The bishops have published a document saying some divorced and remarried Catholics may receive Holy Communion.

Francis says the document "explains precisely the meaning of Chapter VIII of ‘Amoris Laetitia.' There are no other interpretations."

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of State, says a letter Francis wrote to the bishops on 5 September 2016 and the bishops' guidelines for interpreting Amoris Laetitia will be published as official documents on the Vatican website.

Francis wrote the letter in response to guidelines the bishops in the Buenos Aires region published.

Parolin says Francis also wants the letter and the bishops' guidelines to be included in the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS)".

The AAS is the official record of Vatican documents and acts.

By applying the character of "official Magisterium" to an exchange of letters, the pope has strengthened the bishops' interpretation's doctrinal significance.

Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, commented on the official Magisterium.

"The fact that the pope requested ... [these documents] ... be published in the AAS means that His Holiness has given these documents a particular qualification that elevates them to the level of being official teachings of the church.

"While the content of the pope's letter itself does not contain teachings on faith and morals, it does point toward the interpretations of the Argentine bishops and confirms them as authentically reflecting his own mind.

"Thus together the two documents became the Holy Father's authentic Magisterium for the whole church."

Open letters that question a "confused" teaching - such as that by the American theologian Fr Thomas G. Weinandy, or those by the four cardinals who wrote the "dubia" ("doubt") - now come up against a new theological obstacle.

Source

• La Croix
• Crux
• Catholic Culture
• In the Light of the Law
• Catholic Culture
• Image: AIC Yellow Jacket

Archbishop Fisher's comments came after an address by Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia on September 24.

Archbishop Fisher, who attended the address said: "Cardinal Sarah spoke on the family as a light in a dark world."

"Just as in the days of St Augustine and Athanasius, we rely on the African bishops to help us steer an orthodox course in confused times," the Sydney prelate said.

"[Cardinal Sarah] said we should not put the magisterium, the teachings of Christ and his Church, in a 'pretty box' as if they were irrelevant to pastoral practice and daily life.

"He said God's law for the human person and relationships does not 'confine' us: it opens up exciting new possibilities and ultimate happiness.

"This is not moralising, not finger-pointing, not being judgemental towards others, but authentic family life shines as light in today's darkness."

Cardinal Sarah cited Pope Benedict as saying the light of family life was being "snuffed out" due to modern culture.

"Even members of the Church can be tempted to soften Christ's teaching on marriage and the family," Cardinal Sarah said.

Separating what comes from the magisterium with pastoral practice, changing it in "accord with certain circumstances, is a form of heresy", the cardinal emphasised.

"Welcome the mercy of God," he told the audience. "This mercy has a name: Jesus Christ."

"This Spirit, the Holy Spirit charity — love until the end — can overcome all that seems humanly impossible within the family."

"All those wounded by personal sin and the sin of others — the divorced, the separated, those who have cohabitated, who get closed in on themselves and those in same-sex unions — can and must find in the Church a place for regeneration without any finger pointed at them," he stressed.

Sources

• Sydney archdiocese
• National Catholic Register
• Image: Allentown diocese

Speaking at a conference in Washington, DC, Cardinal Kasper said Francis wants to retool the Catholic hierarchy.

This will result in a hierarchy that not only defines and enforces Church teachings, but also listens and responds to how laypeople understand God's will.

The concept of "sensus fidei" - the capacity of individual believers and the Church as a whole to discern the truths of faith - are important to Francis, Cardinal Kasper said.

That concept, Cardinal Kasper said, "was emphasised by the council . . . [but] Francis now wishes to give it complete meaning".

"He wants a listening magisterium - that makes its position, yes," the cardinal said, "but makes its position after it has heard what the Spirit says to its churches."

"Catholicity includes ... all," Cardinal Kasper said.

"Women and men, young and old, clergy and laity. The laity are not only recipients, but also actors. Not only objects, but much more, subjects in the Church."

Cardinal Kasper, who is a former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, also spoke at length about ecumenical dialogue.

He called for a "down-to-earth ecumenism" that is not limited to academic theological discussions.

But even after decades of work, Cardinal Kasper said, the ecumenical dialogues are at a perilous point.

"Agreement is nowhere in sight," he said.

"This situation is extremely dangerous. If we are not in agreement of where we are and going, there is a great danger that we will disperse in different directions."

"The great expectations following the council have not been followed," he said. "We are at a standstill."

"An ecumenism of love, of encounter, of listening and friendship are what is needed."

Cardinal Kasper also touched on the so-called "hermeneutic of continuity", which stresses that Vatican II did not repeal earlier Church teachings or traditions.

"The hermeneutic of continuity must - for the sake of the future, the sustainability of Christianity - always be a hermeneutic of reform," he said.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Lutheran World

In an interview with German daily Die Welt, Cardinal Burke said "we are all bound by the Magisterium".

"But some synod fathers, above all Cardinal Kasper, want to change it."

Cardinal Kasper's "merciful" solution for remarried divorcees who wish to receive Communion was discussed at last October's extraordinary synod on the family.

Cardinal Burke said a change to Church teaching at the next synod in October would present him with a dilemma.

"I would have to speak to the Holy Father and ask him how I can remain loyal to the truth and at the same time not break my vow of obedience," he said.

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The commission has published a document called "'Sensus Fidei' in the life of the Church".

It has been approved by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Muller, and was posted to the Vatican website.

The commission acknowledged there are occasions when the reception of magisterial teaching by the faithful meets with difficulty and resistance.

In these instances, Catholics "must reflect on the teaching that has been given, making every effort to understand and accept it", the commission said.

"Resistance, as a matter of principle, to the teaching of the magisterium is incompatible with the authentic sensus fidei," it continued.

At the same time, the theologians said, "the magisterium must likewise reflect on the teaching that has been given and consider whether it needs clarification or reformulation in order to communicate more effectively the essential message".

The commission defined the sense of the faithful as a spiritual instinct that enables a believer to judge whether a particular teaching or practice is in conformity with the Gospel and apostolic faith.

The document acknowledged "the faithful have an instinct for the truth of the Gospel".

But it said there are situations in which Catholics claim to be relying on that instinct when, in fact, they are promoting deviations from the Christian faith, particularly on moral issues.

Referencing the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the commission rejected the idea that Catholic laity must blindly obey everything the pope and bishops tell them.

But they emphasised the importance of assuming Church leaders are correct and trying to understand teachings.

Prayer, regularly receiving the sacraments, studying and being an active member of the Catholic community, are needed before claiming to be able to discern that a church teaching needs adjustment, they added.

The commission also noted that in the history of the People of God, it has often been not the majority, but rather a minority which has truly lived and witnessed to the faith.

In a recent US survey of 16,582 Catholics, only one per cent accepted the Church's teaching on artificial contraception in its entirety.

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Gerasene Writers Conference