Vatican City, May 13, 2017 / 02:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The following is an unofficial transcript of the in-flight press conference on the papal plane returning from Fatima to Rome on May 13, 2017.
Greg Burke: Thank you Holiness, they were 24 very intense hours, as you said, for the Lord, 24 hours for Our Lady. It’s apparent that the Portuguese felt very touched when you said, “We have a Mother,” that they feel this in a special way. 100 years ago Our Lady didn’t appear to three important journalists, she appeared to three shepherds, but we’ve seen how they with their simplicity and sanctity were able to make this message reach the entire world. The journalists make the message arrive – it is seen from the number of nations from which they come – and they’re very curious about this trip of yours. If you’d like to say something first, great…
Pope Francis: First of all, good evening. Thanks. And, I’d like to respond to the first of the possible questions, so we can do things a bit more quickly. I’m sorry when we’re at the halfway point and they come to tell me that it’s snack time… let’s do them all together. Thanks.
Greg Burke: Good, let’s begin with the Portuguese group, with Fatima Ferreira of the Portuguese TV Radio
Anna Elza Ferreira (Redevida de Televisao): I don’t know what I think about sitting in front of the Holy Father. Well, first, many thanks for this trip. Holy Father, you came to Fatima as a pilgrim, to canonize Francisco and Jacinta in the year that the apparitions mark their 100th year. From this historical point of view, what is left now for the Church, for the entire world? Also, Fatima has a message of peace. Holy Father, you are going to receive in the Vatican in the coming days, the 24th of May, the American president Donald Trump. What can the world expect and what does the Holy Father expect from this encounter? Many thanks.
Pope Francis: Thanks. Fatima certainly has a message of peace. It’s brought to humanity by three great communicators that were less than 13 years old, which is interesting. Yes, I came as a pilgrim. The canonization was something that wasn’t planned from the beginning, because the process of the miracles was in progress but the all of a sudden the export reports were all positive, and it was done – that’s how the story was told – for me was a very great joy. What can the world expect? Peace. And what am I talking about from now on with whomever? Peace.
Ferreira: And what remains now of this historic moment for the Church?
Pope Francis: A message of peace. And I’d like to say one thing … before disembarking I received scientists from all religions who were doing studies in the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo, including agnostics and atheists. And an atheist said to me, “I’m an atheist.” I won’t tell you from what ethnicity or place of origin he was – he spoke in English. And at the end, he asked me, ‘I ask you a favor: tell the Christians that they should love their message of peace more.”
Aura Miguel (Radio Renascença): Your Holiness, in Fatima you presented yourself as the “bishop dressed in white.” Up to now, this expression applied rather to the vision of the third part of the secret, St. John Paul II, the martyrs of the twentieth century. What does it mean now, your identification with this expression?
Pope Francis: The prayer, that, I did not write it… the sanctuary wrote it… but also I have tried because they said this, and there is a connection with the white. The bishop of white, Our Lady of white, the white glow of the innocence of children after Baptism and innocence… there is a connection to the color white in that prayer. I believe – because I did not write it – but I believe that literally they have tried to express with white that desire for innocence, for peace… innocence: to not hurt the other … to not create conflict, the same.
Miguel: Is it a revision of the interpretation…
Pope Francis: No, but that vision … I believe that then Cardinal Ratzinger, at that time prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith, explained everything clearly. Thank you.
Claudio Lavanga (NBC News): Thank you. Holy Father, yesterday you asked the faithful to break down all the walls, yet on May 24 you meet a head of State who is threatening to build walls. It is a bit contradictory to your word, but he also has – it seems – opinions and decisions different from you in other topics, such as the need to act to confront global warming or the welcoming of migrants … Thus, in light of this meeting: what is your opinion of the politics that President Trump has adopted so far on these topics and what do you expect from a meeting with a Head of State who seems to think and act contrary to you?
Pope Francis: The first question … I can respond to both… I never make a judgment of a person without listening to them. I believe that I should not do this. In our talk things will come out, I will say what I think, he will say what he thinks, but I never, ever, wanted to make a judgment without hearing the person. The second…
Claudio Lavanga: What do you think about the reception of migrants?
Pope Francis: But this you all know well…
Claudio Lavanga: The second instead is what you expect from a meeting with a head of state who thinks contradictory to you?
Pope Francis: Always there are doors that are not closed. Look for the doors that are at least a little bit open, enter and talk about common things and go on. Step by step. Peace is handcrafted. It is made every day. Also friendship among people, mutual knowledge, esteem, is handcrafted. It’s made every day. Respect the other, say that which one thinks, but with respect, but walk together … someone thinks of one way or the other, but say that …. Be very sincere with what everyone thinks, no?
Claudio Lavanga: Do you hope to soften his decisions after the meeting?
Pope Francis: This is a political calculation that I do not permit myself to make.
Greg Burke: Thank you Holiness, now there is a change of places, Elisabetta Piqué is coming.
Elisabetta Piqué (La Nacion): Thanks first of all for this brief and very intense trip. We wanted to ask you, today is the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, but is is also the important anniversary of a fact of your life that took place 25 years ago, when the Nuncio (Archbishop) Calabresi told you that you would become the Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires, something that meant the end of your exile in Cordoba and a great change in your life. Have you every connected this fact that changed your life with Our Lady of Fatima? And in these days that you’ve prayed before her have you thought about this and what did you think about? Can you tell us about that? Thanks.
Pope Francis: Women know everything, eh! No, I didn’t think about the coincidence, only yesterday while I was praying before Our Lady I realized that one May 13th I received the phone call from the nuncio 25 years ago. I don’t know… I said, well look at that. I spoke with Our Lady a little about this. I asked her forgiveness for all of my mistakes, also of a bit of bad taste for choosing people… but yesterday I realized this.
Greg Burke: Nicolas Seneze of La Croix is coming.
Nicolas Seneze (La Croix): Thanks, Holy Father. We’re returning from Fatima for which the Fraternity of St. Pius X has a great devotion and much is said about an agreement that would give an official statute to the Fraternity in the Church. Some even imagined that there would be an announcement today… Holiness, do you think that this agreement is possible in a short timeframe? And, what are the obstacles still? And what is the sense of this reconciliation for you? And, will it be the triumphant return for faithful who have shown what it means to be truly Catholic or what?
