Vatican City, Jun 20, 2017 / 11:52 am (National Catholic Register).- Here below is the full text of the letter, signed by Cardinal Carlo Caffarra on behalf of the four dubia cardinals, asking Pope Francis for an audience to discuss deep concerns over the Pope’s apostolic exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love).
The Holy Father has yet to acknowledge the cardinals’ written request.
“Most Holy Father,
It is with a certain trepidation that I address myself to Your Holiness, during these days of the Easter season. I do so on behalf of the Most Eminent Cardinals: Walter Brandmüller, Raymond L. Burke, Joachim Meisner, and myself.
We wish to begin by renewing our absolute dedication and our unconditional love for the Chair of Peter and for Your august person, in whom we recognize the Successor of Peter and the Vicar of Jesus: the “sweet Christ on earth,” as Saint Catherine of Siena was fond of saying. We do not share in the slightest the position of those who consider the See of Peter vacant, nor of those who want to attribute to others the indivisible responsibility of the Petrine munus. We are moved solely by the awareness of the grave responsibility arising from the munus of cardinals: to be advisers of the Successor of Peter in his sovereign ministry. And from the Sacrament of the Episcopate, which “has placed us as bishops to pasture the Church, which He has acquired with his blood” (Acts 20:28).
On September 19, 2016 we delivered to Your Holiness and to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith five dubia, asking You to resolve uncertainties and to bring clarity on some points of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia.
Not having received any response from Your Holiness, we have reached the decision to ask You, respectfully and humbly, for an Audience, together if Your Holiness would like. We attach, as is the practice, an Audience Sheet in which we present the two points we wish to discuss with you.
Most Holy Father,
A year has now gone by since the publication of Amoris Laetitia. During this time, interpretations of some objectively ambiguous passages of the post-synodal Exhortation have publicly been given that are not divergent from, but contrary to, the permanent Magisterium of the Church. Despite the fact that the Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith has repeatedly declared that the doctrine of the Church has not changed, numerous statements have appeared from individual Bishops, Cardinals, and even Episcopal Conferences, approving what the Magisterium of the Church has never approved. Not only access to the Holy Eucharist for those who objectively and publicly live in a situation of grave sin, and intend to remain in it, but also a conception of moral conscience contrary to the Tradition of the Church. And so it is happening — how painful it is to see this! — that what is sin in Poland is good in Germany, that what is prohibited in the archdiocese of Philadelphia is permitted in Malta. And so on. One is reminded of the bitter observation of B. Pascal: “Justice on this side of the Pyrenees, injustice on the other; justice on the left bank of the river, injustice on the right bank.”
Numerous competent lay faithful, who are deeply in love with the Church and staunchly loyal to the Apostolic See, have turned to their Pastors and to Your Holiness in order to be confirmed in the Holy Doctrine concerning the three sacraments of Marriage, Confession, and the Eucharist. And in these very days, in Rome, six lay faithful, from every Continent, have presented a very well-attended study seminar with the meaningful title: “Bringing clarity.”
Faced with this grave situation, in which many Christian communities are being divided, we feel the weight of our responsibility, and our conscience impels us to ask humbly and respectfully for an Audience.
May Your Holiness remember us in Your prayers, as we pledge to remember You in ours. And we ask for the gift of Your Apostolic Blessing.
Carlo Card. Caffarra
Rome, April 25, 2017
Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist
*
AUDIENCE SHEET
1. Request for clarification of the five points indicated by the dubia; reasons for this request.
2. Situation of confusion and disorientation, especially among pastors of souls, in primis parish priests.”
This article was originally published by the National Catholic Register.
Article Archive
Full text of dubia cardinals' letter asking Pope for an audience
Related Articles • More Articles
Pope Benedict XVI on April 21, 2007, in Vigevano, Italy. / Credit: miqu77/ShutterstockCNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:07 am (CNA).The man arrested for the theft of a pectoral cross bequeathed by the late Pope Benedict XVI to a parish in his native Bavaria is now facing time behind bars.According to CNA Deutsch, CNA's German-language news partner, the Traunstein district court on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old Czech citizen to two years and six months in prison.The perpetrator, whom authorities described as a serial thief with a history of crimes across several European countries, left traces at the crime scene that led to his identification and arrest.However, local media reported that the cross is still missing, and the verdict may yet be appealed.Pope Benedict XVI bequeathed a pectoral cross to St. Oswald's Church in the city of Traunstein in Bavaria after his retirement in 2013. The cross was stolen June 19, 2023, from the church. Credit: Bavarian Police/CNA DeutschThe court ...
The French 19th-century three-masted barque Belem is seen from the Palais du Pharo in the southern port city of Marseille on May 8, 2024, before the Olympic Flame arrival ceremony, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Belem is set to reach Marseille on May 8 and ten thousand torchbearers will then carry the flame across 64 French territories. / Credit: SYLVAIN THOMAS/AFP via Getty ImagesRome Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 11:52 am (CNA).As 206 countries prepare to send their top athletes to participate in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, the Vatican is organizing an event to look at the relationship between the Catholic Church and sports, through both a spiritual and anthropological lens."In the current context of wars tearing our world apart, Olympism is first and foremost a message of peace, and the commitment of the universal Church, like that of France, is essential. The role of the Church in promoting Olympism is well known," said Florence Mangin, the ambassad...
Pope Francis on May 7, 2024, appointed Father James Mark Beckman, 61, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville, as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. / Credit: Diocese of NashvilleRome Newsroom, May 7, 2024 / 11:50 am (CNA).Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, following former Bishop Richard Stika's resignation last year. The Holy See Press Office announced that Father James Mark Beckman, 61, will be installed as the new bishop of the diocese. The installation will occur in July. The bishopric since June 2023 has been under the care of Louisville Archbishop Shelton Fabre, who has served as apostolic administrator following Stika's departure that month.Beckman, a Tennessee native, has been a priest with the Diocese of Nashville since his ordination on July 13, 1990. He received a bachelor's degree in history from St. Ambrose College in 1984 and a master's degree in religious studies from the Catholic University ...