Francis Quotes
Below are actual quotes from Francis over the last few years. The footnotes for each quote contain direct links to the Vatican websites at the bottom of this page, so there are no doubts as to the authenticity of these quotes. What is a Catholic to think?
Teachings of Francis I
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Scripture or Past Church Teaching
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Atheism
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On Heaven and Earth2,
pp. 12-13: “I do not approach the relationship in order
to proselytize, or convert the atheist; I respect him… nor
would I say that his life is condemned, because I am
convinced that I do not have the right to make a judgment
about the honesty of that person… every man is the image of
God, whether he is a believer or not."
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"If any one deny the one true God,
Creator and Lord of all things visible and invisible, let
him be anathema" (Conc. Vatican., Sess. III, "De fide",
can. i).
"If anyone shall have said that the
one true God, our Creator and our Lord, cannot be known with
certitude by those things which have been made, by the
natural light of human reason: let him be anathema"
(First Vatican Council, Sess III, can. 2/1: Denz. 1806; cf.
D. 1785).
“And to you who are troubled, rest
with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven,
with the angels of his power, in a flame of fire, giving
vengeance to them who know not God, and who obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall suffer eternal
punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord, and
from the glory of his power.” II Thessalonians I: 7-9
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Francis I response to open letter3
published Sep 2013: “First of all, you ask if the God of
the Christians forgives those who do not believe and do not
seek faith. Given that - and this is fundamental - God's
mercy has no limits if he who asks for mercy does so in
contrition and with a sincere heart, the issue for those who
do not believe in God is in obeying their own conscience. In
fact, listening and obeying it, means deciding about what is
perceived to be good or to be evil. The goodness or the
wickedness of our behavior depends on this decision.”
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"...faith is the beginning of human
salvation, the foundation, and the root of all
Justification; without which it is impossible to please
God..." Council of Trent, Chapter VIII
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Blessed Trinity
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Interview with the Italian newspaper
La Repubblica1, September 24, 2013: “I believe
in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God,
there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation.
Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father,
Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.”
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Comment: Our Catholic God is the
Trinity, which is different from the Gods professed by
non-Christians:
"the Father is God, the Son is God,
and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods
but one God." Athanasian Creed
“Q. 1400. Name some of the more
essential religious truths we must know and believe. 2.(2)
That in God there are three Divine Persons: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these Divine Persons are called
the Blessed Trinity.”
Baltimore Catechism
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Capital Punishment (The Death
Penalty)
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Letter to the President of the
International Commission against the death penalty9,
March 20, 2015: "Today capital punishment is
unacceptable, however serious the condemned’s crime may have
been. It is an offence to the inviolability of life and to
the dignity of the human person which contradicts God’s plan
for man and for society and his merciful justice, and it
fails to conform to any just purpose of punishment.".....
“All Christians and men of good will are thus called today to fight not only for the abolition of the death penalty, whether legal or illegal, and in all its forms, but also in order to improve prison conditions, with respect for the human dignity of the people deprived of their freedom” |
“The same divine authority that
forbids the killing of a human being establishes certain
exceptions, as when God authorizes killing by a general law
or when He gives an explicit commission to an individual for
a limited time. The agent who executes the killing does not
commit homicide; he is an instrument as is the sword with
which he cuts. Therefore, it is in no way contrary to the
commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill' to wage war at God's
bidding, or for the representatives of public authority to
put criminals to death, according to the law, that is, the
will of the most just reason” St. Augustine, The City of
God, Book 1, chapter 21
“Therefore if a man be dangerous
and infectious to the community, on account of some sin, it
is praiseworthy and healthful that he be killed in order to
safeguard the common good, since "a little leaven corrupteth
the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6)” St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa
Theologica, Whether It Is Lawful to Kill Sinners?