Pope Francis: I would toss out any form of triumphalism. None. Some days ago, the Feria Quarta of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, their meeting – the call it the Feria Quarta, because it’s the fourth Wednesday – studied a document and the document still hasn’t reached me, the study of the document. This is the first. Secondly, the current relations are fraternal. Last year, I gave a license for confession to all of them, also a form of jurisdiction for marriages, but even before the problems, the cases they had, for example, had to be resolved by the Doctrine of the Faith. The Doctrine of the Faith carries them forward. For example, abuses. The cases of abuse, they brought them to us, also to the Penitentiary. Also the reduction to the lay state of a priest, they bring to us. The relations are fraternal. With Msgr. Fellay I have a good rapport. I’ve spoken many times… I don’t like to hurry things. Walk. Walk. Walk. And then we’ll see. For me, it’s not an issue of winners and losers, it’s an issue of brothers who must walk together, looking for a formula to make steps forward.
Tassilo Forcheimer (ARD): Holy Father, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Reformation, Evangelical Christians and Catholics are able to walk another stretch of road together. Will there be the possibility to participate in the same Eucharistic Mass? Some months ago, Cardinal Kasper said: A step forward could take place already this year.
Pope Francis: There have been great steps forward, eh … we think of the first statement on justification, from that moment the journey has not stopped… the trip to Sweden was very significant because it was just the beginning and also a commemoration with Sweden… also there is significance for the ecumenism of the journey… that is, to walk together, with prayer, with martyrdom, with works of charity, with works of mercy. And there, Lutheran Caritas and Catholic Caritas have made an agreement to work together. This is a great step. But steps are always awaited. You know that God is the God of surprises. But we must never stop. Always go on. To pray together, to give testimony together and to do works of mercy together, that announce the charity of Jesus Christ, to announce that Jesus Christ is Lord, is the only Savior, and that grace only comes from Him. And on this path the theologians they will continue to study, but the path must proceed. And (with) hearts opened to surprises.
Mimmo Muolo (Avvenire): Good evening Holiness. I’m asking you a question in the name of the Italian group. Yesterday and today at Fatima, we saw a great witness of popular faith together with you. The same that is found, for example, also in other Marian shrines like Medjugorje. What do you think of those apparitions, if they were apparition, and of the religious fervor they have aroused seeing that you have decided to appoint a bishop delegate for the pastoral aspects? And if I can permit myself a second question I know is very close to your heart besides that of us italians… I would like to know, the NGOs were accused of collusion with the boat traffickers of men. What do you think of this? Thanks.
Pope Francis: I’ll start with the first. I read in the papers that I peruse in the morning that there was this problem, but I still don’t know how the details are and because of this I can’t give an opinion. I know there is an issue and the investigations are moving ahead. I hope that they continue ahead and that the whole truth comes out. Medjugorje, all the apparitions, or the presumed apparitions, belong to the private sphere, they aren’t part of the public, ordinary magisterium of the Church. Medjugorje. Medjugorje. A commission was formed, headed by Cardinal Ruini. Benedict XVI made it. I, at the end of 2013 the beginning of 2014, I received the result from Cardinal Ruini. It was commission good theologians, bishops, cardinals, but good. Very good. And the commission. The Ruini report was very, very good. Then there were some doubts in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Congregation judged it opportune to send each one of the members of this Feria quarta (Editor’s note: “Feria Quarta” is a once-a-month meeting in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith during which current cases are examined) all the documentation, even those that seemed to be against the Ruini report. I received a notification – I remember it was a Saturday evening, late evening… and it didn’t seem right. It was like putting up for auction – excuse me the word – the Ruini report which was very well done. And Sunday morning the prefect received a letter from me that said that instead of sending them to the Feria Quarta, they they would send the opinions to me personally.
These opinions were studied and all of them underscore the density of the Ruini report. Principally, three things must be distinguished: the first apparitions, that they were kids. The report more or less says that it must continue being studied. The apparitions, the presumed current apparitions: the report has its doubts. I personally am more nasty, I prefer the Madonna as Mother, our Mother, and not a woman who’s the head of a telegraphic office, who everyday sends a message at such hour. This is not the Mother of Jesus. And these presumed apparitions don’t have a lot of value. This I say as a personal opinion. But, it’s clear. Who thinks that the Madonna says, ‘come tomorrow at this time, and at such time I will say a message to that seer?’ No. The two apparitions are distinguished. The third, the core of the Ruini report, the spiritual fact, the pastoral fact. People go there and convert. People who encounter God, change their lives…but this…there is no magic wand there. And this spiritual and pastoral fact can’t be ignored. Now, to see things with all this information, with the answers that the theologians sent me, this good, good bishop was appointed because he has experience, to see the pastoral part, how it’s going. And at the end he’ll say some words.
Muolo: Holiness, thank you, also for the blessing of my fellow citizens who thank you, they saw it and are very happy…
Greg Burke: Holiness, now if I can be the nasty one, we have done all of the language groups and…
Pope Francis: Time is up already?
Greg Burke: There’s a question, they tell me.
Pope Francis: One or two more.
Joshua McElwee (National Catholic Reporter): Thank you, Holy Father. The last member of the Commission for the Protection of Minors, who was abused by a priest, resigned in March. She, Ms. Marie Collins, said that she had to resign because the officials in the Vatican did not implement the recommendations of the commission that you, the Holy Father, approved. I have two questions: who is responsible, and what are you doing, Holy Father, to ensure that the priests and bishops in the Vatican implement the recommendations suggested by your commission?
Pope Francis: Marie Collins explained the matter to me well, I spoke with her, she is a good woman, but she continues to work in the formation of priests on this point… she is a good woman who wants to work … but she made this accusation, and she has a bit of reason… why? Because there are so many late cases, then in this period of lateness, because they accumulate there, you have to make legislation for this… what should the diocesan bishops do? Today in almost all the dioceses there is the protocol to follow in these cases: it is a great improvement. This way the dossiers are done well. Then there are the accusations…this is a step. Another step: there are few people, there needs to be more people capable in this area, and the Secretary of State is looking for, even Monsignor Mueller (Editor’s Note: Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), to present new people. The other day two or three more were approved… the director of the disciplinary office changed, who was good, eh, he was very good but he was a bit tired… he returned to his home country to do the same with his episcopate. And the new one is an Irishman, Msgr. (John) Kennedy, he is a very good person, very efficient, prompt, and this helps a lot.
