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PopeWatch: A Guide for the Perplexed

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Reports on the Synod make PopeWatch grateful that the mass media did not exist during the Tower of Babel project to add to the confusion.  Most of the reporting is useless, the blind attempting to lead the blind into deeper confusion.  Among the better English language reporting is that of Edward Pentin at National Catholic Register who has a knack for discarding chaff and getting to the behind the scenes maneuvering at the Synod.  A typical example from his Day Two report:

Some observers detected a general pushback at the press conference today of Cardinal Péter Erdő’s introductory speech yesterday, which reasserted Church teaching and effectively rejected Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposal to admit civilly divorced and remarried Catholics to Communion.

Pope Francis mentioned the issue in the morning, saying it was still one of many other issues to be discussed. Asked at the briefing whether the proposal was now no longer on the table after Cardinal Erdő’s intervention, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, told reporters that he felt it was “still open at the pastoral level” and quoted the Pope’s words of this morning on the issue. He said there was also talk during the press conference of the divorced-and-remarried issue not requiring a “universal solution,” but instead one that could be left to the regional and national level.

Archbishop Durocher, who dedicated his three-minute intervention to the role of women in the Church and said he was in favor of women deacons, said Cardinal Erdő’s intervention was “a beautiful and classic presentation of the Church’s teaching” and that “other bishops are saying this is important and we need to hold on to these.” But he added it is “one piece as we move forward, as we listen to the voice, to the spirit leading us forward.”

The archbishop said he saw two dangers: emphasizing Church teaching so strongly that the Church closes in on itself and becomes a “kind of ghetto or sect that no longer has an impact on culture,” and the other that enters into dialogue to such an extent that it “dilutes the Church’s teaching.”

For this reason, he said, “some will emphasize the teaching, and the other the importance of dialogue. That’s why it’s important this is a collegial exercise, in sense we do this together because we need to hold both of those together.”

A synod father told the Register on condition of anonymity that Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German bishops’ conference, also criticized Erdő’s relatio as “saying it contained nothing new.” But the source also said that another cardinal later commented that Cardinal Erdő’s speech was “excellent” and a “good resume of the instrumentum laboris with many nuances and a better style.”

He added it “should be considered by the synod along with the instrumentum laboris.”
Go here to read the rest.  PopeWatch will be looking to Mr. Pentin as his chief guide through the thickets of bloviation and endless intrigue at the Synod.

 

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Father of seven
Father of seven
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 4:15am

Sounds like there’s going to be some new paving material for the floor in hell.

Michael Dowd
Michael Dowd
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 4:44am

Agree. We must wait, watch and see with Mr Pentin as our guide to the often obscure and Machiavellian goings on at the Synod. And of course we must pray especially that the truth will come out, whether it be good or bad. St Michael the Archangel defend us in battle!

Cthemfly25
Cthemfly25
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 5:41am

The archbishop said he saw two dangers: emphasizing Church teaching so strongly that the Church closes in on itself and becomes a “kind of ghetto or sect that no longer has an impact on culture,” and the other that enters into dialogue to such an extent that it “dilutes the Church’s teaching.”

Let’s beat up those straw men. Down here in the trenches of life, over emphasizing Church teachings is not the problem.

Patricia
Patricia
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 7:46am

‘ … For this reason, he said, “some will emphasize the teaching, and the other the importance of dialogue. That’s why it’s important this is a collegial exercise, in sense we do this together because we need to hold both of those together.”…’
Collegial: They can’t render a denial of God’s Word (which is unacceptable to the ‘culture’), so they’ll talk for long enough to create nothing unified and more scandals, then let regional bishop’s conferences have their ways.

‘ “… we listen to the voice, to the spirit leading us forward.” …’
They mean to say Holy Spirit . Don’t they? They seem to want a way out of the books of teachings in Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit to be able to control permissive pastoral activity and stand for nothing but dialogues.

Murray
Murray
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 7:52am

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German bishops’ conference, also criticized Erdő’s relatio as “saying it contained nothing new.”

To an orthodox Catholic, “nothing new” should be high praise indeed.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 8:59am

It appears that Cardinal Erdo’s speech was a rhetorical wedgie for the laxists. Too bad the deck has been stacked against him.

Tom
Tom
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 9:15am

An interesting use of the Modernist tactic of using the Hegelian thesis+antithesis=synthesis. In the process of course, the “thesis” of orthodoxy gets diluted by the antithesis. Then the new synthesis becomes the next thesis, to be diluted again by a new antithesis. By this means, we go from orthodoxy to heresy in short order.

The Modernists are masters of this methodology, and it’s why they emphasize “dialogue” so much– it leads naturally into the meat grinding process of Hegelian Dialectics.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 9:30am

>>>>>>>>>>>An interesting use of the Modernist tactic of using the Hegelian thesis+antithesis=synthesis. In the process of course, the “thesis” of orthodoxy gets diluted by the antithesis.>>>>>>

Yes, indeed. As someone said at the close of the last Synod, what the progs are trying to do is the equivalent of arguing the following:
“2 + 2 = 4 is too rigid.
2 + 2 = 6 is too lax.
But 2 + 2 = 5 is pastoral.”

Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 10:33am

Dale Price

Your analogy puts me in mind of Walter Bagehot: “You may hear men say, “Without committing myself to the tenet that 3 + 2 make 5, though I am free to admit that the honourable member for Bradford has advanced very grave arguments in behalf of it, I think I may, with the permission of the Committee, assume that 2 + 3 do not make 4, which will be a sufficient basis for the important propositions which I shall venture to submit on the present occasion.” This language is very suitable to the greater part of the House of Commons. Most men of business love a sort of twilight. They have lived all their lives in an atmosphere of probabilities and of doubt, where nothing is very clear, where there are some chances for many events, where there is much to be said for several courses, where nevertheless one course must be determinedly chosen and fixedly adhered to. They like to hear arguments suited to this intellectual haze. So far from caution or hesitation in the statement of the argument striking them as an indication of imbecility, it seems to them a sign of practicality.”

Franco
Franco
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 7:55pm

The following is being discussed by the Vatican Mafia
at the Synod against the Family.

“The “ordination” of women to the Diaconate…
Polygamy – a matter to be better decided locally. (“There must be an end to exclusionary language and a strong emphasis on embracing reality as it is,” said the Vatican English-language spokesman – which is the absolute opposite of the entire Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.)” Rorate Caeli

The priesthood may be outsourced to women deacons, since
women are forbidden to become priests. Say goodbye to the old
Magisterium while Francis and the excommunicated Vatican
Mafia are writing a new Magisterium for the modern Catholic
Church. Of course, Francis would never violate the teachings of
the Catholic Church.

Patricia
Patricia
Wednesday, October 7, AD 2015 10:48pm

While the somewhat less than august assembly is gathered discussing possible end runs around all manner of adultery as reality, children watch and listen to these church teachers. These integral members of families will learn that the church doesn’t speak to them about Eternal Truths of their religion. They will learn how to dissemble and get away with sin to their souls’ eventual torture. They probably won’t even care to learn to translation after questionable reports abound or recognize pure liturgy .
There are two and a half weeks left for them to become church fathers for the children who are in grave peril.

Missy
Missy
Thursday, October 8, AD 2015 5:37am

I’m confused about why these men are so confused. My children aren’t this confused (although I homeschool with a solid, orthodox, Catholic curriculum). For the past almost-year, I’ve been worried about what will come to pass. I sat my 10 year old down & said, “If someone comes along and tells you that something is not a sin anymore, and you know it is a sin, what would you say?” He knows the answer, why don’t these Cardinals know? I’ve been blessed with 3 children who are perfectly happy with, “because God said so.” Why aren’t these men?

doris bates
doris bates
Thursday, October 8, AD 2015 11:50am

Missy I agree with everything you just said. The catholic church only cares about their weekly collection basket and could care less about our souls. Seems nothing is a sin any more and the biggest sinners of all our the priest, bishops and cardinals. God must cry a million tears a day watching them all destroy his church.

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