CONSORTIUM NEWSLETTER (APRIL 13, 2018)

HE LIVES – WE LIVE! FOREVER!! THANK GOD!

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POPE FRANCIS (CONTINUED)

As we continue to study Cardinal Cupich’s exposition on , a thought confronts us: have we read the apostolic exhortation? If we have not done so, we should get a copy and read it carefully before we continue our study of the Cardinal’s exposition of it. If we do so, we will get so much more out of the exposition given here. Thank you!

A sixth and last principle of interpretation is the following: “the doctrinal can develop through the pastoral as the Gospel of mercy informs the ministry of the Church” (Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, “’ Revolution of Mercy, Amoris Laetitia, as a New Paradigm of Catholicity,” Origins: CNS documentary service, February 22, 2018). This final shift results from resituating mercy at the heart of the Gospel to the point that “we should always consider ‘inadequate any theological conception that in the end puts in doubt the omnipotence of God and, especially, God’s mercy’ (Amoris Laetitia, #311).” (ibid.) What should happen is that the pastoral practice of accompanying others in mercy should inform and shape doctrinal development. “In other words, doctrinal development is about remaining open to the invitation to see our moral teachings on marriage and family life through the lens of God’s omnipotent mercy” (ibid.). The Cardinal states that he is taking a second look at Amoris Laetitia; he goes on to say that “without a holistic approach to examine the questions of the day, one that connects knowing and practice, we end up with a fragmented and partial way of understanding and knowledge, which limits our practice. [This is so very true!!] “What emerges from this rereading of Amoris Laetitia is the paradigm shift … that can help us understand that the Holy Father is offering a revivified hermeneutic [way of studying something so that you come to understand it] that connects tradition and experience, teaching and practice in a way that better responds to the realities people face in their daily lives … In reality, Pope Francis is retrieving a way of thinking about Church teaching and practice that has its root in our tradition. “Moreover, this study convinces me that the failure to take a holistic approach in the examination of questions related to marriage and family life has led some critics to misinterpret and misunderstand Amoris Laetitia [so true!]. Instead of actually attending to the present reality of people’s lives today in all of its complexity, they limit their scope to an idealistic understanding of marriage and family. They also fail to see how the various issues related to marriage and family life are connected to each other, treating them instead as discrete questions. As a result, they narrow their options when it comes to responding to the lived realities of people’s lives, since their knowledge is fragmented and incomplete. “Pope Francis presents these interpretive principles specifically as a means to enable ministers in the Church to decipher more reliably and realistically the experiences of people in modern family life” (ibid.). So let us make these principles our own now!

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Note a) Here we have finished Cardinal Cupich’s analysis and exposition of Amoris Laetitia. In Origins there are a few side-bars to Cupich’s text that I would like to share with you because they provide a decent context for Cupich’s remarks and I will do that in the next Consortium Newsletter. b) As I was writing this material, there was/is something happening regarding Amoris Laetitia that does not bode well for the Church and I would like to share that with you. It has to do with some strong and expressed opposition to the apostolic exhortation. It can be found below and this calls us who support the Pope to do something to counter this opposition within the Church. The reporting of this involves two CRUX articles: i. John Allen and Clair Giangravé, “Foes of ‘Amoris’ insist at Rome summit: ‘We cannot be ignored!’” CRUX, April 7, 2018; ii. And John L. Allen Junior, “Can summit derail ‘just don’t look’ strategy on ‘Amoris’ critics?,” CRUX, April 8, 2018. c) I realize that those who are ministering in today’s Church already have too much to do and I hesitate to ask more of you who are already serving well the Church today but we are at a crisis point in the Church now and this has to become our main concern at this time. The rifts in the Church over documents like Amoris Laetitia do us no good and Catholics in general are beginning to become aware of them because the secular press covers certain aspects of these rifts. We owe it to the people whom we are privileged to serve to tell them enough about these rifts so that they are not overly upset; and they certainly should know the basics about Vatican/papal documents like Amoris Laetitia. Here is my suggestion to you at this time in order to speak to these concerns: i. Make sure that you yourself know what is happening in the Church today: read the document, Amoris Laetitia, and some of the commentary on this apostolic exhortation, e.g., in these newsletters or elsewhere; ii. Decide to draw up some short commentaries that you can insert into your parish bulletins given to those you serve: feel free to use anything you find of value for that purpose from these Consortium newsletters; iii. From time to time, have the parish or your faith organization invited to come to meetings where the discussion would centre on what is happening in today’s Church as people see and experience this; keep it simple and make sure that these do not become “bitching sessions;” make sure you end up with thoughts and expressions about hope (here you can use all kinds of stuff from Our Holy Father); and end with prayer for Christ’s blessings on the Church and on your meeting groups which are really the Church in action today;