Then there is another thing: Sometimes the bishops send – if the protocol is okay, it goes right away to the Feria Quarta and the Feria Quarta studies and decides. If the protocol is not okay, it must go back to be redone. That’s why you think of continental help or in a continent or two … in Latin America, one in Colombia, another in Brazil, as pre-tribunals or continental tribunals… this is in the planning… but then it’s fine, they study it at feria quarta and they take away his clerical status. This goes back to the diocese, and the priest makes recourse. First, the application was studied by the same Feria Quarta that had given the sentence, and this is unfair. I created another tribunal and I put an indisputable person as the head, the Archbishop of Malta, Msgr. (Charles Jude) Scicluna, who is one of the strongest against abuses, and this second – because we must be just – the one who makes recourse is entitled to have a defender. If he (the defender) approves the first sentence, the case is over.His only option is a letter asking the Pope for pardon. I have never signed a pardon. I believe, I do not know, another question. This is how things are. We’re going forward. If Marie Collins was right on that point, we were also on the way. But there are 2000 cases piled up.
Portuguese journalist: I’m going to ask a question about the case Portugal, but I think that it can be applied to many of the Western societies. In Portugal, almost all of the Portuguese say they identify themselves as Catholics. But the way the society is organized, the decisions that we make, often are contrary to the indications of the Church. I refer to marriage between homosexuals, the legalization of abortion, now we’re going to begin discussing euthanasia. How do you see this?
Pope Francis: I think it’s a political problem. And that also the Catholic conscience isn’t a catholic one of total belonging to the Church and that behind that there isn’t a nuanced catechesis, a human catechesis. That is, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is an example of what is a serious and nuanced thing. I think that there is a lack of formation and also of culture. Because it’s curious, in some other regions, I think of the south of Italy, some in Latin America, they are very Catholic but they are anti-clerical and ‘priest-eaters’, that … there is a phenomenon that exists. It concerns me. That’s why I tell priests, you will have read it, to flee from clericalism because clericalism distances people. May they flee from clericalism and I add: it’s a plague in the Church. But here there is a work also of catechesis, of raising awareness, of dialogue, also of human values.
[…]
I am speechless.
Yet, dear ‘logboom’, senior Catholics have not been speechless but have been rebuking PF for years & years. E.G. –
April 30, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Prominent clergymen and scholars including Fr. Aidan Nichols, one of the best-known theologians in the English-speaking world, have issued an open letter accusing Pope Francis of committing heresy. They ask the bishops of the Catholic Church, to whom the open letter is addressed, to: “take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation” of a pope committing this crime.
The authors base their charge of heresy on the manifold manifestations of Pope Francis’ embrace of positions contrary to the faith and his dubious support of prelates who in their lives have shown themselves to have a clear disrespect for the Church’s faith and morals.
“We take this measure as a last resort to respond to the accumulating harm caused by Pope Francis’s words and actions over several years, which have given rise to one of the worst crises in the history of the Catholic Church,” the authors state. The open letter is available in Dutch, Italian, German, French, and Spanish.
Among the signatories are well-respected scholars such as Father Thomas Crean, Fr. John Hunwicke, Professor John Rist, Dr. Anna Silvas, Professor Claudio Pierantoni, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, and Dr. John Lamont. The text is dated “Easter Week” and appears on the traditional Feast Day of St. Catherine of Siena, a saint who counseled and admonished several popes in her time.
The 20-page document is a follow-up to the 2017 Filial Correction of Pope Francis that was signed originally by 62 scholars and which stated that the Pope has “effectively upheld 7 heretical positions about marriage, the moral life, and the reception of the sacraments, and has caused these heretical opinions to spread in the Catholic Church,” especially in light of his 2016 exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
The authors of the open letter state in a summary of their letter (read below) that it has now become clear that Pope Francis is aware of his own positions contrary to the faith and that the time has come to go a “stage further” by claiming that Pope Francis is “guilty of the crime of heresy.”
“We limit ourselves to accusing him of heresy on occasions where he has publicly denied truths of the faith, and then consistently acted in a way that demonstrates that he disbelieves these truths that he has publicly denied,” the authors state.
They clarify that they are not claiming Pope Francis has: “denied truths of the faith in pronouncements that satisfy the conditions for an infallible papal teaching.”
“We assert that this would be impossible, since it would be incompatible with the guidance given to the Church by the Holy Spirit,” they state.
In light of this situation, the authors call upon the bishops of the Church to take action since a: “heretical papacy may not be tolerated or dissimulated to avoid a worse evil.”
For this reason, the authors: “respectfully request the bishops of the Church to investigate the accusations contained in the letter, so that if they judge them to be well founded they may free the Church from her present distress, in accordance with the hallowed adage, Salus animarum prima lex (‘the salvation of souls is the highest law’). The bishops can do this, the writers suggest: “by admonishing Pope Francis to reject these heresies, and if he should persistently refuse, by declaring that he has freely deprived himself of the papacy.”
May 1, 2019 update: 12 more names of leading Catholics have been added to list of signers of the open letter, bringing total up to 31.
Very dangerous, evil and demonic decision! 😰 He proclaim not the gospel of Jesus Christ, instead he introduces another Christ, another Gospel, another spirit, another Church!! Read 2 Cori 11.4. That is what is happening through him..
Spot on with II Corinthians 11:4 –
A different Jesus who we have never heard of . . .
A different spirit who we have not received . . .
A different gospel that none of us accepted . . .
Out of the darkness comes this new-fangled, Bergoglian Anti-Apostolic Church, in short: the BAAL church; intended to overturn & evict our venerable Holy Catholic Apostlic Church.
It’s very dangerous… we have to pray hard. To recite the holy rosary many times.
Spot on with II Corinthians 11:4 –
A different Jesus who we have never heard of . . .
A different spirit who we have not received . . .
A different gospel that none of us accepted . . .
Undeceived by PF’s smoke-screen of: “Now you see me, now you don’t!” Catholics everywhere are waking up to the deviousness of this new-fangled, ‘Bergoglian Anti-Apostolic [BAAL] Church’, clearly intended to overturn & evict the godly tennets of our venerable Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.
