Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

Connect

Amoris Laetitia: Cardinal Schönborn’s remarks

By

Cardinal Schönborn's remarks

Once again Pope Francis demonstrated that mercy is more than sympathy or even empathy but requires action when he made a compassionate pilgrimage to the Greek island of Lesbos at the invitation of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II in the company of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.

The three hierarchs made a joint plea to European countries to reopen their borders to the thousands of Middle Eastern refugees detained in Greece. Then, in an extraordinary gesture, the Holy Father brought three Syrian refugee families to Rome as guests of the Vatican.

On the return flight the Pope was asked if his recent Apostolic Exhortation offered any hope of returning to the Eucharist for divorced Catholics remarried without annulments. Pope Francis answered yes and referred the questioner to Cardinal Christoph Schönborn’s remarks when the Vienna Archbishop introduced Amoris Laetitia at a Vatican press conference on April 7. Since many have asked this same question I am offering a quote of the portion of Cardinal Schönborn’s remarks referred to by Pope Francis.

What we are speaking of is a process of accompaniment and discernment which “guides the faithful to an awareness of their situation before God”. But Pope Francis also recalls that “this discernment can never prescind from the Gospel demands of truth and charity, as proposed by the Church”.

Pope Francis mentions two erroneous positions. One is that of excessive rigour: “a pastor cannot feel that it is enough simply to apply moral laws to those living in ‘irregular’ situations, as if they were stones to throw at people’s lives. This would bespeak the closed heart of one used to hiding behind the Church’s teachings” (AL 205). On the other hand, the Church must certainly never “desist from proposing the full ideal of marriage, God’s plan in all its grandeur” (AL 207).

Naturally this poses the question: what does the Pope say in relation to access to the sacraments for people who live in “irregular” situations? Pope Benedict had already said that “easy recipes” do not exist (AL 298, note 333). Pope Francis reiterates the need to discern carefully the situation, in keeping with St. John Paul II’s Familiaris consortio (84) (AL 298). “Discernment must help to find possible ways of responding to God and growing in the midst of limits. By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth, and discourage paths of sanctification which give glory to God” (AL 205). He also reminds us of an important phrase from Evangelii gaudium, 44: “A small step, in the midst of great human limitations, can be more pleasing to God than a life which appears outwardly in order but moves through the day without confronting great difficulties” (AL 304). In the sense of this “via caritatis” (AL 306), the Pope affirms, in a humble and simple manner, in a note (351) that the help of the sacraments may also be given “in certain cases.” But for this purpose he does not offer us case studies or recipes, but instead simply reminds us of two of his famous phrases: “I want to remind priests that the confessional should not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy” (EG 44), and the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak” (EG 47).

Is it an excessive challenge for pastors, for spiritual guides and for communities if the “discernment of situations” is not regulated more precisely? Pope Francis acknowledges this concern: “I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion.” (AL 308) However, he challenges this, remarking that “We put so many conditions on mercy that we empty it of its concrete meaning and real significance. That is the worst way of watering down the Gospel.” (AL 311)

Pope Francis trusts in the “joy of love.” Love is able to find the way. It is the compass that shows us the road. It is both the goal and the path itself, because God is love and love is from God. Nothing is more demanding than love. It cannot be obtained cheaply. Therefore, no-one should be afraid that Pope Francis invites us, with Amoris Laetitia, to take too easy a path. The road is not an easy one, but it is full of joy!

For those who would like to read the full text of the Pope’s document, it is available at www.cathdal.org/joyoflove. I urge you to do so. Cardinal Schönborn says of Amoris Laetitia, “It must be said that the documents of the Church often do not belong to one of the most accessible literary genres. This text of the Pope’s is readable, and those who are not dissuaded by its length will find joy in its concreteness and realism. Pope Francis speaks about families with a clarity that is not easy to find in the magisterial documents of the Church.”

The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia)

By

The Joy of Love (Amoris Laetitia)

The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church. As the Synod Fathers noted, for all the many signs of crisis in the institution of marriage, “the desire to marry and form a family remains vibrant, especially among young people, and this is an inspiration to the Church.” As a response to that desire, “the Christian proclamation on the family is good news indeed. (Amoris Laetitia, 1)

Thus begins The Joy of Love, (Amoris Laetitia), Pope Francis’ long anticipated Apostolic Exhortation on the family that was released Friday morning calling for a new pastoral approach to the increasingly complex realities of families in today’s world, not focusing on the so called “nuclear family” but on the family as a wider network of many relationships. “Thus in his exhortation, the Holy Father looks “to the reality of the family today in all its complexity, with both its lights and shadows.” (AL, 32) Among those addressed are single-parent families, those in irregular marriages, grandparents as surrogate parents and other “wounded families.”

