An Extra-Biblical Declaration
The Five Beasts
by RJT
3M ago
There are 15 citations to scripture in the recent Declaration Fiducia supplicans, ordering priests to offer blessings to homosexual couples. To nobody’s surprise, most of these references are immaterial since you will have a difficult time finding precedents for the blessing of sin in the Bible. Here’s a sample paragraph (16) revealing the purely rhetorical use of scripture: To God who blesses, we also respond by blessing. Melchizedek, King of Salem, blesses Abram (cf. Gen. 14:19); Rebekah is blessed by family members just before she becomes the bride of Isaac (cf. Gen. 24:60), who, in turn ..read more
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No to Moral Equivalence
The Five Beasts
by RJT
4M ago
Two fellow Catholic bloggers recently weighed in on the current conflict between Israel and Gaza. William Briggs looked back in history and blamed the Israelis while Maureen Mullarkey exposed the insincerity of Cardinal Pizzaballa when he offered to exchange himself for the Israeli hostages: On the day of Hamas’ onslaught against Israel, [Cardinal] Pizzaballa, speaking as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, issued a telling statement: ‘The operation launched from Gaza and the reaction of the Israeli army . . . will destroy more and more any perspective of stability.’ Stability? While blood was ..read more
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A Fracturing Society
The Five Beasts
by RJT
4M ago
Oakland, CA during the 1950s-early 60s was a peaceful city, with the annual number of homicides usually at zero; these days it regularly exceeds a hundred. Homelessness has increased 131% since 2015 as a result of decriminalizing drug use. It’s a doom-loop because so many businesses have had to close due to retail theft and other crimes. In the course of a few years Oakland has lost three professional sports teams: the Warriors, Raiders and soon the Athletics. City leaders blame greedy team owners, but league officials had mandated new stadiums for these teams and the city refused. It’s an eno ..read more
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Synodal Consensus and Holy Scripture
The Five Beasts
by RJT
4M ago
Like the Instrumentum Laboris, the Vatican’s Synthesis Report, summarizing the results of the first session of the Synod on Synodality, contains only a handful of Biblical quotes or citations, but includes a clear misinterpretation of 1 John 2:27: As for you, the anointing that you received from him (Jesus) remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him. In the report this appears in the context of Christian initiation and is at first interpreted straightforwardly: By ..read more
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On Synodality and Shipwrecks: 4 Takeaways from the ‘Instrumentum Laboris’
The Five Beasts
by RJT
5M ago
If you have read Instrumentum Laboris (IL), the preparatory document for the current synod in Rome, you’d know that radical changes to the Catholic Church should be expected if this experiment in “synodal” Church governance completes its course in 2024. Four things stood out as red flags. I. Absence of Scripture There are few citations to Holy Scripture in the document, mostly just short snippets taken out of context and presented as models of the synodal process. One example is the account of the two disciples of Christ on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35): In the New Testament, there are n ..read more
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Veritatis Splendor’s Message to Rome
The Five Beasts
by RJT
6M ago
It’s doubtful that the organizers of the Synod on Synodality were aware that this year’s session would take place in the same year as the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the publication of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, ‘The Splendor of Truth’. At the same time the Synod participants are arguing over the relaxing the Church’s moral teachings, there’s a fresh spotlight on the encyclical in terms of books and articles. John Paul was warning the Church against exactly what is currently going on in Rome: [A] new situation has come about within the Christian community it ..read more
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Are Sins of a Parent Transferred to the Children?
The Five Beasts
by RJT
7M ago
In the context of the first of the ten commandments, prohibiting idolatry, God’s threat of punishment for sin is extended to multiple generations of the offender’s children: For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their ancestors’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation but showing love down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6). Since it seems unjust that children should suffer punishment for the sins of their parents, alternate interpretations of this passage ..read more
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The Promise Manifested in the Eucharist
The Five Beasts
by RJT
8M ago
On the eve of his crucifixion Jesus repeatedly tries to prepare his disciples for the dramatic events that were about to unfold that night, but they were not receptive: Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy (John 16:20). He then compares what they will experience to childbirth: When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now i ..read more
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Western Europe’s Shift to the Right
The Five Beasts
by RJT
9M ago
Comparing the recent riots in Paris to the unrest of 2005 reveals a disturbing trend. Both were caused by similar circumstances, the death of North African immigrants after encounters with police that were viewed as unjustified and racially motivated. The upheavals of late, however, had noticeable differences: the riots were not limited to the major cities but spread throughout France and involved mass looting and gunfire. More than a thousand buildings and 5600 cars were burned in less than a week. An army of 40,000 police and gendarmes, of which more than 800 were injured, were barely able t ..read more
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How Catholic Numbers Add Up
The Five Beasts
by RJT
9M ago
According to statistics maintained by the Vatican, 16% of the eight billion people in the world are Roman Catholic (1.3 billion). This number obviously includes many non-practicing Catholics whose names remain on diocesan registries. We see first-hand evidence of this at the Holy Masses of Christmas and Easter. According to recent polling data, here in the U.S. these represent the vast majority of Catholics. While weekly Mass attendance is obligatory, according to a Gallup survey it has been in decline for decades: in 1955, 75% of Catholics went to church every week but by 2017 it was onl ..read more
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