Sunday, January 27, 2019

Francis gets it wrong...The Church is without sin


The Herald Bulletin is reporting that Francis, speaking to youth about priests who have sexually abused minors, said that: "The weariness of hope comes from seeing a church wounded by her own sin..."

Francis is wrong.

In these times of scandal it is critical to remember that the Church remains spotless even when Her members sin. There is absolutely no doubt that the human history of the Church, like all of human history, has its dark pages. But if anyone cares to take an objective look at this history, one must quickly acknowledge that the doctrine of the Church has always implicitly condemned abuses introduced by Her members.

In the words of Dr. Dietrich Von Hildebrand, "There were sinners in the Church yesterday and there are sinners in the Church today. But the Church Herself, in her divine teaching, emerges gloriously unspotted in a history stained by human weaknesses, errors, imperfections, and sins."

In the words of the great Cardinal Journet:

"All contradictions are eliminated as soon as we understand that the members of the Church do indeed sin, but they do so by their betraying the Church. The Church is thus not without sinners, but She is without sin. The Church as person is responsible for penance. She is not responsible for sins....The members of the Church themselves - laity, clerics, priests, Bishops, and Popes - who disobey the Church are responsible for their sins, but the Church as person is not responsible...It is forgotten that the Church as person is the Bride of Christ, 'Whom He has purchased with His own blood.'" (Acts 20:28).

3 comments:

Cyn M said...

You are so right, Paul. Because the Church is Christ's spotless bride, she is therefore already perfect. Unfortunately, the clergy, and members of the Church, are prone to succumb to their fallen nature. Thank God Jesus gave us the examples of the saints to inspire us to strive for holiness, and the beautiful sacrament of confession.In His great love for humanity He did not leave us orphans.

Paul Anthony Melanson said...

Thank you Cyn for your insightful comment. Francis has already lowered expectations for next month's Synod on the homosexual abuse crisis. Unfortunately, his lack of theological understanding and his lack of resolve to address the root of the crisis do not bode well for this dog and pony show.

Anonymous said...


By the time Francis leaves this mortal coil, you could write a library of his errors.

Site Meter