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    Fr. Joseph Jenkins

  • The blog header depicts an important and yet mis-understood New Testament scene, Jesus flogging the money-changers out of the temple. I selected it because the faith that gives us consolation can also make us very uncomfortable. Both Divine Mercy and Divine Justice meet in Jesus. Priests are ministers of reconciliation, but never at the cost of truth. In or out of season, we must be courageous in preaching and living out the Gospel of Life. The title of my blog is a play on words, not Flogger Priest but Blogger Priest.

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Dissenters will Be Disappointed

Many are projecting or lobbying for a change in the Church’s attitude toward homosexuality, however a passive toleration and support for decriminalization is probably the most for which dissenters can hope. Anything more would constitute heresy. Marriage as a natural bond and sacrament between a man and a woman can never be extended to same-sex unions.

The Church can also never turn a blind eye to the sins of fornication and adultery. Similarly, there is no way the Church can retract its teachings in defense of the right to life, no matter how enthusiastically she might applaud the rights of women.

Pope Francis has made inroads into satisfying those who are concerned about the environment, but such must always focus on the place of humanity first and on human stewardship of creation. It would constitute a false religion to divinize nature. Indeed, it would constitute the heresy of pantheism. Such is why orthodox voices were quick to criticize the Amazonian Pacha Mama or Mother Nature. Those who sought to appropriate the Mother of God within the iconography and cult risked distorting Our Lady from a blessed creature into goddess signified by a pagan idol. (I do not think this was ever the intent of the Vatican but rather it was a concession of respect that got out of hand.)      

2 Responses

  1. Thank You.

  2. I have to question Pope Francis’s seemingly approval of same-sex marriage? While he has not changed the catechism he and Fr. Martin are leaning in the opposite direction, are they not?

    FATHER JOE: I cannot speak for Father Martin but the Pope is restrained by what is settled doctrine and morals. He can explain or advance what we believe, but he does not have the authority to reverse such teachings or to bless what is sinful. Indeed, recently Pope Francis wrote Fr. Martin to explain his AP interview where he stated that homosexuality should not be criminalized. Having said this, he reaffirmed that homosexual activity, as with any sexual act outside “heterosexual” marriage is constitutive of sin.

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