Limburg Bishop Georg Batzing speaks during a March 3, 2020, news conference in Mainz after being elected as the new president of the German bishops' conference. (CNS photo/Harald Oppitz, KNA)
Munich, Germany, Mar 4, 2022 / 11:30 am (CNA).
The chairman of the German Catholic bishops’ conference has called for changes to Church teaching on sex outside of marriage and homosexuality.
In an interview with the German magazine Bunte published on March 4, Bishop Georg Bätzing agreed with the journalist’s assertion that “no one” adhered to the Church’s teaching that sexuality should only be practiced within marriage, saying: “That’s true. And we have to somewhat change the Catechism on this matter. Sexuality is a gift from God. And not a sin.”
Asked if same-sex relationships were permissible, the German prelate replied: “Yes, it’s OK if it’s done in fidelity and responsibility. It doesn’t affect the relationship with God.”
Bätzing, the bishop of Limburg, western Germany, added: “How someone lives their personal intimacy is none of my business.”
No one employed by the Church should be afraid of losing their job because of this, he said.
The German theologian Martin Brüske sharply criticized Bätzing’s comments in an interview with CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
“Bishop Georg Bätzing’s argument here is tricky,” he said. “He is implying that the Catechism and thus the tradition of the Church are somehow saying that sexuality is sin. What I would like to know from him is this: Where does he find such a statement in the Catechism or in Church tradition?”
In fact, the theologian added, the Church had always rejected such a view as erroneous.
“By contrasting this false assertion with his second assertion — that sexuality is without restriction a gift of God, the entire area is removed from ethical reflection. According to this logic, there is no longer any need to clarify or distinguish how sexuality is practiced. There is no longer any distinction made as to which sexual behavior is self-serving or expresses mutual appropriation.”
Brüske emphasized that the Church’s moral teaching had ordered sexuality toward the conjugal love of a man and a woman. The Catechism affirms: “Consequently, sexuality, in which man and woman give themselves to one another through the acts proper and reserved to the spouses, is by no means something purely biological, but concerns the innermost core of the human person as such.” In it, they would “make each other rich in joy and gratitude.”
Brüske said that by abandoning sacramental marriage as the exclusive place of sexuality between man and woman, the orientation toward the Gospel would also be abandoned and replaced by one directed at contemporary culture.
“The abysses of contemporary culture are completely overlooked, in particular what I would call its actual sociology of desire, in which people are often violated in the area of their sexuality,” he said.
The ethicist, who teaches in Switzerland, said that early Christianity, in its orientation toward Jesus, offered a radical contrast compared to the culture of the time.
“Precisely because of this, it was attractive, and helped wounded people to find healing,” he said.
Bätzing does not appear to see that, Brüske told CNA Deutsch. “He is obviously blind both to the origins and to our present. This leaves me sad and perplexed. And also a little angry. Because such naiveté is actually not allowed,” he commented.
In the Bunte interview, Bishop Georg Bätzing also spoke out in favor of abolishing priestly celibacy and ordaining women — positions recently endorsed by participants in the German “Synodal Way.”
Brüske said that rather than playing the role of a moderator, “the chairman of the German bishops’ conference identifies unreservedly with demands for a total revision of the sexual morality of the Church, the abolition of celibacy, the ordination of women.”
He added that, with a view to the controversial Synodal Way, it was highly problematic for the chairman to advance such an agenda.
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Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankevičs of Riga, Latvia (left), speaking during a Catholic conference in Warsaw in May 2022 on the natural law legacy of John Paul II (right.) / Photos by Lisa Johnston and L’Osservatore Romano
Warsaw, Poland, Jun 9, 2022 / 09:17 am (CNA).
Constant cooperation and dialogue among Catholic, Lutherans, Orthodox, and other Christian denominations have been crucial to protect life and family in the Baltic nation of Latvia, Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankevičs of Riga, Latvia, said during a recent Catholic conference in Warsaw.
In his speech, Stankevičs shared his personal ecumenical experience in Latvia as an example of how the concept of natural law proposed by St. John Paul II can serve as the basis for ecumenical cooperation in defending human values.
