The Roman Catholic Church has continued to be under scrutiny recently, with matters ranging from the sexual abuse cases in Pennsylvania to Pope Francis changing the church’s stance on the death penalty. Meanwhile, Catholic Relief Services is being investigated for providing aid to the Syrian militant group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham, which has been designated as a terrorist organization since it is a successor to Al Qaeda.
Of course, Catholic Relief Services is not the only liberal group affiliated with Catholicism. Other groups exist, such as the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Democrats, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Catholic Worker Movement, Catholics for Choice, Catholics for Obama, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, and Catholics United.
Thus, the Catholic Church has its share of liberals, and that is how Jorge Mario Begoglio was elected Pope. And such liberalism, as well as the sexual abuse, results in more criticism of the Catholic Church from both Catholics and non-Catholics.
It should be noted that other churches are experiencing similar problems.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano (who served as the Vatican ambassador to the U.S. from 2011 to 2016), says Pope Francis knew that the former archbishop of Washington, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, had sexually abused a minor but chose not to do anything about it. Vigano went on to say that Pope Francis should resign for not taking the appropriate action.
It is unclear if Pope Francis will resign, but one thing is clear, and that is any individual within the Catholic Church who has sexual abused a minor should be punished for their actions.
As for Pope Francis’s liberal views, I will point out the following:
• Catholics do not have to believe in global warming (now referred to as climate change), despite what Pope Francis says. The same situation applies to his economic views. Why? Because he has little expertise on such topics. Also, such views are not binding on Catholic because they are not spiritual matters.
• The Pope cannot change church doctrine, nor can he solemnly contradict the solemn teaching of a previous Pope. Doing so would discredit the position of Pope, and thus the Roman Catholic Church.
• Catholic doctrine favors national defense, self-defense (and hence the right to bear arms), capitalism, and the death penalty.
• Contrary to popular belief, Catholic doctrine does not call for open borders.
• Catholic social teaching is conservative, not liberal.
Catholics all over the world need to be reminded of these facts, and they need to remind the clergy about them too.
Image: CCO Creative Commons; https://pixabay.com/en/forking-road-split-road-travel-839830/
