Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 6/19/21

• Pope urges Catholics and Evangelicals to continue working for unity

When Catholics refer to “Christian unity” what they mean is Protestants’ eventual disavowal of the Reformation and the genuine Gospel and their recognition and acceptance of papal authority and works-righteousness Catholic doctrine.

• Targeting Biden, Catholic Bishops Advance Controversial Communion Plan

The U.S. Catholic bishops met this past week and defied pope Francis by voting to formalize guidelines that would deny the Jesus wafer to Catholic politicians who publicly support pro-abortion legislation, like President Joe Biden and House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

• Indigenous Leaders Ask Catholics to Skip Mass Until Church Apologizes

Perhaps some of the reluctance of pope Francis to apologize for the sufferings and deaths of hundreds of children at Catholic-run residential schools in Canada is that apologies connote culpability and lead to monetary payouts to victims and/or their families.

• Catholics Submit ‘Dubium’ to Vatican Asking if Church in Germany is in Schism

Surprise! There actually are a few conservative and traditionalist Catholics in Germany and they decry the direction of the current “Synodal Path” progressive initiative.

• Pope Francis: Rigid Priests Are a Manifestation of Clericalism

Throughout his tenure, pope Francis has regularly chided his conservative and traditionalist opponents with statements critical of “rigid priests” and “clericalism.”

• A Priest Is Fighting for LGBT Acceptance. The Catholic Alt-Right Wants Him Silenced.

Jesuit James Martin has been fighting for full acceptance of practicing LGBTers within the RCC. He has the unofficial backing of pope Francis.

• Are Evangelicals’ ‘Released Time for Religion’ Programs a Threat to Catholic Formation?

I have not heard anything about this Lifewise Academy that’s mentioned in this article. I don’t know their theology, but I suspect they avoid doctrinal distinctives in order to circumvent negative reaction and controversy, i.e., Roman Catholic students can attend their courses without being presented with the genuine Gospel (rejection of works-righteousness religion and salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone).

• Florida to require daily moment of silence in schools for students to ‘reflect, pray as they see fit’

American evangelicals were outraged by the Supreme Court’s ban on compulsory prayer in public schools in 1962 and have been calling for a return to the practice ever since. I’m not a fan of government-sponsored collective compulsory prayer or even shared “moments of silence,” when the unsaved of every religious stripe jointly contemplate an acceptable-to-all, nebulous “supreme being.”

• Southern Baptists Narrowly Head Off Ultraconservative Takeover

The tug-of-war within the SBC involves two fronts; the fight over political involvement including “cultural relevancy” issues AND the fight over theology. It just so happens that those who espouse fidelity to doctrinal orthodoxy also largely propagate church-government integralism. What a mess. Expect an SBC split in the near future.