Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Diabolical disorientation: World Youth Day catechism suggests endorsement of "contraceptive methods"

On June 7, 1980, Pope John Paul II addressed a group of Indonesian Bishops. The Holy Father stressed that, "In the question of the Church's teaching on the regulation of birth we are called to profess in union with the whole Church the exigent but uplifting teaching recorded in the Encyclical Humanae vitae, which my Predecessor Paul VI put forth 'by virtue of the mandate entrusted to us by Christ' (AAS 60, 1968, p.485). Particularly in this regard we must be conscious of the fact that God's wisdom supercedes human calculation and His grace is powerful in people's lives." "Contraception is to be judged objectively so illicit," said the Pope, "that it can never, for any reason be justified."

And in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, on the role of the family in the modern world, Pope John Paul II said that, "When couples, by means of recourse to contraception, separate these two meanings that God the Creator has inscribed in the being of man and woman and in the dynamism of their sexual communion, they act as 'arbiters' of the Divine plan and they 'manipulate' and degrade human sexuality - and with it themselves and their married partner - by altering its value of 'total' self-giving. Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal totality" (n.32).

On May 30, 1983, Pope John Paul II addressed the participants in the first Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Among other things he discussed the need for pastoral action to be faithful to Humanae vitae and Familiaris consortio: "It is absolutely necessary that the pastoral action of Christian communities be totally faithful to the teachings of the Encyclical Humanae vitae and the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio. It would be a grave error to set up pastoral requirements in opposition to doctrinal teaching, since the very first service that the Church must perform for people is to tell them the truth of which she is neither the author nor the master." (Osservatore Romano, June 6, 1983).

Bearing all of this in mind, why would a World Youth Day catechism suggest that "contraceptive methods" are acceptable?  Sister Lucia (of the Fatima apparitions) provides us with an answer, "the Virgin knew that these times of diabolical disorientation were to come..Let people say the Rosary every day. Our Lady stated that repeatedly in all her apparitions, as if to fortify us against these times of diabolical disorientation, so that we would not allow ourselves to be deceived by false doctrines...Unfortunately, the great majority of people are ignorant in religious matters and allow themselves to be led in any direction. Hence, the great responsibility of one who has the task of leading them....A diabolical disorientation is invading the world, deceiving souls! It must be resisted." When questioned on the content of the Third Secret of Fatima, Sister Lucia replied, "It's in the Gospel and in the Apocalypse, read them." She also confided to Father Fuentes that the Mother of God made her understand that "we are in the last times of the world."

In many parts of the world, this diabolical disorientation has so darkened minds that they are no longer capable of hearing the truth.  For such confused souls, the mind of Christ - as made known through His Church's Magisterium - is just too much to bear.  Do I exaggerate?  On May 17, 2003, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, delivered an address at Georgetown University in which he said that:

"In many parts of the world, the family is under siege.  It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.  It is scorned and banalized by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."

A certain segment of the audience was so upset with the reference to homosexuality that they walked out.  A professor of theology stomped off the stage in anger.  Later on, a letter protesting the Cardinal's remarks (which reflected the Church's authoritative teaching in these areas) was signed by nearly 70 faculty members.

There is diabolical disorientation.  The demon is influencing many minds.  The battle is primarily in the mind.  The Father of Lies knows that lust destroys peace of mind and causes spiritual blindness.  In his treatise on morals, Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, referring to impurity, says that through this vice, "more souls plunge into Hell, and I do not hesitate to say that all reprobates are condemned because of it, or at least not without it."

What then is the goal of the World Youth Day catechism? 

8 comments:

Jonathan said...

"Contraception is to be judged objectively so illicit that it can never, for any reason be justified." These words of John Paul II should be crystal clear. But there are masonic forces attempting to sow confusion among the faithful. Remember the words of Pope Benedict XVI regarding contraception which were taken out of context recently?

Martin said...

Apparently, the English version is not affected by this error. The Italian version features the error, and it was based on the original German.

Michelle said...

I think it's something more sinister. Honestly? Translation problem? That seems like a lame excuse.

Martin said...

I'd say it is no accident, no accidental blunder. Some enemy has done this. Thank God the English version, overseen by Ignatius Press, did not have this error. But, it would appear, the Italian, and logically, the German version on which it is based, do.

Paul Anthony Melanson said...

There's an old Lain maxim: omnis traductor traditor - every translator is a traitor. But there is definitely something else at work here. The Devil, as they say, is often in the details.

Ellen Wironken said...

Youth catechism's Italian edition suspended after translation error


The English language "Youcat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church" is published by Ignatius Press of San Francisco. (CNS/Ignatius Press)


By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Distribution of an Italian edition of a new youth catechism was temporarily suspended because of a translation error concerning the church's teaching on contraception.

Thousands of copies of the Italian translation of "YouCat," a recently released supplement to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, erroneously left the impression that Catholic couples could use "contraceptive methods."

As a result, "the product is temporarily suspended, but not halted," so that the Italian publisher can "examine the text," Elena Cardinali, a spokeswoman for the Citta Nuova editorial group, told Catholic News Service April 12. Citta Nuova, the publishing arm of the Focolare lay movement, handled the Italian edition of the catechism.

The youth catechism was originally written in German and the work was supervised by Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna. The Italian edition was translated by Pietro Podolak and translation revisions were overseen by Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice, according to the credit pages in the book.

The 300-page book uses a question-and-answer format to talk about what the church teaches.

Question 420 of the Italian edition and its brief reply incorrectly suggest that a married couple can use contraceptive methods.

The question in the Italian version reads: "Can a Christian couple turn to contraceptive methods?" The answer reads: "Yes, a Christian couple can and must be responsible about their capacity of being able to give life."

The answer in Italian goes on to explain -- in line with church teaching -- that the church does not accept artificial means of contraception, but does allow regulation of fertility through natural methods.

The error was not found in the original German text of "YouCat," nor in the U.S. English edition, which was published by Ignatius Press...

jac said...

Many years ago I addressed this question in confession.
The priest replied me that contraception had to be appreciated according to the own consciences of the spouses, not that it was strictly forbidden by the Church.

Anonymous said...

Dear jac
Your priest told you a lie. If you believed it, and acted upon it, that may not be your fault; but suppose you had confessed some other thing you knew the Church taught to be a sin (Adultery, for example) and your priest said the same. Do you think you should believe him, or the Church. Part of the diabolical confusion is precisely that there were many Catholics - an I suspect some priests, who never seriously studied the reasons the pope gave for refusing permission for contraception, and simply followed an emotional idea, which, if it is examined goes like this: I want to have sex all of the time without regard to any prudential question or the dignity of my spouse's body, so I should be allowed to do this without the inconvenience of any real consequence to my action.
Try reading Contraception and Chastity by G.E.M. Anscombe (Google it!)
TG

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