That’s kind of the rule in Catholicism. They don’t really believe in changing a perfect church. They just reinterpret what obviously already was sacred tradition.
Ehhh. Two Truths from St. Thomas Aquinas says otherwise. If science is true and if God doesn’t lie to us, then whatever God teaches must be compatible with science. So yes, discoveries of the scientific type force us to change our understanding of faith.
But its not like say… Gravity didn’t exist 2000 years ago or something. Earth always was a floating orb circling the sun, even if earlier Catholics didn’t believe that (just as an example). And therefore, St. Thomas Aquinas would argue the Good Catholic would change their mind and understanding of faith.
If we have two truths that contradict, then the only alternative is that our understanding of those truths is faulty.
The Church has immobile “Mysteries” that have been documented by the Council of Nicea as per our Nicene Creed. These are (in practice), the only immobile elements of our faith that remain unchanging. Most other elements and arguments of morality are (and have) changed as society has changed. None of this is new to a Catholic who has studied our history. A large element of change and improvement is built into the Church.
IE: The concept of Limbo has been removed from our faith within the lifetimes of the elders. If you want a more recent example. The indulgence thing back from Martin Luther’s days (the 1500s guy, not the 1950s guy) is also a change.
But in any case, this particular doctrine with regards to blessings of homosexuals isn’t a change on the scale of Limbo or whatever. Pope Francis is just saying that Priests are 100% absolutely allowed (and probably preferred) to bless homosexuals together, as long as the ritual isn’t confused for marriage (which is one of our deeply sacred sacraments, of which we believe has a large element of procreation / making babies).
Priests are called upon to do all kinds of blessings: house blessings, throat blessings, etc. etc. It shouldn’t be too surprising that Priests can make other blessings on the spot or invent new ones. This sort of thing (IE: Blessing of two Homosexuals) that is going on has always been part of a Priest’s power, so to speak.
Its only “confusing” to ultra-conservatives because they wanted an excuse from on-high saying that blessings of homosexuals was against our faith for some reason.
Imagine if I took time to type out a lengthy, well researched, articulate screed about sasquatch. One might think my time and efforts were better spent elsewhere.
It’s just my religion dude. Just like living and breathing to me. No big deal. I grew up and memorized this stuff.
It’s near effortless. So don’t worry about it. A lot of this stuff is just base level precanned arguments honestly.
On the other hand, imagine coming to a topic about the Pope and matters of faith and deciding to close your mind about basic facts pertaining to Catholicism. Like, what the hell are YOU doing in this topic?
That’s kind of the rule in Catholicism. They don’t really believe in changing a perfect church. They just reinterpret what obviously already was sacred tradition.
Ehhh. Two Truths from St. Thomas Aquinas says otherwise. If science is true and if God doesn’t lie to us, then whatever God teaches must be compatible with science. So yes, discoveries of the scientific type force us to change our understanding of faith.
But its not like say… Gravity didn’t exist 2000 years ago or something. Earth always was a floating orb circling the sun, even if earlier Catholics didn’t believe that (just as an example). And therefore, St. Thomas Aquinas would argue the Good Catholic would change their mind and understanding of faith.
If we have two truths that contradict, then the only alternative is that our understanding of those truths is faulty.
The Church has immobile “Mysteries” that have been documented by the Council of Nicea as per our Nicene Creed. These are (in practice), the only immobile elements of our faith that remain unchanging. Most other elements and arguments of morality are (and have) changed as society has changed. None of this is new to a Catholic who has studied our history. A large element of change and improvement is built into the Church.
IE: The concept of Limbo has been removed from our faith within the lifetimes of the elders. If you want a more recent example. The indulgence thing back from Martin Luther’s days (the 1500s guy, not the 1950s guy) is also a change.
But in any case, this particular doctrine with regards to blessings of homosexuals isn’t a change on the scale of Limbo or whatever. Pope Francis is just saying that Priests are 100% absolutely allowed (and probably preferred) to bless homosexuals together, as long as the ritual isn’t confused for marriage (which is one of our deeply sacred sacraments, of which we believe has a large element of procreation / making babies).
Priests are called upon to do all kinds of blessings: house blessings, throat blessings, etc. etc. It shouldn’t be too surprising that Priests can make other blessings on the spot or invent new ones. This sort of thing (IE: Blessing of two Homosexuals) that is going on has always been part of a Priest’s power, so to speak.
Its only “confusing” to ultra-conservatives because they wanted an excuse from on-high saying that blessings of homosexuals was against our faith for some reason.
Imagine if I took time to type out a lengthy, well researched, articulate screed about sasquatch. One might think my time and efforts were better spent elsewhere.
It’s just my religion dude. Just like living and breathing to me. No big deal. I grew up and memorized this stuff.
It’s near effortless. So don’t worry about it. A lot of this stuff is just base level precanned arguments honestly.
On the other hand, imagine coming to a topic about the Pope and matters of faith and deciding to close your mind about basic facts pertaining to Catholicism. Like, what the hell are YOU doing in this topic?