Who do they think they are? And I'm not just talking about the Chinese here. If one were to say "I am a cube." One would have to have six sides, eight points, and 90o angles all. If one were to say "I am a cube." And have say, five sides. One would not, in fact, be a cube.
Following, If one says "I am a Catholic." One would have to submit one's intellect and will to every single solitary teaching of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, who's sole authority lies in the Vatican. If one were to say "I am a Catholic." And submit to everything save, say, the fact that women are invalid matter for ordination, that is--it would be a violation of femininity and motherhood to even attempt the ordination of a woman, one would not be Catholic. One would, instead be much closer to a High Anglican. Or a High Lutheran. Unless you possess 100% of the qualities you claim, you cannot justly claim to be what you are.
For one last example, "I equal one hundred parts." One would have to be comprised of 100 individual parts. But if one only consisted of 98 parts, then one could not make the assertion "I equal one hundred parts." If you wish to be justly called a Catholic, you must submit your intellect and will to all teachings of the Church, Ordinary, Extraordinary (defined), and nondefinitive.
In the Papal Bull Munificentissimus Deus, of 1 November, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared infallibly the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a dogma of the Catholic Faith. If one could not grasp this--if one could not comprehend how this could be--one only has to submit that "God, only you can fully understand your ways. And I believe that your revelation to the Church and her bishops is Truth. Help me to see." One does not have to comprehend but accept totally. In this, regarding sin, one must also understand that all men are sinners and are given to concupiscence. As long as one admits that one's fallen action is sinful and confesses such, one is still within the communion of the Church.
Moving on to China; If one acts outside the Church and her (canon) laws and claims to act in the name of the Church, one must expect reprisals. China is attempting to put the same conditions, restrictions and quid pro quos on the Church as medieval European kings and princes did. "You can only operate here if you do exactly what I say and submit to my authority."
Well I am sorry, but that simply doesn't work. Unless of course we're talking about the Prince of Peace, or the King of Kings. It is simply not possible for the Catholic Church to be submissive to anyone by the Vicar of Christ on Earth, the Pontifex Maximus, the sucessor to the Apostle Peter, the Pope.
To bring a quick, and hopefully not too abrupt end to this rant, if you wish to be considered Catholic, act like it. If you're going to dissent from the Church, leave it. Do you think that women should be priests, there's no need for confession, Jesus isn't truly present in the Eucharist, and that the Pope isn't infallible (when speaking about faith and morals)? You are a material heretic and all it would take for an excommunication would be a bishop with the testicular fortitude to tell you so. I dare you to go to the bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska and tell him that you're Catholic and you don't believe in the True Presence. Tell me how it goes.
In Catholic orthodoxy,
D
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4 comments:
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You say,
If one were to say "I am a cube." One would have to have six sides, four points, and 90o angles all. If one were to say "I am a cube." And have say, five sides. One would not, in fact, be a cube.
The problem is that one could not, in fact, be a cube unless one had EIGHT corners (not four).
You just listed all the reasons why i don't convert.... see, you would be mad at me if i did b/c there are just certain things i don't beleive/agree with...
This is precisely the reason that I don't believe in any religion.
I'm not really one to speak on the subject, but I can't say that I completely agree with your post. I guess I just compare it to politics. You can associate yourself with a particular party, but that doesn't mean that you like every candidate that runs from your party or that you agree with every single thing they do. You agree with most things, but ultimately make your own choices for what you think is true/right.
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