Welcome to the Weekend Roundup! – News & Views – 6/15/24

• Vatican publishes papal primacy document aimed at ‘a reunited Church’

This past Thursday, the Vatican’s Dicastery Promoting Christian Unity published a 130-page “study document” with pope Francis’ approval titled, “The Bishop of Rome: Primacy and Synodality in Ecumenical Dialogues and Responses to the Encyclical, Ut unum sint” (Latin: “That they may be one”). Ut unum sint was published in 1995 at the behest of pope John Paul II. Its aim was to encourage further ecumenical cooperation between the RCC, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants, but with the caveat that non-Catholics must recognize the unique role of the pope. This new “Bishop of Rome” document suggests leveraging Ut unum sint while softening papal prerogatives most objectionable to the Orthodox and Protestants. The document advises 1) re-emphasizing the pope’s role as the bishop of Rome among fellow bishops, 2) re-examining and possibly reinterpreting the First Vatican Council’s 1850 dogmatic definitions on papal primacy and papal infallibility, and 3) furthering “synodality” between Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants, i.e., encouraging more Orthodox and Protestant participation. This all strikes me as a lot of patronizing, with the pope ultimately still in the driver’s seat propagating a false Gospel. However, this is another step towards a “one world church.” Much, much more on this document to come (including conservative Catholics’ reaction). My thanks to “koeplin” for alerting me to this breaking news story.

• Pope Francis meets more than 100 comedians at the Vatican

In keeping with his “smiling Uncle Jorge” persona, pope Francis met with 100+ comedians invited from around the world yesterday at the Vatican. The American contingent included Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Whoopi Goldberg, Conan O’Brien, and Chris Rock. One can’t help but contrast the bloody Inquisition and other persecutions directed from the Vatican by previous “Vicars of Christ” and Francis’ “pope of the people” comicality.

• New book examines conservative Catholics, and it isn’t pretty

I see from the above article from a liberal Catholic publication that there’s a new book out – “True Confessions: Voices of Faith from a Life in the Church” by Francis Maier – which features conservative American Catholic bishops anonymously taking pot shots at progressive pope Francis. I may have to read and review it. Conservative Catholic apologists love to present the RCC as a united monolith, but they rue the day when Bergoglio was elected pope.

• Pope Francis tells gay man rejected from seminary to ‘go ahead with your vocation’

Last weekend, we reported that pope Francis was outed for using a “homophobic” slur in a private meeting with Italian bishops. Francis apologized after the fact. A young man, Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso, who aspires to be a priest, but was rejected because of his unabashed gay sexuality, wrote the pope expressing his concern about the slur and his discouragement at being refused as a seminary candidate. The pope encouraged him to pursue his “vocational calling.” Given the publicity, I expect Francis will personally intervene to ensure Caruso is admitted to seminary. Three reactions: 1) Catholic seminaries, with their rule of mandatory celibacy, have been magnets and incubators of deviancy for centuries, 2) the pope and the RCC are gradually recognizing S&G-uality as a, not tolerated, but acceptable lifestyle, and 3) the New Testament makes it clear that the sacerdotal priesthood and sacrifice for sin were done away with by Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross at Calvary.

• Kentucky Catholic parish offering scheduled same-sex blessings despite Vatican directive

The Fiducia supplicans declaration issued by RCC’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by pope Francis last December authorizes priests to bless individuals in same-sex unions as long as a number of (wink, wink) qualifiers are adhered to, one of them being that the blessings must be informal rather than scheduled. Well, anyone could have easily foreseen that all of the qualifiers would eventually bite the dust. The Kentucky Catholic church mentioned in the article above is taking appointments for same-sex blessings. Be assured that the same is being done in liberal Catholic parishes all across the U.S.

• Fuller Theological Seminary ponders changes that would make it more welcoming to S&G students

Fuller was “New Evangelicalism’s” flagship seminary under the leadership of Billy Graham allies, Harold Ockenga and E.J. Carnell, and has been on a liberal trajectory ever since.