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"Cardinal: Pope’s response to German intercommunion proposal is ‘incomprehensible’"
lifesitenews.com
"Pope Francis’ failure last week to give the German bishops clear directives on intercommunion with Protestants, based on Catholic teaching and practice, points to a drift toward apostasy from the truth, a prominent cardinal has said.
Pope Francis directed the German bishops to come to a 'unanimous' decision on whether a Protestant spouse who is married to a Catholic may receive the Holy Eucharist.
In comments published today on the National Catholic Register, Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk of Holland called Pope Francis’ directive 'completely incomprehensible.'
He further noted that the German Bishops’ draft directives on intercommunion allow a Protestant spouse to receive Communion after a 'private examination of conscience with a priest or with another person with pastoral responsibilities.' But he said this does not sufficiently guarantee that a person truly accepts the faith of the Church.
If someone truly accepts the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist — and therefore the priesthood and apostolic succession — his only option is to become a Catholic, the cardinal said.
Despite the German bishops’ assurances that the cases of Protestants who would like to receive Communion with their spouses is rare, Eijk said he believes cracking the door open to intercommunion will almost inevitably lead to it becoming widespread.
'Protestants who are married to Catholics and see other Protestants married to Catholics receiving Communion will think they can do the same. And in the end even Protestants unmarried to Catholics will want to receive it. The general experience with this type of adjustment is that the criteria are quickly extended,' he said.
Recalling Pope Francis’ directive last week to German bishops — to revisit the proposal and try to find unanimity if possible — Eijk asked: 'Unanimity about what?'
'The practice of the Catholic Church, based on her faith, is not determined and does not change when the majority of an episcopal conference votes in favor of it, not even if unanimously,' he said...
Pope Francis’ lack of clarity on the issue of intercommunion is having the opposite effect, creating 'great confusion' among the faithful and 'endangering' the unity of the Church, he added. The same is true for cardinals who propose blessing homosexual marriages — which is 'diametrically' opposed to the teaching of the Catholic Church, he said."
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