The Weekly Francis – 29 June 2016

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This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 10 June 2016 to 29 June 2016.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Please accompany me with your prayers during my apostolic journey to Armenia.” @Pontifex 23 June 2016
  • “The commitment to full unity and cooperation among all the Lord’s disciples is like a radiant light in a dark night. #PopeInArmenia” @Pontifex 24 June 2016
  • “The sufferings of the Armenians are our own, they are the sufferings of the members of Christ’s Mystical Body. #PopeInArmenia” @Pontifex 25 June 2016
  • “May the Armenian Church walk in peace and may the communion between us be complete. #PopeInArmenia” @Pontifex 26 June 2016
  • “I am happy to have visited Armenia, the first nation to accept Christianity as its religion, and I thank all for the welcome. #PopeInArmenia” @Pontifex 26 June 2016
  • “Jesus looks for us and invites us to make room in the inner reaches of our heart. Do we realize it?” @Pontifex 27 June 2016
  • “If God is present in our life, the joy of bringing the Gospel will be our strength and our happiness.” @Pontifex 28 June 2016
  • “Today the Lord repeats to all pastors: follow me despite the difficulties, follow me by proclaiming the Gospel to all.” @Pontifex 29 June 2016

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 22 June 2016

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This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 22 May 2016 to 22 June 2016.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Motu Proprio

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “The tenderness of God is present in the lives of all those who attend the sick and understand their needs, with eyes full of love.” @Pontifex 10 June 2016
  • “Do not tire of asking in prayer for the Lord’s help especially in difficulty.” @Pontifex 11 June 2016
  • “Dear sick people, entrust yourselves to the Spirit who will not fail you with the consoling light of his presence.” @Pontifex 12 June 2016
  • “I invite all of the institutions of the world to give a voice to all of those who suffer silently from hunger. #ZeroHunger” @Pontifex 13 June 2016
  • “The future of society requires the fruitful encounter between young and old.” @Pontifex 14 June 2016
  • “Dear elderly friends, God does not abandon you; he is with you! With his help you are and you continue to be the memory for your people.” @Pontifex 15 June 2016
  • “Even in the worst situation of life, God waits for me, God wants to embrace me, God expects me.” @Pontifex 16 June 2016
  • “In prayer let us experience the compassion of God, full of merciful love.” @Pontifex 17 June 2016
  • “More than a scientific question, the universe is a joyful mystery that speaks of God’s boundless love for us.” @Pontifex 18 June 2016
  • “Let us join in prayer with our Orthodox brothers and sisters for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church opening today in Crete.” @Pontifex 19 June 2016
  • “We are all on a journey to the common house of heaven, where we will be able to admire with joyful wonder the mystery of the universe.” @Pontifex 20 June 2016
  • “People are the primary artisans of their own development, the first in charge!” @Pontifex 21 June 2016
  • “Being Christian involves joining one’s own life, in all its aspects, to the person of Jesus and, through Him, to the Father.” @Pontifex 22 June 2016

Papal Instagram

Pope Francis on Invalid Marriages

popr-francis-teachingPope Francis recently made some remarks regarding invalid marriages, and I’ve received a large number of requests for comment, so here goes . . .

 

1) When did Pope Francis make his remarks?

During a Q & A session on Thursday, June 16. He was answering questions at the opening ceremony for a diocesan congress dealing with his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (i.e., the document that he released after the two synods of bishops).

His remarks were, therefore, unscripted.

 

2) What did he say?

Unfortunately, the Vatican doesn’t yet seem to have a full transcript available in English. The Italian, however, is here.

Without an English transcript to quote, we switch over to news reporting, according to which:

A layman asked about the “crisis of marriage” and how Catholics can help educate youth in love, help them learn about sacramental marriage, and help them overcome “their resistance, delusions and fears.”

The Pope answered from his own experience.

“I heard a bishop say some months ago that he met a boy that had finished his university studies, and said ‘I want to become a priest, but only for 10 years.’ It’s the culture of the provisional. And this happens everywhere, also in priestly life, in religious life,” he said.

