Did Paul VI ACTUALLY approve contraceptive use?

Thanks to Fr. Z for doing this legwork.  Click here to read his article.  Spoiler alert - the answer is no, he did not

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2016/02/its-not-an-urban-legend-its-a-lie-paul-vi-did-not-give-permission-to-nuns-to-use-contraceptives/

A Simple Fix to the Annulment Issue

I'm not a canon lawyer, so I just want to throw this out and see if I'm missing something




I recently had someone come to me who is totally on fire for the Catholic Faith, wants to join the Church, is devouring Catholic videos and homilies and cd's etc.

And she's been married four times.  None of those marriages was in the Church.  I recently got word that it looks like three different annulment cases.


You know what would fix all this?  If we, as a Church, said "If you aren't married in a Catholic Church, it wasn't a marriage in the first place."


That might upset the ecumenical movement a little bit, but we already talk about some of their other 'sacraments' being invalid, and, in all honesty, most protestant aren't going to care one bit if the Catholic Church says that the Catholic Church doesn't recognize their marriages as valid.



If we said the only time you need an annulment is if you were actually married in the Catholic Church, that would free up about (I'm guessing) 75% of our marriage cases.


And let's think about it - what protestant denomination does marriage preparation like we do?  If two people get married at a Baptist Church, do we really think they were taught and had, going into the marriage, the Catholic Church's understanding of what they were doing when they made their vows?



If you were married in the Catholic Church, you need an annulment.
If you weren't married in the Catholic Church, but now want to join, welcome to the Catholic Church!

Synod Transparency

My one issue with way the Synod on the Family is going down is transparency

Whatever happened to this idea?

I'm all for the theological experimentation and I recognize that a Synod is a good time to look at controversial issues, be open to the Spirit, etc.   I also recognize that you want to keep the vast majority of the Church safe from confusion

But locking the doors and keeping the Synod under wraps does NOT PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF GOD, it EXACERBATES the confusion!


What happened to St. John XXIII's request to "Throw open the windows of the Church...so the people can see in."???



Yeah, ideally, all the cardinals and archbishops could go hide somewhere, have theological discussions, even yell and scream at each other, and then come back with a nice and neat Synod wrap-up press conference...but nothing is ever ideal on this side of Heaven.


So we're left with a couple of alternatives
1) close the doors, and let the media spin the Synod into whatever they want it to be

2) throw open the doors, and let people listen in on every word of the Synod and draw their own conclusions.



"BUT...the People of God will be confused/scandalized/not able to handle the messiness of these things if we open the doors and let people listen in on everything" some might say.


NEWSFLASH - this confusion/scandal/messiness is being conveyed despite the doors being closed.  Not only that, the people that want to explain the messiness/scandal/confusion CAN'T because we don't have anything definitive to point to and say "Be calm.  Take heart.  This is what is ACTUALLY happening."



These meetings used to happen behind closed doors.  That's impossible now.  Open doors then beat the disastrous alternative that is currently being employed.



If you want to know how to fight against confusion and let the truth speak for itself, we need look no further than what Bishop Coyne and his staff at the USCCB communications department did with the Pope Francis visit.  Read Bishop Coyne's blog post (Click HERE to read it) about how they covered the visit, engaged people, got the word out, etc.  It was a SMASHING SUCCESS.

The team from the USCCB working around the clock to get every word  of the
Holy Father's visit out to the world.  The Vatican should be doing this too.  If we
don't let the Truth tell the story of the Synod, the media will tell our story for us

There should be a TEAM of people at the Vatican broadcasting this Synod, getting every speech out there in text, video, etc.  LET IT ALL OUT, OPEN WIDE THE WINDOWS!




Implied in fearing to get the word out is the idea that the laity can't handle the messiness of what actually happens.  I think that is selling our lay people WAY short.  Our people understand that the process by which these things get pulled together is messy at times.  They can handle it.

"Open wide the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in."

Or are we only going to do this SOME of the time?

Criticizing the Pope

There is a VAST difference between the following two statements

1) I WISH Pope Francis would say __________________________________

and

2) Pope Francis SHOULD BE saying ________________________________



The Church says that ONE MAN is in position to be guided by the Holy Spirit on what to say, when to say it, and on what not to say and when not to say it.  That is the Pope.

