Francis’ Motu Proprios & the Upcoming Synod
Marian T. Horvat, Ph.D.
There has been much talk in Catholic circles about a potential split in the Church at the coming October Synod on the family should the official doctrine of the Church be changed on the matter of giving Communion to Catholics divorced in a civil tribunal and remarried also before a civil justice of the peace, who have not received annulments from the Church.
“What do you think?” my friend Jan asked me. “If the next Synod votes
yes on Kasper’s proposal, will there be an open rebellion in Church
ranks? Have you seen the video
with the three Prelates (Card. Leo Burke, Bishop Athanasius Schneider
and Archbishop Jan Paul Lenga) who are taking strong stands against any
change in Church doctrine on marriage? Are we finally facing a true
resistance to the orientation of the Papacy during the disastrous crisis
in the Church we have suffered since Vatican Council II?”
Let me address your questions one at a time.
Draining the question of meaning
As everyone knows, one of the main questions on the coming Synod table
is the question of divorced and remarried persons being allowed to
receive Communion, or the 'Kasper proposal.'
That hot-button question, however, has been drained of any essential meaning after Francis took the initiative of issuing two motu proprios – Mitis Eudex Dominus Iesus (The gentle Judge, the Lord Jesus) and Mitis et misericors Iesus
(The meek and merciful Jesus) – presented in Rome on August 8, 2015.
The changes will take effect on the same day that starts Francis’
Holy Year of Mercy, December 8, 2015.
“You thought you would make a stand against me, but I defeated you all before the battle even started...”
These papal documents provide for
Catholics to obtain marriage annulments quicker and easier by reducing
the number of courts and judges, dropping automatic appeals and making
the process free of any expenses. Reasons for getting an annulment were
also amplified. Now, added to the list of “legitimate reasons” for
procuring an annulment – which had already been expanded (see here, here and
here)
– are the following: a lack of faith, brevity of living together, an
abortion, having an affair at the time of the wedding or shortly
afterwards.
In short, Francis’ legislation makes it even faster, easier and less
expensive to obtain an annulment. Basically, anyone can claim an excuse
to get a quick and free annulment. These new procedures will allow
people to “move on” in their lives, the Pope explained, without the
“darkness of doubt” or “weight on their souls” over a previous marriage.
What does this mean for the Synod? Even Time magazine, not
known for astuteness on Catholic issues, was quick enough to understand
that, by announcing the change before the Synod, the Pope “freed up time
for Church leaders to move past the issue of annulments” and “create
space” for discussion of other “pressing” Francis matters, like the
impact of poverty, war, and forced migration of families. (September 21,
2015, p. 18)
The question of divorced and remarried Catholics receiving Communion
likewise becomes a non-issue, since anyone who wants to get an annulment
will be able to do so easily. All a person has to do is express the
intent to get an annulment, and the parish priest and local Bishops,
applying Francis-style “pastoral practice,” will accommodate them to
receive Communion.
The motu proprios further drain matrimony of its permanence and seriousness
In brief, Pope Francis emptied the discussion of its substance – whether
divorced and remarried Catholics should receive Communion – by allowing
any of these Catholics to get an easy and fast annulment to
“regularize” his situation. Once he has an annulment in the pocket, he
can receive Communion like any other Catholic.
Msgr. Pio Vito Pinto, head of the commission that drafted the new annulment procedures, was
quick to say that the Church’s “sacramental theology of marriage” remains unchanged with the moto proprios.
So, we would have “pastoral change” without doctrinal change, or so it
is what Bergoglio wants us to believe. This is a sophism, because in
Morals the application of the norms – which is the definition of
pastoral – to existing customs is what makes up the doctrine.
Nonetheless, this is what the conservatives will have to swallow and
digest if they do not have the courage to resist these two motu proprios.
So, the answer to your question on what we should expect from the Synod is this: After these two motu proprios, whatever the Synod decides on this topic will make little to no practical difference.
What about the conservative Bishops who are presenting themselves in
full armor ready to enter the battle? Their campaign is over. Francis
emptied their fight of its content …
Los tres amigos of the false right
Are the leaders of the reaction authentic?
As for the three champions of orthodoxy on the marriage issue, we can
see that they were unseated at the main event of the tournament before
the Synod even started.
This trio sprung up in the perfect climate and soil that generates a false right,
whose primary purpose is not to destroy the enemy but to contain and
control reactions. In the wake of the last Synod and the Kasper
proposal, we saw the rise of a vocal and increasingly indignant
conservative Catholic public who feared changes in doctrine on the
family and marriage. As the tide rose and even started to rage, it
became necessary to calm the waters by a show of concern in the
leadership of the Church.
The motu proprios further drain matrimony of its permanence and seriousness
Burke, Lenga and Schneider: a false-right trio
To fill that role, we were given
the recently demoted Card. Burke, Auxiliary Bishop Schneider of
Kazakhstan (who has already proven his usefulness in pacifying
traditionalists while defending the Council – here and here) and retired Bishop Jan Pawel Lenga, also of Kazahkstan.
From these three Prelates came a stand, not a strong stand, but the
minimum necessary to defend Catholic Morals on the question of family
and marriage. That is, they affirm there must be no talk of Communion
for the divorced and remarried. The “action” that resulted from this
stand was a petition begging Francis to clearly affirm teaching on
marriage at the Synod on the Family.
We can see what little importance Pope Bergoglio gave to this petition by his issuance of the motu proprios making the annulment process easier and faster…
Rules to discern a false right agent
I am not saying the things these Prelates said are not good, Jan. But,
you should realize that they are playing perfectly according to the
rules of the false-right.
What are those rules? Here are some norms followed by religious false-right leaders:
- No discussion about the breakdown of the family as a consequence of Vatican II;
- No finger pointing at the post-Vatican II Popes for their obvious
unorthodox positions on many issues like morals, customs, religious
liberty, ecumenism and many others.
- Follow the rules of the Ecclesia Dei Commission,
instituted to keep traditionalists in line and unable to make any real
resistance. These rules are: Avoid any public polemic about the Pope,
Vatican II and the New Mass; obey the local Bishop.
Benedict XVI and his defense of Vatican II are lauded by the false right trio
These super-heroes appear on the scene to deflect attention from Vatican
II and maintain the party line of conservativism that has held since
the Council: We only need to reform the reform, to quell the outburst of
the radicals and, then, everything will be fine. The champion of these
heroes is Benedict XVI and his hermeneutic of continuity, which is in
fact a hermeneutic of rupture (here).
I believe this explanation answers your question: Are we finally facing a
true resistance to the disastrous crisis in the Church we have suffered
since Vatican Council II?
No, Jan, we are not. Therefore, we should not expect to see a real
resistance come on the question of divorced and remarried Catholics
receiving Communion at the second session of the Family Synod that
convenes next month.
The other topics of the Synod are still open to discussion – welcome to homosexuality, cohabitating couples, contraception etc.
We have seen Francis make initiatives in each of these realms favoring
the most progressivist positions. The Bishops certainly can create
obstacles to the papal revolutionary line and defend the traditional
Catholic Morals. I hope they will. Let us see if such hopes will become
reality.
Related:
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/09/francis-stacks-deck-against.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/09/cardinal-muller-warns-of-split-as-big.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/08/german-bishops-conference-website.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/05/confidential-meeting-seeks-to-sway.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/08/german-bishops-conference-website.html
http://tradcatknight.blogspot.com/2015/05/confidential-meeting-seeks-to-sway.html
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Kasper’s proposal is really worth but Synod must consider everyone's view before applying any decisions otherwise it will be a monotonous way.
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