Friday 25 November 2016

Dubious

In a recent Twitter exchange regarding Stephen Bullivant's article [1] on the dubia of Cardinals Caffarra, Burke, Brandmüller and Meisner, Austen Iveriegh suggested the document which was written in order to clear up "grave disorientation and great confusion" was "dissent / theological protest masquerading as a dubium." [2] Indeed, as Amoris Laetitia is, according to Mr Ivereigh "the mind of the Church discerned in 2 synods and expressed in magisterial document" [3], the Cardinals have had their answer, "They just don’t like it." [2]

I cannot accept Mr Ivereigh's contention that the matter is closed because it appears to me that he, and like minded bishops, clergy and commentators are suggesting that it is possible that some divorced and re-married Catholics should and will be allowed to receive communion. If this is true, then it flies in the face of everything I understand regarding the Bible, Sacred Tradition, the deposit of Faith, the authority of the Church, the power of Grace and the nature of the Sacraments. If I am to accept such a teaching, I will need far more persuasion than is being proffered by footnotes, off the cuff remarks and the current murky state of affairs. Answering the dubia, if only out of courtesy, would be a start.

[1] http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2016/11/24/submitting-dubia-is-a-standard-part-of-church-life-its-not-unreasonable-to-expect-a-clear-answer
[2] https://twitter.com/austeni/status/802131388153663488
[3] https://twitter.com/austeni/status/802191636449071105