The metropolitan archbishop, based in Latvia’s capital, is no stranger to ecumenical work and thought. In 2001, he became the first bishop consecrated in a Lutheran church since the split from Protestantism in the 1500s. The unusual move, which occurred in the church of Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral in Riga, formerly the Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary, signaled the beginning of Stankevičs’ cooperation with the Lutheran church in Latvia, a cooperation that would ultimately become a partnership in the cause of life and the family. Since 2012, the archbishop has served on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
“I would like to present this ecumenical cooperation in three experiences in my country: the abortion debate, the civil unions discussion, and the so-called Istanbul convention,” Stankevičs began.
Entering the abortion debate
Ordained as a priest in 1996, Stankevičs struggled to find proper consultation for Catholic couples on natural family planning. It was then that he decided to create a small center that provided natural family planning under the motto “let us protect the miracle [of fertility].”
This involvement in the world of natural family planning would lead him into the heart of the abortion debate in Latvian society, and, ultimately, to the conclusion that moral discussions in the public square benefit from a basis in natural law, something emphasized in the teachings of John Paul II.
“I knew that theological arguments would not work for a secular audience, so I wanted to show that Catholic arguments are not opposed to legal, scientific, and universal arguments, but rather are in harmony with them,” Stankevičs said.
“[A] few years later our parliament introduced the discussion to legalize abortion. No one was doing anything so I decided to do something. I consulted some experts and presented a proposal that was published in the most important secular newspaper in Latvia,” the archbishop said.
Stankevičs’ article, “Why I was Lucky,” used both biological and theological arguments to defend human life. He noted that his own mother, when pregnant with him, was under pressure to get an abortion; “but she was a believer, a Catholic, so she refused the pressure.”
After the Latvian parliament legalized abortion in 2002, the different Christian confessions decided to start working together to protect the right to life and the family.
In Latvia, Catholics comprise 25% of the population, Lutherans 34.2%, and Russian Orthodox 17%, with other smaller, mostly Christian denominations making up the remainder.
“We started to work together by the initiative of a businessman in Riga, a non-believer who wanted to promote awareness about the humanity of the unborn,” the archbishop recalled.
“Bringing all Christians together in a truly ecumenical effort ended up bearing good fruits because we worked together in promoting a culture of life: From more than 7,000 abortions per year in 2002, we were able to bring it down to 2,000 by 2020,” he said.
Map of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Shutterstock
Ecumenical defense of marriage, family
Regarding the legislation on civil unions, another area where Stankevičs has rallied ecumenical groups around natural law defense of marriage, the archbishop said that he has seen the tension surrounding LGBT issues mount in Latvian society as increased pressure is brought to bear to legalize same-sex unions.
Invited to a debate on a popular Latvian television show called “One vs. One” after Pope Francis’ remark “who am I to judge?” was widely interpreted in Latvian society as approving homosexual unions, Stankevičs “had the opportunity to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church and what was the real meaning of the Holy Father’s words.”
After that episode, in dialogue with other Christian leaders, Stankevičs proposed a law aimed at reducing political tensions in the country without jeopardizing the traditional concept of the family.
The legislation proposed by the ecumenical group of Christians would have created binding regulations aimed at protecting any kind of common household; “for example, two old persons living together to help one another, or one old and one young person who decide to live together.”
“The law would benefit any household, including homosexual couples, but would not affect the concept of [the] natural family,” Stankevičs explained. “Unfortunately the media manipulated my proposal, and the Agency France Presse presented me internationally as if I was in favor of gay marriage.”
In 2020, the Constitutional Court in Latvia decided a case in favor of legalizing homosexual couples and ordered the parliament to pass legislation according to this decision.
In response, the Latvian Men’s Association started a campaign to introduce an amendment to the Latvian constitution, to clarify the concept of family. The Latvian constitution in 2005 proclaimed that marriage is only between a man and a woman, but left a legal void regarding the definition of family, which the court wanted to interpret to include homosexual unions.
The Latvian bishops’ conference supported the amendment presented by the Men’s Association, “but most importantly,” Stankevičs explained, “we put together an ecumenical statement signed by the leaders of 10 different Christian denominations supporting the idea that the family should be based on the marriage between a man and a woman. The president of the Latvian Jewish community, a good friend, also joined the statement.”
The Freedom Monument in Riga, Latvia, honors soldiers who died during the Latvian War of Independence (1918-1920). Shutterstock
According to Stankevičs, something strange happened next. “The Minister of Justice created a committee to discuss the demand of the constitutional court, and it included several Christian representatives, including three from the Catholic Church, which worked for a year.” But ignoring all the discussions and proposals, the Minister of Justice ended up sending a proposal to parliament that was a full recognition of homosexual couples as marriage.
