CDF issues clarification on Lumen Gentium

I'm out the door, but want to leave you with the other document we were expecting. As promised - we got it today from the CDF. H/T to Deacon Greg Kandra of Brooklyn.

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS
OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH


Introduction

The Second Vatican Council, with its Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, and its Decrees on Ecumenism (Unitatis redintegratio) and the Oriental Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum), has contributed in a decisive way to the renewal of Catholic ecclesiolgy. The Supreme Pontiffs have also contributed to this renewal by offering their own insights and orientations for praxis: Paul VI in his Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam suam (1964) and John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint (1995).

The consequent duty of theologians to expound with greater clarity the diverse aspects of ecclesiology has resulted in a flowering of writing in this field. In fact it has become evident that this theme is a most fruitful one which, however, has also at times required clarification by way of precise definition and correction, for instance in the declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae (1973), the Letter addressed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Communionis notio (1992), and the declaration Dominus Iesus (2000), all published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The vastness of the subject matter and the novelty of many of the themes involved continue to provoke theological reflection. Among the many new contributions to the field, some are not immune from erroneous interpretation which in turn give rise to confusion and doubt. A number of these interpretations have been referred to the attention of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Given the universality of Catholic doctrine on the Church, the Congregation wishes to respond to these questions by clarifying the authentic meaning of some ecclesiological expressions used by the magisterium which are open to misunderstanding in the theological debate.

RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS

First Question: Did the Second Vatican Council change the Catholic doctrine on the Church?

Response: The Second Vatican Council neither changed nor intended to change this doctrine, rather it developed, deepened and more fully explained it.

This was exactly what John XXIII said at the beginning of the Council[1]. Paul VI affirmed it[2] and commented in the act of promulgating the Constitution Lumen gentium: "There is no better comment to make than to say that this promulgation really changes nothing of the traditional doctrine. What Christ willed, we also will. What was, still is. What the Church has taught down through the centuries, we also teach. In simple terms that which was assumed, is now explicit; that which was uncertain, is now clarified; that which was meditated upon, discussed and sometimes argued over, is now put together in one clear formulation"[3]. The Bishops repeatedly expressed and fulfilled this intention[4].

Second Question: What is the meaning of the affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church?

Response: Christ "established here on earth" only one Church and instituted it as a "visible and spiritual community"[5], that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted.[6] "This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]. This Church, constituted and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him"[7].

In number 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium ‘subsistence’ means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church[8], in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth.

It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them.[9] Nevertheless, the word "subsists" can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe... in the "one" Church); and this "one" Church subsists in the Catholic Church.[10]

Third Question: Why was the expression "subsists in" adopted instead of the simple word "is"?

Response: The use of this expression, which indicates the full identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church, does not change the doctrine on the Church. Rather, it comes from and brings out more clearly the fact that there are "numerous elements of sanctification and of truth" which are found outside her structure, but which "as gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, impel towards Catholic Unity"[11].

"It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church"[12].

Fourth Question: Why does the Second Vatican Council use the term "Church" in reference to the oriental Churches separated from full communion with the Catholic Church?

Response: The Council wanted to adopt the traditional use of the term. "Because these Churches, although separated, have true sacraments and above all – because of the apostolic succession – the priesthood and the Eucharist, by means of which they remain linked to us by very close bonds"[13], they merit the title of "particular or local Churches"[14], and are called sister Churches of the particular Catholic Churches[15].

"It is through the celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord in each of these Churches that the Church of God is built up and grows in stature"[16]. However, since communion with the Catholic Church, the visible head of which is the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter, is not some external complement to a particular Church but rather one of its internal constitutive principles, these venerable Christian communities lack something in their condition as particular churches[17].

On the other hand, because of the division between Christians, the fullness of universality, which is proper to the Church governed by the Successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him, is not fully realised in history[18].

Fifth Question: Why do the texts of the Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of "Church" with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?

Response: According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery[19] cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called "Churches" in the proper sense[20].