Keep praying everybody.
Where in the gospel are non practicing homosexual oriented people barred from positions in the Church. Paul makes references to moral requirements but says nothing about one living as chaste homosexual. Ones orientation is not a sin and it doesn’t bar one from exemplary moral conduct or preclude one from being a saint. If this is so, why not a priest?
For the same reason we don’t allow pedophiles who aren’t acting out to be around children. It’s simply too risky and dangerous. Leaders should be above reproach.
When an “orientation” is acquired behavior as the result of habitualized sin, secular mythology of innocence notwithstanding, it says a lot about weaknesses of character that would warrant serious negative consideration.
Many people still completely miss the boat on this- it’s because SSA is a disorder of the person, regardless of whether they act on it or not. This is to say that it’s very difficult for such a person to be chaste, in what that technically means, which is not abstinence, which seems to be meaning in the question and is most often meant. Thus the issue is also not really whether they can be celibate or have “mastered their predisposition,” in the words of Mr. Beaulieu below. (How could one truly “master” disorder, which would arguably require healing from it, in which case they may no longer have SSA. Otherwise it may be largely physical abstention, which still always provides a struggle within the person.) If one also holds that SSA is more specifically a psychic disorder/mental illness- which all the evidence still points to- this is even more crucial. (There is still zero indication people are “born that way,” and this is now openly contradicted by transgender nonsense, which says there is no biological basis for our sexuality & that someone can change it through will power and thought.) Why would you even risk making someone a priest who may have a psychic disorder? Furthermore, it is well attested that those with SSA, even if one would argue they are born that way, most often suffer from various other psycho-emotional problems and disorders- depression, narcissism, tend to have high rates of substance abuse, suicide, etc. Again, why take a risk? One can also highlight some possible causes of SSA, with having been sexually abused/encroached upon while young as one of the most common. Such a person will have serious trauma, while this often leads them to commit such behavior themselves. This is one reason why homosexual men, including abusive clergy, comprise a very disproportionate amount of those who prey upon minors. Bishops especially who think ordaining those with SSA is not necessarily a problem, seem to have no clue that such factors need to be considered.
The lack of masculinity of men with SSA is also an issue, making them unsuitable to act in persona cristi. It also makes them of weak character, providing difficulty to speak and act forcibly about Church teaching or enact discipline. There is perhaps little doubt one reason behind the failure of some bishops and priests to defend Church teaching- especially about sexuality- or enact discipline, fail to reign in abusive priests, is because they have SSA. It may also actively lead them to propagate error, to rationalize their own SSA. One can think of the likes of Fr. James Martin or Bishop John Stowe here.
Is there any line in the questionnaire for admission that asks, “are you attracted to male or female”?
Unless one acts out on it or declares it publicly, how is a (chaste) homosexual (merely by orientation) determined and then barred from the seminary? Doesn’t make sense.
they ask
Candidates for seminary routinely participate in a ‘discernment’ that continues during seminary years. A spiritual director typically assists the candidate in assessing his suitability.
Church teaching is that homosexual orientation (even if in thought rather than act) is a DISORDERED INCLINATION. A man who would withhold his thoughts or inclinations in truthful open manifest discussion with his spiritual director hides the truth of his very self in the discernment process. He is presenting a false picture to the director, to the Church, and his very self. Such a man has no true ‘call’ from the Lord to the priesthood. As such, he is not a suitable candidate for the priesthood.
http://www.scborromeo.org/docs/on_priesthood_and_those_with_homosexual_tendencies.pdf
So when a young man comes to get a priest’s advice on his sexuality confusion, would not the priest be biased?
A question, a quote, and an observation…
First, if Caruso’s long letter to Pope Francis disclosed that he (himself) is entirely celibate and has mastered his predisposition, then none of this is really news. But such does not seem to be the case; the exchange almost sounds staged or at least predictably and cleverly timed. It’s hard to tell, again.
Second, a recent reminiscence on the longer trend, from Benedict XVI:
“Until the Second Vatican Council, Catholic moral theology was broadly founded on natural law, with Sacred Scripture cited only for background or substantiation. In the council’s struggle for a new understanding of revelation, the natural law option was almost completely set aside, and a moral theology based entirely on the Bible was demanded” (“The Church and the Scandal of Sexual Abuse,” in “What is Christianity [?]: The Last Writings,” Ignatius, 2023, p. 180).
Third, Benedict adds elsewhere about the Bible, that in the Lutheran bible the word for the universal and Eucharistic “Church” is almost completely replaced by the local “community”—as reduced from the sacramental to simply an office for bottoms-up reading clubs. So, what does it mean, now, when such ecclesial “communities” share the same terminology as the politicized new religion of the LGBTQ “community?” And with the language of gesture, signaling and private notes being passed in school?
In small half-steps, rather than the Church being welcoming, is the Church being annexed?
The pope’s informal, spontaneous, and handwritten note lends itself to a “plausible deniability” of sorts—a very familiar technique imported from corporate boardrooms (the old secular equivalent to the new clericalism!)—the same as informal and spontaneous semi-blessings of “couples” under Fiducia Supplicans.
Just some surely random stuff, here; and who am I to judge?
So what is the cart and what the horse- natural law philosophy or the Bible?
God is the source of both natural law (because He is the author of all of creation) and the Bible. Therefore they will not contradict… if we understand them both correctly.
The first as confirmed and elevated by the latter. Almost as if were are made to be receptive to the truth in Person.
It doesn’t matter. The scriptures clearly teach that actively gay people cannot and will not inherit the kingdom. It’s quite clear.
The key word being “actively” gay. Is this any different than being actively sexual outside of one’s marriage?
There are differences. The homosexual disorder whether innate in the person or cultivated, is not to be preferred in the person but must actively be displaced. Whereas the natural sexual constitution is meant to be preserved in stable disposition.
Second “differentiation” is to do with dimension. Stop trying to justify anything homosexual whether as it stands on its own or by “comparisons” and “contrasts” with other conditions or disorders.
Yes, it’s different but there are similarities. Every sin resembles another in a certain way.
Not sure how your meaning might be misinterpreted by some…
So, yes and no. “Yes,” there is no difference, in that heterosexual immorality, like much else, also violates human nature and moral absolutes (as explained in the Catechism and more explicitly in Veritatis Splendor). But, “no,” if the misinterpretation–by some readers–might be that binary sexual intercourse (“outside of one’s marriage”) and homosexual mechanics (even redefining “marriage”) are indifferently equivalent….
Instead, there’s this address from Cardinal Erdo as the relator to the 1995 session on the Synod on the Family:
“‘There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.’….” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, 4, Instrumentum Laboris 130). See Section III.3: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/32772/full-text-of-cardinal-erdos-introductory-report-for-the-synod-on-the-family
An address well worth reading again. And, perhaps, in the decade or two ahead, we might even see an inspired uptick in single-hearted vocations to the celibate priesthood and restoration of equally single-hearted vocations to faithful marriage and families, both.
And now the appointment of three blind trapeze artists to the swinging Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
https://onepeterfive.com/francis-appoints-homosexualists-to-shape-doctrine/
Out with nuptial, sacramental imagery and traditional Church wisdom.
In with inner conflict, imprecise speech (“all” as in women, e.g.?), misplaced ecclesial “clericalism” and the “tenderness” that “leads to the gas chamber” (Flannery O’Connor).
How great is this? That whole repentance thing is so backwardist!
No more sin any more! We are free from our suicidal boxes!
So eat, drink and be merry! (Or Mary, if that’s the way you play.)
Jesus calls all! All!
You, your neighbor’s wife, your German Shepherd Giselle, and even your Electrolux washer when it’s on the spin cycle!
Oh yeah! It’s open season on anything that moves! Bergoglio says so!
And Bergoglio knows his O’s!
Let’s face it. Bergoglio’s right. Christianity just isn’t that much fun.
Daft!
Obviously the Pontiff still hasn’t gotten around to reading
Religiosorum Institutio Instruction on the Careful Selection And Training Of Candidates For The States Of Perfection And Sacred Orders
from February of 1961 which reads in part:
30. Those To Be Excluded; Practical Directives:
Advantage to religious vows and ordination should be barred to those who are afflicted with evil tendencies to homosexuality or pederasty, since for them the common life and the priestly ministry would constitute serious dangers.
It is in that same stack of reading material with the dubia. I’m sure he will get to in soon.
I actually proposed betting odds with several very orthodox Catholic friends of mine regarding how long the other side of his Peronism would take to show up after his crude but appropriate comment on the condition of Italian seminaries. I won. They thought it would take a couple of months. I said less than one month. They owe me a beer.
Ridiculous.
Wake me up when it’s over.
Confusion is the consistent product of the words of pope Francis. He beats the drum of anti-clericalism to placate the desire for a host of other sins. There is the pose of humility and holiness, but it is tarnished by the support for those behaviors God has condemned from the beginning.
I pray for him.
Any time soon to call an Imperfect Council?!
Bishops, Cardinals?
Any?!
Once again we confront Jorge Mario Bergoglio performing what has become a wearisome spectacle that some have called his “Peronist” maneuver; namely, saying one thing which is Catholic and actually doing its opposite which is not only non-Catholic but also morally evil. What surprises me after all this time is that those in the Church observing this resolutely wish it away and refuse to answer the unavoidable questions: “Is Bergoglio a homosexual?”, “Is Bergoglio a heretic?”, and “Is Bergoglio an apostate?”
He has reportedly used gutter language for gays frequently, and always has been keen for gossip on moral failings of other churchmen, where he then surrounds himself with these failures, them afraid of exposure, while he protects them as long as possible, which pattern has repeated numerous times in this pontificate….he uses others for power…his latest word games only more of same, from which he has drawn support from both sides…while always plausible deniability either direction, only his official acts pointing the way of his true agenda, which ain’t good.
IS he Pope? If not WHO?
Dear Paul – a heartfelt question, so many good Catholics want answered.
Yet, those in authority [cardinals, archbishops, bishops, etc.] have long known that PF is of the anti-Apostolic, anything goes, worldly libertine faction in our Church.
Sadly, most of them are mesmerized and reduced to a zombi-like state of aquiescence. This is because by years of managerial prioritizing they have separated themselves from the faithful flock of Catholics who are following our LORD Jesus Christ.
Lets keep praying for Pope Francis and all the leaders to have a life-changing ‘Damascus Road’ encounter with King Jesus Christ.
Always in the love of The Lamb of GOD; blessings from marty
I don’t believe this is correct: …said: “Jesus calls all, all.”
at least not for a vocation
I wonder how the clergy who as Bishop of Burnie Airies in Argentina witnessed the Eucharist Miracle cd dare to contempt the teaching of the Bible. Very soon we shall hear another un-Godly preaching like saying “A poor person can steal from the rich to have his expenses fulfilled!” We should pray to the Catholic church as it has become a laughingstock from the Moslems and other Abrahamic religions.
Cold and hot. Just to let people more confused. The Word of God is the Truth, the Path and the Life.
Is it just me, or is that a decidedly evil grin Bergoglio is sporting in the St. Peter’s Square photo, above?
It’s not just you, brineyman, it is anyone who would project their own fears and shame onto a person smiling. The abyss may be looking back at you.
Dear ‘brineyman’ & dear ‘DanM’ – on this occasion it seems you both miss the target.
God in Christ Jesus instructs us to avoid judging by a person’s appearance and to focus on the fruits of their life.
As amply demonstrated in this & many other articles over the last 6 years and in the current string of learned comments, our current pope looks good, speaks good, and has produced an unprecedented crop of toxic fruit.
No one who cares about the salavtion of souls should be embarassed to openly rebuke him for his bad fruit. It is responsible love not pride to render that service.
Being one in The Body of Christ & one in the Holy Spirit of GOD, it is our meritorious duty to humbly proclaim the truth, without fear or favor.
Catholics who remain silent in the face of anti-Apostolic teachings & actions are sinning because they are passive accomplices of wrong.
Always seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
The problem is language or misuse of it.
A man isn’t called a philanderer if he has an inclination to look at another woman not his wife, but fights it and resists.
The same should be for Lorenzo he shouldn’t be barred from the priesthood in the same way if he can bridle his instincts and look to God.