The response was also ecumenical: Christian leaders sent a letter encouraging the parliament to ignore the government’s proposal.
According to Stankevičs, the proposal has already passed one round of votes “and it is very likely that it will be approved in a second round of votes, with the support of the New Conservative party. But we Christians continue to work together.”
Preventing gender ideology
The third field of ecumenical cooperation mentioned by Stankevičs concerned the Istanbul Convention, a European treaty which the Latvian government signed but ultimately did not ratify.
The treaty was introduced as an international legal instrument that recognizes violence against women as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women.
The convention claims to cover various forms of gender-based violence against women, but Christian communities in Latvia have criticized the heavy use of gender ideology in both the framing and the language of the document.
The word “gender,” for instance, is defined as “the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for women and men,” a definition that allows gender to be defined independent of biological sex and therefore opens the document to the question of whether it really is aimed at the protection of women.
Christian communities also question the biased nature of the committee designated to enforce the convention.
The governments of Slovakia and Bulgaria refused to ratify the convention, while Poland, Lithuania, and Croatia expressed reservations about the convention though it was ultimately ratified in those countries, a move the government of Poland is attempting to reverse.
“When we found out that the Latvian parliament was going to ratify it, I went to the parliament and presented the common Christian position,” Stankevičs explained. As a consequence of that visit, the Latvian parliament decided not to ratify the convention, Stankevičs said, crediting the appeal to the unity provided by the common Christian position argued via natural law.
“In conclusion,” the archbishop said, “I can say that in Latvia we continue to defend the true nature of life and family. But if we Catholics would act alone, we would not have the impact that we have as one Christian majority. That unity is the reason why the government takes us seriously.”
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33 Comments
Neither a Catholic nor a leader. Also illiterate about the Catechism…
Batzing’s posture in the “synodal way,” and Hollerich’s in the front-to-back “synod on synodality,” is that of leading from behind. A homosexual sort of orientation. When will these clowns in purple and red hats no longer be given a pass as presumptive “successors to the apostles”? Or even as mouthpieces for a presumed, bigoted, and rigid “paradigm-shift” or “anthropological-cultural change”?
I’m glad that CWR chose to run a photo of Bishop Batzing in a business suit rather than in his clerical garb.
After all, he sounds like just another corporate mouthpiece.
I’m sure that by merging with three or four of the more prosperous Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church could enjoy significant economies of scale.
Anybody remember that Jesus guy we used to try to emulate? Whatever happened to Him anyway?
Seemingly someone who chose a corporate career path rather than a vocation. Seems to have paid off considering his “promotion” to positions of authority. Have to keep your focus on “brand” relevance.
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance
Yes, Mr. Young. Repentance would certainly be better. But at this time Bishop Batzing is being left unchecked by any authority which is a failure of charity. Excommunication would be just the corrective necessary to get the attention of the Bishop in question. Excommunication would be an act of charity in this case ideally precipitating the repentance for which you advocate.
You probably have the better solution. A man opposed to the direction of Holy Scripture is not a reliable guide.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
The good of the shocking exposures such as above helping many to see the extent of the dust and darkness that has to be dealt with , bringing more light and clarity to the words of the Holy Father from his aching heart who desires for such worldliness to become dust and ashes ,knowing how such hypocrisy can make persons incapable of loving ..that he needs the help of the whole Church , to drive out the darkness .. his humility in seeking help , as a counter and reparation to the attitudes that led to the previous errors , even if well intentioned , in desiring to keep up appearances , his blessing in good will and exhortation over the years , to always stand together for the common good , that is helping the world to come together to deal with ‘ the aggressor ‘ who too pretends to be Christian …
Lord has entrusted many Sts to continue their mission in our lives from heaven ;
Feast of St.Casimir today , also death anniv. of S.G .Luisa of Divine Will –
May all their prayers help us all , to receive the Peace given by The Lord , in the holiness and its order that He desires to grant us as well as in the blessings granted by the Holy Father , to set us all free from all sorts of spirits of the antiChrist , its lies meant to induce despair and confusion …
May the mighty Patronage of St.Joseph who found strength and joy in making of himself a gift in holiness and purity to God and to the Family speak to the hearts even while asleep ..
