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By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Feb 08, 2022

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.

 

In response to my commentary of February 1st (Catholic reinterpretation: From fruitfulness to sterility), more than one reader asked how we can remain in obedient communion with the Church when doctrinal, moral and liturgical deficiencies are permitted or at times even encouraged by so many in ecclesiastical authority. Fortunately, the answer to that is quite simple. But in our righteous anger, we often overlook the obvious.

What ought to be obvious is that it almost never happens that even the worst pope, bishops, religious superiors and parish priests actually command the faithful to do something evil. Far more than nine-hundred and ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they simply give bad guidance or, if they command something, they command you to stop doing something that would normally be considered good. There is a huge difference between being advised or even ordered not to do some particular thing which is objectively good and being advised or even ordered to do something which is objectively evil. …

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