The Pope is right, the priesthood should be open to all dispositions of sin, the challenge surely then for all is to double down on the narrow path.
Where it’s unclear is if Lorenzo has professed his rejection of sin, vs. the culture’s language (which is completely wrong and the church and all should stand against) that “I was born this way”. Again, a man might be born in such a way as to have feelings towards another woman not his wife, but the church and Christ set a higher standard for all.
Homosexual inclinations are not an instinct. They are intrinsically disordered desires that result from deep and unhealed wounds, quite distinct from the wound of original sin that we all share. Those wounds have wide-ranging effects well beyond disordered sexual desires, which make it a bad idea to put such people into the more difficult life of a priest (more difficult in part because demons target priests more than laity) and also to expect them to be capable of behaving like a father to so many different people.
The idea that they were “born this way” is nonsense. What is not nonsense is that their brains are distinctly, physically different. Unhealed childhood trauma or neglect will do that.
Thanks for these illuminating facts, dear Amanda.
In consequence it would be highly irresponsible to encourage such people to become seminarians.
This might have legs if the church weren’t full of f…gt priests, no?
I’m sharing the thoughts of a theologian I highly respect, which I believe summarize what we should consider about the papal office (even though expressed five years ago, I still consider these considerations valid)
“The Pope is surrounded by impostors – those whom Cardinal Mueller calls the ‘magic circle’ – and who are more traditionally called ‘courtiers,’ partly because he seeks them out and partly because they attempt the mad endeavor of establishing modernism in the Holy See, in accordance with the wishes of the famous modernist Ernesto Buonaiuti at the beginning of the last century.
However, despite the machinations of the modernists, the Pope, when moved by the Spirit to infallibly teach some Catholic truth, cannot resist the sweet and strong impulse of the Spirit, which keeps him from error, because the Spirit itself infallibly moves the Pope’s will to desire to speak the truth. No Pope ever intends to deceive the faithful in matters of faith. It is blasphemy to even think so.
Therefore, no Pope, thanks to the gift of the Petrine ministry, can ever wish to renounce, at the appropriate time, his infallibility, not out of negligence or false humility, but precisely in obedience to his duty to confirm the brethren in the truth of faith. The Holy Spirit prevents him from sinning in faith without forcing him, but for the good of the Church. A Pope can have all the vices, but not that of unbelief, heresy, or apostasy. Pope Francis is not without sins, but in matters of faith, he cannot be wrong. Let us trust him and try to understand him even when he is unclear or ambiguous. Let us criticize him on everything, but not on matters of faith. Above all, let us help him in guiding the Church and pray for him.”
That “theologian” is absurdly wrong. A pope can even be an atheist, although, like most atheists, not likely with a conscious awareness that his beliefs are atheistic.
In truth, among the traditionalists, there are some honest but confused or scandalized souls who listen to this theologian when he shows them that the Pope does not contradict Tradition at all, but rather may be lacking in pastoral care or moral conduct. Meanwhile, there are other rancorous, stubborn, and presumptuous spirits who, seeing that this theologian criticizes the Pope, want to drag him into their extremism or want him to consent to their insults against the Pope. To this, he responds with reproaches, even to the point of breaking off the conversation if necessary, while I only know how to pray (and obviously not even very well!).
As usual, you are defending the indefensible and committing a grave sin in the process. You should not be professing faith and simultaneously defending the pope’s error here. A gay man should be firmly discouraged from seeking the priesthood and any application to seminary should be rejected on that basis.
Paolo,
One key distinction is between the pope’s adherence to doctrine versus his errors or worse in governance, which only enable or surely aid and abet the prevailing agenda of the LGBTQ religion.
Another key distinction in “papal infallibility” is that this term refers broadly to the Church indwelled by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, to papal definitions–and not to the pope as a person. The pope is not a prophet in receipt of a blank check for his private use. A fine line, here, subject to convenient day-to-day ambiguity. Here’s the definition as precisely stated at the First Vatican Council:
“The Roman Pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when exercising the office of pastor and teacher of all Christians, he defines [!] with his supreme authority a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, through the divine assistance promised to him in St. Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed his Church [!] to be endowed in defining doctrine concerning faith and morals: and therefore such definitions [!] of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of themselves (and not from the consent of the Church).”
So, the exact meaning of “papal infallibility” where there’s nothing about photo-ops, or non-verbal signaling, or appointments, disappointments and exiles, or name calling, or a long pattern of seemingly off-the-wall memes floated on airplanes, or attributed and uncorrected and broadcast by atheist journalists, secularist nomads, and media talking heads, or about Vatican Garden parties for Pachamama idols. . . .or about popolatry.
A somewhat artless track record!
The constructive criticism is not about “faith;” instead maybe this: “Art is like morals [and governance?], a line has to be drawn somewhere” (G.K. Chesterton).
Exactly, right! Thank you.
A large number of comments reveal an acceptance of homosexuality usually conditioned by willingness to live a chaste life, others make no mention. Although the Pope’s response for an admitted homosexual to continue toward the priesthood is a message with far reaching implications. It affirms that to be, to consider, to choose to be homosexual is acceptable for the Church whether priest or layman. Not that it is simply tolerable, but that it is now universally accepted as a moral good.
That informal position by Pope Francis gives license to everyone to follow disordered thoughts regarding their sexual behavior at least insofar as preference. It informally [as distinct from a formal ex cathedra pronouncement] declares what the Church formally declares a moral disorder is not a moral disorder. It affirms the positions of Cardinals McElroy, Hollerich, and Fr James Martin. Although informal it’s the most sweeping repudiation of perennial Church doctrine on moral behavior in the history of Catholicism.
Fr. they also impute and sometimes make it explicit that those who stand against their disordered inclinations/appetites, etc., are the disordered category. That that standing against is a disorder. It adds to their error yet they try to make it seem a virtue.
Thank you. Excellent point Elias. Some argue only an inclination. An inclination is a natural appetite or desire directed by the will. Sin is the willful privation of direction to a due end. We can redirect our natural desires to a sinful end.