Though I replied to your comments ( emphasizing Holy Scripture) it was unacceptable to the moderator. In the end it doesn’t matter! That the comment was read by someone is enough. I was once resistant to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thank God for His patience. May the Lord bless and draw neigh to the one who read it.
Yet, I am only guest and respect the decision of the moderator.
Your silence has helped much in forging these new chains of spiritual oppression under the guise of a false compassion buoyed by your support of an unconstrained German Synod.
The Spanish-speaking Church,the English-speaking Church and more are dying; please go away. We don’t need or want your “Church.” Leave us to our struggle and hierarchy betrayal. Leave.
Musta hit pretty darn close to the mark with the ol’ Mystery Babylon comment, eh? I realize quoting scripture on a Catholic website is a big no no, but come on guys, you should at least strive for a semblance of the Christian spirit….
I believe you are referring to the work of Alexander Hislop, who during the nineteenth century wrote a book linking Catholic teachings to the beliefs of ancient pre-Christian religions.
You may not be aware that Hislop’s own disciple, Ralph Woodrow, after writing a book that restated his master’s claims for a twentieth century audience, discovered that Hislop’s scholarship was slipshod and his assumptions unfounded.
So, being a man of integrity, Woodrow wrote the book, ‘The Babylon Connection’, which exposes the flaws in Hislop’s work.
You need to update yourself.
And, so long as you remain civil, you have no worries about being “censored.” CWR and its habituees have no fear of honest debate.
Go ahead. Try to discredit our Catholic faith. You can scarcely do a better job than some of our own bishops.
It is better when men share their faith rather than trying to “discredit” the other mans conviction! We are to speak the truth in love. God is truth and love and we become useful servants to our fellow man if we abide in His word.
Does His word hinder us? Instead His word is a guide post and a restraint, keeping us or others from damage. He performs nothing that would injure our relationship with Him. We protect our children from harm and those who love the Lord are given divine protection (most often unseen).
Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
2 Samuel 22:50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Psalm 71:8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.
To gain context on Mark !0:27, I would invite any to read a few verses ahead and a few afterward.
Instead of changing the Church’s two millennia of teachings to accommodate a bunch of apostates and relativists (who won’t return to Sunday Mass anyway), the German taking part in this Synodal Way should instead follow the example of their hero, Martin Luther, and leave the Catholic Church they despise so much to found their own, based on moral relativism and sexual license.
I’m a divorced Catholic. I know of course that there is no such thing as divorce for a Catholic. So my challenge is to live a chaste life as a man. It gives me no comfort to hear certain bishops push for a change to the Catechism. Jesus said that the law of Moses regarding adultery was still valid, and went on to give a wider definition of adultery that challenges us all.
I need to be reminded of God’s forgiveness when I sin, instead of being told sin does not exist.
A lot of divorced Catholics aren’t interested in obtaining a declaration of nullity. Many simply want their estranged spouse to honor and abide by the vows they professed in front of Almighty God and hundreds of witnesses.
Jesus would have said that “anything goes,” right? He would not have rebuked the Pharisees, if anything goes. He would not have healed anyone, if anything goes. There would have been no need for His crucifixion, as long as anything goes. Bishop Georg Batzing seems to have missed the very idea that Catholicism is to be counter-cultural in order to stand for what’s right and good. It’s always a sin when our leaders, who are supposed to set an example, kowtow to the culture and demand that the Church do the same. The rock doesn’t change. If you have a problem with pushing the rock uphill, it’s likely you and not the rock.
Would it be impropriety to suspect Herr Bätzing’s SynodalWay outrages criticized by the Vatican, yet wondrously permitted to continue are a reverse psychological foil to slip into the Great Synod on synodality as advances in the social anthropological sciences?
After all Jean-Claude Cardinal Hollerich SJ, more circumspect though of same mind as Herr Bätzing was appointed by His Holiness with the key Great Synod position as relator. Must we then abide to a non formal magisterial approval [convinced that God, who alone is good would not permit it, a formal declaration] of same sex adult relations? No.
He needs to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church…. here you have a bishop in Wisc. taking away a priest from his parish, can’t celebrate Mass, because Fr. Altman mentions in his sermons what needs to be told… it’s getting real bad out there if we continue to allow men like this,Batzing gets to say what he says without anyone (pope) excommunicating!!The bible doesn’t change, and it is God word!!Pray pray pray the rosary every day to keep the Catholic Church strong…..
