By Lavoisier Fernandes.
We are rapidly but surely moving into the post-modernism era, where there is no objective truth or moral values. The truth in today’s post-modernist society is very subjective, relative, and focuses on the truths derived from the whims and fancies of human logic and opinions which is “me, myself and I.”
St. Pope John Paul II had his postmodern predictive moments and, in his encyclical, “Fides et Ratio” (1998), said:
“The crucified Son of God is the historic event upon which every attempt of the mind to construct an adequate explanation of the meaning of existence upon merely human argumentation comes to grief. The true key point, which challenges every philosophy, is Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. It is here that every attempt to reduce the father’s saving plan to purely human logic is doomed to failure.”
Post-modernism with the assisted fuel of social media has given rise to polarisation, creating an opinionated and fragmented society. How should the Catholic Church react in this era of polarisation and post-modernism, is something she continues to struggle, whilst in the past the Church was given a privileged position, seen as a moral authority and what the Church taught was considered particularly important and was well received. This sense of privilege, power and entitlement within the Church also gave rise to the sickness of clericalism that Pope Francis describes as something that affected both clergy and laity . The Holy Father also recognises that for the Church to move forward she needs to stop living in this nostalgia of the past.
Today society no longer sees the Church as being authoritative and looks for authority somewhere else or perhaps it looks for no authority. Polarisation has also led to the populist approach and people seemingly do not like authority, establishments, and hierarchy. People see everything horizontal rather than vertical and do not wish to be told “what to do” and prefer going with the flow around.
“Cafeteria Catholicism” and the seeds of polarisation have seeped into the Church.
Cafeteria Catholicism is where a follower of Catholicism dissents from certain official doctrinal, moral, or magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church. It was a term that came about in the 1970’s and was most often used by conservative Catholics critical of progressive Catholics, a term that has been in use since the issuance of Humanae Vitae, an official magisterial document by St. Pope Paul VI, that propounded the Church’s opposition to the use of artificial birth control and advocated natural family planning.
Unfortunately, this Cafeteria Catholicism still continues, only the other way around, with conservative Catholics showing public dissent and opposition against the living Magisterium of Pope Francis. Some have also threaded on the border line of sedevacantism or into it.
The seeds of post-modernism and its kin of polarisation along with the fuel of social media opinions, personal and concocted interpretation of magisterial documents, individual preferences of liturgical practices and public dissent has seeped into the Catholic Church, creating divisions, thus affecting her mission of evangelisation. The liturgical wars in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, lack of acceptance of Traditionis Custodes, suspicions on magisterium appointments, and recently Fiducia Supplicans are just a few of many to name. It is sometimes painful to witness the numerous attacks, criticisms, and suspicions against Pope Francis, and against the ordinary Magisterium.
Today many Catholics are more inclined to trust the opinions of social media bloggers and the selective few global sites that promote division and extremism within the Catholic Church world-wide rather than trust the Magisterium of the Church, which is the official teaching authority of the Church, constituted of the Pope and the bishops in union with him and who’s authority comes from Christ, and its guidance that comes from the Holy Spirit manifested and given to Peter and his successors (Mt 16:18) “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”.
The Church has the power and authority to change her own laws.
There is a distinction between Catholic doctrine and discipline. They are not the same and how often one sees them linked together in the same sentence, as though they are the same. The result is confusion. Doctrine, briefly, is Catholic teaching on faith (what we believe) and morals (our behaviour). The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to them as the Creed and God’s commandments (CCC no 26).
Discipline, briefly, is laws made by the Church. Obviously, the Church has the power and authority to change her own laws if and when she sees fit – this is part of the “binding and loosing” given by Jesus Christ himself (Mt 16:19 and 18:18).
The role of the living Magisterium is to receive the growing information that we have about creation and reapply that new understanding to the unchanging deposit of faith (i.e. the truths of Scripture and Tradition, the creeds, and those things declared to be infallible) -CCC no 85
“The Successor of Peter is the rock which guarantees a rigorous fidelity to the Word of God.”
In a document promulgated in 1998 by the CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith) under then-Cardinal Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI) clearly says that the protection of the Magisterium is not simply a responsibility that the pope can opt to ignore, but the grace to fulfil that mission is intrinsic to the papacy. The document declares that:
“The Roman Pontiff, as the Successor of Peter, is “the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity both of the bishops and of the multitude of the faithful” and therefore he has a specific ministerial grace for serving that unity of faith and communion which is necessary for the Church to fulfil her saving mission.”
The document further adds :
“The Roman Pontiff – like all the faithful – is subject to the Word of God, to the Catholic faith, and is the guarantor of the Church’s obedience; in this sense he is servus servorum Dei. He does not make arbitrary decisions, but is spokesman for the will of the Lord, who speaks to man in the Scriptures lived and interpreted by Tradition; in other words, the episkope of the primacy has limits set by divine law and by the Church’s divine, inviolable constitution found in Revelation. The Successor of Peter is the rock which guarantees a rigorous fidelity to the Word of God against arbitrariness and conformism: hence the martyrological nature of his primacy.”
“Giving a personal interpretation of the texts of the magisterium, you would paradoxically give an example of this liberalism.”
Cardinal Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI) in a Letter to Archbishop Lefebvre July 28th, in 1987 prior to the Archbishop’s excommunication and on dissenting against the Magisterium, said:
“By giving a personal interpretation of the texts of the magisterium, you would paradoxically give an example of this liberalism which you fight so strongly and would act contrarily to the goal you pursue. Indeed, it is to Peter that the Lord has entrusted the government of His Church; the Pope is therefore the principal artisan of her unity. Assured of the promises of Christ, he will never be able to oppose in the Church the authentic magisterium and holy Tradition.”
Catholicism is a received faith, passed down through by an unbroken line of Successors to the Apostles.
I understand that many Catholics have trouble with particular teachings, have questions about specific papal decisions, and hope for certain doctrines to change. But Catholicism is not Protestantism and is not preferences of cherry picking what one likes and dislikes. We believe that Christ leads us to an always greater understanding of Himself. The hand He offers us is the Holy Spirit speaking through the living Magisterium. Catholicism is a received faith, passed down through the centuries by an unbroken line of successors to the apostles. We do not see the Magisterium as a static collection of doctrines, but we understand and accept that the teachings given to us today come from the same source of authority as those promulgated decades or millennia ago.
Fidelity to the Magisterium is indeed fidelity to Christ and echoing what Pope Benedict XVI said: “Humble fidelity to Jesus and obedience to the Magisterium is what brings true change to the Church.”
Lavoisier Fernandes, born and raised in Goa, is currently based in West London. His faith is “work in progress” — a lifelong journey. He has always been fascinated by the Catholic faith, thanks to his Salesian schooling. His passions are podcasting, theology, the papacy, and volunteering. He has hosted the ‘Talking Faith’ series for Heavens Road FM Catholic Radio, connecting with ordinary men and women within the Catholic faith and other faiths and examining issues affecting both the Church and society. He has also hosted the ‘Heart Talk’ series for Shalom World Catholic TV. He presently contributes for the Goa Diocesan magazine Renovação and the Faith Companion Magazine in England.
Please define Magisterium? Is it the Documents of Vatican II, is it the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is it Canon Law, is it various papal encyclicals or periodic pronouncements by the Pope or Vatican officials? The reality is that absolutism has given way to relativistism. Rigid morality is replaced by situational ethics.
When asked a pointed question “What is truth?” Jesus chose not to answer, for any definition of truth would be self-restricting and counter productive.
Besides fidelity to the so-called Magisterium there is also sensus fidei, the sense or pulse of the faithful