Father Zuhlsdorf gets to the crux of the controversy over Amoris laetitia: Christ or Chaos?

“You must do your duty and make chaos all night..." - Francis to Krakow, Poland youth.

Father John Zuhlsdorf, referring to Francis' Amoris laetitia, gets to the crux of the matter:

"If the unrepentent sinner, unshriven and without a firm purpose of amendment, can officially be admitted to Holy Communion, it’s game over for discipline in the Church.  It’s over for authoritative teaching on faith and morals.

If Christ was wrong about marriage and divorce, then He isn’t God and everything we are doing is pointless and idolatrous."

Lumen Gentium, No. 25, referring to the Pontiff's infallibility, teaches clearly that, "...this infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrine of faith and morals, extends as far as the deposit of Revelation extends, which must be religiously guarded and faithfully expounded."

Got that?  Pay attention now.  The Pope's infallibility "extends as far as the deposit of Revelation extends."  It does not surpass or supercede Revelation, a Revelation from the Lord Jesus which must be "religiously guarded and faithfully expounded."

The Pope is the Custodian of the Deposit of Faith, not its Master.

Pope Saint John Paul II, in Familiaris Consortio, No. 84, taught authoritatively that:

"The Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.

Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children’s upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they “take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples." —Familiaris Consortio, “On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World”, No. 84.

There is confusion in the Church because Francis isn't satisfied with being the Custodian of the Deposit of Faith.  He wants to be its Master.

Father Joseph Krupp on the role of Francis: Please pass the Kool-Aid

Father Joseph Krupp*, as noted here, does not always understand the pope, but he said he never questions his wisdom.

"If or when he says something that shakes what I am comfortable with, I believe it is my job to assume that I am wrong and take it to prayer," said Krupp of Manitou Beach...I believe it is his job to make me uncomfortable and get me to 'expand my tent pegs.’”

Father Krupp's comments are merely the tip of a very troubling iceberg.  There is a push to indoctrinate Catholics to accept the notion that the Pope's role is that of a cult leader: Whatever he says or does shouldn't even be questioned.  Therefore, if Francis assures us that homosexual "marriage" is compatible with God's Holy Word and Sacred Tradition, we should assume that we are wrong, take the matter to prayer, and give thanks that we have a Pontiff who is "expanding our tent pegs."

That this load of bovine scatology comes from a self-identified "traditional priest" is nothing less than amazing.  I am reminded of those public service ads exhorting teens to just say no to crack.

We have a Deposit of Faith which has been revealed by God and entrusted to a Custodian established by God Himself and endowed with infallible protection against change or error. As Dei Verbum, No. 10 of Vatican II states:

"..the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed.

It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God's most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls."

Understand?  This is the clear and unambiguous teaching of the Church. The Pope is not above the Word of God. It is his vocation to serve this Word, teaching ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN HANDED ON AND GUARDING THIS SACRED DEPOSIT FAITHFULLY.

The October Synod is almost upon us.  Last year, Francis asserted that the Church had one year to "mature." One can only shudder at what he meant by such an asinine comment.

Irregardless of what he meant, Father Krupp's position is untenable.  Hold to Tradition.  Persevere in the Faith of our Fathers.  Pray as never before.  For the Devil has entered the Church and is being assisted by ecclesiastical masonry with the goal of pulling down the Church from within.

* Traditional priest?  See here.

The truth....but only in small doses

The history of the Church testifies to the truth that men have a natural inclination to divide Christ's Deposit of Faith and to choose only what they want to believe. For those who are Catholic in more than name (a much smaller group than most realize), all questions of faith or morals are answered in a Deposit of Faith (Depositum Fidei) which has been revealed by God and entrusted to a Custodian (the Church's Magisterium) established by God Himself which has been endowed with infallible protection against any change or error.

But for the Catholic in name only, the reason for belief is private judgment rather than the infallible teaching authority established by God. The issue, ultimately, is who speaks for the Church? Who has the authority to speak in the name of Christ and to settle disputes which may arise within the Mystical Body of Christ? Vatican II, in its Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, No. 10, teaches authoritatively that: "...the task of authentically interpreting the Word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the Word of God but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit; it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed."

If one is to be faithful to Christ and His Church, one cannot assert that what the Magisterium teaches is false and that the faithful are free to reject this teaching and substitute it with their own opinions or those of theologians. But this is precisely what dissent entails. The dissident looks upon the moral teachings of the Magisterium as mere legalistic rules instead of seeing them for what they really are: beautiful truths intended to enable the People of God to live the Christ Life.

Dissent represents an act of violence directed against Christ's faithful. Pope John Paul II drove this point home in his Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor (No. 113) when he said, "Dissent, in the form of carefully orchestrated protests and polemics carried on in the media, is opposed to ecclesial communion and to a correct understanding of the hierarchical constitution of the People of God." Dissent represents an act of violence because it violates "the right of the faithful to receive Catholic doctrine in its purity and integrity.." (VS, 113).

If one is to remain faithful to Christ and His Church, one can expect to encounter opposition even within the Church. There are many who can only tolerate the truth in small doses. We may find ourselves very unpopular because we insist upon accepting everything in the Deposit of Faith and because we defend the same. We may find ourselves in a minority. Even alone. But the majority is not always right. A lynch mob is a majority. As Father Joseph Esper reminds us:

"We can also suffer unpopularity because of our honest efforts to serve God and oppose wickedness. This was the experience of the great fourth-century defender of the Faith St. Athanasius. He almost singlehandedly preserved the Church from the heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ. Because many bishops and important laypeople (including some emperors) favored Arianism, Athanasius frequently found himself under attack and was exiled for many of his forty-six years as a bishop." (Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems," p. 333).

Athanasius found himself pretty much alone. He wa greatly outnumbered. He was opposed by the "important" people. But they were wrong. And he was right. Nothing will ever change that.

Are we prepared to be saints? If so, we must be prepared to stand "alone." Of course, we are not really alone. When God is with us, who can be against us? Being popular is over-rated. The crowd chose Barabbas. Did they choose wisely?