Will the New Pope Reform the Church?

The Church is protected from error in her teachings. The Pope and his Bishops, speaking on matters of faith and morals are guided by the Holy Spirit and always will be until the end of time. Jesus made that guarantee when he told Peter, "You are rock and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Mt. 16:18 and "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Mt 18:18.

The Church's teachings do not in fact flow from the Church at all. They flow from God. The Church is merely the deliverer of these teachings, has no authority to change them, and in any case would be guided against this by the Holy Spirit. This is the reason you find that the Catholic Church has stubbornly held firm in it's teachings throughout history despite the reality of sometimes having corrupt individuals as members.

Yes, members of the Church can be corrupt. Jesus didn't guarantee us that the members of His Church would be perfect, and certainly many of them haven't been (as the media will surely not let you forget). Rather, Jesus guaranteed us that the Church itself, as a whole, would still always proclaim His correct and unchangeable teachings. Jesus, who is the source of truth, is the same now as He was back then, and so His teachings will never change. 

This is why many in secular society today find the Catholic Church so "stubbornly" standing in the way of "progress" by holding on to such "outdated" and "old fashioned" teachings even in the 21st Century. These people hold on the the erroneous and futile illusion that a Pope could or would change any of these "pesky" teachings. They should not hold their breath waiting to see if the next Pope will change anything. The next Pope will still be guided by the Holy Spirit to proclaim God's laws. Even if the next Pope is a disappointment as a man, which has happened before, he will still be guided by the Holy Spirit to not pollute any Church teaching. 

The author of the article below (Paul Donovan writing for cnn.com) is a perfect example of one holding on to such false hope. He harks back to the days of the Vatican II Council and all the "progress" he perceives he brought. He is wrong. While he is correct that Vatican II may have changed a few minor details (such as the adoption of the vernacular language for Mass) Vatican II didn't change a single teaching on faith and morals. In fact, Vatican II upheld and reiterated all of the Church's eternal and unchanging teachings (such as contraception). The author is under the illusion that a future "Vatican III" could change some of these teachings that he disagrees with. 

Vatican II had no authority to change any Catholic teachings just as Vatican III will not and Vatican XXXIII will not. Pope John XXIII didn't have this authority, Benedict XVI doesn't, and the next Pope won't. These Popes and the Councils they convene and the Encyclicals these issue have always and will always continue to uphold the eternal and sacred teachings that flow from Christ the King who established them to do just that and always that. 

Link to article by Paul Donovan, Feb 11, 2013: "Catholics" demand that their Church "reform"

Photo courtesy of: http://www.thesacredpage.com/2010/08/is-peter-rock-part-3-you-are-petrina.html

Reaping the Consequences

Skyrocketing divorce rates, broken homes, incurable sexually transmitted diseases, rampant pornography, abortion, AIDS, homosexuality, abuse of women. These horrible things are our reality in Western Society today. These are the consequences that Pope Paul VI warned society would suffer if we accepted contraception. These prophecies, in the 1968 Papal Encyclical Humanae Vitae sec 17, have all come to pass.

Let's look at a few of them:

We are fallen beings, prone to weaknesses and temptations, needing incentives to stay on the moral path. If we try to take away the natural consequence of sex (pregnancy), then recreation sex will become acceptable and widespread. Anyone with a brain and a set of eyes can see that this has come to pass. STDs that didn't even exist back in 1960 are rampant today and spread through widespread recreational sex.

If we separate sex from procreation, then adultery will become easier, since there will be less of a chance of an unintended pregnancy. A divorce rate of over 50% is all the proof you need that this prophecy came true.

As Pope Paul VI said, a general lowering of moral standards will ensue after society accepts contraception. Pornography and everything that follows it (addiction, perversions and every manner of devious behavior) is become almost normal today.

If a man uses contraception when having sex with a woman, in order to enjoy sexual pleasure without the natural consequences, then he may start to look at her as only a sex object. He may not want to marry her and take care of her, and will instead forget her dignity and degrade her. Sure enough, in our society today we have abused women, single mothers, strippers and hookers, all degraded and reduced to mere sex toys, not valued wives, deserving of dignity.