To give further account to “We can redirect our natural desires to a sinful end”, the Catechism states that the same sex inclination is not, of itself sinful. Although that may be true in some instances. Not all [based on God’s formation of the human person male and female with natural desires consistent with their sex]. We can willfully direct our desires toward a disordered end as in what’s vaguely described same sex attraction. As if that sensual desire is natural. That is putatively true in rare cases, when there is an ‘accident’ in nature, some physical impediment. Otherwise the same sex inclination is elective, an acquired behavior. There often are socio psychological dynamics that influence the attraction, which to degrees may mitigate culpability for the attraction. However, the same sex act in each and every instance as the Catechism teaches is sinful.
Fr. just found your note. Your points speak to James Connor and David among others. We know that the baptized can suffer the lingering effects of Original Sin. This is getting lost everywhere as simultaneous argumentation from all sides baptized and not baptized swamps the issues; where even the baptized add confusion. I don’t mean to be “over-critical” on them.
Don’t mean to lecture to Fr. only try to express what appears to be involved. Briefly with 2 points. 1. All kinds of motions can be mixed into or mixed up with Original Sin and its consequent impact before the will acts and after the will has acted. 2. The monopolizing of the topic by unbelievers, secularity, disbelief and false justice, is the work of Satan.
Arn’t we all born with moral disorders having original sin? We all have to deal with it differently.
No James Connor, we have to respond to the grace of God.
But incidentally, your adverbial “differently” confounds your question on Original Sin. You landed your frisbee into electrical wires there expecting me to run into them and get it for you; high tension, but I didn’t.
No James, original sin does not imply predestination for sin. And the intrinsic willful moral corruption of homosexuality is made clear by how the behavior correlates with affectations of a refusal to fully grow up, an obsessive pursuit of comfort, the retaining of children’s toys and attire, etc. And an evil mindset creates a near unanimous support for abortion among gays despite not deriving any personal convenience.
No. Don’t defend the indefensible. The call is the same to all – repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Jesus’s own words.
We are all born with original sin & because of that are more vulnerable to moral disorders.
The point is that homosexuals do not accept it or speak of it as a “moral disorder.” Quite the contrary, they embrace it as a “gift,” a God-given “identity.” Just imagine a serial adulterer talking about his moral failings as an “identity.” Complete nonsense.
“Moral disorders”? Or, rather only an “inclination” to possibly choose and act upon such disorders.
So, none of us is totally depraved (the false premise of Martin Luther), but our created-good human nature is now marred by an inclination. A critical distinction, this, leaving room for free will…
And, a distinction that still required clarification (in defense of human nature) even after the Lutheran/Catholic Joint Declaration of Justification (1999). Readers can notice that the brief Preface reads in part, “The solemn confirmation of this Joint Declaration on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, by means of the Official Common Statement with its ANNEX [!], represents an ecumenical event of historical significance.”
The integral ANNEX provides the cleverly-blurred and yet irreducible distinction between salvation by grace alone (elsewhere verbalized, in words attributed to Luther, that we remain as “dung covered with snow”), versus the Catholic doctrine that fallen man is not totally depraved, but rather suffers only from concupiscence—the tendency toward sin—and is free. The five-page Annex reads in part:
“The concept of ‘concupiscence’ is used in different senses on the Catholic and Lutheran sides. In the Lutheran Confessional writings ‘concupiscence’ is understood as the self-seeking desire of the human being, which in light of the law, spiritually understood, is regarded as sin [!]. In the Catholic understanding concupiscence is an inclination [!], remaining in human beings even after baptism, which comes from sin and presses toward sin [….]”
The Preface explains that the Declaration is to be read in conjunction with this clarification, and not without it (omitted in Lutheran versions and by aligned gender-theory ideology). This distinction in defense of the human person refutes the sloppy thinking of der Synodal Weg, holding instead that the homosexual inclination by itself (like all such inclinations) is not a sin, but that it is an objective evil to be resisted with the aid of grace from beyond ourselves—as are all other temptations of whatever stripe.
Summary: don’t eat yellow snow.
Then they wonder why we have good people leaving the Catholic Faith… Homosexuals are on the move and want every possible way they can to get into the church and all areas of society–look at all the Gay Pride parades and Drag Queen events. No knowing homosexual should be allowed to become clergy. Period!
You are right, dear Darlene. It is like a tidal wave.
Many in the Church will be swept away as flotsam & jetsum.
Some strong trees will be left standing, giving glory to God, once its all past.
Read Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13. If this man has renounced his homosexuality, then he should become a seminarian. Apparently, he has not.
Same as above post, Francis fancies himself an unpredictable Machiavellian/Peronist who knows the way to maintain power is to be unpredictable to friends and foes alike. Folk trying to shoehorn him into rational or even Catholic patterns will always be disappointed. He has reversed decisions dear to him, purely because the decisions leaked and spoiled his suprise. The only thing predictable was his about-face.
Gays don’t belong in the priesthood. The church sex abuse issue was overwhelmingly male priest to male seminarian or male child. These actions have served to bankrupt several dioceses and seriously impacted the ability of the church to function. Encouraging men with a serious emotional problem such as homosexuality to enter the priesthood seems like an obviously poor decision. It is clear by now that this pope has a conflicted idea of this issue. Lets hope the next Pope has appropriate priorities where homosexuality is concerned.
The mere fact that this young man prattles on and on about “sexual orientation” (which does not exist), instead of recognizing temptation to sin and the need to resist it, demonstrates clearly that he has no vocation. He would be a disaster in many functions a priest must exercise.
I suggest to Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso, knock any jesuit organization door. They will welcome him with open arms. He is recommended by the higest jusuit at this right moment.
The logic of our current pontiff that allows for a homosexual to enter a seminary would seem also to allow for a straight male to join a monastery of straight females, or for a straight female to join a monastery of straight males. I suspect that our pontiff doesn’t seem to think that sexual lust or behavior–whether it be sodomy, fornication, or masturbation—would interfere with the formation in the Spirit, let alone thinking they are serious sins. It is better to believe his predecessor, St Peter, in his second letter (2Peter 2) who strongly warns against lust and the sins of the flesh.
I really think Pope Francis is right when he decries clericalism within the Church because what he actually means when he criticizes it as “worldly” is that it’s the “cliquish” nature of clericalism that is worldly as it’s built on an exclusivistic snobbery which is at loggerheads with the central message of the Gospel anyhow. I’m simply calling Pope Francis right for condemning clericalism or “the snobbery of officialdom”.
