Francis, False Hopes, and the Church’s Divine Constitution, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Oct 01, 2024

Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org

It is interesting to see how much flak Pope Francis took during his recent visit to Belgium. He has returned to Rome now to participate in the preliminary activities for opening the second Synod on Synodality. But one of the problems with the Synod on Synodality is that it not only emphasizes widespread Catholic engagement in the Church at all levels but inescapably fosters an atmosphere in which dissident Catholics think they can push through changes in either Church teaching or sacramental discipline, or both. So I suppose we must buckle our seat belts and prepare for an annoyingly rough ride, to a destination which, barring an increase in evangelical zeal or Divine intervention, will almost certainly be the same as the departure point.

It defies the imagination how dense so many Church leaders can be about what constitutes authentic Catholic renewal. People always seem to want to tinker with structures, rules, sacraments, liturgy or patterns of consultation when the fundamental call to renewal has always been exactly the same as when Our Lord proclaimed it at the beginning of his public ministry: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel” (Mk 1:15). …

Continue reading >>>>>>>>>>>>