The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ratified and confirmed these Responses, adopted in the Plenary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 29, 2007, the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

William Cardinal Levada
Prefect

Angelo Amato, S.D.B.
Titular Archbishop of Sila
Secretary


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] JOHN XXIII, Address of 11 October 1962: "…The Council…wishes to transmit Catholic doctrine, whole and entire, without alteration or deviation…But in the circumstances of our times it is necessary that Christian doctrine in its entirety, and with nothing taken away from it, is accepted with renewed enthusiasm, and serene and tranquil adherence… it is necessary that the very same doctrine be understood more widely and more profoundly as all those who sincerely adhere to the Christian, Catholic and Apostolic faith strongly desire …it is necessary that this certain and immutable doctrine, to which is owed the obedience of faith, be explored and expounded in the manner required by our times. The deposit of faith itself and the truths contained in our venerable doctrine are one thing, but the manner in which they are annunciated is another, provided that the same fundamental sense and meaning is maintained" : AAS 54 [1962] 791-792.

[2] Cf. PAUL VI, Address of 29 September 1963: AAS 55 [1963] 847-852.

[3] PAUL VI, Address of 21 November 1964: AAS 56 [1964] 1009-1010.

[4] The Council wished to express the identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church. This is clear from the discussions on the decree Unitatis redintegratio. The Schema of the Decree was proposed on the floor of the Council on 23.9.1964 with a Relatio (Act Syn III/II 296-344). The Secretariat for the Unity of Christians responded on 10.11.1964 to the suggestions sent by Bishops in the months that followed (Act Syn III/VII 11-49). Herewith are quoted four texts from this Expensio modorum concerning this first response.

A) [In Nr. 1 (Prooemium) Schema Decreti: Act Syn III/II 296, 3-6]

"Pag. 5, lin. 3-6: Videtur etiam Ecclesiam catholicam inter illas Communiones comprehendi, quod falsum esset.

R(espondetur): Hic tantum factum, prout ab omnibus conspicitur, describendum est. Postea clare affirmatur solam Ecclesiam catholicam esse veram Ecclesiam Christi" (Act Syn III/VII 12).

B) [In Caput I in genere: Act Syn III/II 297-301]

"4 - Expressius dicatur unam solam esse veram Ecclesiam Christi; hanc esse Catholicam Apostolicam Romanam; omnes debere inquirere, ut eam cognoscant et ingrediantur ad salutem obtinendam...

R(espondetur): In toto textu sufficienter effertur, quod postulatur. Ex altera parte non est tacendum etiam in aliis communitatibus christianis inveniri veritates revelatas et elementa ecclesialia"(Act Syn III/VII 15). Cf. also ibid pt. 5.

C) [In Caput I in genere: Act Syn III/II 296s]

"5 - Clarius dicendum esset veram Ecclesiam esse solam Ecclesiam catholicam romanam...

R(espondetur): Textus supponit doctrinam in constitutione ‘De Ecclesia’ expositam, ut pag. 5, lin. 24-25 affirmatur" (Act Syn III/VII 15). Thus the commission whose task it was to evaluate the responses to the Decree Unitatis redintegratio clearly expressed the identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church and its unicity, and understood this doctrine to be founded in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium.

D) [In Nr. 2 Schema Decreti: Act Syn III/II 297s]

"Pag. 6, lin. 1- 24: Clarius exprimatur unicitas Ecclesiae. Non sufficit inculcare, ut in textu fit, unitatem Ecclesiae.

R(espondetur): a) Ex toto textu clare apparet identificatio Ecclesiae Christi cum Ecclesia catholica, quamvis, ut oportet, efferantur elementa ecclesialia aliarum communitatum".

"Pag. 7, lin. 5: Ecclesia a successoribus Apostolorum cum Petri successore capite gubernata (cf. novum textum ad pag. 6, lin.33-34) explicite dicitur ‘unicus Dei grex’ et lin. 13 ‘una et unica Dei Ecclesia’ " (Act Syn III/VII).

