Wednesday, May 11, 2005
DO ENCYCLICALS HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE ?
I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Clearly we have alternatives. Clearly from this Commandment we can reject our Creator and worship other gods. If it were not possible, God would not have warned us of the danger.
Pope Pius XI was aware of the possibility when he wrote Mortalium Animos, an Encyclical promulgated on January 6, 1928, from which this passage is taken:
4. Is it not right, it is often repeated, indeed, even consonant with duty, that all who invoke the name of Christ should abstain from mutual reproaches and at long last be united in mutual charity? Who would dare to say that he loved Christ, unless he worked with all his might to carry out the desires of Him, Who asked His Father that His disciples might be "one."[1] And did not the same Christ will that His disciples should be marked out and distinguished from others by this characteristic, namely that they loved one another: "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another"?[2] All Christians, they add, should be as "one": for then they would be much more powerful in driving out the pest of irreligion, which like a serpent daily creeps further and becomes more widely spread, and prepares to rob the Gospel of its strength. These things and others that class of men who are known as pan-Christians continually repeat and amplify; and these men, so far from being quite few and scattered, have increased to the dimensions of an entire class, and have grouped themselves into widely spread societies, most of which are directed by non-Catholics, although they are imbued with varying doctrines concerning the things of faith. This undertaking is so actively promoted as in many places to win for itself the adhesion of a number of citizens, and it even takes possession of the minds of very many Catholics and allures them with the hope of bringing about such a union as would be agreeable to the desires of Holy Mother Church, who has indeed nothing more at heart than to recall her erring sons and to lead them back to her bosom. But in reality beneath these enticing words and blandishments lies hid a most grave error, by which the foundations of the Catholic faith are completely destroyed.
How does one square this with interrelgious dialogue? But even more to the point:
10. So, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it, for in the past they have unhappily left it. To the one true Church of Christ, we say, which is visible to all, and which is to remain, according to the will of its Author, exactly the same as He instituted it. During the lapse of centuries, the mystical Spouse of Christ has never been contaminated, nor can she ever in the future be contaminated, as Cyprian bears witness: "The Bride of Christ cannot be made false to her Spouse: she is incorrupt and modest. She knows but one dwelling, she guards the sanctity of the nuptial chamber chastely and modestly."[20] The same holy Martyr with good reason marveled exceedingly that anyone could believe that "this unity in the Church which arises from a divine foundation, and which is knit together by heavenly sacraments, could be rent and torn asunder by the force of contrary wills."[21] For since the mystical body of Christ, in the same manner as His physical body, is one,[22] compacted and fitly joined together,[23] it were foolish and out of place to say that the mystical body is made up of members which are disunited and scattered abroad: whosoever therefore is not united with the body is no member of it, neither is he in communion with Christ its head.[24]
Did this encyclical expire? Does "infallibility" not extend beyond the reign of the pope who promulgates it? If the answer is "yes," then all of our doctrine is subject to change at the whim of a given pope. If the answer is "no," then how to explain Unitatis Redintegratio in which what had formally been declared a heresy is proposed for study and dialogue:
9. We must get to know the outlook of our separated brethren. To achieve this purpose, study is of necessity required, and this must be pursued with a sense of realism and good will. Catholics, who already have a proper grounding, need to acquire a more adequate understanding of the respective doctrines of our separated brethren, their history, their spiritual and liturgical life, their religious psychology and general background. Most valuable for this purpose are meetings of the two sides-especially for discussion of theological problems-where each can treat with the other on an equal footing-provided that those who take part in them are truly competent and have the approval of the bishops. From such dialogue will emerge still more clearly what the situation of the Catholic Church really is. In this way too the outlook of our separated brethren will be better understood, and our own belief more aptly explained.
"Equal footing"?? Heresy and orthodoxy are "equal"? If we are not allowed to "take part in assemblies of non-Catholics" how are we to dialogue with them on equal footing? How are we to worship with them as Archbishop Levada has done--as Cardinal Law has done?
They can't both be infallible doctrines while at the same time directly contradicting each other. There must be an expiration date on Mortalium Animos, but search the encyclical as I might, I just can't find it.
Which brings me to Medjugorje and the Charismatic Renewal.
The problems with this movement are spelled out clearly in one of the publications at the Unity Publishing website where Craig Heimbichner has asked the appropriate questions but found no satisfactory answer.
In the light of these questions...in the light of the deception I've been posting...how is it possible that the Church hierarchy fails to make a definitive statement condemning this apparition, without any extraneous provisions for "pilgrims" who are making a pilgrimage to God knows what when they travel to Medjugorje? Is it the Church's new business to promote the Father of Lies?
Closely related to this is the bafflement brought about by the hierarchy's promotion of the charismatic movement which violates Mortalium Animos by joining with Pentecostals to worship together in an antinomian atmosphere poised to undermine the priesthood.
We are a sacramental faith. We have no sacrament called "baptism of the Holy Spirit." We have Baptism. We have Confirmation. Both rely on the Sacrament of Ordination. We have no history of signs and wonders of the sort engaged in by the Charismatics. This is a new and novel phenomenon which began in the Protestant church and which has been the practice of those called heretics down through the history of Catholicism, as Msgr. Ronald Knox clearly spells out.
When did trafficing in spirits become a practice of the Roman Catholic Church?
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph pray for us!
