The debate over Amoris Laetitia has reopened after a letter written by Pope Francis was leaked. The Pope wrote to Buenos Aires bishops about their proposed guidelines for priests. These said that if the “responsibility and culpability” of a remarried person are “diminished”, then “Amoris Laetitia opens up the possibility of access to … Reconciliation and the Eucharist”. The Pope’s letter said the document “completely explains the meaning” of Amoris Laetitia’s chapter eight – the most controversial.
What the blogosphere said
At onepeterfive.com, Steve Skojec argued that, if authentic, the Pope’s letter would confirm “that he intended to allow those living in objective grave sin to receive the Sacraments of Confession and Communion without the requisite repentance.” Skojec argued that this was a proposal of “sacrilege” which “could arguably be considered heretical”.
But Fr John Zuhlsdorf, at wdtprs.com, said the letter’s importance shouldn’t be overstated. “The Pope does not change doctrine or discipline in letters to individual bishops.”
In any case, he said, “those who are faithful to the Church’s teachings will probably continue to do what they did before the advent of Amoris Laetitia and dissenters and liberals will continue in their own way as well.”
What the Twittersphere said
As elsewhere, reaction was split between those expressing anxiety and those recommending caution. While one user tweeted gloomily, “Habemus papam haereticum”, others pointed out that Amoris Laetitia has to be read in continuity with established Church teaching. Catholic tradition says that the remarried cannot be admitted to Communion unless they resolve to live as brother and sister. Fr Thomas Petri, who teaches theology at the Dominican House of Studies, tweeted: “For the record – of itself, Amoris Laetitia has no magisterial weight. Neither does [the] Pope’s private letter on his understanding of it.”
Another Twitter user argued: “The issue isn’t that Church teaching might change (it can’t), but rather that public perception will be that it has changed.”
The most overlooked story of the week
✣Ukrainian leaders ask for independent church
What happened?
Two former presidents of Ukraine have intervened in the tense internal relations of the Orthodox churches. Leonid Kravchuk and Victor Yushchenko visited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the “first among equals” of Orthodox bishops. The politicians asked for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine to be granted a new independent status.
Why was it under-reported?
The ongoing disputes within the Orthodox churches are a hard knot to untangle, and the media can perhaps be forgiven for not trying. But the presidents’ suggestion – backed by a 5,000-strong petition – has major political resonances.
If the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is given independent (“autocephalous”) status, it will no longer be under the sway of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Such a move would be seen as a strike against Vladimir Putin, and a challenge to the Russian Church.
What will happen next?
If the Orthodox of Ukraine gain a special status, they will effectively leave the jurisdiction of Moscow and enter that of Constantinople. Given the delicate relations between Moscow and Constantinople, this would be a risky move from Patriarch Bartholomew and could even prompt a schism. There is a possible compromise – a two-church solution with one church subject to Moscow and one to Constantinople – which actually happened with the Estonian Orthodox in 1996. But the political situation of 2016 is far more fraught.
✣The week ahead
The Archbishop of Canterbury will be among dozens of Christian leaders and representatives of other faiths joining Pope Francis in Assisi on Tuesday. They will be marking the 30th anniversary of the first World Day of Prayer for Peace. Participants include Patriarch Bartholomew and Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II.
A mass of Thanksgiving for the canonisation of Mother Teresa will be held at Westminster Cathedral today (Friday). The Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, commencing at 5.30pm. All are welcome to attend.
The successor to the “Bishop of Bling” will be installed in Limburg, Germany, on Sunday. Bishop Georg Bätzing will not live in the residence that got his predecessor, Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, into trouble. Instead, he will stay at a convent and then a nearby church house. The luxurious property will be used for offices, meetings and exhibitions.
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