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| Pope Francis with fellow bishop? |
Can this be true? Why should anyone evangelize if there is no "coming home." If a bishop in a Protestant sect is truly a bishop and can receive a requiem Mass where he is honored as bishop of the Catholic Church what possible motivation can there be to enter full union with the Church? I would like to see no problems with our current Holy Father, but these issues are truly baffling. And when you think of Catholics in different parts of the world martyred for clinging tenaciously to the fullness of the faith, you wonder why they bothered? Were they and are they just "rad trads" of their day who are so foolish they can't see that we are all brothers and no one needs to convert? Is this the new evangelization Pope Francis style? I'm confused. Does yes mean yes and no mean no or is it all if, maybe, and sometimes these days.
Good questions!
ReplyDeletePope Francis needs a brain scan! His behavior is just too bizarre.
ReplyDeleteI'm not entirely doubting this report but I've tried to find some link to this actually happening (other than through Catholic Family News) and am unable to find anything. If true, the scandal of it is almost beyond belief. Can anyone find another source other than John Vennari at CFNews.com?
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ReplyDeleteHere's a first hand account from someone who attended the funeral.
http://michaeldalycj.wordpress.com/tag/tony-palmer/
And here's The Tablet's report that doesn't mention the "bishop" issue.
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1049/0/pope-francis-pays-tribute-to-evangelical-bishop-s-work-for-christian-unity
Here's the specific post.
ReplyDeletehttp://michaeldalycj.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/a-few-thoughts-from-the-requiem-mass-celebrating-the-life-of-rt-rev-anthony-palmer-4th-feb-1966-20th-july-2014/
Thanks for the links to Michael Daly, whoever he is, other than someone who says he was present at a Catholic Requiem Mass for a protestant.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should've included the report of Michael Daly (along with Mr. Vennari), in my request for any credible reports OTHER than from these two people, whose reports are linked together. Basically, Mr. Vennari is reporting it because he read it on Mr. Daly's blog.
Other than Mr. Vennari and by extension, Mr. Daly, where else is this rather stupendous Requiem Mass and the report of the Pope's decision to "bury the protestant as a Catholic Bishop" being credibly reported? Nowhere that I've been able to find. Just wondering.
I'm definitely not a pollyana about this Pope, quite the opposite in fact, but this one beggars belief :)
Maybe someone in the Catholic media or clergy could ask for a "people's" interview with Pope Francis to clarify this messy theology. Is Francis trying to be the Catholic bull in the secular china shop? Will someone please sit the bull down and ask him to talk to us, his smelly sheep, in Catholic theological terms. Is the Catholic Church, the one, true Church? As long as we love God, does it really matter what our religion is? Is being Christian enough? Or Zen Buddhists. Or Liberation Theologians. Is Catholicism the way? Should we evangelize people into the Catholic Church? Again, does Catholicism matter? If the Pope has time to grant interviews to atheists who will further fuzz the details, he should by now, be kind and merciful to those of us, who don't get what the mess is supposed to convey.
ReplyDeleteSooo...if it's in the anti-Catholic Washington Post you'd believe it, Elizabeth? LOL!
ReplyDeleteI looked up the canon law on requiem Masses and there is no reason Palmer couldn't be buried with a Catholic requiem Mass. Maybe I'll call the diocese of Clifton and see if the report of his being buried as a bishop is true. http://www.cliftondiocese.com/
@Mary Ann: Canon law says it's okay to bury a protestant with a Catholic Requiem Mass?
ReplyDeleteCanon Law 1183 p. 3 reads, "In the prudent judgment of the local ordinary, ecclesiastical funeral rites can be granted to baptized members of some non-Catholic church or ecclesial community unless it is evidently contrary to their will and provided their own minister is unavailable."
ReplyDeleteOne can argue about the meaning of "provided their own minister is unavailable." Who was Tony Palmer's minister? That's somewhat confusing in view of the fact that he was attending Mass with his Catholic wife and children and had expressed the desire to enter the church. The local bishop gave permission for a requiem Mass, and he has the authority.
I think it is one more confusing event. What does evangelization mean if entering the Church founded by Christ is unnecessary?
Here's an article on Catholic Exchange that addresses the issue of the requiem Mass.
http://catholicexchange.com/who-may-be-buried-with-catholic-funeral-rites