Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
November, 22 2016
Among
the keys that interpret Pope Francis’ pontificate is certainly his love of
contradiction. This inclination of mind is made evident by the Apostolic Letter
‘Misercordia et misera’, signed at
the end of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. In this letter Pope Bergoglio,
establishes that those who attend the churches officiated by the priests of the
Fraternity of St. Pius X, can receive validly and lawfully, sacramental
absolution. The Pope thus rectifies that
which constituted the main factor of “irregularity” in the Fraternity founded
by Monsignor Lefebvre: the validity of their confessions. It would be
contradictory to imagine that once confessions are recognized as valid and
lawful, that the Masses celebrated by the priests of the Fraternity not be
considered just as lawful, which are valid in any case. At this point it is not
understood why an agreement is necessary between Rome and the Fraternity
founded by Monsignor Lefebvre, seeing as the position of these priests is de facto regularized and that the doctrinal
problems up for discussion - for the Pope - as is well-known - are of little
interest.
In
the same letter, so that “no obstacle arises between the request for
reconciliation and God’s forgiveness” Pope Bergoglio concedes, from now on “I
grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those
who have committed the sin of procured abortion”. In reality, priests already
had the faculty to forgive abortion in confession. However, according to the
centuries-old praxis of the Church, abortion is one of the grave sins punished
automatically by excommunication. “A person who procures a completed abortion
incurs latae sententiae
excommunication” says Canon Law (1983) no.1398. Priests, therefore, needed permission from
their bishop to remove the excommunication before being able to absolve the sin
of abortion. Now all priests can also
absolve the excommunication, without needing to go through their bishop or they
themselves being empowered to do so.
Excommunication de facto is dropped and abortion loses the gravity that
Canon Law ascribed to it.
In an interview
given to “TV 2000” on November 20th, Pope Francis affirmed that “Abortion is still a grave sin”, a “horrendous
crime”, since “it brings an end to an innocent life”. Can the Pope ignore that
his decision to drop the crime of abortion from the latae sententiae excommunication,
relativizes this “horrendous crime” and allows the mass-media to present it as
a sin that the Church considers less grave than in the past and which She [now]
easily forgives?
The Pope states
in his Letter that “there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away
when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father” , but
as is evident from his own words, mercy is such that it presupposes the
existence of sin, and thus justice. Why speak all the time about a good and
merciful God, and never about a just God, Who rewards and punishes according to
the merits and faults of man? The Saints, as has been noted, never ceased
exalting the mercy of God, unlimited in its giving; and to fear also His
justice, rigorous in its demands. A God capable only of loving and rewarding
the good and incapable of hating and punishing evil, would be contradictory. Short
of retaining that the Divine Law exists, but is abstract and impracticable and
the only thing that counts is the concrete life of man, who cannot help but
sin. What is important is not the observance of the law, but blind faith in Divine mercy and forgiveness. Pecca fortiter, crede fortius.
However, this is
the doctrine of Luther, not of the Catholic Church.
Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana
