UPDATE: I first published this on October 17 2015. On rereading it, I feel that (even in a period in which ecclesiastical politics have moved entertainingly fast) it has aged really quite remarkably well, although I say so myself as shouldn't. The last, italicised, paragraph at the foot seems to me even more relevant after Amoris laetitia (especially paragraphs 301 and 302) than when I wrote it before AL.
I have been very impressed by the views of some American called Cupich. He shares, enthusiastically, the attitude of our beloved Holy Father on the marginalised, the rejected, the despised. He lists "the elderly, divorced and remarried, gay and lesbian individuals and couples. I think that we really need to get to to know what their life is like if we're to accompany them ". I have to say that I think he has a point which it is very hard to argue against. (Mind you, I think I know quite a lot of 'elderly' people who would turn nasty at being bracketed with rest of those in the list, but that just goes to show much further we have to go before the Bergoglio Revolution has finally arrived at its triumphant conclusion and what a grumpy lot we elderly are.)
Cupich adds ... goodness, what a sensitive pastor he is ... "If people come to a decision in good faith then our job is to help them move forward and to respect that. The conscience is inviolable and we have to respect that when they make decisions, and I have always done that". (I think he has in mind the reception of communion by these marginalised groups.)
There is one group which he has not mentioned, but which ... he is such a very sensitive pastor ... I am quite sure Cupich must also have in mind. Paedophiles. And, especially, paedophile priests. This latter sub-group must be the unhappiest of the lot. In addition to the calumnies that all paedophiles undergo, there is the additional ignominy heaped upon them. Even as gentle an individual as Papa Ratzinger referred to them as "filth" ... goodness, what a hard and rigid and uninclusive and rule-bound and unforgiving person he was. Thank goodness we now have a Pope whose policy is Mercy. Although, come to think of it, I don't recall that paedophiles have ever occurred on Pope Francis' lists of those deserving of Mercy, although of course he has sometimes done what he can by favouring and promoting those who protected paedophile clergy. But, come to think even more of it, I'm not sure how often I've noticed him including paedophile priests among those he is specially determined to embrace publicly in front of the world's cameras. [UPDATE: On 2 January 2017 Pope Francis spoke again about the importance of zero-tolerance with regard to paedophile priests, but without offering any guidance about the means of exercising Mercy towards those who are zerolly tolerated.] And ... a liturgical question ... does he wash their feet on Maundy Thursday? And if not, why not? [UPDATE: He wouldn't have needed to change the rubrics to do that.] But I'm sure he must have them in mind. That is probably why he is sending out these Missionaries of Mercy to absolve everybody and everything without question. Thankfully, these very up-market Absolution-machines will not make unmerciful and rigid remarks like "I think you ought to hand yourself in to the police and make a full confession to them before I can absolve you" ... the sort of thing that hard-faced and rule-bound clergy might have considered saying before the onset of the Pontificate of Mercy. [Update: Irony here!]
Back, finally, to the exemplary Cupich. I am sure that it must be paedophiles that he particularly has in mind when he says "I think we have to make sure that we don't pigeonhole one group as though they are not part of the human family, as though there's a different set of rules for them. That would be a big mistake".
Wotta Pastor!! I'm impressed to think of all the time Cupich must spend going around and 'getting to know' paedophiles and 'what their life is like', so that he can 'accompany them' as, buoyed up by their 'inviolable consciences', they 'move forward'.
Cupich for Cardinal, that's what I say. Would anybody like to estimate how long it will be? [UPDATE: it didn't take very long, did it? Bergoglio, poor old thing, is so naively transparent, isn't he?]
My point was that there is a tendency among some members of the Church to view with ostentatious sympathy certain groups (remarried divocees; 'monogamous and caring' homosexuals), while leaving paedophiles as the one group to whom no mercy need be shown. For everybody, there are extenuating circumstances; there is the Gospel teaching that nobody is beyond the scope of God's mercy. Except for ... er ... [UPDATE: Damian Thompson has recently written about this subject in the Spectator, in his usual measured and, er, restrained way.]
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41 comments:
Good observations since said priests would be in prison and they can get their feet washed too!!
I would say months for Cupich.
Cupich for Pope!!
He would be a natural continuation of the Bergoglio Mercy Papacy.
But, I have no doubt in my mind that the next Pope (if there will be any, if Jesus doesn't come back soon) will be an open homosexual.
You think it's impossible?
Think again.
I've nothing but compassion for Archbishop Cupich. The poor fellow's skull seems to have migrated to the south end of his spine.
how did Cupich get into such an important role. He is a danger to souls.
As Father Ray Blake asked, "Who approved this man for First Holy Communion."
I happen to belong to probably the most prominent Neo-Catholic parish in Chicago. Last Sunday, not content with the prayers for the Pope and the Bishop with are part of all the Eucharistic Prayers, we the faithful, offered our special prayer for ArchB Cupich at the Synod, that he would enjoy "excellent health" the better to minister to us his flock for many years to come. I kid you not. And it's not as if his views--and ambitions--were not already well known. It was a display of sycophancy matched only by, well, Cupich's own recorded displays. This is where Neo-Catholicism seems to lead.
The really scary part of all of this is the fact that NOTHING will be done about it. Cupich, as he stated in the interview, was 'personally chosen by the Pope'. Now, whether or not the Pope had vetted this man, or had known of him prior, is another question. But from what I have read, Cardinal Wuerl had a good deal to do with the 'choosing'. And I think we are all aware of the good Cardinal's 'theology on one's knees.' With all this in mind, even the Pope taking the advice or maybe 'urging' of Cardinal Wuerl stands in question.
Re Pope Francis never having included paedophiles on his list of those deserving Mercy (capitalization now required?), well, there is the matter of Cardinal Daneels and his invitation to the Synod. Daneels may not be a paedophile himself, but there is the matter of his enabling, shielding, protecting, of paedophiles--in the episcopacy no less.
This reference to the last periphery is particularly timely, as the movement to legitimate "pedophiles," once confined to the, ah, peripheries, is beginning to go mainstream. I don't want to draw undue attention to this development, but a recent article in a mainstream liberal American E-zine did within the last month garner widespread publicity in the UK as well.
Dear Father, if you think you're impressed, consider Cupich's friends, who I'm sure know what it is to be permanently impressed.
Apparently Archbp. Cupich regards "the elderly" as intrinsically disordered or living in sin as he brackets them with such groups. Speaking as one who reluctantly conceded that he might now be classed as elderly, I do indeed object! In charity I have to assume that the Archbp. is simply one very confused prelate, but I'd still like to bang his head against something hard. Like reality.
I note that the other groups he cites are all those whom secular society would not consider to be disordered or in sin at all, which is probably why he omits the paedophiles. Even the late Lord Longford, who was great at forgiving sins committed against other people, would have had trouble with that, I think.
I am reminded of a wondrous quote attributed to Ken Clarke, the Conservative politician. Addressing the Conservative Party conference one year, he was exhorting them to become more inclusive: "We must reach out to women - and the Welsh!"
Those who are all ablaze for cupid sometimes get smoke in their eyes.
There is currently a vacancy in the College of Cardinals (two if you don't count the current Scottish member).
Thanks for the laugh, Father. Things have gotten so unbelievably absurd that I just have to laugh. Gotta keep my blood pressure down.
Signed,
A Sad Chicago Catholic
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Mt 7:13)
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. (Mk 9:42)
"The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops." - St. Athanasius, Council of Nicaea, AD 325 attributed.
I second that - Cupich for pope!
Of course, our current humble pope couldn't possibly take all the credit and all the glory for his very avant-garde and almost unbearably merciful (especially to the little children, those raised by the internally disordered and those "loved" by them) support for all marginalized groups, and single-handedly include the paedophiles.
He will let the entire Church take the credit, when the time is ripe, when seeds sawn so lovingly have brought plentiful fruit.
If it doesn't happen at the next consistory I'll be well and truly surprised...
Nothing will happen to stop the rot until some big boys call out Pope Francis to his face. Otherwise the end is nigh. Period.
He cheered the party line and toted water for the boss, so, any day now.
The natural conclusion, for now anyway, is greater acceptance for the men who bugger male adolescents and young men. It is already being promoted, this acceptance, at places like the prestigious Johns Hopkins Medical Center, where a conference was held in the last year or so where professional people, so-called, actual degree holding professional people, stood up in front of a crowded room and stated that "minor attracted people" should not be stigmatized! That the negative terminology created an "unfair" situation for them. And the roomful of professional doctors and other sorts clapped.
No one holds homosexual predator priests accountable, not really. It's really a challenge for liberals because how can they condemn what they also cheer? Anyway we should not call it pedophilia since it is not that. It is homosexual predatory behavior by priests.
And if the church cared more about the wellbeing of boys and young men than they do about going to the "peripheries", they would do the right thing and denounce this behavior rather than find "positive aspects" of it, and they would prevent these men from gaining entrance into seminary or from being elevated in the church.