Really Bishop?? Yes, sexuality is a gift, but it is not a gift to be abused. It seems to me that God considered sexual sin a HUGE problem when it was committed by King David in the form of adultery. The death of his child was the punishment. It is the LACK of the church speaking against current sexual practices in the last several decades, such as couples living together, and serial “monogamy”, as well as homosexuality and transgenderism which has added to this problematic situation. One can condemn the sin but forgive the sinner, which policy is the heart of the church. Is surgically changing one’s sex to something OTHER than the gift given them by God also ok? What about incest and pedophilia? What about the use of pornography in which women are often abused victims, accompanied by masturbation?. ALL of this counts as sexuality, Bishop.The destructive use of sexuality, which among humans is all too common, creates intense emotional hurt at times and is an abuse of this gift. Hence the need for rules. Rules which the church put in place but has seemingly grow too cowardly in recent decades to preach, as society has gone the way of the libertine. Homosexuality has long been condemned by the church. The act, not the person. It is pretty clear in the Bible that certain behaviors are condemned, period.”Anything goes” has NEVER been the policy of the church, whether or not liberated leftist political types like it. I suggest the Bishop take his liberal act to the nearest Protestant denomination, if one will have him.We will be waving as you leave. A smaller more faithful church does not seem like a bad option to me. As to the lack of comment or action by the Pope in the face of this obscene betrayal by the German church, silence is not an option.
This kind of stupidity is precisely why I have no desire to participate in any of these so-called “synod listening sessions” going on at parishes the US- (and world) over. I am quite convinced contraception is siful/wrong/unworkable. As is sodomy. As is divorce, porn, adultery, etc.
.
The Church is holding on to the truth/reality by a very thin thread. I’m not going to be involved in helping to cut it
“Brüske said that by abandoning sacramental marriage as the exclusive place of sexuality between man and woman, the orientation toward the Gospel would also be abandoned and replaced by one directed at contemporary culture.”
This German theologian, Bruske, is spot on. He rightly condemns the views of this Bishop. Pope Francis allows people from all sides to put forward their views. Some would be good, some would be faulty and there will also be insults, but he knows that the Holy Spirit will lead us all on the right journey. Just as the Holy Spirit did in the early Church as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Pope Francis says we should Trust the Holy Spirit.
Neither a Catholic nor a leader. Also illiterate about the Catechism…
Batzing’s posture in the “synodal way,” and Hollerich’s in the front-to-back “synod on synodality,” is that of leading from behind. A homosexual sort of orientation. When will these clowns in purple and red hats no longer be given a pass as presumptive “successors to the apostles”? Or even as mouthpieces for a presumed, bigoted, and rigid “paradigm-shift” or “anthropological-cultural change”?
Any adult in the room, please turn the lights on.
I’m glad that CWR chose to run a photo of Bishop Batzing in a business suit rather than in his clerical garb.
After all, he sounds like just another corporate mouthpiece.
I’m sure that by merging with three or four of the more prosperous Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church could enjoy significant economies of scale.
Anybody remember that Jesus guy we used to try to emulate? Whatever happened to Him anyway?
Seemingly someone who chose a corporate career path rather than a vocation. Seems to have paid off considering his “promotion” to positions of authority. Have to keep your focus on “brand” relevance.
Excommunicate this heretical JudasBishop already.
Yet, would repentance be even better?
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance
Yes, Mr. Young. Repentance would certainly be better. But at this time Bishop Batzing is being left unchecked by any authority which is a failure of charity. Excommunication would be just the corrective necessary to get the attention of the Bishop in question. Excommunication would be an act of charity in this case ideally precipitating the repentance for which you advocate.