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iv. I know this is extra work for you but it does aim at what the Church needs now and it certainly aligns with what Pope Francis is doing and saying; if you are not sure you want to do this, please take the matter to prayer and then do or do not do what the prayer suggests! Thank you!

I along with many many others, think that Amoris Laetitia is a wonderful document that is breaking new ground for the Church and is absolutely needed by the Church of today. Do know, however, that it is causing rifts (splits?) in the Church because of the great pastoral insights it suggests for us today. Below we will consider one such rift that just happened. On April 7, 2018, in Rome, there was held a summit of opposition to Pope Francis’ controversial apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, by the most ardent opponents (lay and clerical). More than Amoris Laetitia was discussed at the summit, e.g., the anniversary of Humanae Vitae. Their final declaration rejected broadly the idea that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics may receive Communion and implored ‘the pope and the bishops to confirm us in the faith’” (Allen and Giangravé). An Italian association, “Friends of Cardinal Cafarra,” organized the event at which there was a strong presence of a major Italian pro-life movement. This was the largest gathering of criticism against Amoris Laetitia since the document was issued two years ago. The name of the event was “, Where Are You Going?” “It invoked a quote from Cardinal Caffarra (who recently died and who was opposed to Pope Francis): ‘Only a blind man [person] could deny there is great confusion in the Church today’” (ibid.). The final conclusions of the summit are the following: 1. We witness and profess in accord with the authentic confession of the faith that a consummated marriage can be dissolved only by death. 2. Christians who unite with another person if their spouse is still living commit a great sin. 3. We are convinced that this is a norm that applies always and without exception. 4. We are convinced that no subjective judgment of conscience can render an evil action good. 5. Forgiveness is based on a desire to change one’s attitude. 6. The divorced and remarried who live together may not receive Eucharistic Communion.” (ibid.) The above rejects the teaching of Amoris Laetitia and “the declaration did not carry any specific signatories but was issued in the name of the ‘People of God.’” (Allen)

“There was a strong sense at the summit that although their position may represent a minority, it cannot be ignored. ‘Experience through history teaches us that truth is not necessarily with the majority, with big numbers,’ German Cardinal Walter Brandmuller said ‘Often in the history of the people of God it was not the majority, but rather a minority that authentically lived out the faith.’” (Allen and Giangravé) Brandmuller cited

4 the historical Arian heresy (fourth century A.D.) that believed Jesus Christ was not fully divine and this was upheld by a big majority of Christians at the time.

