To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.
Certainly, it is difficult to make the demands of the Gospel understandable to secularized people. But this pastoral difficulty must not lead to compromises with the truth.
That Christianity gives joy and breadth is also a thread that runs through my whole life. Ultimately someone who is always only in opposition could not endure life at all.
“If you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”
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.
In yet another idiotic move, the post-Vatican II Church has decided to celebrate the division that came about as a result of Lutheranism, having issued a communique entitled " FROM CONFLICT TO COMMUNION Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017". The documente was evidently issued last year. I was worried this would happen.
An interesting pastoral letter from the high priest Caiaphas which satires the silence of the post-Vatican II Church on important issues.
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar