-Francis throws down the gauntlet-

The pope just published a letter to the US Bishops about President Trump’s polices, and Vice President Vance’s rhetoric, about immigration.

It’s direct and clear. And feels a little unprecedented to me.

1/5 It seems like a “bishops, get your house in order” move. And he sets a bar for the kinds of statements/actions expected of bishops during this presidency

The pope directly rebukes the “ordo amoris” rhetoric used by Vice President JD Vance to defend an America First ideology

2/5

There were several replies my earlier thread about missing Mass on an obligatory holy day that-in various ways-said that we ought to presume that an act of grave matter is a mortal sin.

So here's a followup🧵about mortal sin, missing Mass, and abuse of conscience.

1/15 A mortal sin requires three conditions: grave matter, full knowledge, and complete consent (CCC 1857-1859).

All three conditions must be met for there to be a mortal sin. It’s like a basic recipe for cookies that uses flour, butter, and sugar.

2/15

“The moral teaching of the Church largely follows Stoicism in this, so that we may say that both the procreative function of marriage and the habit of judging ‘in accordance with nature’ constituted the dual dowry bestowed by the world of antiquity on Christian marital morality… “Up to the present these principles have determined the categories of Catholic moral theology. With this as a background, we can begin to see the great significance of the fact that the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World eliminated both these categories…

I’m not living in an irregular union and I'm not a priest giving out blessings. So my reception of Fiducia Supplicans has been as an observer, not someone who is directly impacted.

But because FS is a magisterial teaching, I still believe it has something to teach me. 🧵 1/11 In the pope's book, The Name of God is Mercy, I heard about a God who loves and desires me, even before I make any effort to make myself holy. This comforted, scandalized, and compelled me.

This revelation of God’s character is the lens through which I read FS

2/11

When the pope taught that the Eucharist "is not a prize for the perfect" but "medicine for the weak," he was saying something new and ancient.

Ancient in that he's drawing from the Church Fathers and that this teaching safeguards God's revelation of himself as Father.

🧵 1/9 But it was also a new teaching for me. I was formed, especially as a young adult, to view Communion as a prize that I was always questioning if I, and others, was worthy enough to receive. 2/9

Can Catholics have sure and certain hope that everyone will be saved? I believe so.

A 🧵

1/9 First, the Magisterium currently teaches that the Church hopes that all are saved:

CCC 1821: In hope, the Church prays for all men to be saved.

And…. 2/9

The Catholic Church understands Tradition as a growing tree, not static texts. The post-Vatican II Magisterium emphasizes development, deepening understanding over time. The Magisterium guides this development. Revelation remains constant, but our comprehension evolves. 🧵1/10 Paul VI emphasized that tradition is not static, but tied to the living Magisterium. The Magisterium discerns how to best communicate Revelation to each new generation without compromising the faith. This development clarifies revealed truths, it does not create new ones. 2/10

🧵

As a catechist, it would be inappropriate for me wield historical documents and present those things as if they were what the Church teaches and require the assent of the faithful. For example…. 1. That Catholic parents are "forbidden" to send their kids to public school without the permission of their bishop (Divini Illius Magistri 79, 1929AD).

#CatholicTwitter has been discussing universalism again and that conversation is overlapping with my unpacking of an experience I had when my fifth child was born last week. A thread 1/ A priest was arguing against universalism and defined freedom as the ability to do otherwise. He said universalism presumes that either God can't not love us or that ultimately, we can't not love God. And if we can't not love then we are not truly free. 2/

I think Audrey Assad’s story is important.

First because her life and story are unrepeatable and infinitely valuable. But also because it is a prophetic call for the Church—all of us—to be better. Her story is an illustration of how we regularly abuse people’s consciences. 1/4 When someone has faith in God, and in institutions and people they believe represent God, they are vulnerable to abuse. Yet we seem to not think twice about trampling on people’s consciences by wielding “Church teaching” like a club.

2/4

I just bought this wonderful icon of St. Mark Ji Tianxiang (painted by Cecilia Lawrence).

For the past year or so his story has captivated me and given illustration to the Church’s teach about sin and grace.

Thread 1/ St. Mark was born in China in 1834. He was a physician who served the poor but who himself became seriously sick in his 30s and treated himself with one of the common medicines of that time, opium. 2/