This is a long and very significant document and I anticipate writing many blogs about it but here are a few salient points of this very pastoral exhortation.

While recognizing that Christian marriage, is fully realized in the union between a man and a woman as a reflection of the union between Christ and his Church (AL, 292) the Holy Father states that, “there is no need to lay upon two limited persons the tremendous burden of having to reproduce perfectly the union existing between Christ and his Church, for marriage as a sign entails a dynamic process…, one which advances gradually with the progressive integration of the gifts of God.” (AL, 121)

It is the love of Jesus, the Pope explains, that brings joy to families. “The Lord’s presence dwells in real and concrete families, with all their daily troubles and struggles, joys and hopes. Living in a family makes it hard for us to feign or lie; we cannot hide behind a mask. If that authenticity is inspired by love, then the Lord reigns there, with his joy and his peace. The spirituality of family love is made up of thousands of small but real gestures. In that variety of gifts and encounters which deepen communion, God has his dwelling place. This mutual concern “brings together the human and the divine for it is filled with the love of God. In the end, marital spirituality is a spirituality of the bond in which divine love dwells.” (AL, 315)

As this is a pastoral document, the Pope neither proposes or anticipates changes in the Church’s traditional teaching, yet points out that “When faced with difficult situations and wounded families, it is always necessary to recall this general principle: ‘Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations’ (Familiaris Consortio, 84). The degree of responsibility is not equal in all cases and factors may exist which limit the ability to make a decision. While clearly stating the Church’s teaching, pastors are to avoid judgements that do not take into account the complexity of various situations.”(AL, 79)

“For the faithful who are living together,” the document continues, “or are only married civilly, or are divorced and remarried, following the divine pedagogy, the Church turns with love to those who participate in her life in an imperfect manner: she seeks the grace of conversion for them; she encourages them to do good, to take loving care of each other and to serve the community in which they live and work. When a couple in an irregular union attains a noteworthy stability through a public bond and is characterized by deep affection, responsibility towards the children and the ability to overcome trials, this can be seen as an opportunity, where possible, to lead them to celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony.”(AL, 78)

Finally, the Holy Father explains, “There are two ways of thinking which recur throughout the Church’s history: casting off and reinstating. The Church’s way, from the time of the Council of Jerusalem, has always been the way of Jesus, the way of mercy and reinstatement… The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone forever; it is to pour out the balm of God’s mercy on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart.” (AL, 327)

There are those who will be disappointed with this document; some who feel it does not go far enough in addressing the hopes of those in irregular marriages, others who feel it compromises traditional teaching. In my opinion, it reflects the call of Jesus to his church to continue his healing and saving mission.

We will have much more to say about Amoris Laetitia. The complete document is available at www.cathdal.org/joyoflove, where you can also find a short summary, answers to questions you may have, a history of the Synods on the Family, and many other resources.  Please pray for all families, no matter their circumstances, and those who minister to them.

This is a time for mercy

By

This is a time for mercy

When John XXIII solemnly opened the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, he said, “The Bride of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than arm herself with the weapons of rigor.”(Gaudet Mater Ecclesia).

I believe that this is a time for mercy. The Church is showing her maternal side, her motherly face, to a humanity that is wounded. She does not wait for the wounded to knock on her doors, she looks for them on the streets, she gathers them in, she embraces them, she takes care of them, she makes them feel loved.

“Mercy exists,” the Pope points out, “but if you don’t want to receive it…if you don’t recognize yourself as a sinner, it means you don’t want to receive it, it means that you don’t feel the need for it … The first and only step required to experience mercy,” he then added, ”is to acknowledge that we are in need of mercy. Jesus comes for us, when we recognize that we are sinners.”

Those who are in the habit of judging people from above, who are sure of their own righteousness, who are used to considering themselves just, good, and in the right, don’t feel the need to be embraced and forgiven. And there also are those who feel the need but think they are irredeemable because they have done too many bad things.

“More than half a century ago,” Pope Francis recalls, “Pope Pius XII said that the tragedy of our age was that it had lost its sense of sin, the awareness of sin. Today we add further to the tragedy by considering our illness, our sins, to be incurable, things that cannot be healed or forgiven.”

