Spitting On Christ’s Face

 

The Diocese of Freiburg has been called to order from the Vatican. It would seem good news, but it isn’t.

Whilst the soon-to-be-retired bishop Zollitsch (take my word on this: one of the very worst even by the German standards; not by coincidence he is also at the head of the German Bishop’s conference) now says the “pastoral” text was published without his consent, he has not condemned with half a word the very idea that public adulterers may be allowed to receive communion. The step was, in short, premature or unauthorised or otherwise unfortunate. But, evil?

The same song is now being sung from the Vatican. The matter “will be discussed”, therefore the initiative of the Freiburg diocese (wherever it came from) is not fitting. Rather premature, you see. Just wait for next October and then the thing will be discussed to their hearts’ content. No need to rush with individual initiatives.

Now, let us stop one moment and think what is happening here. The vey idea that public adulterers may be allowed to receive communion is, in my simple world, tantamount to spitting on the face of Christ, as the Roman soldiers did. It is, I would dare to say, worse still, then the Roman soldiers did not know what they were doing, whilst a priest or bishop (or Cardinal, or Pope come to that) bloody well should.

Look at yourself in the mirror and think if you would be ready to die, today, and go to your judgment knowing that you think public adulterers should be allowed, out of “pastoral care”, to receive Communion.

The discussion therefore looks like this: some German priests – probably among the many accustomed to do so every week, and who have admitted it in public – say “we must be pastoral: let’s spit on the face of Christ!”. The Bishop and Head of the Bishops’ Conference says “the initiative to allow the priests of the Diocese of Freiburg to spit on Christ’s face was not authorised by me; it is a document that was merely circulated privately, examining the possibility that spitting on Christ’s face may be considered “pastoral”. The Vatican also retorts that “whether to spit on Christ’s face will be discussed at the Synod in October 2014, which will deal with the pastoral treatment of public adulterers; so there should be no individual initiative before that time”.

To spit or not to spit?

In Bergoglio’s Church, this is the “pastoral” question.

Mundabor