A Jesuit, a Franciscan and a Dominican are driving cars. They are involved in a terrible pile up on the I-55-I-80 interchange south of Joliet. They all arrive in Heaven simultaneously:
The Franciscan: Oh, this is how Father Francis told us it would be!
The Jesuit: This is precisely how I thought it would be!
Dominican: Wait a minute! What’s the Jesuit doing here?
I don’t know if the comment by JD Flynn (“Putin arrives in heaven: God is great”) is a put-on or not— The last time these truly ludicrous arguments that God forgives everyone, even the most wicked murdering despot or criminal, who never evidences in his life for an micro nano instant, a moment of repentance or remorse, appeared was when Fidel Castro died and nuts defended him being in heaven —but I think Flynn is serious in his/her own unserious way:
But this again is the functional agnosticism demonstrative in much New Church today: “God’s ways cannot be known, because God really cannot be known, and we cannot reason to understand God’s ways or his future judgments between right and wrong.” It really denies the Last Judgment as well.
The line of thinking is that we cannot reasonably ascertain objective right or wrong, “and God will save everyone.” It exempts the individual from responsibility to choose the cross or 30 pieces of silver, and making reasoned decisions between right and wrong along the way. “ and besides, we just don’t know God‘s ways at all. And remember, we must not judge, no no. We must not judge.”
It overlooks the fact that hell is mentioned 162 times in the New Testament, and the overwhelming number of those mentions are by Jesus Christ himself (Interestingly, much-hated S. Paul never mentions hell once.) It must mean that hell is a real threat to one’s future eschatological existence. It must mean there are reasonably understandable determinations between right and wrong, and perfect contrition may be hard to come by.
But one would not know that according to JD Flynn. Because one cannot know God. QED functional agnostic .
You read a lot into the article that is not there Steve. The article focused on forgiveness of those who trespass against us and loving our enemies, teachings that come straight from Christ. In reference to Putin, the hope was expressed that he would come to true repentance and amendment. Unlikely? Sure. Unprecedented? No.
“Frank was captured by American troops on 4 May 1945, at Tegernsee in southern Bavaria.[21] He attempted suicide twice.[22] He was indicted for war crimes and tried before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg from 20 November 1945 to 1 October 1946. During the trial he converted, guided by Fr Sixtus O’Connor OFM, to Roman Catholicism, and claimed to have had a series of religious experiences.
Frank voluntarily surrendered 43 volumes of his personal diaries to the Allies, which were then used against him as evidence of his guilt.[5] Frank confessed to some of the charges, and testified in response to questions from his defence attorney:
after having heard the testimony of the witness Rudolf Höss, my conscience does not allow me to throw the responsibility solely on these minor people. I myself have never installed an extermination camp for Jews, or promoted the existence of such camps; but if Adolf Hitler personally has laid that dreadful responsibility on his people, then it is mine too, for we have fought against Jewry for years; and we have indulged in the most horrible utterances.[5]
He and Albert Speer were the only defendants to show remorse for their war crimes.[23] At the same time, he accused the Allies, especially the Soviets, of their own wartime atrocities. The former German Governor-General of Poland was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity on 1 October 1946, and he was sentenced to death by hanging. The death sentence was carried out at Nuremberg Prison on 16 October by US Army Master Sergeant John C. Woods. Journalist Joseph Kingsbury-Smith wrote of the execution:
He answered to his name quietly and when asked for any last statement, he replied “I am thankful for the kind treatment during my captivity and I ask God to accept me with mercy.”[24]
His body and those of the other nine executed prisoners and the corpse of Hermann Göring were cremated at Ostfriedhof (Munich) and the ashes were scattered in the river Isa.”
Another Jesuit-Dominican joke I heard from Peter Kreeft:
What’s the difference between a Jesuit and a Dominican? The Dominicans were formed to fight the Albigensian heresy, and the Jesuits were formed to fight the Protestant heresy. How many Albigensians do you know today?
“Many Mansions” ?
(I thought this was going to be a follow-up to Tuesday’s post):
https://the-american-catholic.com/2022/03/01/al-capone-ring-a-bell/
😀
The real question is is how many unrepentant, devoid of contrition, mortal sinners are in heaven and if, in the name of mercy and forgiveness, they can continue to sin mortally in heaven? Is there metanoia, conversion? When does forgiveness and mercy become sin enablement? That appears to have been the case in the clerical abuse scandal, where catch and release created more victims.
he real question is is how many unrepentant, devoid of contrition, mortal sinners are in heaven]]
None would be the answer to that question.
When does forgiveness and mercy become sin enablement? That appears to have been the case in the clerical abuse scandal, where catch and release created more victims.
———————-
You give the powers that be in the Church who were covering up the abuse of innocents by clergy credit they do not deserve IMHO. I don’t believe the cover up was motivated by “mercy.” I believe the motivation was to not have their own sins—as well as those of the offender priests—be brought to light. If indeed the motivation of the enablers of these sexual predator priests was mercy, where was the mercy for the victims?
“Dominican: Wait a minute! What’s the Jesuit doing here?“
While I don’t know where my eternal destination will be. But I do that wherever that is I’ll be surprised at who I see there!
You give the powers that be in the Church who were covering up the abuse of innocents by clergy credit they do not deserve IMHO. I don’t believe the cover up was motivated by “mercy.” I believe the motivation was to not have their own sins—as well as those of the offender priests—be brought to light. If indeed the motivation of the enablers of these sexual predator priests was mercy, where was the mercy for the victims?
With few exceptions, the complaints against the clergy were not timely, received 10, 20, and 30 years after the fact. Do you have an idea of how to sift such claims and make reliable determinations? And if you don’t, why you want to publish someone’s personnel file? Or is there some other means of not ‘covering it up’?
Faith. Hope. Love.
Maybe I won’t be going to Heaven if I think someone would be ‘elsewhere.’
In October 1917, Our Lady gave the three shepherd children at Fatima a prayer, which I say between the decades of the Most Holy Rosary. One of the pleas in it is “Take all souls to Heaven.” I confess had to convert myself into believing that.
Should our response be “God forgive him?”
A priest from my parents’ [my former] parish was transferred into our parish in the 1990’s [I’ve seen so many decades I can’t say for sure – my sons were still boys]. My mother never liked him. He was a goof ball and would add line to prayers in Mass -tip-off(?). Well, he abused young boys in my mother’s parish and in my parish. He went on the run. They never caught him. But, a rumor is he died at some point.
God forgive him.
God forgive CCP Joe.