The two expressions quoted are those of Unitatis redintegratio 2.5 e 3.1.

[5] Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8.1.

[6] Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 3.2; 3.4; 3.5; 4.6.

[7] SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen gentium, 8.2.

[8] Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae, 1.1: AAS 65 [1973] 397; Declaration Dominus Iesus, 16.3: AAS 92 [2000-II] 757-758; Notification on the Book of Leonardo Boff, OFM, "Church: Charism and Power": AAS 77 [1985] 758-759.

[9] Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint, 11.3: AAS 87 [1995-II] 928.

[10] Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8.2.

[11] SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8.2.

[12] SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 3.4.

[13] SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 15.3; cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Letter Communionis notio, 17.2: AAS, 85 [1993-II] 848.

[14] SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 14.1.

[15] Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 14.1; JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint, 56 f: AAS 87 [1995-II] 954 ff.

[16] SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 15.1.

[17] Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Letter Communionis notio, 17.3: AAS 85 [1993-II] 849.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 22.3.

[20] Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Declaration Dominus Iesus, 17.2: AAS 92 [2000-II] 758.




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CDF to clarify Lumen Gentium - July 10th

With the motu proprio now releeased, we have more breaking news on forthcoming document from the Holy See. According to news reports, it is expected July 10th.

The Vatican is on a roll!

The CDF is to clarify an aspect of Lumen Gentium, which is a document of Vatican II. From CWNews:

Coming Vatican doctrinal document will reaffirm role of Church

Vatican, Jul. 6, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican will soon release a new doctrinal document, addressing the unique role of the Catholic Church in God's plan for salvation, according to informed sources in Rome.

The new document, to be released from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will address questions about the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium (doc), that the Church founded by Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church."

Questions about how the true Church "subsists" in the Catholic Church have drawn a series of answers from the Vatican-- most recently the declaration Dominus Iesus (doc), which was released in 2000 with the approval of Pope John Paul II (bio - news) and signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

The document to be released on July 10 will repeat and reinforce the fundamental message of Dominus Iesus that the Church founded by Jesus Christ exists fully in the Catholic Church alone. The document will critique the notion that other religious bodies may also represent the Church founded by Christ, and caution against the "ecclesial relativism" that Pope Benedict has criticized in the past.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will release the document on July 10, reports indicate. The plan for release of the document has not yet been confirmed by the Vatican.

[source]

More on this issue:

Kath.net (German)
Blog of Il Giornale's Andrea Tornielli(Italian)
Gerald Augustinus (who broke the story in the US)
American Papist with additional commentary


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The motu proprio: Summorum Pontificum

It's been just over 30 minutes since the motu proprio has been released.

I humbly turn you over to someone qualified to comment, Fr. Zuhlsdorf. He has an extensive post up and has even built in a podcazt!

Te Deum laudámus:
te Dóminum confitémur.
Te ætérnum Patrem,
omnis terra venerátur.
Tibi omnes ángeli,
tibi cæli
et univérsæ potestátes:
tibi chérubim et séraphim
incessábili voce proclámant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra
maiestátis glóriæ tuæ.

As Fr. Z prepared for the embargo to be lifted, he had a special visit.

The link he has to the actual motu proprio is not in English. But, Fr. Z has been looking over both English and Latin.

We should start seeing it appear in news outlets today, now that the embargo has been lifted at noon, Rome time. As of 6:30am this morning, there is nothing. I would imagine most newspapers will focus on it in their Sunday papers so tomorrow ought to be a big day. That is when we will begin a new media watch, probably through the eyes of Fr. Z.

Here is an unofficial translation from the Vatican Information Service. I don't know if this is the source of the USCCB version, which has already received some critiquing with regards to accuracy (softened in contrast to official Latin). We need to see the Vatican's English translation before we can comment further. What is sad is that many will run forever with the English version they find from the USCCB. We will assume, for the sake of charity, that any softening is unintended lest we fall into what the ccc calls, rash judgment.