“Even in the case of the death
penalty the State does not dispose of the individual’s right
to life. Rather public authority limits itself to depriving
the offender of the good of life in expiation for his guilt,
after he, through his crime, deprived himself of his own
right to life” Pius XII, Address to the First
International Congress of Histopathology of the Nervous
System, 14 Sep 1952, XIV, 328
"The infliction of capital
punishment is not contrary to the teaching of the Catholic
Church, and the power of the State to visit upon culprits
the penalty of death derives much authority from revelation
and from the writings of theologians” Catholic
Encyclopedia, Capital Punishment
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Cohabitation / Concubinage
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Address to the Diocese of Rome’s
Pastoral Congress, Q&A Session14, Jun 16, 2016:
“They prefer to cohabitate, and this is a challenge, a
task. Not to ask ‘why don’t you marry?’ No, to accompany, to
wait, and to help them to mature, help fidelity to
mature.”........ “I’ve seen a lot of fidelity in these
cohabitations, and I am sure that this is a real marriage,
they have the grace of a real marriage because of their
fidelity.”
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“It is a grievous sin for unmarried
men to have concubines ...Wherefore, the holy Synod, that it
may by suitable remedies provide against this exceeding
evil, ordains that these concubinaries, whether unmarried or
married, of whatsoever state, dignity, and condition they
may be, if, after having been three times admonished on this
subject by the Ordinary, even ex officio, they shall not
have put away their concubines, and have separated
themselves from all connexion with them, they shall be
smitten with excommunication; from which they shall not be
absolved until they have really obeyed the admonition given
them.” Council of
Trent, Ch. VIII, Concubinage is severely punished
“13. But in all these affairs, one
of your aims should be to instill in the faithful a greater
aversion for sins which scandalize others; your priests
should share this aim. You are aware of the increase in the
number of those who sin in a scandalous manner: those who
blaspheme the heavenly saints and the holy name of God as
well; those who live in concubinage.....So, make the
faithful consider the seriousness of sins of this kind and
the heavy penalties for them, both for the guilt of the sin
itself and for the spiritual danger in which they place
their brothers by the infection of their bad example. For it
is written: "Woe to the world because of scandals . . . Woe
to that man by whom the scandal comes!"
Pope Pius IX, On the Church in the
Pontifical States, December 8, 1849
"The scandal of concubinage is
removed by marriage, which should be made known to those who
were scandalized, either by the pastor or by the parties
themselves."
Canon Law 1043
"Hence if both parties intended and
expressed the intention in some way or other to enter upon a
mere Concubinage, there would be no marriage."
Canon Law 1082
"If a marriage is found invalid,
as, for instance, among the Gallas, where slaves contract a
contubernium or legalized concubinage, the parties must be
separated until they are lawfully married"
Canon Law 1084
"Therefore concubinage must be
given up because incompatible with Christian morals"
Canon Law 1124
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Communism
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Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio4,
p. 39: “It’s true that I was, like the rest of my family,
a practicing Catholic. But my mind was not made solely for
religious questions… I read
Our Word and
Proposals, a publication by the Communist Party,
and I loved every article ever written by Leonidas Barletta,
one of their best-known members…”
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"See to it, Venerable Brethren,
that the Faithful do not allow themselves to be deceived!
Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save
Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any
undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be
deceived into lending their aid towards the triumph of
Communism in their own country, will be the first to fall
victims of their error. And the greater the antiquity and
grandeur of the Christian civilization in the regions where
Communism successfully penetrates, so much more devastating
will be the hatred displayed by the godless"
Encyclical On Atheistic Communism by Pope Pius XI, 1937
"To this goal also tends the
unspeakable doctrine of Communism, as it is called, a
doctrine most opposed to the very natural law. For if this
doctrine were accepted, the complete destruction of
everyone's laws, government, property, and even of human
society itself would follow."