JUST DO NOT LOOK! “For a while now, that basically seemed to be Pope Francis’s strategy with regard to his critics over Amoris Laetitia, the 2016 document on the family which, in a bombshell footnote, opened a cautious door to Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. For all intents and purposes he has ignored them, and it has not seemed unreasonable to think that over time, they would either go away or dwindle into insignificance.” (Allen) And “in response, a Rome summit of what one might call the ‘anti-Amoris’ wing of the Church on April 7 [2018] seemed to reverberate with frustration, insisting ‘Confirm us in the faith’” (ibid.). And it even mentioned the possibility of heresy on the Pope’s part! As history demonstrates, it is possible that a Roman Pontiff exercising his fullness of power can fall into heresy or fail in his first duty of safeguarding and preserving the unity of faith and the discipline of the Church,’ said American Cardinal Raymond Burke” (Allen and Giangravé). Burke was one of the four cardinals who submitted five very important questions to the Pope after Amoris Laetitia came on the scene. Along with Cardinal Brandmuller and the deceased German Cardinal and the deceased Italian Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, Cardinal Burke formed what was known as the dubia. Burke’s positon is that the authority of the Pope derives only from obedience to God. Burke claimed the right to stand up to a pope who is in error (and so he saw Francis). “Since the pope cannot be subject to a political process, the situation has to be addressed and remedied based on natural law, the gospels, and canonical tradition … First, one corrects the presumed error or abandonment of duty directly to the Roman Pontiff. If he does not respond, then one proceeds to public correction … As a matter of duty, the pope can be disobeyed. There is an abundant body of literature on this theme … The pope’s authority is not magical. It derives from his obedience to the Lord.” (Burke) We should note that Burke in some of these statements drew strong applause from his audience. Burke also made a case that the Pope’s power is not absolute and he “rejected what he called the ‘facile response’ of many to papal teaching, ‘as if because the Holy Father says something, one must accept whatever papal teaching comes. It has always been clear that the Roman Pontiff can dispense with the law only for the purpose of preserving its purpose, and never for subverting it. It is axiomatic that any power given by Christ to his Church is for the purpose of realizing the ends for which he founded it, not for contesting them. It can only be exercised within these terms. It is not a license for arbitrary government … Any act of a pope given that he is a human being that is heretical or sinful, in itself is null.” (ibid.) Burke states he is not an enemy of Pope Francis but confusion needs an answer.

Cardinal Brandmuller argues that the teaching of Amoris Laetitia cannot be seen as an authentic development of doctrine. He goes on to say that the sense of the faithful cannot be seen as a poll or plebiscite because that is impossible. “The Church is not a democratically constituted society; it is the corpus misticum [mystical body], to which the

5 faithful are united as members of that body,” Brandmuller maintains and so the questionnaires sent out prior to the Synods of Bishops called by the Pope in October 2014 and 2015 are not legitimate in terms of the sensus fidelium (sense of the faithful) because they were open to manipulation by groups. Brandmuller “pointed to 140,000 Catholics in Poland who signed a petition asking bishops to protect them from ‘German errors,’ such as the teaching in Amoris Laetitia, in which German-speaking prelates are seen as having played a key role. ‘These are the forms in which today the sensus fidelium is manifest, it is the instinct of faith of believing people, and the magisterium should pay attention,’ Brandmuller said, once again generating cheers.” (Allen and Giangravé)

The unease with Pope Francis takes more than one form and this could bring a number of opposition groups together. “There was, however one constituency strongly represented at the summit, which was the Italian pro-life movement. People in those circles have been frustrated with Pope Francis’s apparent unwillingness to exercise his influence in Italian politics in at least two instances – the recognition of de facto couples, including same-sex couples, in 2016, and the recognition in 2017 of ‘living wills’ allowing patients to choose in advance if they want treatment withdrawn in terminal situations, which some critics see as a possible precursor to euthanasia. “Finally, there was a clear undercurrent of urgency among many of the hundreds of lay participants who packed the hotel conference room at the summit. At one point, a contingent in the crowd leapt to their feet and began shouting ‘People of God, stand up! We are the ones who have to act!’” (Allen)

“The critics are not going away. They are convinced, in the words of the final declaration, that the ban on divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receiving Communion ‘is a norm that applies always and without exception,’ and they intend to stand and fight.” (ibid.) In all this, do remember that there are prominent people/clergy, e.g., Cardinal , who state that criticism of Francis’s family document (Amoris Laetitia) is “ridiculous” – and I feel that they are right. And a number of those who stand with Francis want to see dialogue after Pope Francis was accused of heresy (see above).

Some concluding comments. Firstly, thank God that the Pope is starting to answer these critics of him and just today, as I write, he has put out an apostolic exhortation to do this; we will consider this next week. I am glad that Francis has become fed up with all of the above opposition and is fighting back. We need to support him! Let us do all we can to do this! Certainly we can all pray for him – and pray hard! In addition, we can also ask those to whom we are privileged to minister to pray for him. Secondly, the secular press is picking up and will continue to pick up the “juiciest” parts of this opposition phenomenon. When this happens, let us help our people understand this better with a few words from the pulpit or an insert in the parish bulletin or ______.

