A year of Amoris Latitia leaves me in great doubt of Ignatian Spirituality

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 very sick who need rigidity the most as a medicine in the field hospital of the Church are told they they do not deserve mercy; that they are not Catholic and can never be Catholic, even if they are cradle Catholics.

Of what use is mercy in a world where moral relativism erases every sin?

Exempla: The Runaway Nun

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 away together one night. On the planned night, as the nun returned from Complines, she slipped out of line to hide inside a narrow postern door instead of going to the dormitory. As soon as she was sure all the sisters were gone, she left her hiding place, went to the high altar, knelt and said “Hail, Mary!” following her custom. 

But when the statue of Mary, which was close to the crucifix, saw her leaving, it called out and said: “Where does thou go, my daughter? Dost thou leave me and my Son for the devil? And dost thou make mockery of the prayer with which thou art accustomed to hail me?” 

Then the image from the crucifix moved, and Our Lord removed one of the nails that had fastened him to the Cross, and raised His hand to throw it, so that the nail pierced the nun from one cheek to another. The nun fell unconscious to the floor. 

The next morning the sisters came to the convent, and found the crucifix on the cross with the right hand raised in the attitude of striking. To this day it remains so as proof of what took place. Then the nuns discovered the sister on the floor, plucked the nail from her cheek, and she regained her senses. The poor sinner wept greatly and repented utterly for her sin, confessing all that had taken place and why she had been so punished by Our Lord. Thenceforth she was a pious and holy sister and ended her days in the convent in God’s service. 

And the knight? After waiting with four of his kinsmen the whole night, he left, humiliated and believing he had been mocked by the sister. The author draws this lesson: “So it was that even though the devil had prepared the hearts of the nun and the knight to be joined as one, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is always the devil’s adversary, nullified and undid everything that the Evil One had wrought. For the nun turned her mind away from the knight because of God’s punishment, and the knight put away the love of the nun from his heart from anger at being humiliated. Further, when he learned what had happened, he considered himself to be a great sinner and repented for all the sins he had committed, left the world to become a monk, and served God well, ending his days piously.” 

A Christian builds a village, not a wall.

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.  A village that is purposefully a demilitarized zone, with bi-country law enforcement.

Schools could include civics, language, and economic lessons for adults intending to emigrate, as well as being a safe haven for the children of the refugees intending to cross the border.

Constructing this "Wall Village" will soak up a LOT of the excess labor in both the United States and Mexico, providing massive employment on both sides of the border.  Sorely needed employment- which will raise the price of food, but in the end result, cause the compensation for farm labor to go up, which means new consumers.

And it puts the gun smugglers, the people smugglers, and the drug smugglers out of business.  Hopefully permanently.