The Manhattan Declaration
A Call of Christian Conscience
Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:
1.the sanctity of human life
2.the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3.the rights of conscience and religious liberty.
Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I was a little hesitant that this might be some evil email-gathering tool for spammer-types, but it was good enough for Archbishop Chaput (http://www.americanpapist.com/2009/12/archbishop-chaput-on-why-he-signed.html), so it’s good enough for me.
December 12 2009 | Deacon Formation and Jesus Stuff | No Comments »
The instructor this weekend proposes that Purgatory is not a dogma of the church, as it is insufficiently defined. My query is, how clearly defined or explicitly stated must a teaching be explained before we are obligated to accept the dogma as an essential truth? Her answer was that it is essentially up to the individual to weigh the merit of a teaching in order to determine whether it is a dogma.
I may vomit… that’s the peak of relativism and height of pride… “I accept all of the church’s teachings as authoritative with which I agree, and reject as specious all those with which I disagree.” There may be teachings we have difficulty understanding, but the challenge is for us to exercise sufficient humility to recognize that the failure MAY BE in our understanding, and not in thousands of years of thinking and teaching by men and women who have devoted their entire lives to these issues.
For what it’s worth, the Council of Trent made the following statement about Purgatory -
CONCERNING PURGATORY
FIRST DECREE
Began on the third, and terminated on the fourth, day of December, MDLXIII., being the ninth and last under the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IV.
Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, from the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught, in sacred councils, and very recently in this ecumenical Synod, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar; the holy Synod enjoins on bishops that they diligently endeavour that the sound doctrine concerning Purgatory, transmitted by the holy Fathers and sacred councils, be believed, maintained, taught, and every where proclaimed by the faithful of Christ.
Catholic Essentials presents a quick summary of teachings on Purgatory here: http://www.catholicessentials.net/purgatory.htm that may be of interest to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also offers:
- Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3, Article 12, SubSection 3
- Part 2, Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 4, SubSection 10, Heading 2
- Part 2, Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 4, SubSection 10, Heading 3
December 12 2009 | Deacon Formation and Jesus Stuff | 1 Comment »