Also at the VIS, is the letter to bishops. And, excerpts from the Explanatory Note from Pope Benedict in English

I am not going to be too available today, so I encourage you to visit Fr. Z's homepage daily, if not a few times daily if you really want your motu proprio fix.

Other good resources to watch:

The New Liturgical Movement (NLM)

Fr. Tim Finigan in the UK

Rorate Caeli

MOTU PROPRIO DISCUSSION ON EWTN JULY 9TH

Don't miss The World Over Live special at 9:00pm EST on July 9th. Some of you may be interested to know of this on EWTN:

THE WORLD OVER LIVE SPECIAL:
ANALYSIS OF MOTU PROPIO: SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

Discussion of the newly- released papal document by Pope Benedict XVI widening use of the 1962 Roman Missal.

Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska
Monsignor James Moroney, Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy
Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ, Editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review
Most Rev. Thomas G. Doran, Bishop of Rockford, Illinois
Fr. George Gabet, FSSP, North American District Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

JULY 9, 9:00 PM

All comments on this blog are now moderated - whether new or old posts. Please submit your comment only once and when I have a few minutes I will check in and publish them. The only things I reject outright are advertisements, lewd comments, attacks against the Catholic faith, links to web-pages containing private revelations not fully approved by the Catholic Church, and comments or links to web pages containing detraction or calumny.

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The Pope's Letter to the Chinese

This has been another important piece of news in the Church today - a letter Pope Benedict has written to the Chinese.

I'm really glad Fr. Z has been focusing on this issue for the last few months because it has had me thinking often of Catholics and Christians in China, where ordinary Catholic things we take for granted can bring on much hardship for them. Those who don't die a physical martydrom, endure a living martyrdom where "dying to self" goes to a level most of us in the west cannot fathom. Our hearts and prayers go out our Chinese brothers and sisters, and all suffering Christians in the world.

Archbishop Chaput had this to say in an outstanding article published this May entitled, Religious Tolerance and the Common Good. Mid-article he points out:

When I visited China two years ago for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, two things struck me. The first was the incredible growth of the Christian faith in that country. And the second was the remarkably skillful and subtle persecution of religion carried out by the authorities. The world can be a very difficult place for people who truly seek the face of God. A country like North Korea has nearly wiped religious believers out of the population. It’s a gangster state without even a pretense of freedom and the rule of law. In Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, Christians have faced discrimination and persecution for centuries, and it hasn’t stopped. It’s happening right now, today, while I’m speaking.

We have it easy here. We can go to Mass when and if we feel like it - at any parish at all. Sometimes we are inclined to hide our Catholicism for secular reasons while people in other parts of the world are dying for their faith, or suffering in ways we don't fully realize.

Here is the letter (choose your language at the bottom)


Here are Fr. Z's initial thoughts, with more to come, I'm sure. Perhaps I'll just edit this post with further commentaries from Fr. Z and others that are relevant.

Some background may be found among the posts by Sandro Magister over at The Chiesa

Edit: The American Papist has his bases covered with several links and he is going to read it over the weekend. Hmmmmm ...... it must be a slow weekend for Tom!!! We'll look for his reaction, as well.

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Justin Cardinal Rigali - Walking the Talk

Justin Cardinal Rigali, when first installed in Philadephia, wrote a pastoral letter asking pastors to put the Tabernacle back in the center of the Church behind the main altar.

On March 4, the feast of Sts Peter and Paul, the Cardinal celebrated Mass with the Tabernacle behind him (seen in the photo above, which contrasts the smaller photo above it showing how empty the background looked before the restoration). This is so appropriate to the discussion on Sacramentum Caritatis.

Here is an from the Catholic Standard. I am pasting in the entire article out of fear that it will disappear as some of the Catholic papers do to conserve space. The photo is also from the article.

Keeping Christ in the center of our lives and our churches

by Lou Baldwin and Michelle Johnson

In his first pastoral letter as Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Justin Rigali asked pastors to consider placing the tabernacle in the center of the church behind the main altar if it was not already there and if individual circumstances made such a move feasible.

