Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner last month published a letter they sent to the Pope asking him for direct answers to a number of questions they posed on his apostolic letter Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). The following are some comments and reactions to the publication of that letter.

Do not judge us unjustly

In a statement, Cardinals Brandmüller, Burke, Caffarra and Meisner said: “We hope that no one will choose to interpret the matter according to a ‘progressive/conservative’ paradigm. That would be completely off the mark. We are deeply concerned about the true good of souls, the supreme law of the Church, and not about promoting any form of politics in the Church. We hope that no one will judge us, unjustly, as adversaries of the Holy Father.”

Hatred and viciousness

Fr Anthony Spadaro SJ, editor of Civiltà Cattolica and one of the closest advisers of Pope Francis, said: “I think that some people are exploiting the cardinals’ letter in order to ramp up the tension and create division within the Church...

“The hatred and viciousness directed against him [the Pope] are always signs of the bad spirit which has nothing to do with the Gospel.”

Deplorable

German theologian and philosopher Prof. Robert Spaemann said: “It is deplorable that only four cardinals have taken the initiative in this case… The four cardinals have chosen the correct road....

“The Pope clearly has a deep aversion to these decisions in which a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ is required.”

Clarity and understanding

“Amoris Laetitia will continue to be discussed among the Church’s bishops and the Holy Father, in order to bring clarity and understanding to difficult questions. The questions being posed to the Holy Father are intended to help achieve clarity,” Bishop James Conley of Lincoln said. “The Lord calls those who are divorced and civilly remarried, or who are cohabiting, to continence.”

Wrapped up in minutiae

American Catholic columnist Pat Perriello, in the National Catholic Reporter, wrote: “These sad cardinals have gotten so wrapped up in the minutiae of doctrine that they fail to see the loving and merciful message of the one whom they profess to follow. These cardinals feel so compelled to preserve doctrine that is in no way threatened. Pope Francis has been careful throughout his papacy to challenge none of the doctrines of the Church... Are we headed for schism?”

Widespread confusion

In a ‘Statement of Support for the Four’, 23 Catholic pastors and scholars wrote: “As a result of the widespread confusion and disunity following the promulgation of AL, the universal Church is now entering a gravely critical moment in her history that shows alarming similarities with the great Arian crisis of the 4th century. Today we are witnessing a similar metastasising crisis, this time over fundamental aspects of Christian living. Continued lip service is given to the indissolubility of marriage. But in practice, increasing numbers of highly-placed prelates and theologians are undermining or effectively denying these dogmas... by virtue of their exaggerated or one-sided emphasis on ‘mercy’, ‘pastoral accompaniment’, and ‘mitigating circumstances’.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)

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