Archbishop of Detroit going soft on Holy Communion?

In 2013, Archbishop Vigneron of Detroit said "...Catholics who back same-sex marriage and receive Communion would 'logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury' in a Free Press article.  Of course, this caused the progressive self-declared "catholics" fits of outrage which they expressed by picketing the Archbishop's office. 

In a supposed email to Detroit Free Press, the Archbishop said, “Whenever it comes to Communion, the objective is never to steer a person away,” which of course has progressives and gay advocates in a titter declaring (get this) "...it's a Jesus response". 

So once more, the ignorant progressives in the Church, emboldened by Pope Francis' now infamous words "Who am I to judge?" have decided the Archbishop's "softer tone" means the "communion table" is open for anyone with a clear conscience. 

That my friends is Protestantism, not Catholicism.  It's the "be your own pope" mentality. 

For these folks, when the Archbishop was correctly cautioning people about Holy Communion he was bad...but when he says the "objective is never to steer a person away [from Holy Communion]" then he's speaking as Jesus would?  

Bull hockey. 

The Archbishop was right in 2013 and wrong now- if he did in fact write such an email stating it is "never" the objective "to steer a person away" from Holy Communion. That is wrong.  There are of course MANY TIMES when people should be turned from Holy Communion- namely when they are in a state of mortal sin!  Any mortal sin...gay "marriage", they had/performed an abortion, fornication, adultery etc., the list goes on.  

If an open (public) heretic is receiving Holy Communion they are also guilty of the sin of scandal (think Pelosi & Biden).  Priests knowing these things should deny them Holy Communion. 

"I too raise my voice, I beseech, beg and implore that no one draw near to this sacred table with a sullied and corrupt conscience. Such an act, in fact, can never be called "communion," not even were we to touch the Lord's body a thousand times over, but "condemnation," "torment" and "increase of punishment..." - Saint John Chrysostom 

******* 

"All the faithful are to be admitted to Holy Communion, except those who are prohibited for a just reason. The publicly unworthy, which are the excommunicated, those under interdict, and the manifestly infamous, such as prostitutes, those cohabiting, usurers, sorcerers, fortune-tellers, blasphemers and other sinners of the public kind, are, however, to be prevented, unless their penitence and amendment has been established and they will have repaired the public scandal." - Rituale Romanum 

Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry (gay group the Catholic Church has denounced many times) said, “It [the Archbishop's email] recognizes that people, in their consciences, have to weigh the church’s teachings in their own lives and relationships. That is authentic Catholic teaching. He’s [Archbishop Vignernon] not watering down anything. He’s proclaiming the church’s teaching more accurately than he did back then.”

Wrong.  "Authentic Catholic" teaching on gay unions is very clear, yet the New Ways Ministry group continually reject authentic Catholic teaching when it doesn't suit their agenda. 

And further, mortal sin does not depend solely on whether or not the sinner's conscience is clear.  An unformed or deformed or warped conscience may never tell a person they are in a state of mortal sin. 

I am reminded of GK Chesterton's saying "I do not need a Church to tell me I am wrong when I know I am wrong, I need a Church to tell me I am wrong when I think I'm right." 

How true!  Yet these progressives refuse any correction.  Instead of listening, they picket and protest!  How are they any different from Martin Luther before them?  

Don't got soft Archbishop Vigneron - you won't be helping these people if you go soft on Church teaching.  

 *Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis:  "The Fathers of the Church and approved theologians have addressed the Church's serious concern that due respect be paid to the Most Blessed Sacrament, that souls not fall into the sin of sacrilege by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily, and that scandal not be given to the faithful by a careless administration of the Holy Eucharist to individuals who clearly are not rightly disposed, that is, who obstinately persevere in manifest serious sin." 

In Christ,


Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 



Source: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2015/08/09/detroit-vigneron-gay-catholics-communion/31388503/

https://www.ewtn.com/library/CANONLAW/burkcompol.htm

  (Good read on well formed vs malformed conscience: http://catholicexchange.com/healthy-conscience ) 

http://www.aod.org/

Does the Holy Father understand us at all?

