At Lifesite, Hilary White reports on Cardinal Burke’s latest round of guidance and encouragement for a Church in deep crisis, while also noting the stark difference between his thinking and that of Philippine Cardinal Luis Tagle. They both spoke in the UK last week.
Tagle is one to watch. He seems to share much of the Pope’s sheer audacity. He’s oh so joyous and cheerful while he says the most insidious things; things that seem to pivot on the changing world, the advances in psychology, and that terrible institution that was the Church up until now.
It seems like they are trying to build enough ‘righteous’ indignation against withholding Communion from adulterers, that the few remaining Catholic faithful and Synod hold-outs will be swamped with contempt from all sides.
Cd. Tagle is squarely in the sinful Communion crowd.
“Every situation for those who are divorced and remarried is quite unique. To have a general rule might be counterproductive in the end. My position at the moment is to ask, ‘Can we take every case seriously and is there, in the tradition of the Church, paths towards addressing each case individually?’ This is one issue that I hope people will appreciate is not easy to say ‘no’ or to say ‘yes’ to. We cannot give one formula for all.”
It’s interesting that this is so important to them. It has a purely spiritual effect. You would think men with such worldly focus would not think it worth doing, but they do. It’s not that they hope it will bring people back to Mass. I don’t believe the people pushing the Church really want full Masses. I think they want exactly what they’re getting: sold-off Churches and government funding.
Instead I think somewhere the people behind these ideas want the sacrilege. It’s not the faithful that they need out of the way for their brave new world. It’s the Grace of God.