Example 1: James Martin, SJ, sat on the same stage as Patrick Hornbeck, Chair, Department of Theology, Fordham, 2017, when Hornbeck stated he had just married his male partner and that Fordham supported his marriage. (You can find the stage presentation on YouTube.) How does this man go to confession? Let’s say he has struck his partner, and I’m not saying he has, but let’s just suppose for a moment that he has, and he decides he should confess his sin. What would a priest such as Martin say in the confessional? You are forgiven? Every person is free to make his or her own choices. However, Martin is obliged to support the Catechism, and if he does not, he has ignored a mortal sin. Martin and Hornbeck can have that church. We will keep The Church.
Example 2: The bishops and priests of the Synodal Way in Germany have stated that they must dialog with people outside the Church and that there is no need to dialog with Catholics, any Catholics, not just those of us who will keep using the 1962 Missal, come hell or high water, but all Catholics. Uh, that sounds like they want to adopt current cultural trends, and I need not list them all, and mold the Church to fit. Indeed, that is exactly their aim. Every person is free to make his or her own choices. However, those bishops and priests are obliged to support the Catechism, and if they do not, they are ignoring a multitude of mortal sins and cannot hear the confession of someone living in mortal sin. The Synodal Way can have that church. We will keep The Church.
Pray for the enemy.