As regards him encouraging Lorenzo Carouso in discerning his vocation, Pope Francis’ position is more along the lines of guiding this man to continue to pray into the issue of his discipleship irrespective of the fact Lorenzo is struggling with sexual orientation issues. And it is obvious that many are offended here by Pope Francis choosing this approach. However, perhaps it is better to see such an approach in light of it being more of a sensitive acknowledgement of Lorenzo’s difficulties as someone who obviously “has issues” for it would be uncomely and unreflective of genuine Christ-centered love should Pope Francis react to him in a manner that is harsh and unkind, absconding from the conventions of human communicative decency. A good Biblical example to keep in mind here is the situation where Jesus was talking to the Woman at the Well. This woman was no “saint” in her moral life either for she was co-habiting with her partner instead of being married. This, however, did not stop Jesus from enaging in a long, no-doubt tender, unabashed conversation with her which in due time produced transformational results in her life on multiple levels both spiritual and temporal. So, when considering this approach then, we really have no place insofar as “pointing the finger” of negative judgement on Pope Francis for approaching the complex junctures of Lorenzo Carouso’s life-circumstances with the kind of sensitivity and objectivity he asserted into the midst of the situation since I think, like Jesus re: the Woman at the Well, he was way more concerned about the holistic nature of this man’s circumstances, and more particularly so in view of his prayer life and need for deep discernment in order to gain much more clarity about the nature of a God-given call, than he was about being negatively “nit-picky” over this & that. See, even Jesus would have not come down with a sledge-hammer on the Woman at the Well upon discoursing about her life, even those parts of it that needed changing in order to become more open and conformed to the work of sanctifying grace…He would rather, speak the truth to her in love – and that would be coupled too with a miraculous outworking of inner transformation for her and this because He is God. But it should be remembered and understood that, Pope Francis, although He is appointed as Vicar of Christ, is not God, and so cannot simply work miracles at will in the lives of those he meets. That said, I think his tact in the way he approached the tenuous complexity of this man’s situation reflects the desire to be as much as possible, likened unto Christ in the way he engages interpersonally with those he ministers to.
You make a good case in defense of the words and behavior of Francis. That “…Pope Francis [should] react to him in a manner that is harsh and unkind, absconding from the conventions of human communicative decency….” is to deflect and ignore Church teaching.
We choose: The teaching of Christ and His church OR Francis’ subscribing to ‘conventions of human communicative decency.’ The teaching of the Church and of Christ assures and is conducive to eternal happiness. Human constructs such as “conventions of human communicative decency” are conducive to disordered thinking, sin, and wasted lives when God and His Church are seen as ‘harsh and unkind.’ Simple truth: God is not harsh and unkind in pointing men to their eternal beatitude. Francis is derelict in not pointing this young man the way to his own well-being and that of the Church.
I often think of Pope Francis’ pastoral approach as Christ-like, and he deserves our respect. This story has not been confirmed, but like the ‘who am I to judge’ comment seems to imply an approach toward sinners which first appeals to their vulnerability and struggle, rather than immediate judgement.
Dear Sueiyin Ho & dear Angela Malek.
Your comments, both, feature the sort of rationalizing, humanistic dialogue that New Age universalist unitarian pagans major on. Totally in contrast to the way of Jesus Christ & His Catholic Church, in which not one jot or triffle of God’s Law is to be set aside.
Recall, please: Jesus rebuked the woman-at-the-well by asking her to fetch her husband and then exposing her sinful sexual relationships. Her salvation came from her humble acceptance of God’s rebuke and honoring Him as The Messiah.
In both cases, Sueiyin & Angels, you are presenting a non-Catholic point of view; ignoring the fact that CWR is a website devoted to Catholic teaching and life.
It is a key part of God’s love for us that these rules are graciously given to protect us from evil and from an eternity in hell. Please do read the Catechism of the Catholic Church if you desire to know what rules have been set by nearly 2,000 years of Catholic divine inspiration, prayer, & godly thinking.
Jesus Christ [the one & only Authority over the heavens & the earth forever] also says: “Repent & believe The Good News!”; “Go and sin no more!”
His beloved Apostle John teaches that the reason Christ, The Eternal Word, became a human being was: “To destroy the works of the devil!” As with everything that Jesus said & did it was for our benefit & for our eternal happiness.
It is decidely not for the benefit of a man to toy with the devil by persisting in imagining he is sexually attracted to other men; it is definitely not for the benefit of a woman to toy with the devil by persisting in entertaining thoughts that she is sexually attracted to other women.
What IS for their everlasting benefit is: 1. saving faith in Christ and His teachings; 2. repentance from all that is not of Christ; 3. water baptism in the name of The Holy Trinity; 4. Holy Spirit baptism and a new life of metanoia and spiritual maturing in The Body of Jesus Christ, that is the Church; 5. regular prayer & receipt of the Sacraments; 6. a life of loving obedience to God’s commands; 7. humble perseverance in grateful dependence on the undeserved mercy of God.
Jesus Christ is THE way, THE truth, THE life, & THE light of this world.
No one will enter God’s glorious eternity but through Jesus Christ.
In John 10:27-30, we read that Jesus made plain THE way –
“My sheep listen to My Voice, I know them, they follow Me. I give them eternal life, they will never perish; no one can snatch them from My Hand.”
In many places in the Gospels, Jesus firmly instructs us that God’s promises apply to those who surrender themselves to obeying His commands and who are unashamed to lovingly tell the world of His very good news. It is not only SSA people who have to repent & reform; EVERY Christian knows they have to repent & carry their cross of self-denial, every day. It’s part of the deal! Heaven is worth the pain!
Do you believe this dear Sueiyin and dear Angela?
Men with unresolved SSA are not suitable candidates for priesthood or other ministries that require close work with vulnerable adults and children. In addition, until their SSA is properly resolved, they are in a state of mortal sin and can not become a communicating member of a Catholic parish, let alone a seminary.
Please don’t give credence to the discombobulating nonsense currently emerging from Rome. It is decidely not Catholic, not Christian, and not salvific.
Recall, please, Jesus warned us to beware imposters who come in His name.
Always under the grace & mercy of King Jesus Christ; love & blessings from marty
If this is true….. For sure the African Catholic Church will break away…. 100% sure