Encyclical On Faith and
Religion by Pope Pius IX, 1846
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Contraception
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In-flight interview from Mexico15,
Feb 17, 2016: “The great Paul VI, in a difficult
situation in Africa, permitted nuns to use a form of
artificial contraceptives in cases of rape.....On the other
hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain
cases, as in this one (the Zika virus outbreak), or in the
one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear.”
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"But no reason, however grave, may
be put forward by which anything intrinsically against
nature may become conformable to nature and morally good.
Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by
nature for the begetting of children, those who in
exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and
purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is
shameful and intrinsically vicious."
"...any use whatsoever of matrimony
exercised in such a way that the act is deliberately
frustrated in its natural power to generate life is an
offense against the law of God and of nature, and those who
indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin."
"...No difficulty can arise that
justifies the putting aside of the law of God which forbids
all acts intrinsically evil."
Pope Pius XI, Encyclical On Christian Marriage, Dec 31, 1930
"A negative precept of natural law
which prohibits a thing intrinsically evil can never be
lawfully transgressed not even under the influence of the
fear of death, (Lib. I, tr. ii, c. iv, dub. 2, n. 1) So that
it is not lawful to do a thing which is wrong in itself,
even to escape death"
Catholic Encyclopedia, Hermann Busembaum
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Conversion/Proselytizing
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Church of the Assumption, Tbilisi,
Georgia16, Oct 1, 2016: “Never fight! Let the
theologians study the abstract realities of theology. But
what should I do with a friend, neighbour, an Orthodox
person? Be open, be a friend. ‘But should I make efforts to
convert him or her?’ There is a very grave sin against
ecumenism: proselytism. We should never proselytize the
Orthodox! L’ Osservatore Romano, October 7, 2016, p. 11
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Comment: If proselytizing is a
grave sin, why did all of the Catholic missionaries
throughout the history of the Church dedicate their lives to
it?
"… St. Francis De Sales had
volunteered to re-evangelize the Chablais, a region in
France south of Geneva consisting of some 72,000 souls,
almost all of whom were now Calvinists, since their
ancestors had succumbed to Protestantism 60 years before…
St. Francis' first few months saw mostly failure, as he
spent a very cold winter tramping over the countryside,
receiving a frigid welcome and sometimes sleeping in hay
lofts at night. So he resorted to writing pamphlets - which
he posted on walls and slipped under doors. By this method
he was able to reach the souls he was after, such that at
the end of 4 years, almost the entire population of 72,000
had returned to the ancient Catholic Faith." The
Catholic Controversy, St. Francis De Sales
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Ecumenism
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Address in St. Peter's Square5,
May 18, 2013: “… promote religious freedom for everyone,
everyone! Every man and every woman must be free in his or
her profession of religion, whatever it may be.”
L’ Osservatore
Romano, May 22, 2013, p. 11.
General Audience with representatives
of the world’s various religions11, Oct 28, 2015:
"the Church regards with esteem the believers of all
religions, appreciating their spiritual and moral
commitment…Now, to conclude this Audience, I invite
everyone, each one on his or her own, to pray in silence.
May each one do so according to his or her own religious
tradition.”
L’ Osservatore Romano, October 30,
2015, pp. 3-4
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"The Catholic Church is alone in
keeping the true worship. This is the fount of truth, this
the house of Faith, this the temple of God: if any man enter
not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger
to the hope of life and salvation.”
Encyclical "Mortalium
Animos" (On Religious Unity), by Pope Pius XI in 1928
"Certainly such attempts can nowise
be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false
opinion which considers all religions to be more or less
good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways
manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all,
and by which we are led to God and to the obedient
acknowledgment of His rule. Not only are those who hold this
opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the
idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little
turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from
which it clearly follows that one who supports those who
hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is
altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion."