Finally, his Holiness warned that if contraception was adopted by a society that men and women would start to ignore the natural law and stop practicing self control in marriage in the regulation of births. Governments may then start to promote or even require contraception. The Obamacare HHS mandate is the clearest example you could ask for.

Other consequences that Pope Paul VI didn't explicitly mention also followed the acceptance of contraception. The slaughter of babies through abortion is the best example. Since sex becomes all about pleasure when people use contraception, and they attempt to block procreation, they resort to killing the baby when contraception fails.

The Church reiterates God's Law that sex is primarily for married couples to procreate but also to show their unity and love for each other. Both purposes are required. Sex is not about one person pleasing himself, but about participating in God's plan of creation. Sex is an image of the love between the Father and Son in the Holy Trinity, begetting the Holy Spirit. Sex is also an image of Jesus uniting Himself with His bride, the Church, and with each of us in Holy Communion. Instead, society has turned sex into something twisted, perverted and used for selfish ends. We are now reaping the consequences of this.


Humanae Vitae

Normalized and Legitimized: Artificial Contraception

Photo courtesy of: www.catholicmemes.com: http://chirho.me/memes/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PAUL-VI.png

The Reality of Sin

Man is a creature composed of body and soul, existing in both the material and spiritual world. The evil one tries to lead us into sin, promising that it will please our bodies and make us happy. Really, sin results in the punishment of both body and soul in this world and in the next. Sin results in us suffering in this world AND in the next.

Society tells us that having casual sex with anyone we want will make us free and happy. Sex is for pleasure and not restricted to marriage. Actually, while we're in this world, it leads to suffering in the form of unintended pregnancies, venereal diseases, broken marriages, hurt feelings and wasted time. If we die in an unrepentant state, it leads to eternal damnation in the next world.

Society tells us that pornography and deviant sexual practices are our right and our choice because they make us free and happy. In reality, in this world we suffer as we become slaves to these perversions. They result in addictive fetishes, molestation, diseases and leave us unable to have natural relations with the opposite sex. If we die in these sins, we continue to suffer in eternal flames in the next world.

Society tells us that drugs and alcohol are our choice and lead to freedom and happiness. Actually, they lead to addiction and slavery in this world. Soon, we find that our addiction has destroyed our bodies, ruined our health, taken all of our money, destroyed our relationships and led us into crime and violence. If we persist in these sins, the suffering continues in the next world, when not only our bodies but our souls destroyed in Hell.

Society tells us that money will make us happy. We are led to believe that we should chase after money at all costs because it will enable us to buy material things which are the only means for happiness. In reality, we end up trampling over our fellow man, taking advantage of others and compromising our values. Since no amount of money ever makes us happy, we constantly chase after more. On earth, we live a hollow and empty life and our money counts for nothing at the end of it. If we don't repent, we suffer eternal flame in the next world.

Christ established His Church to guide us in the world. When we follow the Church's rules we are actually following Christ's rules. by doing so, we can experience some happiness in this world and, God willing, we will be happy with Him in the next.

Photo courtesy of: http://access-jesus.com/Genesis/Genesis_3.html

Proposed Law to Legalize Homosexual Marriage in France Uniting People in Opposition

Since homosexual relations violate nature, it doesn't take a Catholic to see that calling them "marriage" is wrong. The French parliament is debating a bill which would legalize homosexual marriage. Most people see that a government law that forces us to pretend that homosexual sex is the same thing as marriage is bad news. This is tantamount to thumbing our nose at God (and you don't have to take my word for it: take one look at the photos of the homosexual activists demonstrating in Paris and you'll see many of them holding signs with vulgar language saying exactly that). The good news? People from all religions and beliefs are uniting in their opposition to this.

Our Jewish brothers are among the many calling for a strong defense of marriage. French Rabbi Gilles Bernheim said that a small number of homosexual activists are pushing this agenda on society in order to soften it up and ready it for a later attack on other fundamentals of society. 

Pope Benedict XVI agreed with Rabbi Bernheim. The Holy Father has been outspoken in his warning of the ramifications of society allowing homosexual marriage. He said that it follows "a concept of human nature that has proven defective".
http://www.jewishjournal.com/world/article/pope_praises_french_rabbis_essay_against_gay_marriage

Archbishop of Paris, Andre Vingt-Trois slammed the homosexual marriage bill, saying it undermines a child's basic right "to know one's parents and be raised by them". Fellow Cardinal Philippe Barbarin also said that this bill would "herald a complete breakdown in society", including rising "polygamy, paedophilia and incest."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9659058/French-gay-marriage-plans-a-sham-that-will-smash-foundations-of-society.html

Hundreds of thousands (some say millions) of people took to the streets on January 13th to protest the gay marriage bill. Catholics, Jews, Protestants, atheists and even gays participated. Many in the Muslim community have joined the protest. 
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/13/world/europe/france-marriage-rights-protest

The group "La Manif Pour Tous" or "The March For All" has led the fight against the abomination of allowing homosexual couples to adopt children. They promise another march in Paris on March 24th. 
http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/World.php?id=6980

Faithful Catholics might have reason to be disheartened when they read the news and see that even in a traditionally strong Catholic countries, the cultural decline is accelerating rapidly. Disguised under such euphemisms as "progress" and "tolerance", sexual perversions are being pushed on us. The foundations of society, such as the family, are being destroyed. We can't back down. We have to stay strong in Christ and keep Him at the center of our society. We have to fight to the end because Christ expects no less. 

Will the Boy Scouts lift their ban on open homosexuals?

Will the Boy Scouts lift their ban on open homosexuals?

The Boy Scouts could take a lesson from the Catholic Church in America. The Church has a clear policy against allowing men who practice homosexual behavior to be ordained but this didn't stop many of these men from becoming priests, especially in places such as the Archdiocese of Boston. The results sadly came to light in 2002.

In the Church abuse scandal, over 80% of the victims were male. Fewer than 5% were pre-pubescent males. In a report released a few years ago by LifeSiteNews, psychiatrist Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons cited these statistics and said that the genesis of the abuse crisis lay in the homosexual tendencies of the priests. (link below)

Indeed, the dangers of allowing openly homosexual men to have such close access to boys and young men was not lost on the Vatican. They reaffirmed the Church's prohibition on gay men in the priesthood in 2005 with their document "Instruction". (link below)

This does not mean that all people who have homosexual tendencies or feelings are evil. It simply means they suffer from a disorder that may make them incompatible with the priesthood, at least until they can overcome it. In any case, the Catholic Church reaches out to gay people and calls them to a life of chastity in order to grow closer to Jesus.

Girls and boys are separated in scouting for obvious reasons. It wouldn't be right for boy scouts (who may be becoming sexually attracted to girl scouts) to be sharing tents with those girl scouts. Even if the boys were perfectly trustworthy and chaste, it could still make the girls uncomfortable or lead to bad situations. It would be asking for trouble. In the same way, it would be asking for trouble to ask boys to share tents with openly homosexual scouts who are attracted to those boys.

No sane parent would want their boy to go on a camping trip with a gay man as a scoutmaster or to share a tent with an openly gay scout. Even if the homosexuals are not any more prone to molestation than heterosexuals, it would still be wrong because of the sexual attraction present.

Now is the time for the Boy Scouts to man up. Now is the time for them to stick to their principles. Now is not the time for them to back down to pressure from homosexual activists. Just because the culture is rotting and collapsing around the Boy Scouts, and acceptance of homosexuality is become the norm doesn't mean that the Boy Scouts should put their young boys at risk. Allowing homosexuals in Boy Scouts would be asking for a disaster similar to the one that unfolded in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/expert-homosexuality-clearly-a-factor-in-new-priest-abuse-data
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/11/29/vatican.gays/index.html