Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Communicatio in sacris - IV - Don't shoot the messenger!

This series of posts on
Communicatio in sacris
with heretics and schismatics
(literally: communicatio in sacris - sharing in sacred things)
grew from blog comments condemning Pope Benedict XVI
for sharing in sacred things at Westminster Abbey.




Again and again the condemnation
of such a kind of
Communicatio in sacris
reaches such a degree of condemnation
by traditionalists
-faithful and priests alike-

that it is said to be against the Divine Law of God Himself.

The question arises:
Is that true?
It either is or is not true.
We must find the facts and work with them.



We all have strict opinions on this matter
of Communicatio in sacris

but we have to base our opinions on the facts.
Failure to do so discredits our traditional cause.

Without the facts....
shooting in the dark...

uninformed judgments...

Who wants to remember the days

when traditionalists 'discovered the truth'

by comparing the different photos of Paul VI's ears and nose?
Let us work with the facts.
Don't shoot the messenger.


Pope Benedict XIV
(A Pope universally considered to have been
a great authority in Canon Law.)


We have a further clarification to hand:

The judgment
on Communicatio in sacris
given by Pope Benedict XIV
in the 24 February, 1752,

session of the Holy Office
was precisely:


"Communicationem in divinis cum haereticis non posse nec debere tam facile ac tam generaliter pronuntiari in omni penitus circumstantia de iure vetitam."

Which is to say:

"
Communicatio in divinis with heretics cannot and should not be so readily and so generally pronounced forbidden in absolutely every circumstance."

The reference for the quote is:
De Martinis, luris Pontificii de Propaganda Fide, Pars II (Rome, 1909), p. 324.

That judgment sets out the strictest limitation of prohibition against Communicatio in sacris among heretics. The legitimacy of the matter depends on the judgment of the Pope.

Whatever opinion we each may have,
we must accept this fact and go with it.
Shooting the messenger will change nothing.


"Communicationem in divinis cum haereticis non posse nec debere tam facile ac tam generaliter pronuntiari in omni penitus circumstantia de iure vetitam."

Benedict XIV 24 February, 1752.
Communicatio in divinis with heretics cannot and should not be so readily and so generally pronounced forbidden in absolutely every circumstance.

No comments:

Post a Comment