Laity Response
“Third, it is a step we take before God, as a testimony of our conscience. Perhaps there are others who can sleep like babes without raising a voice of protest to the autodemolition of the Faith and the misleading of countless souls; who see what the Pope is saying and doing, but who shrug their shoulders and figure that it won’t redound to lasting damage. I am not such a person, and I think the same is true of the other signatories.”
Interesting times.
“a broad consensus of Catholic authors allow for the possibility of the pope being confronted by his fellow bishops and then, if he persists in heresy, to be declared deposed in the sight of God and the faithful by the very fact of his having fallen into heresy. As canonists teach, a heretical pope is deposed through the simple fact of being recognized as a public formal heretic by those who are competent ex officio to identify and proscribe heresy. This position was argued without demur by the recent and well-respected ecclesiologist Cardinal Charles Journet:
The action of the Church [towards the wayward pope] is simply declarative; she manifests that there is an incorrigible sin of heresy: then the authoritative action of God is exerted to sever the papacy from a subject who, persisting in heresy after admonition, becomes, according to Divine Law, unfit to hold the office any longer. So by virtue of the Scripture, the Church designates and God deposes. (L’Eglise du Verbe incarné. Essai de Théologie spéculative, 2:266)”
“Signatories include popular Catholic author Scott Hahn, radio host Al Kresta, along with other notable Catholic leaders.
“Holy Father, we come to you for answers. You personally have been faced with allegations. These allegations have been leveled by a high-ranking church official, Archbishop Viganò. Further, many bishops in the United States have publicly stated that they believe these allegations should be investigated. We implore you to address them,” reads the letter.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholic-lay-men-ask-pope-francis-for-answers-46079
A powerful outside force solved the intractable Church problem. Historically typical. “Msgr. James Kruse, vicar general for the diocese of Peoria, said, “Bishop Daniel Jenky and the diocese of Peoria are once again overjoyed that Joan Sheen Cunningham’s petition has been supported by the New York court system.” https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/nys-highest-court-rejects-archdioceses-appeal-to-keep-sheens-body
If the bishops were smart, they would have the shredders in high gear starting in August 2018.
“California Attorney General Xavier Becerra will audit all 12 of California’s Roman Catholic dioceses – including the Diocese of Sacramento – on their reporting procedures in sex abuse cases.
The AG’s chief question: Did church officials follow California law and report allegations of sexual misconduct to law enforcement?
Becerra’s sent letters to each of California’s dioceses Thursday asking for church officials to preserve files and records of clergy sex abuse and mandatory reporting to his office, according to Sacramento diocese spokesman Kevin Eckery.
“This voluntary disclosure will enable the Attorney General, in his role as the chief law officer of the state, to ensure that the laws of the State are uniformly and adequately enforced,” Becerra’s letter to the Sacramento diocese read.
Six of the 12 California dioceses – Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose – will also be required to turn over those same files to the state Department of Justice within 30 days.” Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article230006614.html#storylink=cpy
https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article230006614.html
