For many people today, practical atheism is the normal rule of life...If this attitude becomes a general existential position, then freedom no longer has any standards, then everyting is possible and permissible.
Evil too, will always be part of the mystery of the Church. And when we see what men, what the clergy have done in the Church, then that is nothing short of proof that he [Christ] founded and upholds the Church. If she were dependent on men, she would long since have perished.
Celibacy is always, shall we say, an affront to what man normally thinks. It is something that can be done, and is only credible, if there is a God and if celibacy is my doorway into the kingdom of God.
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.
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.
I certainly hate to agree with Cardinal Marx on anything but I can do no more than agree with him that Amoris Laetitia is very clear when it comes to the heretical position on Holy Communion for adulterers. Any lack of clarity has been cleared up with Bergoglio stating that "there are no other interpretations" when the question came to him from his native Argentina.
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar