality, growing in the quality of relationships and walking towards the gift of self. Several things may be noted here. First, the call for a “deepened anthropological, theological and pastoral elaboration” about sexuality. Second, the inclusion of the term “sexual inclination.” This term appeared three times in the draft, but it only appears once in the final document, and in quotation marks. As LifeSite reported on Thursday, the term “sexual inclination” is tantamount to “LGBT” for the UN and homosexual lobby. Its inclusion in the draft document was seen by many as a watering down of Catholic teaching and a step towards normalizing homosexuality in the Church. Third, the final document’s reference to the 1986 letter to bishops from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the direction of Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, on the pastoral care of homosexual persons. Reference to this letter was not included in the draft document. Lastly, the second paragraph this section speaks of “paths of accompaniment” for homosexual persons, but does not distinguish between apostolates such as Courage — which helps men and women with same-sex attraction to live chaste lives in accord with the Catholic faith — and other organizations that do not. continued...
continued from above... The Instrumentum laboris and the final document Number 3 of the final document clarifies the relationship between the Instrumentum laboris and the final text, saying they are intrinsically linked and are to be read together. Commenting on the relationship between the two documents at a press briefing following the vote, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Secretariat for Communications, stressed that the Instrumentum laboris is the basis for the final document. “The one is the child of the other,” he said. As LifeSite reported earlier this week, coupling the two documents together in this manner is problematic because it implies that the entire Instrumentum laboris — including its use of the loaded acronym “LGBT” — has been accepted. Number 3 was rejected by 43 Synod Fathers out of a total of 249 voting members. It reads: The Final Document of the Synodal Assembly 3. It is important to clarify the relationship between the Instrumentum laboris and the Final Document. The former is the unitary and synthetic reference framework that emerged from the two years of listening; the second is the fruit of the discernment carried out and brings together the generative thematic nuclei on which the Synod Fathers concentrated with particular intensity and passion. We therefore recognize the diversity and complementarity of these two texts. The present document is offered to the Holy Father (cf. FRANCESCO, Episcopalis communio, n. 18; Instruction, art. 35 §5) and also to the whole Church as the fruit of this Synod. Since the synodal journey has not yet been completed and foresees an implementation phase (cf. Episcopalis Communio, n. 19-21). The final document will be a map to guide the next steps that the Church is called to take. Synodality Number 121 of the final document, on the synodal form of the Church, also met with considerable opposition, with 51 Synod Fathers voting against it. The passage reads: The synodal form of the Church 121. The experience of the Synod made the participants aware of the importance of a synodal form of the Church for the proclamation and transmission of the faith. The participation of young people has contributed to “awakening” synodality, which is a “constitutive dimension of the Church. [...] As Saint John Chrysostom says, ‘Church and Synod are synonyms’ - because the Church is none other than the ‘walking together’ of God’s flock on the paths of history meeting Christ the Lord” (FRANCESCO, Address for the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Synod of Bishops, 17 October 2015). Synodality characterizes both the life and mission of the Church, which is the People of God formed by young and old, men and women of every culture and horizon, and the Body of Christ, in which we are members of one another, starting with those who are marginalized and trampled underfoot. In the course of the exchanges and through the testimonies, the Synod has brought out some fundamental traits of a synodal style, towards which we are called to convert. Although synodality was barely discussed in this month’s meeting, it dominated the third part of the draft final document, surprising many of the Synod Fathers. The word has come to commonly be understood as implying a decentralization and democratization of the Church and the magisterium away from the papacy and the Vatican to local churches. Pope Francis has long advocated a synodal Church. In an address marking the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, instituted by Pope Paul VI, the Pope said the “journey of synodality is the journey that God wants from his Church in the third millennium.” “A synodal church,” he added, “is a listening church” in which “each one has something to learn.” Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini was among the first to propose the model of a “synodal” Church, in which the Pope no longer rules as an absolute monarch, but is part of “a sort of permanent council of regents.” Following the released of the draft final document, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India — who was a member of the drafting committee — said the theme of synodality came from neither the synod discussions nor from the committee. Gracias, who is also a member of the Pope’s C-9 council of cardinals, speculated that the section was inserted by prominent, papally appointed synod officials. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England, openly opposed the idea on the synod floor, allegedly saying he’d seen other ecclesial communities such as the Anglican Communion use it and it “doesn’t work.” Translation Problems At this evening’s press briefing, LifeSite asked Paolo Ruffini about apparent translation problems during the voting. According to Archbishop Charles Chaput, “many bishops were frustrated by the lack of advance translations for important issues they were expected to vote on. As one of the synod fathers argued, it’s actually immoral to vote ‘yes’ on significant issues if you can’t even read and reflect on what the text says.” The current voting procedures dictate that the final document was to be given to the Synod Fathers this morning and read in the hall with simultaneous translation. After several hours for reflection, the Synod Fathers were to vote on it paragraph by paragraph, in the afternoon. Ruffini said the problem was that synod organizers underestimated how much time it would take to read the entire document, and only got through parts one and two this morning. When the synod fathers reconvened in the afternoon, they first voted on parts one and two, and then part three was read for the first time in the synod hall, with simultaneous translation, and was immediately voted on. Asked about the lack of time to reflect for bishops who don’t read Italian, Ruffini said: “The Synod Fathers have been here for a month talking about this ... If something is read to you slowly, it’s not that you don’t understand.” Pope Francis and the final document Addressing the Synod Fathers in the hall this evening, after the vote, Pope Francis stressed that the “result” of the synod is not a document. “We are full of documents. I don’t know if this document will do anything outside, but yes, I know that it has to work in us. We made the document — the commission studied the modi — and we approved the document,” he said. “Now the Holy Spirit gives us the document so that it can work in our hearts.” We are the ones to whom the document is addressed, the Pope told the Synod Fathers. He added that they should “pray with [it] study it, and ask for light.” Pope Francis also reiterated that the synod is not a “parliament” but a “protected space, so that the Holy Spirit can implement,” adding that this was why “only general information” was provided. Details such as “names and ways of saying things,” are the particulars with which “the Holy Spirit works in us,” he said. “This is a protected space. Let us not forget this. It was the Spirit who worked here,” he added. Edited to add: Edward Pentin | October 27, 2018 Youth Synod Final Document: Five Areas of Concern
*sigh* That's awful. Were I a same-sex attracted person hoping to see the Church embrace and ok homosexuality and transgenderism, I'd be standing up and cheering, and this is clearly what many will do, and how they will read this. This is pretty much an approval of sin and lostness. Sad. Yes, the Church is about to get tiny, and holy. Thank you, Carol, for taking the time to post this. Informative, and telling.
Thanks so much for posting the interview with Archbishop Chaput, Carol. I will watch it later doing the housework. He is my hero. We need al the heros we can get.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/urgent-lifesite-is-under-attack Lifesite news given 12 hours notice of shut down. I reckon there will be a shutdown of many sites now. After this synod persecution of faithful Catholics is about to go up a notch or two. This is devastating and on the other hand even a little bit of a feeling of looking forward with some joy knowing that God may soon reveal his truth in plain sight for them all and will crush his enemy. Though I sometimes worry if I am in right relationship with God. On reading that final document, I am sorry to God for not being in the fight a lot sooner. God revealed himself to me when I was 4 years old and it was not until I was 27 that I began to fight for him. A lot of wasted years that could have been used to tell people about God. Please pray that he forgives me. Thank you.
I just seen that pope Francis was carrying the witches stang again for the closing mass of the synod. Many could claim he made an ignorant foolish mistake to carry it the first time, but how on earth can they explain how he had a good reason to carry it again especially given all the concern and outrage by Catholics in the world after seeing it the first time. And how could all other religious who were there not just say to him to not use it
I think that thing is hideous. I mentioned the staff to my father in law and he seemed to think it looked like a crucifix and I was placing my own negativity on the item. I happen to think it is really poor taste if it's all innocent. My gut tells me it is a bad symbol and it burdens my heart to think the Vicar of Christ carries it.
Indeed, I feel the same. As I've said elsewhere at this forum, I am struck by how people speak about their imtimate experience of the divine here. And I think that's important. First of all in itself, it is moving and encouraging. But I see another value too. Because in the New Age movement in which I come from, people tend to Christianity is about legalistic rules and regulations. They do not see that Catholicism is MYSTICAL. If, as a New Ager, I had discovered this forum, I would have been very, very surprised by this aspect of it. And I would like to surprise New Agers with the realisation that Catholicism is not "rules and regulations" but, above all, a mystical encounter with Our Lord through His Sacraments. I can't help but feel this aspect of this forum could actually help to evangelise New Agers, if they would only look at it ...
Roger, I recently came to this same conclusion especially after I listened to one of the priests from Africa who attended the Youth Synod. He explained that this is one of the reasons why the churches are packed there. The people fully understand that the supernatural, God, can help them combat the evil "superstitions" that are still very much apart of their culture. Immaculata, Thank you for letting us know about this. I think that LifeSiteNews may have been able to move to another host in time. I saw the following re-tweeted by Raymond Arroyo and I realize that it is probably not related to what almost happened to LifeSiteNews yesterday but I am posting it here because it may have large ramifications to anything on the internet that the Church may consider to be "fake news" in the future. You can read the comments posted regarding this by clicking on the following https://twitter.com/CatholicSat/status/1056283800714518535 . (It sounds like "the return of communism".)
I will consider it. I guess I am not quite sure about sharing everything because I am always unsure if it is Gods will for me to share, but I may explain a kind of outline of my walk with God , how I got lost and how he brought me back again.