If you've decided that the Pope should be saying something that he's not, that is a VERY DANGEROUS manifestation of spiritual pride, and, to put it simply, you should check yourself, particularly if you are a Catholic.


A person who is saying #2 above has NO IDEA what the Holy Spirit is putting on Pope Francis' heart.  We may get to Heaven one day and there see that the Holy Spirit was putting something on Pope Francis' heart, and Pope Francis ignored it (and that will likely be something we'll all see happened to all of us at some point) but to say you KNOW that the Holy Spirit IS putting something on Pope Francis' heart, and that you KNOW he's not responding properly is simultaneously arrogant and ignorant and is to claim powers of insight that no human person actually has.

We know, as Catholics, that there are certain things that the Holy Father will never come out and say, but beyond that, in terms of what the Holy Spirit is telling the Holy Father to address, we can only ever guess.  Until we're made Pope.

Homily text and video: "Is Pope Francis Communist?"

The text I preached off of is a bit "outliney"

Pope Francis’s visit has been AWESOME!!!

If you’ve listened to all that he has had to say and nothing has given you something to work on, you haven’t been paying attention!

Pope Francis has noted many great things that Americans are doing and have been traditionally known for

He sees in our country a Church that, unlike the rest of the first world, actually still has a pulse

One of the things that he has challenged us ALL on is VERY relevant to the second reading today: “you have withheld the wages of your laborers and have lived a life of luxury”

Some have heard the Pope speak this week and have torn their garments in frustration – “This guy is such a Communist.  Why doesn’t he like capitalism?  Doesn’t he know that the way people get out of poverty is by companies providing jobs for people?

Point 1: what the Holy Father has said is the EXACT same thing that the Church has been saying, that Pope John Paul II was saying, that Pope Benedict was saying, etc. – capitalism has to be practiced with reference to the Truth – it doesn’t just work on its own without being informed by virtue.

Point 2: Communism didn’t take, including in South American countries, for no reason.  The industrial revolution began a new phase of human society, and industrialization has, from its beginnings, been a temptation to treat people like machines.  The Church has always warned and been very emphatic that this is a HORRIBLE INJUSTICE.  In fact, Catholic Social Teaching came out of the Church’s attempt to guide industrialization to be more just

Point 3: The Church has ALWAYS taught that Communism is intrinsically evil and always wrong.  It takes atheism as a starting point, so why would the Church ever advocate for it?  The Church, as almost everyone will tell you, brought down Communism in the late 80’s and early 90’s, although it will never be completely knocked out until the end of time

Point 4: There are not 3 options – Communism, Free market capitalism with no intervention, and a socialism that is a 50/50 split. 

Point 5: No system will save us.  Some systems are better than others, and what our economic system is and how it is structured matters a great deal, but we can’t pretend that once we get the laws right, the system will provide us with a utopia.  A system incorporates people, and so it also calls for ongoing vigilance – are we, at all levels, in my house, in my community, in my state, in my country – are things as just as they can be?  Am I behaving as justly as God is calling me to be?

So, let’s look at the reading from James. 

There are two types of sin according to Church teaching – mortal and venial.  Mortal sins are deadly and it is when a person actively and knowingly commits a grave sin that severs the person from God.  God does not stop loving them, but the person chooses to turn from God.

There are also venial sins, which are not deadly, but are still damaging to us

Within the set of mortal sins, however, there are 4 sins that CRY OUT TO HEAVEN FOR VENGEANCE – and one of them is what James mentions today – “withholding wages from laborers”

In a positive since the Church at Vatican II – “paying a person for their work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level.” And

“Every person has the right to possess a sufficient amount of the earth’s goods for himself and his family.  We are bound to come to the aid of the poor and to do so not merely out of their superfluous goods.”

OBJECTION: This is redistribution of wealth – FALSE.  The Church says that welfare should always be a temporary thing for emergencies.

OBJECTION: Putting down business owners.  NOT AT ALL – the creation of jobs in the private sector is what makes America great – the work of so many business owners is celebrated and is obviously a good thing

Take off your Republican hat for a minute.  Take off your Democrat hat for a minute.  The Church’s message on this, Jesus’ message on this, James’ message on this challenges ALL OF US.  I should ask: “HOW DOES THIS TEACHING CHALLENGE ME?