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Thirdly, be patient! This opposition to Francis will continue to be around for a while and so do not let it discourage you or get you down. Keep on supporting the Holy Father in every way you can. Thank you!

Risen Lord Jesus, please give our Pope all he needs to continue to do your work even if it disturbs some Catholics and please send Your Holy Spirit upon our whole Church. Amen!

TO BE CONTINUED

The following pages continue “The Joy of Love” which is the document put out by Catholic Organization for Life and Family, which is co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus.

EDUCATING TO LOVE AND SELF-GIVING

Earlier in his exhortation, Pope Francis emphasized the all-important responsibility of parents: “The overall education of children is a ‘most serious duty’ and at the same time a ‘primary right’ of parents … parents themselves enjoy the right to choose freely the kind of education – accessible and of good quality – which they wish to give their children in accordance with their convictions” (84). In this seventh chapter, the Holy Father adds that parents “can never completely delegate the moral formation of their children to others” (263). Turning to the issue of sex education, Pope Francis insists that it must be “both positive and prudent”, as well as understood “within the broader framework of an education for love, for mutual self-giving” (280), all the while respecting the modesty of the child. Children are invited “to accept their own body as it was created” and to value the sexual difference (285). After wondering if our schools have properly understood the challenge, he maintains that “the information has to come at a proper time and in a way suited to their age” (281). Pope Francis deplores that promoting notions of “safe sex” and the need to “protect themselves” among young people encourages them to consider negatively “the natural procreative finality of sexuality, as if an eventual child were an enemy to be protected against” (283). Since the family is the first school where values are taught (274), it is of paramount importance that children can actually learn, step by step, the proper use of their freedom, in order to have the self-mastery necessary to become accountable and autonomous. “Young people need to realize that they are bombarded by messages that are not beneficial for their growth towards maturity; they should be helped to recognize and to seek out positive influences, while shunning the things that cripple their capacity for love” (281). Pope Francis finally invites us to reflect on what he considers the crux of the matter: “The real question, then, is not where our children are physically, or whom they are with at any given time, but rather where they are existentially, where they stand in terms of their convictions, goals, desires and dreams. The questions I would put to parents are these: Do we seek to understand ‘where’ our children really are in their

7 journey? Where is their soul, do we really know? And above all, do we want to know?” (261).

“The home must continue to be the place where we learn to appreciate the meaning and beauty of the faith, to pray and to serve our neighbor… In all

families the Good News needs to resound, in good

times and in bad, as a source of light along the

way” (287,290).

(From the Catholic Organization for Life and Family, which is co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus.)

TO BE CONTINUED

OUR SEPARATED/DIVORCED/REMARRIED WITHOUT AN ANNULMENT SISTERS AND BROTHERS

In psychological terms, writing allows us to access our interior more deeply than thinking about it; this is why journals are so important for therapy and grief-work. If you are not familiar with this kind of “going inside” through writing, think about establishing a journal for yourself and your grief work. Write in it whatever you like, whatever strikes you as important, whatever seems to be a really good point for you, etc. You already are familiar with writing an angry letter to God because you feel God let you down by “doing nothing” to stop the break-up of your marriage (see the last Consortium newsletter). There are two other letters you can write that will really help you move forward in your grief-work. One is to your ex and the other is to yourself. Let us begin with the letter to your ex. This letter is a closing of the door (gently) on the relationship you had with your ex; it is letting go of a relationship you no longer need so that you may be free to develop a new beginning and have a new life unhindered by the past. Do not express your anger or other emotions in it because this would still keep you involved in the relationship negatively. Thank your ex as seriously as you can for the good things you had together; thank your ex but do not do so profusely. Take responsibility for what you brought to the break-up of the relationship but only for what you truly brought to the breakup. Take your share – no more and no less. Ask him/her for forgiveness – again only for what you did – no more and no less. Tell him/her that you will do your best to forgive them for how they hurt you; do not elaborate on the hurt.