“It’s provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null. Because they say ‘yes, for the rest of my life!’ but they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they don’t know.”

 

3) Wait. “The great majority of our sacramental marriages are null”? He really said that?

Yes. He really said that. It’s on video (in Italian) on the Vatican’s YouTube channel here.

 

4) Is this Church teaching?

No. The Church does not have a teaching about what percentage of marriages (ostensibly sacramental or otherwise) are invalid.

Further, Q & A sessions are not the venue in which new magisterial teachings are promulgated.

At most, this would be an expression of pastoral opinion on the part of the pope.

 

5) Does anyone agree with this opinion?

Not that I am aware of.

I know of no competent expert in canon law, biblical studies, or theology that would hold the opinion that “the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null.”

In fact, I don’t know of anybody—expert or not—who would hold this view.

If Pope Francis holds it, he would be the only one I am aware of.

 

6) Why do you say “if Pope Francis holds it”?

Because I’m not certain that he does.

Experience has shown that Pope Francis is a man who makes dramatic and inexact statements, particularly when speaking off the cuff.

This is related to his “make a mess” philosophy, according to which it is better to get people’s attention and shake things up rather than let the Church slide into cultural irrelevance.

In a fashion, he seems to be trying to imitate Jesus, who frequently used hyperbole to make arresting statements that tweaked the pious sensibilities of his age. Thus Pope Francis sometimes compares those he critiques to Pharisees and doctors of the law—the same groups that opposed Jesus.

On occasion, everybody blurts things out without fully thinking them through, and I can’t rule out the possibility that this was simply a case of hyperbole gone wrong—particularly in light of the problems with the claim in question.

Perhaps the pope meant to say something like “a vast number” and ended up saying “the vast majority” instead.

Even a moment’s thought would reveal that the claim is seriously problematic, suggesting that this is not the pope’s settled opinion but something that he blurted out without giving it serious thought.

 

7) Why do you say that?

There are multiple problems with the claim. Some emerge from considering the statement from a canonical perspective (see here). However, I would point to two additional considerations, one from a theological perspective and one from a biblical perspective.

 

8) What’s the theological argument?

From a theological perspective, the claim is extraordinarily sweeping. It’s not just that many Catholic marriages are invalid or even that a majority are (which would already exceed credibility) but that “the vast majority” of such marriages are invalid.

That would mean that Christ and the Holy Spirit have allowed conditions to degenerate so far among the baptized that “the vast majority” of those committed enough to follow the Church’s teachings and practice on marriage nevertheless enter marriage invalidly.

That’s inconceivable.

 

9) What’s the biblical argument?

From a biblical perspective, we don’t see Jesus taking this line in his day.

It is easy for us today to imagine that attitudes toward divorce were stricter in the ancient world, and particularly among first century Jews, than they are today, but they were not.

Basically everybody in the ancient world—except Christians—held that marriage did not prevent the possibility of getting divorced and remarried.

This was true among the Romans, among the Greeks, and among the Jews. Indeed, a prominent school of Jewish thought held that a man could divorce his wife over nothing more than a burned meal.

Seriously.

And even among Jews who had a more restricted view of divorce—such as the rival school which held a man could divorce his wife if she committed adultery or did something else to bring shame on him—it was always understood that divorce carried with it the right of remarriage.

The culture that Jesus lived in was just as much a “culture of the provisional” with respect to marriage as ours.

And yet Jesus didn’t treat their marriages as invalid but as valid. He stated:

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery (Mark 10:11-12).

Jesus would not have spoken this way if he viewed “the vast majority” of marriages in his day as invalid. If you were only invalidly married to a woman, you divorced her, and you then attempted marriage with another woman, you wouldn’t be committing adultery against the first wife.

Without a valid first marriage, there would be no adultery.

Jesus thus indicated that one can enter a valid marriage without understanding it as precluding the possibility of divorce and remarriage.

And the Church has understood it likewise. Merely thinking you could, under some circumstances, divorce and remarry is not grounds for an annulment.

 

10) Have there been any developments since the pope made his remarks?