Encyclical
"Mortalium Animos" (On Religious Unity), by Pope Pius XI in
1928
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Evangelii Gaudium6,
November, 2013: “Non-Christians, by God’s gracious
initiative, when they are faithful to their own consciences,
can live ‘justified by the grace of God’, and thus be
‘associated to the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ”
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"Now We consider another abundant
source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at
present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on
all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is
possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the
profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is
maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive
this deadly error far from the people committed to your
care. With the admonition of the apostle that "there is one
God, one faith, one baptism"."
Encyclical On Liberalism and
Religious Indifferentism, Pope Gregory XVI, 1832
“Condemned: Every man is free to
embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light
of reason, he shall consider true.” The Syllabus of
Errors 1864 - Pope Pius IX
“Condemned: Man may, in the
observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal
salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.” The
Syllabus of Errors 1864 - Pope Pius IX
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Vatican radio message8, May
24, 2015: “I feel like saying something that may sound
controversial, or even heretical, perhaps. But there is
someone who “knows” that, despite our differences, we are
one. It is he who is persecuting us. It is he who is
persecuting Christians today, he who is anointing us with
(the blood of) martyrdom. He knows that Christians are
disciples of Christ: that they are one, that they are
brothers! He doesn’t care if they are Evangelicals, or
Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics or Apostolic…he doesn’t care!
They are Christians.”
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“…because the preceding errors and
many others are contained in the books or writings of Martin
Luther, we likewise condemn, reprobate, and reject
completely the books and all the writings and sermons of the
said Martin, whether in Latin or any other language,
containing the said errors or any one of them; and we wish
them to be regarded as utterly condemned, reprobated, and
rejected. We forbid each and every one of the faithful of
either sex, in virtue of holy obedience and under the above
penalties to be incurred automatically, to read, assert,
preach, praise, print, publish, or defend them. They will
incur these penalties if they presume to uphold them in any
way, personally or through another or others, directly or
indirectly, tacitly or explicitly, publicly or occultly,
either in their own homes or in other public or private
places.” Condemning the Errors of Martin Luther (Exsurge
Domine), Pope Leo X, June 15, 1520
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False Gods
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In 2012, Cardinal Bergoglio held an
interreligious prayer meeting in the Cathedral of Buenos
Aires with the leaders of false religions including Judaism
and Protestant sects. In this prayer meeting he allowed the
members of these false religions to pray aloud to their
false gods in the Cathedral. Bergoglio has been known to
organize other similar meetings (similar to his two
predecessors) that are well documented and photographed in
the news.
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"First Commandment of God: I am the
Lord thy God, thou shall not have strange gods before Me"
“Q: What else does the First
Commandment forbid?
A: The First Commandment also
forbids all dealings with the devil, and all association
with anti-Christian sects.“
The Catechism of Saint Pius X, The First Commandment
“When it is said: Thou shalt not
have strange gods before me, it is equivalent to saying:
Thou shalt worship me the true God; thou shalt not worship
strange gods.” The Catechism of Trent, The First
Commandment
“As the true God can tolerate no
strange gods, the true Church of Christ can tolerate no
strange Churches beside herself, or, what amounts to the
same, she can recognize none as theoretically justified.”
Catholic Encyclopedia, Religious Toleration
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Islam
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Evangelii Gaudium6,
November, 2013: “We
must never forget that they [the Moslems] ‘profess to hold
the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the
one, merciful God, who will judge humanity on the last day’.”
Address to the President of Religious
Affairs in Turkey and Muslim and Christian political and
religious leaders12, Nov 28, 2014: "We,
Muslims and Christians, are the bearers of spiritual
treasures of inestimable worth. Among these we recognize
some shared elements, though lived according to the
traditions of each, such as the adoration of the
All-Merciful God, reference to the Patriarch Abraham,
prayer, almsgiving, fasting… elements which, when lived
sincerely, can transform life and provide a sure foundation
for dignity and fraternity."
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Comment: Catholics and Muslims do
not adore the same God (Catholics adore the Blessed
Trinity):
"But he that shall deny me before
men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in
heaven." Matthew
10:33
“For he that shall be ashamed of me
and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed,
when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father,
and of the holy angels.”
