At least according to @CatholicNewsSvc, @Pontifex is creating a third permanent lay ministry: Catechist. This will be added to the other two official lay ministries of Lector and Acolyte. 1/
"Pope Francis’ decision to formally institute the ministry of catechist seems to be a response to those calls." 2/
"The move follows the pope’s decision in January to open the ministries of lector and acolyte to women." 3/
"While in most dioceses women already served as readers and altar servers at Mass, they were not formally instituted in those services on a stable basis." 4/
The Catholic culture war angle:
This is a further step away from the old "minor orders" model, where men preparing for the priesthood would be promoted through the ranks of porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte before the "major orders" of subdeacon, deacon, and priest. 5/
"Pope Paul VI suppressed the minor orders and transformed their offices into ministries, though the office of Lector and Acolyte are still instituted offices."
So this is a further step away from the pre-Vatican II model. Which will surely inspire a few exasperated blog posts from the usual corners of the internet.
7/7
“It is absolutely clear that there are matters that we can only discuss at the level of the Universal Church. We will contribute from Germany with our reflections.” 1/
“The binding implementation will, depending on the topic, be up to the Holy See and/or the local bishop. I repeat again: the Church in Germany is an integral part of the universal Church." 2/
"In Germany and in other parts of the Universal Church there has long been a discussion about how to further develop the Magisterium with sound arguments - on the basis of the fundamental truths of faith and morals." 3/
Catholics on the right seem to be trying to divert attention away from their own schismatic rhetoric and acts, and towards the German Church. They're declaring the German Church to be in schism, although they're not (yet).
Beam, meet splinter.
It's amazing that the group that has been so actively working to harm the Church over the last 8 years is accusing someone else of schism.
They don't recognize the patience the pope has had with them, and certainly aren't extending it to others.
Despite it all (dubia, defiance, libel, slander) Pope Francis hasn't excommunicated or formally disciplined anyone for schism.
Not Burke, not Schneider, not Strickland, not Vigano, not Gracida. I don't think many past popes would have tolerated a single one of them.
This follows their removal from YouTube earlier this year.
"Facebook cited an article posted on April 10, 2021, headlined 'COVID vaccines can be deadly for some.'”
Apparently conspiracy theories are more important to these guys than defending the unborn.
Note they were not banned for their pro-life news coverage or advocacy.
Nor were they banned for their (increasingly unhinged) religious views.
They could've continued with no penalty. But they hitched their cart to quackery and pseudoscience, risking who knows how many lives.
They decided that putting forth false and harmful medical advice (an area far outside their expertise), and they sacrificed a sizeable chunk of their social media presence over the promotion of fringe scientific views.
Pardon me if I am late to this discussion, but this is the first time I've heard anyone raise this point. Is it possible that the only person with the authority to bar President Biden from communion is Pope Francis? 1/
“It is solely the right of the Roman Pontiff himself to judge in the cases mentioned in canon 1401: 1) those who hold the highest civil office of a state…” (canon 1405 §1). 2/
Why do so many Catholics on the left think pro-life conviction on the Catholic right is insincere?
Are conservative pro-life Catholics exploited? Certainly.
Can they be blind to other evils? Absolutely.
Do most of them TRULY believe it's murder and want to save lives? YES. 1/
I'm in total agreement with those who point out that some Catholics have a very myopic view of abortion, and neglect (and often reject) other vital social issues.
But it's also wrong to downplay the gravity of abortion, which @Pontifex has compared to "hiring a hit man." 2/
Failing to take abortion seriously is a betrayal of a consistent ethic of life.
Working to build a home for future generations that is more just, more peaceful, that serves the poor and needy, that respects human dignity, and has a healthy ecosystem is not optional. 3/
It is a shame that the Catholic voices of those who speak out most strongly on behalf of the unborn are typically the most Trumpified, Burkified, and Viganized in our Church, and have aligned themselves with schismatic conspiracy theorists against the Church and human dignity.
(And I'm only about halfway through, so I'm saying all this while acknowledging that it might get weird later on.)