On Sunday, March 4 at the Cathedral of S.S. Peter and Paul, the Cardinal led the way and made the mother church of the Archdiocese an example to all when he blessed a brand new tabernacle which has been relocated from a side altar to the center of the Cathedral’s sanctuary where it is visible by all.

The tabernacle has been placed on a ledge which is part of a luminous new reredos, a freestanding “screen” erected a few feet behind the main altar. Amazingly, it looks for all the world as if it has been there ever since the altar itself was installed 50 years ago.

“Cardinal Rigali has been telling everyone they should keep Christ in the center of their lives, and what better way to do that than to keep Him in the center of our churches also,” said Louis DiCocco, president of The St. Jude Shop, which was responsible for the new tabernacle, reredos and matching candlesticks.

The Cardinal was clearly moved by the event. In his homily, he told the Cathedral’s parishioners, “Our hearts are filled with joy to celebrate this great event, and once again in a very special way to express our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle. ...[W]e honor the presence of Christ truly and substantially in the Eucharist which we have enthroned in this beautiful new tabernacle that expresses our holy Catholic faith.”

The whole setting is breathtakingly beautiful. The reredos, executed in marble, exactly matches the half-century old altar. That’s because it was executed in Pietrasanta, in the Tuscany region of Italy, with marble obtained from a quarry in the same area as the original altar marble, and a perfect match was found.

Design elements include pilasters which mirror similar Corinthian pilasters and capitals on the altar. Rising above the tabernacle is a niche with an interior facing of white gold and gold tiles, a fitting backdrop for a gold crucifix with an ivory corpus.

The large tabernacle is adorned with gold pilasters and dome, which, similar to the repository of the holy oils in the Cathedral’s shrine to the priesthood, reflects the architecture of the 19th century cathedral. Crafted in Spain, “it is brass, hand gold-plated, one of a kind,” DiCocco said.

Unique features of the highly polished tabernacle are silver medallions on the door and on the inner rear wall of the tabernacle. Both medallions were crafted from designs chosen by the Cardinal.

The exterior medallion depicts Christ as the Lamb of God, while the interior image depicts the risen Christ, modeled after a painting which hangs in the the Pope’s study in the Vatican.

The proof of a good restoration and addition is how seamlessly it fits the existing décor.

“It really looks like it has always been there,” said Msgr. Michael T. McCulken, the Cathedral rector. “The reredos and restoring the tabernacle to the center behind the altar are absolutely beautiful. This will hopefully allow all of us to grow in our love for Jesus and in our devotion to the Eucharist through the beauty that is present there.”

“It was great working with [the Cardinal] on this,” DiCocco said. “He has very good taste and very good art style. I guess all of those years working in Rome gave him that.”

Since coming to the Archdiocese on Oct. 7, 2003, the Cardinal has asked that devotion to Our Lord in the Eucharist be a priority for his priests and that priests foster this devotion in the laity. He has encouraged participation in Forty Hours Devotion, Eucharistic Adoration (especially Holy Hours for an increase of vocations to the priesthood), the regular celebration of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the faithful use of the Sacrament of Penance for the worthy reception of Communion, as well as pesonal and liturgical prayer.

“It is my hope that all the works of the Archdiocese and the lives of all our people will be vivified by a new wave of Eucharistic devotion solidly rooted in the sacred word of God and expressed in personal and liturgical prayer,” the Cardinal said in his 2004 pastoral letter. “We look forward to the renewal of a sense of reverence and awe for Christ’s gift of His Body and Blood, to be expressed in appropriate times of silence in our churches, in our genuflection before the Blessed Sacrament and in all the care that sourrounds the celebration of the liturgy.”

Pieces of art that lift the mind and heart can increase reverence and awe and help foster Eucharistic devotion.