Luke 9:26
"Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father."
1 John 2:23
“Q. 1400. Name some of the more
essential religious truths we must know and believe. 2.(2)
That in God there are three Divine Persons: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these Divine Persons are called
the Blessed Trinity.”
Baltimore Catechism
"The doctrines of Islam concerning
God — His unity and Divine attributes — are essentially
those of the Bible; but to the doctrines of the Trinity and
of the Divine Sonship of Christ, Mohammed had the strongest
antipathy"
Catholic Encyclopedia, Mohammed and Mohammedanism
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The Jews
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On Heaven and Earth2,
page 188: “The Jewish People can no longer be accused of
having killed God, as they were for a long time. When one
reads the account of the Passion, it is clear.”
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“Therefore let all the house of
Israel know most certainly, that God hath made both Lord and
Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.” Acts
of the Apostles (2:36)
“And Pilate seeing that he
prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking
water washed his hands before the people (the Jews), saying:
I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it.
And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon
us and our children.”
Matt 27:24-25
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Francis I
response to open letter3 published Sep 2013: “What
I can say, with the Apostle Paul, is that God has never
stopped believing in the alliance made with Israel and that,
through the terrible trials of these past centuries, the
Jews have kept their faith in God.”
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“Go ye into the whole world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and
is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall
be condemned.” Matthew 16:15
“Jesus saith to him: I am the way,
and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father,
but by me.” John 14:6
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Evangelii Gaudium6
n. 247: “We hold the Jewish people in special regard
because their covenant with God has never been revoked”.
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“By these salutary instructions it
desires to provide measures whereby Jews and other infidels
may be converted to the orthodox faith and converts may
remain steadfastly in it.” Council of Basil 1431-1435
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Omnipotence of God
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Address to the Pontifical Academy of
Sciences10, Oct 27, 2014: “When we read about
Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a
magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that
is not so.”
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“And Jesus beholding, said to them:
With men this is impossible: but with God all things are
possible” Matt 19:26
“Behold I am the Lord the God of
all flesh: shall any thing be hard for me?” Jer 32:27
“Q: How can Jesus Christ be present
in all the consecrated hosts in the world? A: Jesus Christ
is present in all the consecrated hosts in the world by the
Omnipotence of God, to whom nothing is impossible”
Catechism of Saint Pius
X - The Blessed Eucharist
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Prayer in Common
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Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio4,
p. 208: “Not long ago I was in a synagogue taking part in a
ceremony. I prayed a lot and, while praying, I heard a
phrase from one of the books of wisdom that had slipped my
mind: ‘Lord, may I bear mockery in silence.’ It gave me much
peace and joy.”
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"If any ecclesiastic or layman
shall go into the synagogue of the Jews or to the
meeting-houses of the heretics to join in prayer with them,
let them be deposed and deprived of communion. If any
Bishops or Priest or Deacon shall join in prayer with
heretics, let him be suspended from Communion"
Third Council of
Constantinople
"It is not permitted at all for the
faithful to assist in any active manner at or to have any
part in the worship of non-Catholics."
