Skip to main content

Is Dogma Important? Part II - Kinda

Image
By
+
JMJ

As a follow up to part 1 and the theme of hybridization of Catholics, the following appeared on the Catholic Diocese Pittsburgh in January 2014.

Bishop David A. Zubik
Bishop of Pittsburgh
An ecumenical group of pastors and laity has been preparing for the Three Rivers Festival of Hope, sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Aug. 15-17, 2014, at the Consol Energy Center. The three-day event will include stirring music from Christian artists and personal testimonies of people from various walks of life who are dedicated to following Jesus Christ.
 I have appointed Father David Poecking, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Carnegie, and Helene Paharik, associate general secretary of the diocese, to serve as my representatives on the festival committee.
 The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association isn't a Catholic organization. But we do share a common hope of helping Christians return to the practice of their faith and of bringing the Gospel to every person in our city, nation and world. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a record of working cooperatively with Catholic dioceses. If there are folks at the Three Rivers Festival of Hope who want to return to the Catholic Church, we surely want to be there to welcome them back with open arms.
 For that reason I appreciate this opportunity for the Diocese of Pittsburgh to participate in this work of evangelization. As I stated in my pastoral letter, "The Church Alive!," I can remember as a youngster watching on television the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham. I marveled at the way he was able to touch people's hearts.
 May the Three Rivers Festival of Hope so touch people's hearts with the love of God that they are fired up to follow his Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. May our prayerful presence at the festival enable former Catholics to come home. May the experience of Christian unity at the festival inspire our region to continue to build bridges of reconciliation in service to the common good.

The confusing part is the "... share a common hope of helping Christians return to the practice of their faith ...".

The non-hybridized version would read: '... the practice of the Catholic faith ...' because there is only one Church of Christ and frankly Billy Graham's church isn't it!

P^3
Prayer
Penance
Patience

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

By
+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay.  Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. P^3
30 comments
Read more

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

By
 + JMJ    An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'.  Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like.  No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included.  I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith.  While...
25 comments
Read more

Rorate-Caeli URGENT: Pope tells Italian Bishops he plans to abolish the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum

By
 + JMJ  Now THIS is probably the most important news item in the last two years - yes I place this above the pandemic. I'm only surprised by how long it took for this to surface during this pontificate. I hope and pray that it is false or that if it comes to pass that somehow some good will arise out of the ashes of Summorum Pontificum. P^3  Courtesy of Rorate-Caeli URGENT: Pope tells Italian Bishops he plans to abolish the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (Updated) Update (May 26): Rorate's additional sources in Rome have confirmed this Wednesday that Francis has indeed a text on Summorum Pontificum lined up, which has been developed for months, but what is not known at this point is if the text is just about a more limited take on the Summorum application questionnaire (first revealed by us in the spring of 2020) or about an overhaul of Summorum Pontificum in general: drafts could be dealing with both matters. It is also not impossible for a text to come ou...
9 comments
Read more

If Pope Francis is bad - what about Pope St. John Paul II et al?

By
+ JMJ So here we are on the apparent cusp of yet another post conciliar Papal canonization. This time we have Pope's John-Paul I and Paul VI canonizations to 'look forward' to. This follows, obviously, on the heels of Pope St. John Paul II's canonization? So the first question that I usually encounter is: How is it possible, keeping in mind the doctrine on infallibility of canonizations (note doctrine not dogma), that Pope St. John Paul II is a Saint? First, what does it mean???  According to the doctrine of dogmatic facts - it is the universal opinion of Theologians that canonizations are infallible.  It means that they enjoy the beatific vision.  ... that's it.  That is the doctrine and it is at the level of universal opinion of theologians.  It is called a 'dogmatic fact'. That they made mistakes is obvious.  That the miracles seem to not be very miraculous is also a bit of an issue. Here's something to consider: The rush that surrou...
16 comments
Read more

Thirty Days Prayer to Our Lady -

By
+ JMJ Providence has cast this prayer in my path twice in the last week.  I decided to post it here in order to have a copy handy. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience Source Intro Prayer With the condition of affairs in the cultural, political and physical world in a state of disarray we enter Lent - Ash Wednesday - February 25th - 2004 - more compelled then ever to pursue, diligently and faithfully, our personal road to holiness. It is a long, difficult path each of us treads, however, we do know the journey can be sweeter and more blessed if we travel it with others. Jesus has told us: "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am with you." And there are many other biblical passages, as well, that urge us to love and help one another. A 'Thirty Day Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary ' was said by many Catholics during troubled times in their lives up until Vatican II. While looking through old stored away boxes, I came across a small white prayer b...
4 comments
Read more