Opposition to Francis rooted in opposition to Vatican II
At the end of January, Pope Francis delivered an important address to participants in a meeting of the National Catechetical Office of the Italian Bishops conference. It warrants attention from all the local churches because it shows, I think, why the opposition to Francis is rooted in the desire to put the Vatican II toothpaste back into a pre-conciliar tube.
Lionel : We can go back to pre-conciliar teachings especially th teachings on there being exclusive salvation in the Catholic Church.This is possible when Vatican Council II is interpreted without the common irrationality and does not contradict the past Magisterium.
Pope Francis, the Bologna School, the CDF,the National Catholic Reporter etc use the false premise which is the theological-support in Vatican Council II, for their liberalism.
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In the address, the pope presented an understanding of catechesis that is so far from the dry appeals to chapter and verse that tend to characterize a certain kind of apologetical, conservative Christianity. "Thanks to the narration of catechesis, Sacred Scripture becomes the 'environment' in which we feel part of the same salvation history, encountering the first witnesses of faith," Francis said. "Catechesis is taking others by the hand and accompanying them in this history. It inspires up a journey, in which each person finds his or her own rhythm, because Christian life does not even out or standardize, but rather enhances the uniqueness of each child of God."
Lionel: Catechesis is teaching the doctrines of the Catholic Church.It is teaching the faith including the teaching that there is no salvation outside the Church.It means teaching Vatican Council II interpreted rationally so that there is no rupture with Catechesis today and the past.
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Contrast that approach with this essay by then Archbishop, later Cardinal, Raymond Burke regarding Canon 915 and denying Communion to pro-choice politicians, posted at the EWTN online library. He writes that "the question regarding the objective state of Catholic politicians who knowingly and willingly hold opinions contrary to the natural moral law would hardly seem to change from place to place."
In Burke's world, it is easy to tell the sheep from the goats, there is no grey, no ambiguity, and no sense of the mysterious workings of grace that, sometimes, take a lifetime to come to fruition. Who needs pastors? Just distribute the catechism, which is apparently self-explanatory. Burke is not a Protestant preaching "Scripture alone," but a Catholic preaching "Catechism alone." Francis could not be more different.
The second section of the talk deals with the nature of receiving Vatican II, and it is a barnburner.
Lionel: Yes especially since the writer rejects Vatican Council II interpreted without the false premise.He unethically like the pope uses an irrationality to create a false rupture with the doctrines taught in Catechesis over the centuries.
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The Holy Father quoted his predecessor, St. Pope Paul VI, who in 1971 addressed the first International Catechetical Congress, saying: "It is a task that is constantly being reborn and constantly renewed for catechesis to understand these problems that arise from the heart of man, in order to lead them back to their hidden source: the gift of love that creates and saves." Francis adds, "Therefore, catechesis inspired by the Council is continually listening to the heart of man, always with an attentive ear, always seeking to renew itself."
Lionel:Inspired by the Council?! The Council is Feeneyite. It supports the strict interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus.This has to show up in Catechesis.
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Francis continues, and I cite this paragraph in its entirety:
This is magisterium: the Council is the magisterium of the Church. Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the Council, and if you do not follow the Council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the Church. We must be demanding and strict on this point. The Council should not be negotiated in order to have more of these... No, the Council is as it is. And this problem that we are experiencing, of selectivity with respect to the Council, has been repeated throughout history with other Councils.
Lionel: The Council is the Magisterium of the Church when the Council is intepreted without the false premise and does not contradict the past Magisterium on EENS, Athanasius Creed etc.
When the Council is interpreted with a false premise, as is the interpretation of the present two popes, it is human error and is not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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It is imperative that all of us, not only the catechists, think ecclesially, think with the church, and that means drinking deeply in the theological wells of Vatican II. There is no other path forward that keeps the church together and keeps it true to itself.
Lionel: The theological wells of Vatican Council II are linked to the pre Conciliar Church. There is no rupture.There is a hermeneutic of continuity when the Council is interpreted without confusing what is invisible as being visible, unseen as seen, subjective as objective, implicit as explicit.Presently this is a major error made by the popes, liberals and Lefebvrists.
