HERESY: CHICAGO STYLE

After publicly awarding Father Pfleger with a lifetime achievement award, Cardinal George has refused to discipline him for yet another heretical statement.

The Cardinal's lack of action in this instance stands as a silent endorsement of Pfleger's opinion.

If a Cardinal can tolerate heresy and the Vatican does nothing to correct the problem how are the faithful to understand this situation? Is this to be construed as a silent endorsement of women priests and a married priesthood by Rome? Has all doctrine become subject to the personal opinion of the leadership? Is everything open to discussion if it is spoken under the aegis of "personal opinion"?

What is truth?

HERESY
1 a : adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma b : denial of a revealed truth by a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church c : an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma
2 a : dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice b : an opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards
Merriam-Webster

"After recently being honored with a lifetime achievement award by Cardinal Francis George, a Chicago priest stated in a homily this week that there “should be women priests,” bishops and cardinals and that priests in general should be allowed to marry.

Fr. Michael Pfleger was recently recognized at a ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Racial Justice. Cardinal Francis George issued comments during the April 7 event, saying that the priest is a good pastor who “acts out of love.”

In a homily on Divine Mercy Sunday earlier this week, Fr. Pfleger, who is pastor of Saint Sabina's Catholic Church, discussed how Christ's disciples abandoned him at the time of his crucifixion. The disciples, said Fr. Pfleger, “ran away when he most needed them. Only John at the foot of the Cross, and the women.”

“That's why there should be woman priests. That's why there should be married priests. That's why there should be women bishops and women cardinals.”

In a follow up statement on the Archdiocese of Chicago's website issued on Thursday, Fr. Pfleger addressed his April 11 homily saying that “while preaching a sermon on the power of fear, I was referring to the fear that paralyzed the apostles, locking them in a room, leaving only John and the women at the foot of the cross.”

“I stated that is why I believe women ought to be able to be ordained, as well as priests ought to be able to get married,” Fr. Pfleger commented. “While this is my personal opinion, I do respect and follow the Catholic Church teachings and I am sorry I failed to do this.”

EWTN contacted the Archdiocese of Chicago on Thursday in order to receive clarification on Fr. Pfleger's web statement. Though the priest apologized for failing to follow Church teaching which he claims to “respect,” he did not recant his position or alter his “personal opinion.” EWTN also asked if Cardinal Francis George has issued a statement in response to Fr. Pfleger's comments.

The archdiocese responded that Fr. Pfleger's “website statement stands by itself.”
EWTN News

THE VATICAN'S SIDE OF THE STORY

This is the Vatican's response to the New York Times story posted below. It basically reiterates the conclusions that I arrived at after reading the documents supplied by the Times. The case was passing through the system in a deliberate, methodical and maddeningly snail like pace. Just like it would in the secular legal system.

But I'm sure we'll be hearing lots about it in the weeks to come.

"The New York Times printed an article on Wednesday in which they alleged that in the 1990s the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), then Cardinal Ratzinger, did not respond to letters of a Wisconsin bishop on the matter of a sexually abusive priest. In an official response to the Times for the article, Fr. Federico Lombardi addressed the specific case and the CDF response.

...Fr. Federico Lombardi released his full response to the New York Times about the “Murphy Case” to members of the press in the Holy See’s Press Office on Thursday. The Vatican spokesman's response was only cited in part in the article from the New York Times.

He underscored that “Father Murphy violated the law and, more importantly, the sacred trust that his victims had placed in him.”

Fr. Lombardi related that victims reported abuses to the civil authorities in the mid-1970’s, but “according to news reports, that investigation was dropped.”

The CDF was made aware of the matter nearly two decades later, he pointed out, adding that the examination of how to address the question canonically was initiated, since the case involved a violation of the Sacrament of Penance.

Fr. Lombardi emphasized in his reply, “It is important to note that the canonical question presented to the Congregation was unrelated to any potential civil or criminal proceedings against Father Murphy.”

“In such cases, the Code of Canon law does not envision automatic penalties, but recommends that a judgment be made, not excluding even the greatest ecclesiastical penalty of dismissal from the clerical state," he explained."
EWTN News