The Plot to Change Catholicism...Ross Douthat

[mystery-ak]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/opinion/sunday/the-plot-to-change-catholicism.html?ref=opinion

The Plot to Change Catholicism

OCT. 17, 2015

THE Vatican always seems to have the secrets and intrigues of a Renaissance court — which, in a way, is what it still remains. The ostentatious humility of Pope Francis, his scoldings of high-ranking prelates, have changed this not at all; if anything, the pontiff’s ambitions have encouraged plotters and counterplotters to work with greater vigor.

And right now the chief plotter is the pope himself.

Francis’s purpose is simple: He favors the proposal, put forward by the church’s liberal cardinals, that would allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion without having their first marriage declared null.

Thanks to the pope’s tacit support, this proposal became a central controversy in last year’s synod on the family and the larger follow-up, ongoing in Rome right now..

[sinkspur]

Douthat can favor retaining the status-quo on divorce and remarriage, but there are bishops and lots of priests who have simply moved on.  They grant absolution to the divorced and remarried and tell them to receive the Eucharist.

And many Catholics in this controversy--similar to the one over birth control--have simply followed their own consciences and started receving the Eucharist without asking or notifying anybody.

Francis is recognizing reality, but few Catholics pay any attention to what their bishops say anymore.  That's why Francis is popular and attractive, and hardly any bishops are.

[GourmetDan]

The Plot to Change Catholicism

That plot has been going on for a long, long time.

It is a testament to the strength of Catholicism that it has withstood it so well for so long...

[sinkspur]

There is a difference between doctrine and discipline.

Doctrines can't be changed; disciplines can.

[GourmetDan]

 
There is a difference between a shill and an honest poster...

A shill can't be changed; an honest poster can...

[sinkspur]

There is a difference between a shill and an honest poster...

A shill can't be changed; an honest poster can...

Because you are a shill, you are on ignore for me.

You think your little aphorisms are cute and poignant.

On the contrary, they're stupid and pointless.