THE P RTAL
March 2017 Page 8
of course , would never fall into any sort of error and clearly would never do so about marriage or indeed any other sacrament , such as penance , and that is something that Bishop Steven is also really pleased to reassure us about .
What Bishop Steven tells those committed to his charge is as follows . The church has always taught us that marriage is a lifelong commitment and that divorce is impossible . It simply is not within the church ’ s power to alter the nature and consequences of marriage .
Adultery is a grave sin . Having sexual intercourse with a person who is not your spouse , even if you have been permitted to enter into a relationship with them by the state , is adultery . Those in a state of mortal sin must not take communion . That too is a rather important rule because otherwise the communicant sinner purchases to themselves the greatest peril to their soul . Naturally , this , according to Bishop Steven , is the general line taken by the Pope . Given that this is so , one wonders what on earth prompted the bishop to put pen to paper .
The answer , of course , although Bishop Steven is too dutiful a son of the church to say so , is that the Pope thinks that bishops and priests should exercise the mercy for which the church is justly famous by letting adulterers who have a settled intention to continue sinning to take communion . That is the current battle exercising the minds of the College of Cardinals and every bench of bishops throughout the world .
The English and Welsh are uncharacteristically silent about this because they are split down the middle on the subject . This pastoral letter bluntly tells us what we all know but would sometimes rather not hear . Actions have consequences , promises taken before God are vows , sacraments are just that and frailty , although all around us , is not the most sensible reason for abandoning that which we have always known to be both true and right .
Where did the Apostles go ?
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their history is shared , and their future as minorities in an overwhelmingly Muslim region lies together . The two patriarchs refer to their Churches as part of the one Patriarchate of Antioch . Its Byzantine liturgy and music adapted to Arabic , provides vital witness to Arab-speaking Islam . For instance , both Churches declare they worship Allah (“ God ”), and that Christ is His incarnation . Both counter the Muslim accusation that Christians worship three gods by saying , “ In the
The Pope has no more power to change the church ’ s teaching on this than did Parliament in the mid-1530s when it had the little matter of the King ’ s divorce to deal with . That experiment has not been entirely successful and the Roman Church would do well to remember that .
The Anglican Church used to believe that its task was to take the church to the people and to conform the people to the faith of the church , and it did so with great fidelity . Although it would deny it absolutely , it now firmly believes that its mission is to take the church to the people and to conform the church to the image of those to whom it is taken .
That is a dreadful consequence of liberal relativism of which , unfortunately , we hear so much today . It has destroyed the Anglican church and it will destroy any other church which permits the devil the luxury of employing it in our midst .
Bishop Lopes tells us gently but firmly that those of us who married must stick to the bed we have made . Marriage breakdown is often awful , but its inevitable consequence is not ‘ re-marriage ’. Nullity may sometimes be an option , stigma never is .
Taking Communion is not something that one just does . Confession without a settled intention of avoiding the same sin does not lead to absolution . Priests , and bishops for that matter , cannot just make things up because it suits the moment . How remarkable that Anglicanorum coetibus has produced a bishop who believes it to be his duty to ensure that the faith of the church and its teachings are to be protected against error and who is not afraid by public pronouncement to put down the mighty from their seat .
How strange that the other 6,000 bishops have apparently not done so . But then , as L / Cpl Jones so shrewdly observed , most of them really don ’ t like it up them Sir .
Name of the Father , Son and Holy Spirit ” and adding , “ One Allah . Amen .”
The membership of the Eastern Orthodox Antiochian Church is about 750,000 , while the Melkite counterpart is 1,500,000 world-wide , although in Syria it is the second largest after the Orthodox . Both Churches have seen their young , business and professional members flee , as churches , schools and care facilities are ruined , leaving a poorer Church that will find it very difficult to recover – without our aid and solidarity as fellow ‘ normal Catholics ’.