Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.
To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.
One can readily admit that the Magisterium's manner of expression does not seem very easy to understand at times. It needs to be translated by preachers and catechists into a language which relates to people and to their respective cultural environments. The essential content of the Church's teaching, however, must be upheld in this process. It must not be watered down on allegedly pastoral grounds, because it communicates the revealed truth.
Assuredly, the word of truth can be painful and uncomfortable. But it is the way to holiness, to peace, and to inner freedom. A pastoral approach which truly wants to help the people concerned must always be grounded in the truth. In the end, only the truth can be pastoral.
It is sad that there are what you might call professional Catholics who make a living on their Catholicism, but in whom the spring of faith flows only faintly, in a few scattered drops. We must really make an effort to change this.
For all the dialogue that Bergoglio speaks about, he is not opposed to condemnation when it suits his interests, this time threatening to suspend all the priests of a diocese who refuse to regognise the bishop sent to them, appointeed by Pope Benedict in 2012. The man never tires of showing of his hypocrisy.
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar