If divorced-and-remarried Catholics should receive communion, as Cardinal Walter Kasper and many of the German bishops suggest, does that mean St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher died for nothing?
In his latest column Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver asked this question and pointed to similarities between Cardinal Kasper’s push for allowing remarried Catholics to receive communion and English bishops granting Henry VIII’s “annulment.”
“As with those who advocate for communion for the civilly remarried, the English bishops were uncomfortable with embracing divorce and remarriage outright,” he said in his Oct. 19 column.
“Instead, they chose to bend the law to the individual circumstances of the case with which they were confronted, and King Henry VIII was granted an ‘annulment’ — on a fraudulent basis and without the sanction of Rome.”
The case for Henry VIII’s divorce came from a “strong utilitarian argument”: the king’s personal happiness and the well-being of the country.
Similarly, Archbishop Aquila said, some of the German bishops at the Synod on the Family “are pushing for the Church to allow those who are both divorced and remarried to receive communion, while other bishops around the world are insisting the Church cannot change Christ’s teaching.”
Two men we now recognize as saints, Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher, refused to join England’s bishops in recognizing the king’s divorce and remarriage. Both men were beheaded and later canonized.
Now similar arguments are being heard in Rome as some of the German bishops are calling for divorced-and-remarried Catholics to be able to receive communion, the archbishop observed.
“And this begs the question: Do the German bishops believe that Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher sacrificed their lives in vain?”
In contrast to Cardinal Kasper’s comment that “heroism is not for the average Christian,” Jesus tells us plainly that “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,” the Denver archbishop said.
While those who find themselves “on the margins of the faith” must be welcomed with mercy in the Church and parish life, he noted, we must also remember that “mercy always speaks the truth, never condones sin, and recognizes that the Cross is at the heart of the Gospel.”
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...
