Francis Has a Plan - It May Be "Deceptive"
Ross Douthat writes that Pope Francis follows a “plan” that can be viewed as either ingenious or deceptive.
Writing in the New York Times (March 16), Douthat states that Francis is "not formally changing" the Church’s teaching on divorce and remarriage, same-sex marriage and euthanasia, adding that such changes would be beyond the powers of his office.
But Francis draws a [strange] distinction between doctrine and pastoral practice claiming that one can change the pastoral practice and leave the doctrinal truth untouched. Therefore an adulterer may take communion, a Euthanasia Catholic receive the last rites and a homosexual have his gay pseudo-marriage blessed.
According to Douthat, Francis seems to believe that none of this changes the teaching of the Church [but in reality it does].
Picture: © Mazur, catholicnews.org.ukCC BY-NC-SA, #newsJplfukqwlt
Writing in the New York Times (March 16), Douthat states that Francis is "not formally changing" the Church’s teaching on divorce and remarriage, same-sex marriage and euthanasia, adding that such changes would be beyond the powers of his office.
But Francis draws a [strange] distinction between doctrine and pastoral practice claiming that one can change the pastoral practice and leave the doctrinal truth untouched. Therefore an adulterer may take communion, a Euthanasia Catholic receive the last rites and a homosexual have his gay pseudo-marriage blessed.
According to Douthat, Francis seems to believe that none of this changes the teaching of the Church [but in reality it does].
Picture: © Mazur, catholicnews.org.ukCC BY-NC-SA, #newsJplfukqwlt