“Perhaps,” he continued, “we lack the actual concrete experience of mercy. The fragility of our era is this, too: we don’t believe that there is a chance for redemption; for a hand to raise you up; for an embrace to save you, forgive you, pick you up, flood you with infinite, patient, indulgent love; to put you back on your feet. We need mercy.”

The Name of God is Mercy

By

20160212-mercy

In Pope Francis’ new book, his first since his election to the Chair of Peter, the Pope explains why mercy has become the hallmark of his Papacy and how it provided the title of his book, The Name of God is Mercy.

Recalling the words of Pope Benedict, “Mercy” Pope Francis points out, “is in reality the core of the Gospel message; it is the name of God himself, the face with which he revealed himself in the Old Testament and fully in Jesus Christ, [the] incarnation of Creative and Redemptive Love. This love of mercy also illuminates the face of the Church, and is manifested through the Sacraments, in particular that of the Reconciliation, as well as in works of charity, both of community and individuals. Everything that the Church says and does shows that God has mercy for man.”

We as disciples, individually as Christians and collectively as Church, are instruments of God’s mercy in the world today. We are called, “to be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God, to be generous with others, knowing that God showers his goodness upon us with immense generosity.”

This is uniquely true In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where, “the apostles and all their successors—the bishops and their colleagues the priests—become instruments of the mercy of God.” They act “in persona Christi,” in the person of Christ, to mediate God’s forgiveness. “The Lord never tires of forgiving: never! It is we who tire of asking him for forgiveness. We need to ask for the grace not to get tired of asking for forgiveness, because he never gets tired of forgiving.”

The Holy Father tells of a priest who once told him, “I forgive a lot and sometimes I have doubts, I wonder if I have forgiven too much? — We talked about mercy and I asked him what he did when he had those doubts.” This is what he said: “I go to our chapel and stand in front of the tabernacle and say to Jesus: ‘Lord, forgive me if I have forgiven too much. But you’re the one who gave me the bad example!’ ”

When Peter asked how many times he should forgive someone, Jesus said, not seven times but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22), or in other words, always.

The Holy Father’s book would be wonderful reading for Lent (and for always). It is readily available in bookstores and online in both book and eBook formats.

I will be writing more about it throughout the Lenten season.

Pope Francis and Africa

By

Pope Francis and Africa

Pope Francis came as a pilgrim where Jesus had come as a refugee. Joseph and Mary fled to Africa to seek refuge from Herod’s slaughter of the children of Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:13-17) Pope Francis came “as a pilgrim of peace and an apostle of hope.”

Breaking precedent, as he is wont to do, the Holy Father carried his message of mercy, peace and brotherhood to a trilogy of African republics seeking to make peace a reality rather than a distant dream. All three nations, Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) have large, vibrant and growing Catholic populations that are part of the “new Christendom” emerging on the continent.

In a sense, the Pope’s visit is a modern parable that manifests the disciple’s call to not only welcome the poor, the marginalized and the homeless, but to seek them out as an instrument of the mercy of Jesus.

As a symbol of his mission of mercy, Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors of the cathedral in Bengui, capital of the war stricken CAR eight days before the official start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, proclaiming, “The Holy Year of Mercy comes early to this land, a land that has suffered for many years.” It was the first time a pope had opened Holy Doors outside of Rome.

Large crowds of cheering people lined the streets and filled the cathedrals and stadiums where the Pontiff celebrated public Masses, always punctuated by a strong military presence. He visited mosques and met with ecumenical leaders reminding all that “an essential characteristic” of being Christian is “love of enemies, which protects us from the temptation to seek revenge and from the spiral of endless retaliation.”

On his final day he met with the “three saints of Bengui,” the Rev. Nicolas Guerekoyame-Gbangou, president of the Evangelical Alliance; Imam Oumar Kobine Layama, president of the Islamic Council; and Archbishop Diedonné Nzapalainga of Bangui, president of the Catholic bishops’ conference, who have led the struggle to bring peace, brotherhood and stability to the CAR.

The pilgrim Pope has come and gone. The three saints remain. Let us pray for their success.

Pope Francis speaks to families in Philadelphia

By

Pope Francis speaks to families in Philadelphia

God scatters the seeds of His presence throughout the world through families, Pope Francis told hundreds of thousands of Catholic families jamming Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway on his last evening in the United Stated before returning to the Vatican.

Those seeds are “the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children,” the Holy Father explained. “They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love.”

Referring to them as “little miracles” he said we should encourage them and scatter them as seeds of God’s love. These little gestures, the Pope said, “are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith.”

No family stands alone. Each is a part of the great human family that shares our common home on this planet. “We might ask ourselves,” Pope Francis suggested, “What kind of world do we want to leave to our children?” (cf. Laudato Si’, 160) “We cannot answer these questions alone, by ourselves. It is the Spirit who challenges us to respond as part of the great human family. Our common house can no longer tolerate sterile divisions … may our children find in us men and women capable of joining others in bringing to full flower all the good seeds which the Father has sown!”

“Our Father will not be outdone in generosity.” The Holy Father assures us, “and he continues to scatter seeds.” He scatters the seeds of his presence in our world, for “love consists in this, not that we have loved God but that he loved us first.” (1 Jn 4:10) “That love gives us a profound certainty: we are sought by God; he waits for us.”

—

Image Credit: Screencap courtesy of Vatican on YouTube.com

Sunday in Klyde Warren Park with Pope Francis

By

unday in Klyde Warren Park with Pope Francis

Sharing with you what I consider the core message of Pope Francis’ many talks and homilies during his visit to our nation has been very important, but I want to return briefly to the event that occurred at Klyde Warren Park on Sunday, September 27, when more than 3,500 people assembled here in Dallas to share in the celebration of the Holy Father’s closing Mass on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.

Although I was privileged to be present for part of the Pope’s visit, my early return enabled me to be part of our wonderful Dallas celebration. What made the afternoon so special is that it was our own celebration of faith. It had all the elements of a family picnic, children playing, families spread out on quilts and chairs and even a couple of tents. Brightly colored umbrellas and happy music prior to the Mass gave it a very festive air.

Yet, once the papal Mass began on the giant screen, a respectful hush fell over the crowd with many people responding to Mass prayers and kneeling at the consecration. The sound was excellent and the colors on the screen were crisp and bright. I particularly noticed that when Mass and the closing ceremonies ended there was no mad rush to leave. People seemed to want to linger and savor the moment.

We are indeed grateful to Father Rudy Garcia, rector of the Cathedral which sponsored the event, The Catholic Foundation, Mr. Raul Estrada and all those whose efforts and generosity made it happen. I am sure many others will join me in cherishing the memory of that September afternoon in the park with Pope Francis.

Pope Francis at Independence Hall: Religious Liberty

By

Pope Francis at Independence Hall: Religious Liberty

In giving his speech on the north side of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pope Francis stood in the shadow of a statue of George Washington. It was also on the very spot where Abraham Lincoln, en route to Washington for his inauguration in 1861, delivered an address. Had the ceremony been on the south side of the building, the Pope would have stood in the shadow of a statue of Commodore John Barry, Catholic hero of the Revolutionary War and Father of the U.S. Navy.

Knowing the historic significance of the location, the Holy Father, remarked, “One of the highlights of my visit is to stand here, before Independence Hall, the birthplace of the United States of America. It was here that the freedoms which define this country were first proclaimed. The Declaration of Independence stated that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that governments exist to protect and defend those rights. Those ringing words continue to inspire us today, even as they have inspired peoples throughout the world to fight for the freedom to live in accordance with their dignity.”

Recalling a number of events that helped realize the promise of the Declaration of Independence, Pope Francis mentioned; the abolition of slavery, extension of voting rights, the civil rights movement and the struggles to realize full equality for all citizens. Noting that these events show, “that, when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed.”

Interestingly, the Holy Father stood only blocks away from a shrine to religious freedom, when he stated, “In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom. It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own.”

In the mid-18th Century, Old St. Joseph Church in Philadelphia was the only place in the English speaking world where Catholic Mass could be legally celebrated, thanks to an exemption to the anti-Catholic English Penal Laws granted to William Penn’s colony by the King of England.

Against this background the Pope noted that, “Religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families. Our various religious traditions serve society primarily by the message they proclaim. They call individuals and communities to worship God, the source of all life, liberty and happiness.”

William Penn’s Quaker religion was the reason he fought for and gained true religious liberty for his colony. The Pope recalled that, “The Quakers who founded Philadelphia were inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love. This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit.”

In closing, noting the large number of Hispanics present, Pope Francis said, “I greet all of you with particular affection! Many of you have immigrated to this country at great personal cost, but in the hope of building a new life. Do not be discouraged by whatever challenges and hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to your new nation. You should never be ashamed of your traditions.”