@ Mr Meynier:
You probably have the better solution. A man opposed to the direction of Holy Scripture is not a reliable guide.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
God bless you my brother,
Brian Young
The good of the shocking exposures such as above helping many to see the extent of the dust and darkness that has to be dealt with , bringing more light and clarity to the words of the Holy Father from his aching heart who desires for such worldliness to become dust and ashes ,knowing how such hypocrisy can make persons incapable of loving ..that he needs the help of the whole Church , to drive out the darkness .. his humility in seeking help , as a counter and reparation to the attitudes that led to the previous errors , even if well intentioned , in desiring to keep up appearances , his blessing in good will and exhortation over the years , to always stand together for the common good , that is helping the world to come together to deal with ‘ the aggressor ‘ who too pretends to be Christian …
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-03/ash-wednesday-we-implore-the-peace-only-god-can-give.html
Lord has entrusted many Sts to continue their mission in our lives from heaven ;
Feast of St.Casimir today , also death anniv. of S.G .Luisa of Divine Will –
https://www.ncregister.com/blog/st-casimir-saints-and-art
May all their prayers help us all , to receive the Peace given by The Lord , in the holiness and its order that He desires to grant us as well as in the blessings granted by the Holy Father , to set us all free from all sorts of spirits of the antiChrist , its lies meant to induce despair and confusion …
May the mighty Patronage of St.Joseph who found strength and joy in making of himself a gift in holiness and purity to God and to the Family speak to the hearts even while asleep ..
Dear Sir:
Romans 10:9 Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Hebrews 13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Psalm 115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
God bless you as we strive to honour and uphold His unchanging word!
Yours in Christ,
Brian Young
Dear Sir:
Though I replied to your comments ( emphasizing Holy Scripture) it was unacceptable to the moderator. In the end it doesn’t matter! That the comment was read by someone is enough. I was once resistant to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thank God for His patience. May the Lord bless and draw neigh to the one who read it.
Yet, I am only guest and respect the decision of the moderator.
God’s richest blessings to one and all,
Brian Young
Oh wow…….who saw this coming?…..LOL!
Everyone, right?
Well, Pope Francis?
Your silence has helped much in forging these new chains of spiritual oppression under the guise of a false compassion buoyed by your support of an unconstrained German Synod.
The Spanish-speaking Church,the English-speaking Church and more are dying; please go away. We don’t need or want your “Church.” Leave us to our struggle and hierarchy betrayal. Leave.
This church system is Mystery Babylon, plain as day.
Musta hit pretty darn close to the mark with the ol’ Mystery Babylon comment, eh? I realize quoting scripture on a Catholic website is a big no no, but come on guys, you should at least strive for a semblance of the Christian spirit….
Censored in 3-2-1
Joe,
I believe you are referring to the work of Alexander Hislop, who during the nineteenth century wrote a book linking Catholic teachings to the beliefs of ancient pre-Christian religions.
You may not be aware that Hislop’s own disciple, Ralph Woodrow, after writing a book that restated his master’s claims for a twentieth century audience, discovered that Hislop’s scholarship was slipshod and his assumptions unfounded.
So, being a man of integrity, Woodrow wrote the book, ‘The Babylon Connection’, which exposes the flaws in Hislop’s work.
You need to update yourself.
And, so long as you remain civil, you have no worries about being “censored.” CWR and its habituees have no fear of honest debate.
Go ahead. Try to discredit our Catholic faith. You can scarcely do a better job than some of our own bishops.
Or [*checks notes*] the second American “Catholic” president.
@ brineyman:
It is better when men share their faith rather than trying to “discredit” the other mans conviction! We are to speak the truth in love. God is truth and love and we become useful servants to our fellow man if we abide in His word.
Does His word hinder us? Instead His word is a guide post and a restraint, keeping us or others from damage. He performs nothing that would injure our relationship with Him. We protect our children from harm and those who love the Lord are given divine protection (most often unseen).
Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
2 Samuel 22:50 “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Psalm 71:8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.
To gain context on Mark !0:27, I would invite any to read a few verses ahead and a few afterward.
God bless you as we strive to honour Jesus.
Regards,
Brian Young
Instead of changing the Church’s two millennia of teachings to accommodate a bunch of apostates and relativists (who won’t return to Sunday Mass anyway), the German taking part in this Synodal Way should instead follow the example of their hero, Martin Luther, and leave the Catholic Church they despise so much to found their own, based on moral relativism and sexual license.
I’m a divorced Catholic. I know of course that there is no such thing as divorce for a Catholic. So my challenge is to live a chaste life as a man. It gives me no comfort to hear certain bishops push for a change to the Catechism. Jesus said that the law of Moses regarding adultery was still valid, and went on to give a wider definition of adultery that challenges us all.
I need to be reminded of God’s forgiveness when I sin, instead of being told sin does not exist.