At  Casa Santa Marta on Friday morning the pope said…

"Those [sad] Christians don't do our Lord or Our Church any favors. Christians who set time for mourning, who are always complaining. They're constantly sad...This is not the attitude of a disciple. St. Augustine tells Christians: 'Go on, go on, walk and sing, sing. With joy.” [Official Vatican Network]

Unfortunately it seems that Holy Scripture disagrees with our current Pope on the matter of “those who mourn” (though he is probably spot on about complainers like myself).

Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

John 16:20

“Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.”

Or perhaps our Holy Father doesn’t understand how truly sad many Catholics are with the current state of our beloved Holy Catholic Church and the failure of SOME of the clergy in Her?

[This is not about all the truly wonderful Catholic clergy and religious we have in our Church, God bless you all!  This is about the clergy and religious who are not about God’s work, but their own.]

Yes, Holy Father, we are sad Christians... but you understand WHY we are sad?

If Christians are feeling mournful it is because we see the destruction of souls in the world and the Catholic Church’s failure to speak the Truth boldly and bring people back to God’s Church.  

What makes many of us ‘sad Christians’ is when the Church entrusted by Christ to PREACH the TRUTH to the world, instead ALLOWS ‘liberal’ priests and nuns to run amok teaching HERESY and LIES to deceive the masses – at Mass no less! 

That Holy Father, is what makes us “sad Christians”.

You want to see us joyful disciples again?  Be the Church Christ entrusted you to be.  A Church we can DEPEND ON to ALWAYS preach the Truth.  Be a Church were heresy among the clergy and religious is NEVER tolerated.  Discipline the clergy and flock to correct errors the way Holy Scripture demands you to.

 Hebrews 12:8If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.

Hebrews 12:11Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

We ‘sad Christians’ will always have our joy in Christ [regardless of failing clergy], but it would be nice to have it again in our Church.  Joy in BEING Catholic because we trust our clergy to teach the Truth from God.  That would be nice...that would bring a great many of us joy.

I think of the words of Saint Paul (Romans 16)…

    ^17 “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. ¹⁸ For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. ¹⁹ For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise in what is good and guileless in what is evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

The Catholic priests and nuns who support gay marriage, birth control, women priests and other heresies MUST be avoided by Christians.  When  our Church does NOTHING to remove these heretics from our mist we are saddened.  We see these heretics leading ignorant people on the road to Hell and we are often powerless to do anything about it because our Bishops will not listen to our pleas and remove these serpents from among us- or worse yet, the Bishops themselves are heretics and are purposely filling our parishes with these liars to corrupt and deceive the ignorant.

When will our Church do something about this?  How long will our own clergy and religious be allowed to sadden us with their deceptions?

You want joyful Christians Holy Father?  Discipline, teach and speak the truth to us all.  Stop tolerating heretics who corrupt our Church and faith with their serpents forked tongues.

Start removing and excommunicating people who are in the Church only to “serve their own appetites” as Saint Paul warned us about.  Evil persists in the Church because evil is ALLOWED to remain in the Church.

Christians hungry for the Truth will remain ‘sad Christians’ as long as we see the evil in our Church allowed to spread and corrupt.

Colossians 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

We keep our joy in Christ and the Holy Sacraments always, but we are daily saddened by the failures found in our beloved Catholic Church when our Church leaders fail to lead, teach or correct those entrusted to them.

What child grows to respect a parent who teaches them lies and fails to correct or discipline them?  That child grows up to become a disrespectful liar themselves… if the Church continues to fail as a parent to Her wayward children, She too will produce nothing but rotten fruit.

The Holy Father quoted Saint Augustine...perhaps our Holy Father will quote another great in our Church...G.K. Chesterton who clearly understood what we need our Church to do...

If our Holy Father wants to see us sad Christians become joyful again, he could do us all a favor by spending his efforts weeding out rotten clergy and putting Saint Paul's words to work throughout our Church, in every parish and convent around the world.

           

1 Timothy 5^20 “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest also may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality. ²² Do not ordain anyone hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.”

2 Timothy 4
               New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
4 “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: ² proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. ³ For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. ⁵ As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.⁶ As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

I can’t say it any better than Saint Paul did in Sacred Scripture.

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Source:  http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-walk-joyfully-as-lamb-of-the-lord