Saturday, September 24, 2011

Contrasting Ecumenism

"For this reason", the Pope added, "I am very grateful to our Protestant brothers and sisters who have made it possible to hold this highly significant meeting in the convent where Luther began his theological journey, to pray ... and talk together about our responsibility as Christians today. I am delighted to be able to express our fundamental unity as brothers and sisters who work together for the good of humankind, announcing the joyful message of Christ, of God Who has a human face and Who speaks to us".
(Benedict XVI, Vatican Information Service, 23 September 2011)
In virtue of our pastoral office committed to us by the divine favor we can under no circumstances tolerate or overlook any longer the pernicious poison of the above errors without disgrace to the Christian religion and injury to orthodox faith. Some of these errors we have decided to include in the present document; their substance is as follows:

...

25. The Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, is not the vicar of Christ over all the churches of the entire world, instituted by Christ Himself in blessed Peter.

...

28. If the pope with a great part of the Church thought so and so, he would not err; still it is not a sin or heresy to think the contrary, especially in a matter not necessary for salvation, until one alternative is condemned and another approved by a general Council.

...

33. That heretics be burned is against the will of the Spirit.

...

37. Purgatory cannot be proved from Sacred Scripture which is in the canon.

...

No one of sound mind is ignorant how destructive, pernicious, scandalous, and seductive to pious and simple minds these various errors are, how opposed they are to all charity and reverence for the holy Roman Church who is the mother of all the faithful and teacher of the faith; how destructive they are of the vigor of ecclesiastical discipline, namely obedience. This virtue is the font and origin of all virtues and without it anyone is readily convicted of being unfaithful.
(Leo X, Ex Surge Domine, 15 June 152)

In addition to the contrast between Benedict XVI and Leo X in general, I selected a few of the alleged "errors" of the Reformation that Leo X singled out. Papal supremacy, of course, made the last. But so did the idea that it is ok to disagree with the pope and the majority of the church, even when the matter has not been defined. According to Leo X, capital punishment of heretics is not just ok, it's "the will of the Spirit." And Leo X actually thought one could prove purgatory from the canonical Scriptures.

One might say that in some ways there has been substantial progress between the time of Leo X and the time of Benedict XVI. But Rome has not officially repudiated its own earlier teachings - it has not said it was wrong, even after nearly half a millenium of demonstration of those errors.

-TurretinFan

1 comment:

  1. TF:

    "One might say that in some ways there has been substantial progress between the time of Leo X and the time of Benedict XVI. But Rome has not officially repudiated its own earlier teachings - it has not said it was wrong, even after nearly half a millenium of demonstration of those errors."

    Wowzer!

    Working backwards; that is powerful, insightful and underscores the true nature of Truth, unchanging in nature, scope and Eternity and presumably the point of this thread, "Contrasting Ecumenism".

    It makes perfectly good sense when your "mission" is to reach mankind in a catholic sort of way that progress would manifest within their organization between their heresy then and their heresy now? It is still heresy! And, might it be a slight of hand "not" to officially repudiate the renowned early Papal figures a half millenium of demonstration of those errors, ago?

    I learned something when developing laws for my nation. We were not to be very specific keeping everything in a grey area so in time as the political winds blew in another direction it would be easier to justify the earlier codifications. Why admit it was wrong then and right now? Just don't go there and be prepared for a non-answer answer that keeps the damage under control if and when someone astute came along and questioned. People, for the most part, are just dumb sheep like Ezekiel wrote already! :) Hushing up some astute questions in public takes the formidable likes of a President Clinton or or or just so long as you have many others standing with your wind? How many Cardinals stand with Benedict today?

    As for the first paragraph, "... "I am very grateful to our Protestant brothers and sisters who have made it possible to hold this highly significant meeting in the convent where Luther began his theological journey, to pray ... and talk together about our responsibility as Christians today. I am delighted to be able to express our fundamental unity as brothers and sisters who work together for the good of humankind, announcing the joyful message of Christ, of God Who has a human face and Who speaks to us". ...".

    That's certainly nothing like this:

    Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
    Gal 1:7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
    Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
    Gal 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
    Gal 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.


    Can't be very ecumenical when you live and breathe that sort in the world of fallen men, now can you? :)

    ReplyDelete

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