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Wish them a good future life and, if you can, ask God to bless them. Add anything else that you think is important and should be said but here do not undo what you have said elsewhere in your letter. If you are in the legal process of settling matters after the breakup, write the letter but do not send it; only send it if there are no legal matters pending. And if you do not want to send the letter at all, that is fine too. If you do not send it to your ex, keep the letter for a time (you figure out how long you are going to keep it) and then destroy it ritually. Say a prayer stemming from the letter and then put it into the fireplace and burn it or throw it out elsewhere and as you do so, offer it up to God. One other thing you can do with such a letter is to share it with someone you really trust and do some dialogue regarding it. God bless you and your letter if you decide to write one and I highly recommend you do so.

The second letter is written to yourself and here please be very gentle with yourself. This letter too is a gentle closing of the door on the relationship you had with your ex; and it is also a gentle closing of the door for you on your hurtful past. As with the letter to your ex, keep strong emotions out of it. Remember the good things you brought to the marriage relationship of which you are proud and tell yourself how good these things were. Then take responsibility for what you brought to the relationship that was not good and clearly admit this. Tell God you are sorry for these things but, more importantly here, recognize how you hurt yourself here. Get in touch with how you hurt yourself and then forgive yourself: this is not easy but it is key and so please do it. Thank you! Tell yourself (and God, if you wish) that you want a new life, a new beginning for yourself. Make your commitment to this task seriously and fully. Do some thinking on a few specific things you will do that will help bring healing to yourself. Add anything else you want but do not undo here anything else you have said earlier in the letter. Again, if you like, share the letter with someone you really trust and dialogue about the letter. Keep the letter as long as you like and then ritually destroy it (see above). God bless you and the letter you write here.

Useful Tidbits  A number of times during the day, close your eyes and give them a rest. Also blink so that eye fluid can clean and moisten your eyeballs. A simple way to lower stress.

 In the morning, as you get up, take a few minutes to stretch your limbs which have been inactive during the night. This simple exercise will help you feel better.

 Smile as much as you can. Smiling requires fewer face muscles than anything else. Another good simple way to lower stress.

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MISCELLANY

 Saint Francis Parish in Kitchener has rented the Landmark Theatre (Kitchener) for a showing of the movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ, on April 23, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. The cost is reduced to $8.50 per ticket which needs to be purchased ahead of time. If interested, call Alice at the parish office (519-745-7301). Thank you.

 Here are some worthwhile resources that you may want to get: a) Prevention Guide: The Mindfulness Manual: Your Guide to Finding Calm, Heart Communications and Prevention Magazine (until April 24, 2018); b) The Popes: A Celebration of the Holy Father, Bauer Publishing Company c) Vitamins and Supplements: The Complete A-Z Guide (Everything You Need to Stay Healthy), Centennial Media (until May 28, 2018); d) The Story of Mary: From the Biblical World to Today, National Geographic, Time Incorporated Specials (until June 29, 2018); e) The Essential Guide To Your Brain, Centennial Media (until May 28, 2018); f) And The New Science of the Brain, National Geographic, February 2014. In the resources listed above, the dates put in brackets (except for (f)) represent the time-limit of the resource on the racks of magazines. The last two resources deal with what we know today about our brains and what the latest research and study (neuroscience) shows about this vital organ. In our ministry in today’s world, we need to know at least some of the basic science of the brain so we can minister more effectively and efficiently. I would add one more resource on the brain to the above and that is the book 30-Second Brain: The 50 most mind-blowing ideas in neuroscience, each explained in half a minute by editor Anil Seth (2017, Prospero Books).

 “Start your work day with a routine that sets a stress-free tone. Spend those first 20 minutes of your day focusing on things that nourish you – running, meditating, [praying], cuddling with a pet. Create a task list before you even open your inbox. Schedule email time but keep it in its place.” (Doctor Emma Seppälä, “This Is Your Brain on Gmail,” Psychology Today, February 2015)

May the Risen One continue to walk with you as your Emmanuel and bless you and your loved ones. Amen.

Father Fred Scinto, C.R., Resurrection Ministries, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ([email protected]) (519-885-4370)

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