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In the immediate post-conciliar period in the U.S. it was the Catholic left that ran amok, exercising "selectivity with respect to the Council," and often being punished by ecclesiastical authority for it.
Lionel: They interpreted the Council with the false premise and then claimed that there was 'a new revelation' in the Church, there was 'a development of doctrine' and they justified their liberalism with this false interpretation. Now they have been exposed. They are no more in a position to quote the Council without faking it.
They can only quote Vatican Council II as being a rupture with Tradition when they confuse unknown cases of LG 8, LG 16 etc as being known examples of salvation outside the Church. This is irrational.
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Now, it is conservative Catholics who not only find themselves in dissent from the teachings of the council, but who openly disparage it or reject it outright.
Lionel: They reject Vatican Council II interpreted with a false premise.With this ruse they create a false rupture with Tradition. This is unethical. Every good Catholic should reject this irrational interpretation of the Council promoted by Pope Francis and the National Catholic Reporter.Every good Catholic needs to be honest and not change doctrines with a lie.
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Last year, disgraced former nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò made it clear in an open letter that his difficulties were as much with Vatican II — he calls it at one point "the coup d'etat of Vatican II" — as with Francis. Viganò's rantings are published and celebrated on a variety of conservative media outlets from LifeSiteNews to EWTN, bypassing pastoral relationships and normal ecclesial channels of communication.
Lionel: Yes a small group of people used a false premise to interpret Vatican Council II and create a false rupture with the past Magisterium.Then they projected this deception as being Magisterial.This is not the Magisterium. The Magisterium cannot make an objective and factual error.
There is some truth in what Archbishop Carlo Vigano said.He probably reads my blog.
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This we must remember: Behind the opposition to Francis is opposition to Vatican II.
Lionel : There is opposition only to Vatican Council II interpreted with the false premise. Pope Francis' talk at the Catechetical Office(Jan 30,2021) indirectly expressed opposition to Vatican Council II, interpreted without the false premise.If he chose the rational interpretation of the Council how could he avoid being a traditionalist?
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The church in Latin America from which the pope came has been the locus of the most fertile theology since the council. The bishops there have received the council in ways we in the north have not, and it is time for us to listen and to learn. They have never stopped posing the question: What does it mean to exercise a preferential option for the poor?
Lionel : They do not interpret Vatican Council II without the false premise.The Council is not in harmony with the teaching on their being exclusive salvation in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis did not interpret Vatican Council II and other Magisterial documents rationally, as Cardinal Bergoglio in Argentina.
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In the third and final section of his talk, the pope highlights the need for community. It is a beautiful reflection, and I encourage you to read it.
Lionel: There has to be community also with traditionalists and conservative Catholics.There has to be community with Catholics who are honest in their interpretation of Vatican Council II and express it in their catechesis.
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All three sections really point the way forward for Catholics: We need to continue the process of receiving Vatican II and find genuine renewal and reform in dialogical, synodal, faithful reflection upon those texts.
Lionel: We cannot continue to interpret Vatican Council II with a false premise, as this writer does even after being informed.We must not create a rupture with pre conciliar times, by using a false premise, and then call the objective error Magisterial.
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In church history class, they taught us that it takes about 100 years to receive a council, so we are only about halfway there. We have had some detours already. It is time to get back to work appropriating those magnificent texts and making them our own.
Lionel: Yes.
1.Ad Gentes 7 says all need faith and baptism for salvation. LG 8, LG 14, LG 16 etc are not practical exceptions to Ad Gentes 7.So Vatican Council II is in harmony with EENS, the Athanasius Creed, the Syllabus of Errors of Pope Pius IX, the Catechism of Pope Pius X etc.
2.LG 8, LG 14, LG 16, UR 3, NA 2, GS 22 etc in Vatican Council II are always hypothetical.They always refer to heoretical cases. So they do not contradict 16th century extra ecclesiam nulla salus.This can be reflected in Catechesis which must proclaim exclusive salvation in the Catholic Church.
This is the Council. It is in harmony with the pre Conciliar Church, There is no rupture . This must be reflected in Catechesis. Lionel Andrades
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