As the Cardinal said in his 2004 pastoral letter: “We proclaim the Real Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. ... We ... acknowledge that the Eucharist, given to us at Mass, is also to be adored in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in our tabernacles. Adoration ... prepares us spiritually to come back and share again in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. ... I ask the whole Archdiocese of Philadelphia to do everything possible to promote and increase Eucharistic Adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo parish and a freelance writer. Michelle Laque Johnson is Editor-in-Chief of The CS&T.

Hat-tip to the New Liturgical Movement, which is also providing some good coverage of Sacramentum Caritatis and continuing discussion of the anticipated motu proprio on the Tridentine.

Another Pastoral Letter on Pornography - This time from Bishop Robert W. Finn

Bishop Loverde of the Arlington Diocese released a pastoral letter on pornography not that long ago, and now Bishop Finn of Kansas City - St. Joseph Diocese has done the same.

Hat tip to the Bishop Finn Fan Club and Kansas City Catholic.

I'll start you out here and let you follow the link to the diocesan website for the full document.

Bishop Robert W. Finn
Diocese of Kansas City ~ St. Joseph

Blessed Are The Pure In Heart
A Pastoral Letter on the Dignity of the Human Person
and the Dangers of Pornography
Kansas City, Missouri ~ February 21, 2007

To the clergy, religious, lay faithful of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and to all people of good will:

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8): A way of discipleship

In the Beatitudes Christ offers us a perfect model for true Christian living. Even more than the Ten Commandments themselves, they are a charter for the high moral calling Christ sets for His disciples.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. This one line from the Beatitudes offers a most sublime beginning point to our reflection. It tells us about God, ourselves and our ultimate goal. A pure heart is “blessed” or “happy.” Seeing God and being with Him forever in heaven is God’s plan for our eternal well-being. The Old Testament teaches that this purity is required if we are to approach God. “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false” (Psalm 24, 3-4).

To be pure in heart implies that our love is wholly directed toward the good of the other person. We are “single-hearted,” and not divided in our love. Israel ’s first and most important commandment is to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Deut 6: 4-5). Jesus added definitively that we must also love our neighbor as our self (Mk 12: 29 -31). This pure love – as demanding as it may be – is the high destiny to which we are called as children of the Father. Is it possible to fulfill such a love? Yes. It is possible because God has first loved us (1 Jn 4:10 ). As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to the happiness that comes from a clean and undivided heart.

Pornography: Epidemic Attacking Human Dignity

Daily there are challenges to this pure Christian love. For some months, representatives of our Catholic Diocese have been working with leaders of other faith traditions to address the serious dangers represented by the steady increase of pornography in our culture. Pornography is not new, but it has become a kind of plague in our society, reaching epidemic proportions. It is being propagated more widely than ever. Well beyond magazines, it is widespread on the internet, television, movies and videos, and now on cell phones and other handheld devices, many of which are marketed to children and youth. Pornography has become the secret entertainment of many people of all ages, walks of life, and economic backgrounds. Use of internet pornography is perhaps the fastest growing addiction in the world.

Continue reading Bishop Finn's Pastoral Letter......

This kind of document has been sorely needed. It's a sad state of reality that many Catholics today - especially young people, do not see the sinfulness of pornography. Hollywood makes television programs aimed at youth which sell sex when the TV characters are still in high school - as if it is a normal part of the curriculum. They grow up thinking it is part of high school life. Some go to church each week, oblivious to how saddened God is with the offenses against his Commandments.

This kind of letter is exactly the leadership we so badly need. There is no doubt that we need bishops to speak up on helping the poor, and on matters of justice. However, there has been relative silence for decades on issues of morality with respect to issues such as pornography.

This is also an excellent follow up to the Pope Benedict's Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est. We need more priests and bishops to continue contrasting the difference between true love and false love.

Please pray for our priests and bishops!

CWN: Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist is "imminent"

Wow....how long have we waited for this one? Hopefully, "imminent" means something sooner than another year.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am very excited at the prospect of reading this when it finally appears.

Go read the CWNews article about the "imminent" release of the document which is the result of the 2005 Synod on the Eucharist.

If you are unfamiliar with what this is about, here is the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document that was used for the synod discussions.