Saturday, January 02, 2016

Robert Moynihan's Letter for January 1, 2016


Robert Moynihan articulates his "one concern" about forgiveness by the Church which Francis understands to be as broad and universal as Christ's forgiveness from the Cross (and ourLady with Him):

"This is a concern because cultural forces inimical to the faith greatly desire to gain a victory in this particular battle, a battle which is only part of a very broad-based metaphysical war against the concepts of substantial being, personhood, the soul, personal fault, sin, guilt, repentance, and holiness of life -- the concepts which underlie the entire Catholic sacramental system... the concepts which underlie the entire Catholic faith."

  This is precisely the point: The fear, doubt and opposition of excellent believing people within the Church today to the mind of Francis is all coming from the scholastic conceptual base that they have been formed in since the 16th century. In short, they have understood "being" to be "that which is "in itself and not in other," i.e. the Greek notion of substance. Until "substance" is confronted and replaced by the Christian experience and consciousness of "person as relation"- 'to-be-for' - the inability to understand and the reluctance to obey will triumph. In short, the Person of Christ, is the meaning of reality.

Moynihan who professed to understand Ratzinger-Benedict, clearly did not understand that this is precisely the message of Benedict, and it is Francis who is making it stick. (More to be said).

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