Outside The Asylum

A recap of the first year of Amoris Laetitia , led me to create this post on how Pope Francis, regardless of his original intention, has spread a great amount of confusion, at least in the English speaking world (and German, and Argentinian, and Maltese).  This will be a collection of links on the subject for me to continue studying. This article gives an overview of how Jesuit theology and spirituality diverges from Catholicism on one key point:  the discernment process in which morality does not bind those who choose not to believe in that morality. I call that moral relativism, and it is very much the error of the age. We then come to an Open Letter to the Dubia Cardinals  which claims there is no change in doctrine, and a response that shows the logical errors therein.   Finally, we have the historical record  of a Pope who excommunicates  people from Heaven for being arrogant enough to claim that maybe moralism is not relative, but absolute. The...

An Exempla is a medieval parable meant to teach moral lessons.  I'm going to start collecting them here. “Never be so bold as to tamper with the acts of God. I shall relate to you a beautiful miracle that Our Lord Jesus wrought in this regard at the request of his mother, St. Mary. I relate it so that you will understand how much it grieves Him and how evil He considers the man who would steal of His nuns from a convent”. (1)  In A Benedictine house of nuns called Fontenblay in England, there was a young noble woman who was very beautiful and good, and renowned for her devotion to Mary. Whenever she passed Our Lady’s statue she would always address it, “Hail, Mary!” and genuflect.  However, it happened that through the devil, “who is ever accustomed to contrive and fabricate such things,” a noble knight fell in love with her. He had heard about her beauty and pretended to be her relative in order to speak to her. He managed to convince her that they should steal awa...

Right now, along the border with Mexico, the United States has a row of gun shops.  Right now, along the border with the United States, Mexico has a row of drug smugglers. Oh, there are gaps- that's where the "undocumented immigrants" come through, but for the most part, we export guns to Mexican drug cartels who in return export drugs to addicts in the United States. This situation is not viable long term.  It is NOT how good Christian neighbors should act. I suggest that instead of a wall, we need a village.  A two block wide, 2000 square mile village.  Jointly owned by the United States and Mexico.  With farms, and shops, and schools.  Built green (it's a wonderful place to put buildings with solar panels on the roof).  Mass transit- as long as we're doing solar, how about a maglev on both sides of the Rio Grande?  And Maglev tunnels *under* the river- with autocars so that you can load up your car on one side and take it to the other side....