Comments on: Doctrine to the winds?

By: Oscar de Noronha

Oscar de Noronha — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 13:33:05 +0000

Dear António,

Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment, but do you think it licit to have a foundational principle changed? Baptism is centred on Our Lord Jesus Christ. Denying this sacrament is tantamount to denying Christ to the world and a loss of original identity.

Like Baptism, whatever belongs to the Sacred Deposit of the Faith is immutable, for para 84 of the CCC states: «The apostles entrusted the “Sacred deposit” of the faith (the depositum fidei), contained in the Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church. “By adhering to [this heritage] the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”» (emphasis mine)

How, then, does a cleric dare contradict the Sacred deposit and misguide the congregation?

As regards dogmas: they are not, as you may tend to think, unnatural additions, much less contradictions; dogmas express in clear terms the immutable truths of faith that a Catholic has to believe in, some of them known since times immemorial.

In view of the above, don’t you think it proper that we walk our pilgrim way without making changes contrary to the foundational principles of our Faith?

By: Antonio Fonseca

Antonio Fonseca — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 16:08:30 +0000

It is understandable that comments like the one referred by Oscar can provoke discomfort, if not outrage, in the Faithful. We see change, not only in civil societies but also in communities of Faith. When I come across something that strikes me as a departure from the accepted teaching, I remind myself that Catholic doctrine has not remained immutable throughout the 20+Centuries of its existence. Change is normal, living organisms have to change/adapt. Dogmas, for example, were added by the Church in the course of years; the Marian dogma was brought on board in late 20th Century . We can expect more changes in our times and in future times. Indeed, right now several changes are being debated by the Curia and the Synod of Bishops. In the midst of this flux what is an individual person of Faith to do? Late in my years I found that the reading and re-reading of the Bible gives the reader a new understanding of Faith namely, what is fundamental and what is ornamental, in the best sense of the term. The Fundamental is – To Love God and to Treat Others as you would like to be treated (which I find easier to honour than “Love your Neighbour”, honestly). What has been added (and discarded) in the course of time was to enable the Church to Teach and Govern the swelling numbers of the Faithful so that there was a structure within which to operate; else, it would have been a bedlam. Some changes may scandalize, others may cause lesser discomfort; this is a problem that will stay with us, because every time one feature of the doctrine is relaxed, it is likely to torment the Faithful with the question – where is my Church going ? The Church itself recognizes this and acknowledges that while being the “Mater et Magistra” it is also a Pilgrim Church along with the Faithful.
I thank Óscar for the weekly reflexions he posts on this site, expressions of his exegesis and spirituality of a very high order indeed.

By: James Dsouza

James Dsouza — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 10:00:54 +0000

Shocking statement by the priest. We wonder what kind of formation is given in the Seminary.

By: Alwyn

Alwyn — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 09:27:13 +0000

The Sacrament of Baptism is the main gateway to the rest of the 6 Sacraments. The Clergy cannot give their own interpretations and confuse the faithful. That is the reason there are more than 40,000 Christian sects since each group interprets differently on matters of faith. And to maintain unity in our creed we need the leader to speak unequivocally on matters of faith.
No wonder a priest I attended the Mass at today pronounced that ‘The enemies within the Church will work towards creating confusions’.

By: Alwyn D'Sa

Alwyn D'Sa — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 09:17:32 +0000

In reply to Chris Fernandes. Chris, perhaps in the second part regarding raising of the hands only by the celebrant he was right. The Church advises the faithful to reverently join hands during the Our Father.

By: Chris Fernandes

Chris Fernandes — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 08:54:25 +0000

I have no comments about the utterance of the chapel priest, but i too heard a chapel priest say something that made me lose my train of thought. Before the ‘our Father’, he politely requested the congregation not to lift their hands, saying it was him alone who was tasked with conveying the people’s petitions. But i digress. Every social club has its own norms and standards.