You might want to apply for an annulment of your marriage.
A lot of divorced Catholics aren’t interested in obtaining a declaration of nullity. Many simply want their estranged spouse to honor and abide by the vows they professed in front of Almighty God and hundreds of witnesses.
Jesus would have said that “anything goes,” right? He would not have rebuked the Pharisees, if anything goes. He would not have healed anyone, if anything goes. There would have been no need for His crucifixion, as long as anything goes. Bishop Georg Batzing seems to have missed the very idea that Catholicism is to be counter-cultural in order to stand for what’s right and good. It’s always a sin when our leaders, who are supposed to set an example, kowtow to the culture and demand that the Church do the same. The rock doesn’t change. If you have a problem with pushing the rock uphill, it’s likely you and not the rock.
God bless you. Well said.
Would it be impropriety to suspect Herr Bätzing’s SynodalWay outrages criticized by the Vatican, yet wondrously permitted to continue are a reverse psychological foil to slip into the Great Synod on synodality as advances in the social anthropological sciences?
After all Jean-Claude Cardinal Hollerich SJ, more circumspect though of same mind as Herr Bätzing was appointed by His Holiness with the key Great Synod position as relator. Must we then abide to a non formal magisterial approval [convinced that God, who alone is good would not permit it, a formal declaration] of same sex adult relations? No.
One begins to wonder whether overreaching and falsified synodality is Cardinal Kasper’s Ukraine.
You speak well and honour the flock that the Lord has entrusted to you!
Many blessings Sir.
He needs to be excommunicated from the Catholic Church…. here you have a bishop in Wisc. taking away a priest from his parish, can’t celebrate Mass, because Fr. Altman mentions in his sermons what needs to be told… it’s getting real bad out there if we continue to allow men like this,Batzing gets to say what he says without anyone (pope) excommunicating!!The bible doesn’t change, and it is God word!!Pray pray pray the rosary every day to keep the Catholic Church strong…..
Really Bishop?? Yes, sexuality is a gift, but it is not a gift to be abused. It seems to me that God considered sexual sin a HUGE problem when it was committed by King David in the form of adultery. The death of his child was the punishment. It is the LACK of the church speaking against current sexual practices in the last several decades, such as couples living together, and serial “monogamy”, as well as homosexuality and transgenderism which has added to this problematic situation. One can condemn the sin but forgive the sinner, which policy is the heart of the church. Is surgically changing one’s sex to something OTHER than the gift given them by God also ok? What about incest and pedophilia? What about the use of pornography in which women are often abused victims, accompanied by masturbation?. ALL of this counts as sexuality, Bishop.The destructive use of sexuality, which among humans is all too common, creates intense emotional hurt at times and is an abuse of this gift. Hence the need for rules. Rules which the church put in place but has seemingly grow too cowardly in recent decades to preach, as society has gone the way of the libertine. Homosexuality has long been condemned by the church. The act, not the person. It is pretty clear in the Bible that certain behaviors are condemned, period.”Anything goes” has NEVER been the policy of the church, whether or not liberated leftist political types like it. I suggest the Bishop take his liberal act to the nearest Protestant denomination, if one will have him.We will be waving as you leave. A smaller more faithful church does not seem like a bad option to me. As to the lack of comment or action by the Pope in the face of this obscene betrayal by the German church, silence is not an option.
Well put.
This kind of stupidity is precisely why I have no desire to participate in any of these so-called “synod listening sessions” going on at parishes the US- (and world) over. I am quite convinced contraception is siful/wrong/unworkable. As is sodomy. As is divorce, porn, adultery, etc.
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The Church is holding on to the truth/reality by a very thin thread. I’m not going to be involved in helping to cut it
“Brüske said that by abandoning sacramental marriage as the exclusive place of sexuality between man and woman, the orientation toward the Gospel would also be abandoned and replaced by one directed at contemporary culture.”
This German theologian, Bruske, is spot on. He rightly condemns the views of this Bishop. Pope Francis allows people from all sides to put forward their views. Some would be good, some would be faulty and there will also be insults, but he knows that the Holy Spirit will lead us all on the right journey. Just as the Holy Spirit did in the early Church as mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Pope Francis says we should Trust the Holy Spirit.
Bätzing is probably planning on pleading not guilty by reason of insanity during his particular judgment.