Amoris Laetitia: One Year later

Thanks for this piece, Fr. Gerald!


The Rev. Gerald E. Murray, J.C.D. is pastor of Holy Family Church, New York, NY, and a canon lawyer.

History repeats itself.

General Secretary Gorbachev announced policies of "perestroika" and "glasnost" without ever defining / articulating what those words were supposed to mean.  This created a situation of unrealized aspirations as the subject peoples in the Warsaw Pact tried to internalize them while their governments tried to hold the line.

The meeting with the DDR Politburo and Gorbachev is particularly illuminating.  After unseating Honecker, Gorbachev refused to discuss with the new DDR General Secretary (Milch) what 'perestroika' and 'glasnost' meant as Soviet state policies, leaving Milch to figure it out on his own while the Leipzig demonstrations grew to the point where the state security forces could no longer control them.

Result?  The collapse of the communist governments in the Warsaw Pact and ultimately the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Pope is following the same course.  He mouths undefined platitudes  that have popular appeal among 'progressives' that are, fundamentally, at odds with Roman Catholic doctrine and leaves parish priests, bishops and cardinals to figure it out.

Things don't stop being sins because they are popular.  

Pride??  What does the Pope loose by answering the Dubia? The questions are fair.



For someone who despises western culture so much this pope sure has created a conundrum that just bows to western culture!

I think of the good and faithful men and women who have gone to great lengths to get annulments and are humble obedient stewards of faith. They do right by their spouses and the church. Its an extra
step in "practice" of the faith done out of love. It really demeans this effort.

Are we bending to the what the world wants or what God wants? I guess that is up for interpretation.