By Modesto P. Sa-onoy
During the past two weekends, we published the reactions of top leaders of the Catholic Church who criticized the statement of Pope Francis that was understood as an endorsement of civil unions of people of the same gender.
A belated copy of the report of LifeSiteNews (October 28) cited an essay published by InfoCatolica that LifeSiteNews translated. The author of the essay is Archbishop Héctor Aguer, the former Auxiliary Bishop of Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) when he became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998. The archbishop, “has distanced himself from the Pope’s own comments about the need for homosexual civil unions.”
According to LifeSiteNews both Bergoglio and Aguer were appointed Auxiliary Bishops of Buenos Aires in 1992, and both were named archbishops of dioceses in 1998, Bergoglio to Buenos Aires and Aguer to La Plata a month later.
LifeSiteNews said it wanted to share some reflections about just some of the crucially important points he (Aguer) raised in his article. Here’s the first that stood out:
“In my opinion, ecclesiastical approval for ‘civil unions’ will favor the dechristianization and dehumanization of society. With all the respect and affection that I profess for the Vicar of Christ, I would venture to think that the expressions he has made on the topic covered in the film “Francis” are not part of the magisterium.” The Magisterium is the official teaching authority of the Church that defines doctrines.
The same point was made by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, who said that there are moments where Catholics “have to criticize many ideas and actions of individual Popes.”
Indeed the Pope, bishops and priests are not beyond disapproval but the criticism must be done with filial respect. In fact, to speak when their pastors go astray is a duty of the faithful.
Archbishop Aguer also wrote. “I would compare it to conversations that the pope had with reporters in the aisles of airplanes during their trips; they may be interesting, but they lack the specificity that is proper to a magisterial act; although they are issued by a relevant person, they don’t pass beyond the status of a private opinion.” Pope Francis’ statement is generally viewed as a “private opinion” and therefore cannot be considered official teaching and Catholics are not bound to obey him.
This fact is important because some Catholics who are really Catholics in Name Only (CINO), including members of the Philippine legislature, are using the private opinion of the Pope as ex-cathedra to advance their agenda.
LifeSiteNews says, “Papolatry is not healthy behavior for Catholics.” Indeed it is if one knows that the term papolatry means “excessive veneration or worship of the pope” to the extent that what the Pope says becomes gospel truth. That in effect is raising the Pope into the level of a god.
Archbishop Auger continues: This has already resulted in a backlash, which raises concerns about an increase in divisions among the faithful, a deepening of the ecclesiastical “fissure,” which exists without a doubt.
Indeed, since Pope Francis ascended the Chair of Peter he had made several statements and writings that did not sit well with other Church leaders. Until now, for instance, Pope Francis has refused to explain the “dubia” (doubts) that several cardinals had asked him in relation to his encyclical, Laudate Si.
LifeSiteNews reacted to the archbishop’s remark by saying “His Excellency is spot on. We can clearly see a split in the Church over this issue, as Cardinals Burke, Müller and Archbishops Viganò and Schneider have sounded the alarm about the Pope’s latest remarks, while other clergy thought to be “conservatives” such as Cardinal Sean O’Malley have said there is nothing to see here.”
What’s worse, LifeSiteNews pointed out, is that “several of the new cardinals Pope Francis just appointed are totally supportive of homosexual civil unions, which, again, are contrary to Church teaching.”
Capiz Archbishop Jose Advincula was recently named a cardinal. I met him several times when he was Bishop of San Carlos and I never saw him acting like a homosexual but a holy man.
Archbishop Aguer concluded, “It is very painful to contemplate the spiritual damage that would be experienced by those faithful” who will be misled. How prophetic!
