A
group of Catholic academics and pastors has submitted an appeal to Cardinal
Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals in Rome, requesting that the
Cardinals and Eastern Catholic Patriarchs petition His Holiness, Pope Francis,
to repudiate a list of erroneous propositions that can be drawn from a natural
reading of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia. During the coming weeks this submission will be
sent in various languages to every one of the Cardinals and Patriarchs, of whom
there are 218 living at present.
Describing the exhortation as containing “a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to Catholic faith and morals,” the signatories submitted, along with their appeal, a documented list of applicable theological censures specifying “the nature and degree of the errors that could be attributed to Amoris laetitia.”
Describing the exhortation as containing “a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to Catholic faith and morals,” the signatories submitted, along with their appeal, a documented list of applicable theological censures specifying “the nature and degree of the errors that could be attributed to Amoris laetitia.”
Among
the 45 signatories are Catholic prelates, scholars, professors, authors, and
clergy from various pontifical universities, seminaries, colleges, theological
institutes, religious orders, and dioceses around the world. They have asked
the College of Cardinals, in their capacity as the Pope's official advisers, to
approach the Holy Father with a request that he repudiate “the errors listed in
the document in a definitive and final manner, and to authoritatively state
that Amoris laetitia does not require
any of them to be believed or considered as possibly true.”
“We
are not accusing the pope of heresy,” said a spokesman for the authors, “but we
consider that numerous propositions in Amoris
laetitia can be construed as heretical upon a natural reading of the text. Additional
statements would fall under other established theological censures, such as scandalous,
erroneous in faith, and ambiguous, among others.”
The
1983 Code of Canon Law states that “According to the knowledge, competence, and
expertise which they possess, they [the Christian faithful] have the right and
even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on
matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known
to the rest of the Christian faithful” (CIC, can. 212 §3).
The
thirteen-page document quotes nineteen passages in the exhortation which seem
to conflict with Catholic doctrines. These doctrines include the real
possibility with the grace of God of obeying all the commandments, the fact
that certain kinds of act are wrong in all circumstances, the headship of the
husband, the superiority of consecrated virginity over the married life, and
the legitimacy of capital punishment under certain circumstances. The document also argues that the exhortation
undermines the Church's teaching that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics
who have made no commitment to continence cannot be admitted to the sacraments
while they remain in that state.
The
spokesman said, “It is our hope that by seeking from our Holy Father a
definitive repudiation of these errors we can help to allay the confusion already
brought about by Amoris laetitia among
pastors and the lay faithful. For that
confusion can be dispelled effectively only by an unambiguous affirmation of authentic
Catholic teaching by the Successor of Peter.”
Dr
Joseph Shaw, an Oxford academic and a signatory to the appeal, is acting as
spokesman for this group of Catholic scholars and pastors. The group has set up
the email address appealtocardinals@gmail.com
to answer press enquiries about the appeal.
Dr Shaw’s personal details can at the
following link.
His role as signatory and spokesman for the
group is as a private person, concerned Catholic, and philosopher, and should
not be construed as representative of the institutions for which he serves in
an official capacity.