1917 Code of Canon Law,
Canon 1258
“The Code declares the following
persons as suspect of heresy: 1. The propagators of heresy
and those who participate with non-Catholics in divinis
(Can. 2316)”
Commentary on Canon Law (Augustine, 1918)
"Speaking generally, the faithful
are forbidden to take part in any religious rites,
considered as such, of pagans, Mohammedans, or Jews, and all
the more to practice them through a kind of survival of
their primitive superstitions. If this prohibition is
inspired not so much by a fear of the danger of perversion
as by the law forbidding the faithful to communicate in
sacris with non-Catholics, aversion to false religions and
especially from idol worship justifies the rigor of the law"
Catholic Encyclopedia, Infidels
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Common Declaration with Archbishop of
Canterbury17, Oct 5, 2016: “Nor should our
(Catholic and Anglican) differences come in the way of our
common prayer: not only can we pray together, we must pray
together, giving voice to our shared faith and joy in the
Gospel of Christ, the ancient Creeds, and the power of God’s
love, made present in the Holy Spirit…” L’ Osservatore
Romano, Oct 14, 2016, pp. 7-8
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“Canon 33: No one shall join in
prayers with heretics or schismatics” Council of
Laodicea (372)
"None must neither pray or sing psalms
with heretics, and whosoever shall communicate with those
who are cut off from the communion of the Church, whether
clergyman or layman, let him be excommunicated" Council of
Carthage (398)
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Common Ecumenical Prayer at the
Lutheran Cathedral of Lund18, Oct 31, 2016: "As
Lutherans and Catholics, we pray together in this Cathedral,
conscious that without God we can do nothing. We ask his
help, so that we can be living members, abiding in him, ever
in need of his grace, so that together we may bring his word
to the world…” L’ Osservatore Romano, Nov 4, 2016, pp.
3,6
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“So, Venerable Brethren, it is
clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects
to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the
union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the
return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are
separated from it”
Pope Pius XI, Mortalium
Animos (1928)
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Protestant Reformation
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“Joint Statement on the occasion of
the Joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation18”
Oct 31, 2016: “With this Joint Statement, we express
joyful gratitude to God for this moment of common prayer in
the Cathedral of Lund, as we begin the year commemorating
the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation… While we
are profoundly thankful for the spiritual and theological
gifts received through the Reformation...” L’
Osservatore Romano, Nov 4, 2016, pp. 3,7
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“CONDEMNED: Protestantism is
nothing more than another form of the same true Christian
religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as
in the Catholic Church” Syllabus of Errors, Pope Pius
IX, 1864
“These reasons suffice to show
superabundantly by how many roads Modernism leads to atheism
and to the annihilation of all religion. The error of
Protestantism made the first step on this path; that of
Modernism makes the second; atheism makes the next.” On
the Doctrine of the Modernists, Pope St. Pius X, 1907
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Address to participants in the
pilgrimage of Lutherans (commemorating the 500th anniversary
of the Lutheran Reformation)19” Oct 13, 2016: “I
am very happy to meet you on the occasion of your ecumenical
pilgrimage which began in the land of Luther, Germany, and
ended here at the See of the Bishop of Rome… The Apostle
Paul tells us that, by virtue of our baptism, we all form
the one Body of Christ. The different members, in fact, form
one body. This is why we belong to each other and when one
suffers, everyone suffers, when one rejoices, all rejoice
(cf. 1 Cor 12:12, 26). Let us continue with confidence on
our ecumenical journey… At the end of this month, God
willing, I will go to Lund, Sweden, and together with the
Lutheran World Federation, we will commemorate, after five
centuries, the beginning of Luther’s reformation…” L’
Osservatore Romano, Oct 21, 2016, p. 11
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Comment: How can Catholics
commemorate one of the greatest disasters ever to befall the
Church?
"The Reformation destroyed the
unity of faith and ecclesiastical organization of the
Christian peoples of Europe, cut many millions off from the
true Catholic Church, and robbed them of the greatest
portion of the salutary means for the cultivation and
maintenance of the supernatural life. Incalculable harm was
thereby wrought from the religious standpoint. The false
fundamental doctrine of justification by faith alone, taught
by the Reformers, produced a lamentable shallowness in
religious life. Zeal for good works disappeared, the
asceticism which the Church had practised from her
foundation was despised, charitable and ecclesiastical
objects were no longer properly cultivated, supernatural
interests fell into the background, and naturalistic
aspirations aiming at the purely mundane, became widespread.
The denial of the Divinely instituted authority of the
Church, both as regards doctrine and ecclesiastical
government, opened wide the door to every eccentricity, gave
rise to the endless division into sects and the never-ending
disputes characteristic of Protestantism, and could not but
lead to the complete unbelief which necessarily arises from
the Protestant principles..." Catholic Encyclopedia,
1913, Results and Consequences of the Reformation
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Sacrament of Confession
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Vatican radio7 June 15,
2013: “True reconciliation means that God in Christ took
on our sins and He became the sinner for us. When we go to
Confession, for example, it isn’t that we say our sin and
God forgives us. No, not that! We look for Jesus Christ and
say: ‘This is your sin, and I will sin again‘. And Jesus
likes that, because it was his mission: to become the
sinner for us, to liberate us.“
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“In the Sacrament of Penance the
repentant Christian confesses his sins to a duly authorized
priest, who, standing in the place of God, pronounces the
absolution by means of which they are forgiven.” The
Catechism Explained (Spirago-Clarke, 1899), Sacrament of
Penance
“Q: How many conditions are
necessary to make a good confession?
A: To make a good confession five
things are necessary: (1) Examination of conscience; (2)
Sorrow for having offended God; (3) A resolution of
sinning no more; (4) Confession of our sins; (5)
Satisfaction or penance”
Catechism of Saint Pius X, The Sacrament of Penance
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Sacrament of Marriage
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Address to the Diocese of Rome’s
Pastoral Congress, Q&A Session14, Jun 16, 2016:
"....the great majority of our sacramental marriages are
null. Because they say ‘yes, for the rest of my life!’ but
they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a
different culture. They say it, they have good will, but
they don’t know.”
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“Marriage enjoys the favor of the
law; therefore, in case of doubt, its validity ought to be
maintained until the contrary be proved…”
Canon Law 1917, Canon 1014
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Same-sex marriage / Homosexuality
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Press conference on flight from
Brazil, July 28, 201313: “If someone is gay
and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to
judge?”
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"Know you not that the unjust shall
not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the
effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners,
shall possess the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
“Neither fornicators nor
adulterers, nor the effeminate nor sodomites shall possess
the kingdom of God.”
Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Sixth commandment,
Other Sins Against Chastity Are Forbidden
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On Heaven and Earth2,
p. 114: Concerning same-sex marriage: “Religion has the
right to give an opinion as long as it is in service to the
people.” “The religious minister does not have the right to
force anything on anyone’s private life. If God, in
creation, ran the risk of making us free, who am I to get
involved? We condemn spiritual harassment that takes place
when a minister imposes directives, conduct, and demands in
such a way that it takes away the freedom of the other
person. God left the freedom to sin in our hands.” He
later adds: “I insist that our opinion about the marriage
between two people of the same sex is not based on religion,
but rather on anthropology.”
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"Q: Which are the sins that are
said to cry to God for vengeance?
A: The sins that are said to cry to
God for vengeance are these four: (1) Willful murder; (2)
The sin of sodomy; (3) Oppression of the poor; (4)
Defrauding laborers of their wages."
The Catechism of Saint Pius X, The Vices and Other Very
Grievous Sins
"As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the
neighboring cities, in like manner, having given themselves
to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an
example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire" Jude
1:7
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In-flight press conference from
Azerbaijan to Rome20, Oct 2, 2016: "Last year
I received a letter from a Spanish man who told me his story
from the time when he was a child. He was born a female, a
girl, and he suffered greatly because he felt that he was a
boy but physically was a girl....He had the operation....He
changed his civil identity, he got married and he wrote me a
letter saying that it would bring comfort to him to come see
me with his bride: he, who had been she, but is he. I
received them. They were pleased.” L’ Osservatore
Romano, Oct 7, 2016, pp. 8-9
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Comment: It's possible the Church
has not taught specifically on something so perverse.
Requires more research
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Sex Education
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Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio4,
p. 111: “The Church is not opposed to sex education.