Pope Francis is having a hard time trying to determine who will be the 120ยบ cardinal at the next conclave. He will have to decide between Cupich, Bonny, Durocher, Forte, Fernandez, Spadaro and Oprah.
As do others above, I thank you for allowing me and my wife to laugh a moment in these very trying times; it was a relief after the agony of so many sleepless nights. I understand why you added the admonition in italics at the end, but what a sorry commentary on the intellectual state of our society! (Of course, the generalized ignorance and dullness do help explain the embarrassing adulation we saw lavished on Pope Francis during his visit here in the States. So much applause and cheering for such jejune speeches!)
The future will be as Cardinal Ratzinger once said, a small but faithful Church who will bring the light of Christ to a world in darkness. Now we can see how this will come about over the next 200 or so years. Also, it is evident that the visions of Our Lady of Akita are becoming realized.
1. Pope Francis will devolve discipline authority to dioceses. Eventually the CDF and CDW will be closed and Rome will only address those areas where their is some dispute (although in reality, Rome may say nothing).
2. The power of the Papacy will be diminished, and will be seen overtime as a figurehead, like the Archbishop of Canterbury, unless the next conclave votes for a Cardinal Sarah or someone of that caliber (although I wonder if the Pope may stack the Cardinals or even move away from that altogether). One day a stronger Pope will emerge.
3. Numerous dioceses will comply with the times, with what the world desires, and they will use conscience as their excuse. We will see blessings of gay couples (although maybe not marriage), communion for anyone, including non Catholics or those in a state of objective mortal sin.
4. Some dioceses will even falsely ordain women to the Priesthood as an issue of conscience but only after they cave on the diaconate. Rome will say nothing or very little because, as I stated earlier, that authority will be diminished.
5. Like the Anglicans, Catholics will on a greater scale stop attending Church, especially in liberal dioceses who wedded the world. Seminarians will leave on mass, the true Priests will either stay in their respective dioceses and undergo hardship or try and transfer to a more conservative area. People will stop giving money to parishes (which is something I would do if my local Diocese embraced the heresies of modernity). People will be still attracted to those areas and Parishes that preach the authentic Gospel, which includes mercy and justice.
6. Churches will close and dioceses will enter bankruptcy. Liberals will cry we need more liberalism, cant you see that’s why the Churches are closing. So the Churches in those areas will further embrace liberalism, but the decline will increase.
7. The Church will have no authority or voice in the public arena. There will be very few espousing the truths of the faith.
8. The Catholic faithful must always stand with Apostolic Tradition and with Peter but will not contribute or participate in Church life to the degree they have. Many will feel lost and leave the bark of Peter. Those that remain will teach their children and grandchildren the truth of the faith against a world of secularism and a Church that has leaders who preach heresy. These people will be the ones who become that beacon that Cardinal Ratzinger once spoke off.
9. Eventually, a new Pope will emerge who stands in full unity with Tradition, and from the bottom up, the heresies will be defeated, and a new Council will address the heresies rampant within the Church or Christ will come again in glory.
The mention of the elderly alongside gays puzzled me at first ... until a suspicion occurred which grew into a conviction that it was a coded reference to euthanasia.
Cupich. The same man who locked the Catholics of his former diocese out of their own church so they could not celebrate the Triduum and had to do so on the sidewalk in the cold. Matthew 7:5.
Perhaps such courageous Mercy is what dear Cardinal George had in mind when prophesying how his successor would die?
I think that paedophile priests who have repented and confessed their sins, been absolved and perhaps have spent some time in gaol should be among the group of people named by Abp Cupich. I mean this comment quite sincerely.
For those of us who already had a fair idea of what His Excellency was like, the announcement of his appointment to Chicago last year was something of a bombshell. At a hale and hearty 65, he was that rare exception to the assumption that the *really* liberal warhorses on the bench are now pretty much all in octogenarian or older territory, or gone on to their reward eternal.
But to be fair to him, Catholic World Report's Carl Olson did an in-depth look at Cupich early this year, which made for grim reading (Carl Olson, "A Tale of Two Bishops," Catholic World Report, Feb. 9, 2015 - easy to find online with Google). To underline it, he added in the comments: "Frankly, it's pretty hard to find people who think Abp. Cupich is a "good pastor and leader"--and I don't say that flippantly. I really don't. And, frankly, there was so much more that could have gone into the piece, and it would have only reinforced (very strongly) everything I did put in it."
He hasn't disappointed so far.
Interesting, considering 'Archbishop' Cupich and his best friend 'Father' Pfleger are both past 65, would they consider themselves "the elderly"? Nurse, get that needle ready, stat! - "Dr." KevorkianPartDeux
Mark Wauck, which Chicago parish are you in? Could it be more "non-traditional" than St. Clement? When their pastor retired some years ago, and knowing his plans to move to California and marry, they named the parish hall after him. They have open homosexuals involved in the parish - no problem!
"This same politically correct fear of appearing prejudiced has also radically altered the U.S. Bishops’ collective response to the Catholic sex abuse scandal. When the John Jay College of Criminal Justice was commissioned to study the causes and contexts, both the researchers and the bishops were left with a conundrum. The results were clear that this was not a crisis involving pedophilia as it is clinically defined – though that did exist on a much smaller scale. The problem was predominantly, and clearly, claims of homosexual predation of adolescent and young adult males during the sexual revolution of the 1960s to 1980s. There is no greater evidence of the power of reaction formation than when an entire institution would prefer the term “pedophile scandal” to “homosexual scandal” even when the facts say otherwise."
Read more at this post: "Be Wary of Crusaders! The Devil Sigmund Frued Knew Only Too Well"
http://thesestonewalls.com/gordon-macrae/be-wary-of-crusaders-the-devil-sigmund-freud-knew-only-too-well/
LongLivethePapacy said: "Those that remain will teach their children and grandchildren the truth of the faith against a world of secularism and a Church that has leaders who preach heresy."
Indeed we will. But what happens when my son [now 9yrs old] steps into the confessional as a teenager and Father undoes all that teaching by assuring him that any sexual sin is now a mere matter of conscience?
As a religious, I find this post particularly tasteless and offensive. I am sure that you didn't mean to lower yourself to such a degree. Archbishop Cupich is a fine man who lives the Gospel.
Hello, PJE. If my style hurts you so much, I suggest you skip reading my blog. What I "particularly" dislike is your condescending and headmasterly tone. If you want to join in dialogue on this blog, say WHY you disgree, and with evidence. I sha'n't in future allow such nasty little two-line put-downs.
Father... Cupich would hate you and probably yell at you. He yelled at and threw a priest out of his diocese for giving absolution in Latin. The Priest was an FSSP priest. Yes the Priest did tell Cupich he had no right under canon law. Cupich does not see canon law as being the preserver of Christ's justice in the Church. Cupich is stuck in the 1970's. He has some very strange liturgical ideas picked up at St Anselmo in Rome. The gospel Cupich follows is that of Cupich and Bugnini.
A related reflection may be found here: https://orthosphere.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/christianity-the-religion-with-no-benefits/
Orthosphere and its related site, SydneyTrads, are good places to visit with some frequency to keep up with younger folks' traditional,or neoreactionary thinking.
I also cannot help asking Mark Wauck, if he thinks it proper to reply, whether his parish is a certain former Polish church that is, or at least was, when I visited once, staffed by priests of a certain Prelature.
The faithful in Chicago have been put on notice with Cupich's plan for restructuring the archdiocese. There is a not-so-suppressed subtext that those who cooperate are less likely to have their parishes closed. These grand plans are extremely useful. Look for Cupich, like most liberals, to use his authority to its full extent and refer disingenuously to his 'pastoral priorities' when punishing his enemies. In a time of post-Trump hysteria, the left is looking to non-political players to champion its cause and give the impression that it has more support than it actually does. Cupich is proving himself more than ready to step up to the plate, with the full support of the Chicago Democrats. Bathed in their adulation, he can be as rough as he likes on traditional Catholics.
Austin,
Let Cupich close his Catholic parishes and let him keep open his Protestant parishes. He'll bankrupt himself. He's cutting himself off from those who give and support the Church. The Liberals have always been fond of Government charity (other peoples money) and that is ending with Trump.
Y
I think by 'elderly' he meant those who wish [dis]thanasia.
Hurrah for Bp. Cupich! "The conscience is inviolable and we have to respect that when they make decisions, and I have always done that".
I've had SUCH a hard time trying to reconcile my Catholic faith with my fondness for capital punishment and for the torture of POWs and other riffraff. Not any more!
Laissez les bon temps roulez!
Fr. Hunwicke, I do not know if you heard this one. Cardinal Cupich did a confirmation mass at St. John Cantius in Chicago. The Canons pray the TLM and the Novus Ordo ad orientem. They had to bring in a table altar for Cupich. From what I have heard, the Canons Regular of St John Cantius were not happy campers.
Message from Facebook when trying to link to this article after posting it on my own account: "We believe the link you are trying to visit is malicious. For your safety, we have blocked it." Apparently they at Facebook think Fr. Hunwicke is malicious (not just wickedly funny)! Is this news?
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