Yes. According to news reports:

When the Vatican released its official transcript of the encounter the following day, they had changed the comment to say that “a portion of our sacramental marriages are null.”

This is not unexpected. It is common practice, extending back multiple papacies, for the official version of a pope’s remarks to be amended to correct misstatements, sources of potential confusion, etc.

When the matter concerns something of substance, it is normal for the change to be personally approved by the pope, which is what happened in this case:

In the Vatican blog “Il sismografo,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that this change is a revision approved by the Pope himself.

“When they touch on subjects of a certain importance, the revised text is always submitted to the Pope himself,” Father Lombardi said. “This is what happened in this case, so the published text was expressly approved by the Pope.”

 

11) What should we make of all this?

The fact Pope Francis made the remark in the first place is a source for concern, and it should prompt him to reflect on and re-evaluate the way he answers questions in public, for this is far from the first time something like this has happened when he has answered questions off the cuff.

We may be thankful that there was sufficient presence of mind on the part of those around the pope to propose the change to the official version of the remarks, and we may be thankful that the pope approved the change.

Given the amount of confusion regarding the marriage issue, both in society and in Church circles, I suggest we keep the matter in prayer.

 

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The Weekly Francis – 8 June 2016

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This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 9 May 2016 to 8 June 2016.

Angelus

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Let us pray together for the Jubilee for Priests from 1-3 June. Visit http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en/live.html@Pontifex 2 June 2016
  • “Our priestly life is given over in service, in closeness to the People of God, with the joy of those who hear the Lord.” @Pontifex 3 June 2016
  • “Let us hear the cry of the victims and those suffering, no family without a home, no child without a childhood.” @Pontifex 4 June 2016
  • “The Saints are not supermen, nor were they born perfect. When they recognized God’s love, they followed it and served others.” @Pontifex 5 June 2016
  • “We need to discover the gifts of each person: may communities transmit their own values and be open to the experiences of others.” @Pontifex 6 June 2016
  • “In this age lacking in social friendship, our first task is that of building community.” @Pontifex 7 June 2016
  • “Let us protect the oceans, part of the “global commons”, vital for our water supply and the variety of living creatures!” @Pontifex 8 June 2016

Papal Instagram

The Weekly Francis – 1 June 2016

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This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 12 May 2016 to 1 June 2016.

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

General Audiences

Homilies

Messages

Regina Cæli

Speeches

Papal Tweets

  • “Loving and forgiving are tangible and visible signs that faith has transformed our hearts.” @Pontifex 19 May 2016
  • “The firm commitment for human rights springs from an awareness of the unique and supreme value of each person.” @Pontifex 20 May 2016
  • “Each one of us can be a bridge of encounter between diverse cultures and religions, a way to rediscover our common humanity.” @Pontifex 21 May 2016
  • “The feast of the Most Holy Trinity renews our mission of living in communion with God and all people on the model of the divine communion.” @Pontifex 22 May 2016
  • “In a broken world, to communicate with mercy means to help create closeness between the children of God.” @Pontifex 23 May 2016
  • “God can fill our hearts with his love and help us continue our journey together towards the land of freedom and life.” @Pontifex 24 May 2016
  • “With the weapons of love, God has defeated selfishness and death. His son Jesus is the door of mercy wide open to all.” @Pontifex 25 May 2016
  • “Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist, offering himself as spiritual food that sustains our life.” @Pontifex 26 May 2016
  • “Mary is an icon of how the Church must offer forgiveness to those who seek it.” @Pontifex 27 May 2016
  • “Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord. This is the secret of our journey!” @Pontifex 28 May 2016
  • “By receiving the Eucharist we are nourished of the Body and Blood of Jesus, and by entering us, Jesus joins us to his Body!” @Pontifex 29 May 2016
  • “We are stewards, not masters of our earth. Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for the precious gift of God’s creation.” @Pontifex 30 May 2016
  • “I join spiritually all those taking part in special devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary on this last day of the month of May.” @Pontifex 31 May 2016
  • “When disciples of Christ are transparent in heart and sensitive in life, they bring the Lord’s light to the places where they live and work.” @Pontifex 1 June 2016

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