Personally, I believe that it ought to be available
throughout children’s upbringing, adapted to different age
groups. In truth, the Church always provided sex education,
although I acknowledge that it hasn’t always been adequate.” |
“Another
very grave danger is that naturalism which nowadays invades
the field of education in that most delicate matter of
purity of morals. Far too common is the error of those who
with dangerous assurance and under an ugly term propagate a
so-called sex-education, falsely imagining they can forearm
youths against the dangers of sensuality by means purely
natural, such as a foolhardy initiation and precautionary
instruction for all indiscriminately, even in public; and,
worse still, by exposing them at an early age to the
occasions, in order to accustom them, so it is argued, and
as it were to harden them against such dangers.”
Pope Pius XI, Dec. 31, 1931
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Suicide
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On Heaven and Earth2,
pp. 92-93: “There was a time when they did not perform
funerals for those that committed suicide because they had
not continued on towards the goal; they ended the path when
they wanted to. But I still respect the one who commits
suicide; he is a person who could not overcome the
contradictions in his life. I do not reject him.”
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"Q: Why does God, in the Fifth
Commandment, forbid the taking of one's own life or suicide?
A: In the Fifth Commandment God
forbids suicide, because man is not the master of his own
life no more than of the life of another. Hence the Church
punishes suicide by deprivation of Christian burial.”
Catechism of Saint Pius X, The Fifth Commandment
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Footnote 1:
The interview as printed in La Repubblica can be seen here:
http://www.repubblica.it/cultura/2013/10/01/news/pope_s_conversation_with_scalfari_english-67643118/
Footnote 2:
“On Heaven and Earth” is a book by Francis I containing
conversations he had with Rabbi Abraham Skorka when he was Cardinal
Bergoglio. The book can be found in many online bookstores
Footnote 3:
In mid-2013, newspaper editor and atheist Eugenio Scalfari had
written two open letters to Francis I, both of which were published
in Scalfari’s Italian daily La Repubblica. Francis I replied with a
3-page response which was published in the same paper September 2013
(http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/letters/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130911_eugenio-scalfari.html)
Footnote 4:
“Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio” is a biography of Francis I
published in April 2013, and can be found in many online bookstores
Footnote 5:
This address is published on the Vatican website here:
Footnote 6:
Evangelii Gaudium was an “Apostolic Exhortation” given by Francis I
to all the clergy and faithful of the world in November 2013. It can
be found on the Vatican website here:
Http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
Footnote 7:
This address made on Vatican radio can be found on the official
Vatican network website here:
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-the-christian-life-proclaims-the-road-to-reco
Footnote 8:
This address made on Vatican radio can be found on the official
Vatican network website here:
Footnote 9:
Letter to the President of the International Commission against the
death penalty, which can be found on the Vatican website here:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20150320_lettera-pena-morte.html
Footnote 10:
Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/october/documents/papa-francesco_20141027_plenaria-accademia-scienze.html
Footnote 11:
General Audience with representatives of the world’s various
religions:
https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20151028_udienza-generale.html
Footnote 12:
Address to the President of Religious Affairs in Turkey and Muslim
and Christian political and religious leaders:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/november/documents/papa-francesco_20141128_turchia-presidenza-diyanet.html
Footnote 13:
Press conference on flight from Brazil:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130728_gmg-conferenza-stampa.html
Footnote 14:
Address to the Diocese of Rome’s
Pastoral Congress, Q&A Session:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2016/june/documents/papa-francesco_20160616_convegno-diocesi-roma.html
Footnote 15:
In-flight interview from Mexico:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2016/february/documents/papa-francesco_20160217_messico-conferenza-stampa.html
Footnote 16:
Church of the Assumption, Tbilisi, Georgia:
Footnote 17:
Common declaration with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury
Footnote 18:
Common ecumenical prayer at the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund
Footnote 19:
Address to participants in the
pilgrimage of Lutherans
Footnote 20:
In-flight press conference from Azerbaijan to Rome
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