The Modernist Agenda to destroy the Priesthood revealed
This is where the anti-clerical rhetoric of Pope Francis is leading.
Below news from Belgium.
Abolishing the ordination of priests? In Liège, a brochure creates controversy
"Let's give the Church back to the people of God! This is the title of a fifty-page document that is circulating these days. The document was written by committed Christians in the diocese of Liège and defends the suppression of priestly ordination. Revealing real divisions, the text provoked a strong reaction from Bishop Delville.
"The sacraments as we celebrate them, as we symbolise them, are only one stage in a long historical journey. These are the first words of a brochure published recently and which presents itself as "an audacious brochure of pastoral theology accessible to all". This fifty-page brochure is the fruit of a reflection carried out by a dozen people. For more than a year, they met every month "to reflect on the way the sacraments are lived today". The authors of the text are people who are particularly involved in the life of the Church, some of them even professionally, notably in the Vicariate of Health in the Diocese of Liège. (Cathcon: they would actually deny dying and frail people the comforts of a visit from a priest- they are living for themselves not for those in their care!)
"Few priests are capable of true relationships"
The reflection is rooted in the reality of pastoral commitments as well as in various authors - among them Joseph Moingt, a French Jesuit theologian who died in 2020.
Various subjects are addressed: the place of women in the Church, clericalism, abuse of power, the priesthood... It is on the place of the priest that the text goes furthest. "Few of them are capable of true egalitarian, and therefore fraternal, relations with the Christians around them," read the authors, who go so far as to propose the suppression of ordination. "To suppress clericalism, the clergy must be suppressed," they conclude. they conclude. "The ordination of clerics, as currently proposed and practised, is one of the burdens that hinders the dynamism and prophetic nature of the Church. There is an urgent need for a more authentic practice of Christian communities that goes beyond the strict barriers of a canonical legislation that testifies to a bygone era and that often hinders the Gospel in the belief that it serves it...".
The authors also invite each baptized person to take his or her responsibilities: "It is a false idea to believe that the ordination of women or married men would solve the problems that the Church is experiencing. It is the paradigm that needs to be changed, the spirit of the Gospel needs to be revived, the responsibility of each baptized person needs to be privileged.
The counter-petition
Unsurprisingly, the brochure is causing a reaction. Since 15 February, the website riposte-catholique.fr has denounced the positions defended in the text. "This text erases the reality of the call of God who chooses and calls His consecrated persons: one recognises in priests only the strictly horizontal, human and social dimension of their mission. In response to the brochure, the website relays a petition that is also meant to be "a tribute to the priesthood and to priests". "In view of the seriousness of the comments made in this document, we, lay people who are also committed to the Church (in Liege and elsewhere), wish to respond to this document in order to make it clear that this group is not representative of all the baptized in our diocese.
The petitioners defend in particular the faith, resistance to the temptation of ambition, knowledge of the Magisterium and spiritual guidance, support for our priests and authentic communion in the sacraments. On Friday 17 February, the petition already had 629 signatures.
The Bishop of Liège encourages everyone to live their service "with fraternity".
On the same day, the Bishop of Liège, Mgr Delville, also took up his pen. He denounced words that "are felt as unjust and unfair by many priests, deacons and lay Christians". He added: "I perceive them as totally false when I think of the amount of dedication that I have seen in the priests and other pastoral actors of our diocese during the almost ten years of my episcopate. The bishop also recalls that he has set up a Vicariate specifically dedicated to accompanying priests and other pastoral workers "to enable each one to carry out his ministry or service with serenity, within the framework of the multiple difficulties that this mission encounters".
If the Bishop is not opposed to theological reflection or to contradictory debate, he regrets "the caricature-creating character of this booklet, but even more so, the fact that the reflection presented in the booklet contests the position of the Second Vatican Council and condemns two thousand years of Christian life". Before reiterating his commitment to the synodal process requested by Pope Francis, and encouraging everyone "to live their ministry or service with zeal and fraternity".
Cathcon: The greatest assistance to the destruction of the priesthood is the synodal process.
The Bishop's Letter
Abolishing the ordination of priests in the Catholic Church?
A recent brochure was published in Liège under the title "Let's return the Church to the people of God! To put an end to clericalism". It questions the ordination of priests and makes a peremptory judgement about them: "Few of them are capable of true egalitarian, and therefore fraternal, relations with the Christians around them" (p. 25). The authors therefore state: "We question ordination itself", including that of deacons and bishops (p. 36). They add: "To suppress clericalism, we must suppress the clergy" (p. 47).
These words are felt to be unfair and unjust by many priests, deacons and lay Christians. I perceive them as totally false when I think of the amount of dedication that I have seen in the priests and other pastoral workers of our diocese during the almost ten years of my episcopate. Without denying the scandal of the abuses committed by some, the pastoral shortcomings of others and the limits inherent in human nature, I am happy to note how much priests and deacons, religious men and women, lay Christians, women and men, are committed to the service of the Church. I thank them for supporting each other in the mission. I have set up a Vicariate for the accompaniment of priests and other pastoral actors to enable each one to carry out his ministry or service with serenity, in the context of the many difficulties that this mission encounters.
Anchored in the Word of God and supported by the faith tradition, the Diocese of Liège is open to theological reflection and contradictory debate. The initial questions posed by the authors are very pertinent, but the answers are poorly educated. I regret the caricatured character of this booklet, but even more so, the fact that the reflection presented in the brochure challenges the position of the Second Vatican Council and condemns two thousand years of Christian life. In order to avoid clericalism, the Diocese of Liège has resolutely committed itself to the synodal process requested by Pope Francis and is pursuing it assiduously by preparing a Diocesan Pastoral Council.
I assure the priests and seminarians, the religious men and women, as well as all active as pastors in the Diocese of Liège, of my solicitude in their regard. I encourage each one to live his or her ministry or service with zeal and fraternity. I also encourage the vocations of priests and deacons, as well as vocations to the lay ministries instituted by Pope Francis, which will manifest themselves in our Diocese; I hope to celebrate this year the ordinations of deacon or priest. I rejoice in these promising developments which show the dynamism and faith of our local Church.
Liege, 17 February 2023.
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