Simple answer: no! The Pope did not say the Ten Commandments are relative. Complicated answer: let’s look at how an issue in translation and assuming the worst might lead someone to that idea. To do so, we’ll examine the Pope’s words, look at the differences in meaning between Italian and English, and finish with a point on charity.
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Did the Pope Say the Commandments are Relative?
Did the Pope Say the Commandments are Relative? August 19, 2021 Fr. Matthew P. Schneider, LC Simple answer: no! The Pope did not say the Ten Commandments …
Perhaps he did not say - he has been saying it for years. It ensues from his behaviour that the first three are particularly relative for him. Pachamamas, the hidden cross when the Jews appear, Abu Dhabian mess, the fight with the Catholic worship of the Holy Trinity, the art of kneeling and not-kneeling, Judas obsession and the rest of the long list of scandalous excesses of the elder from Domus …More
Perhaps he did not say - he has been saying it for years. It ensues from his behaviour that the first three are particularly relative for him. Pachamamas, the hidden cross when the Jews appear, Abu Dhabian mess, the fight with the Catholic worship of the Holy Trinity, the art of kneeling and not-kneeling, Judas obsession and the rest of the long list of scandalous excesses of the elder from Domus Sanctae Marthae prove it.
I have great respect for you priesthood, but not for you as a human being. Your autism is used by you as an excuse; you are an enabler of the antichrist.
If you call Catholic teaching "a false prophet" then try to blame it on your discriminatory views of autism, that says more about you than it does about me.
Ah yes, the autism again. And here's proof of your insincerity: I also have autism, which says a lot about you. And simply declaring what Francis says to be "Catholic teaching" does not make it so. I have two questions for you: simple "yes" or "no" answers: (1) Is abortion intrinsically evil? (2) Does the state have the right to mandate experimental vaccines for the population, regardless of the …More
Ah yes, the autism again. And here's proof of your insincerity: I also have autism, which says a lot about you. And simply declaring what Francis says to be "Catholic teaching" does not make it so.
I have two questions for you: simple "yes" or "no" answers:
(1) Is abortion intrinsically evil?
(2) Does the state have the right to mandate experimental vaccines for the population, regardless of the individual’s personal medical profile?
Technically, you are correct, Father. The Pope did not say the Commandments are relative but that's exactly what he meant. According to the official Vatican translation which you linked, Pope Francis said, "No. I observe them, but not as absolutes,..." Christ taught us differently as the Catechism Of The Catholic Church notes in CCC 2052Then Jesus tells him: "If you would enter life, keep …More
Technically, you are correct, Father. The Pope did not say the Commandments are relative but that's exactly what he meant.
According to the official Vatican translation which you linked, Pope Francis said, "No. I observe them, but not as absolutes,..."
Christ taught us differently as the Catechism Of The Catholic Church notes in CCC 2052Then Jesus tells him: "If you would enter life, keep the commandments."
"observe" (To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail) is not "keep" (To continue in i.e. as(a course or mode of action).)
Noticing something is not the same as following it. We may observe Martin Luther King Day is a Federal holiday, regardless of our personal opinions of that adulterous, plagiarizing, closet communist.
However, keeping the Sabbath or keeping the commandments, as Christ taught, means following them.
Pope Francis was very precise in his choice of words and in the spirit of charity you rightly enjoined us to use while interpreting his comments, let's give him credit he understands the difference.
Pope Francis said he observes the commandments. He did not say he keeps them. This is also underscored by his qualification of how he observes them, namely, "but not as absolutes".
As you acknowledge, the commandments (and I quote you here) "are not the highest and most independent rule of Christian life; love for Jesus, imitation of Jesus, and living with Jesus is the ultimate rule."
"Love for Jesus, imitation of Jesus, and living with Jesus", are all statements of good intent for an action. The action itself however can be entirely contrary to the commandments, what Jesus taught or what the Church teaches today. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, just as it is with piously stated ones.
In this instance Pope Francis "justifies" his arbitrary "observation" of the commanmdents by using Jesus to hide behind a very vague "rule" open to a huge spectrum of interpretions and applications..
This is a tactic Pope Francis has used before. He cites a vague reference to an Divine authority to justify himself even when it explicitly contradicts what The Church teaches.. Guidance from "the holy spirit" is his traditional favorite .
Thusly, Pope Francis' use of "absoluto" is thematically consistent with his previous relativism and the prevaling relativist interpretation attracting well-deserved ire.
For our current pontiff, the commandments are not "absolutes" He observes them, he doesn't keep them.
When he wishes to ignore the commandments or even break them, then then he's very clearly given his rationale, quoted here verbatim. "I know that it is Jesus Christ who justifies me."
Jesus Christ refused to worship the devil, so Jesus Christ doesn't "justify" Pope Francis repeatedly doing just the opposite during the Amazonian Synod.
...so name-dropping Jesus Christ doesn't "justify" a damned thing.
Vatican translations are not infallible. In English they are often poor. I remember when in an Epiphany homily, Benedict XVI was talking about the possibility the star was a supernova but the English translation was "super new" (nuova = new in Italian but context and the lack of a u should make it obvious). Or we have the whole issue with TOB where Waldstein had to go back and retranslate it all as …More
Vatican translations are not infallible. In English they are often poor. I remember when in an Epiphany homily, Benedict XVI was talking about the possibility the star was a supernova but the English translation was "super new" (nuova = new in Italian but context and the lack of a u should make it obvious). Or we have the whole issue with TOB where Waldstein had to go back and retranslate it all as the English translations were a disaster. I think they hire Italians rather than native English speakers who learned Italian. I'm almost fluent in Spanish but I translate significantly better Spanish to English than English to Spanish: a bunch of my translations from Spanish are published online (much of the news section of the Regnum Christi site), but I'd never consider my English to Spanish translations publishable.
"Vatican translations are not infallible. In English they are often poor." I thoroughly agree, Father. However you quoted this translation and I'm quoting you. Additionally, your article built the whole first half of its defense around this translation's supposed accuracy, as opposed to others which the article disparaged. Consequently you forfeit the right to disown this translation when it …More
"Vatican translations are not infallible. In English they are often poor."
I thoroughly agree, Father. However you quoted this translation and I'm quoting you. Additionally, your article built the whole first half of its defense around this translation's supposed accuracy, as opposed to others which the article disparaged.
Consequently you forfeit the right to disown this translation when it exposes a troubling aspect The Pope's views on a different point altogether. ;-)
Francis has not given Catholics who attend the Mass of the Ages the benefit of the doubt. He has assumed the worst in all of them and persecutes them in league with some of his bishops. At this point in history don’t be surprised if many Catholics no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.
When I was a young student (learning Hardon) we were often told that the world thinks in years and decades, but the Church thinks in centuries and millennia. Imagine, if you will, the damage Bergolio and his minions like Cupich, have done to the Church with their insistence on the vaccine. What will happen to the reputation of the Church if the vaccine program is halted, or shown to be killing and …More
When I was a young student (learning Hardon) we were often told that the world thinks in years and decades, but the Church thinks in centuries and millennia. Imagine, if you will, the damage Bergolio and his minions like Cupich, have done to the Church with their insistence on the vaccine. What will happen to the reputation of the Church if the vaccine program is halted, or shown to be killing and injuring millions of people, or that the whole program is just an excuse for the establishment of a bio-technocratic state through passports. No one will ever trust the Magisterium again.