If we’re still listening to James, the Church, Jesus, the Scriptures, the Popes, the 2^nd Vatican Council, etc. what are we to do?

1)    I can’t go out and pay the migrant more…so I should do what Pope Francis said last night “Start with myself”

2)    Am I striving for simplicity?

a.     “If you make a man happier, it doesn’t matter if you also make him poorer”

b.   If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.  If materialism or consumerism is consuming you...CUT IT OFF.  Get rid of it!

3)    QUESTION: Can we do more locally?

a.     Is the lowest price always the best decision?

                                                                         i.      Not everyone can ask that question, but we can and we should

b.     Just because the sticker price of something is lower, does that mean it is right?

c.      Who makes me clothes, my shoes, my coffee, who harvests the food I eat?  If I buy something online or at a store, where does that money go? – be informed and realize that buying has consequences

4)    After starting with me I need to move to systemic questions, questions about the larger systems I’m a part of. 

a.     is greed the right thing to base our economy on?

b.     “The way you can fix the economy is by buying more things?”

c.      Does our economy reference the Truth? 

d.     What is it built on?  If it is built on the wrong principles, it will fall

“Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.”  May we work continuously to see that our economy is as just as it possibly can be, and that all are able to receive that which justice demands – a job to sustain their family and provide for themselves and their families food, shelter, clothing and the basic necessities of life.  May this continual spirit of improvement, done out of love for our neighbor, start with me.

VIDEO: Why do we have a Pope?

What a perfect Gospel Reading for Today!

Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”  And he kept trying to see him.

John: "Your sin will land you in Hell.  Repent!"
Herod: "Boo Hoo, we were friends, but my loins need freedom.  Off with your head!"

Like the growing majority of people in our country, Herod just couldn't be expected to control his desires - the heart wants what the heart wants!

So he killed his friend John the Baptist to satiate a lover.

AND YET, in today's Gospel, Herod, even after slaying John, is still desiring to see Jesus.  There is a fascination with Christ that somehow calls to Herod.

It seems this gives us two launching points for Pope Francis visit - and both are equally true

1) the pessimistic but true launching point is that much of the excitement around Pope Francis is ephemeral, fleeting, and surface level.

Most of the papal visit selfies and so forth will be buried in people's Instagram and Twitter feeds in a matter of hours, the excitement wearing off before the fences and barricades can even be cleaned up.

"BUT FATHER...THAT'S SO PESSIMISTIC!"

We can base this off of the fact that this was the same way that most people treated JESUS CHRIST!  The crowds were often whipped into a frenzy about Jesus.  They wanted to see him.  They'd heard about him.  He could potentially heal people.  The crowds pushed in on him.  etc.  And what did we see, over and over again - they wanted a sickness cured, they wanted bread, and Jesus kept reminding them to follow him for better reasons.

This isn't to rain on the Pope Francis excitement, but it is important to be realistic...not for the sake of being realistic but for the sake of recognizing that we have a duty to help people go beyond the surface, to take this positive energy and keep the flame burning in the hearts of people.

2) The optimistic and simultaneously true launching point: There is a continuing fascination with the Church, the Pope, Jesus, etc.  

No one gets this excited when the Archbishop of Canterbury visits.  And lest we forget, the country was in a frenzy when Pope Benedict visited 7 years ago as well.  

Something about the Church's message resonates with people and when they see it and hear the message they KNOW it is true.

We need to acknowledge this so that we can also recognize the role we have in helping people UNDERSTAND WHY THE CHURCH FASCINATES THEM!  

I'm jacked for the Pope's visit, but...

Get this meme ready to use, and use, and use again with your Catholic friends who "go to Church every now and then" and the people who get their diet of all things Catholic from Yahoo News

Everything you need to know about Communism...

Can be summed up in the gifts their leaders give

Pope Francis: "Wow, this is offensive AND ugly AND useless
all at the same time!"

Fidel: "It's a book about me.  It is FASCINATING!"
Pope Benedict: "WOW...I can't wait to read it on the flight home."

Fidel: "I'm sure Pope Benedict told you about the book I wrote about myself,
but here's a copy for you...for FREE!"

“It is one thing to impoverish oneself; it is quite another responsibility to impoverish a whole cultural system of its culture."

GK Chesterton

The Well and the Shallows