What an unconscionable thing to say about so many Catholic families, including this notable one, Emperor Karl and Princess Zita von Hapsburg. Their marriage was an example to the entire world, Catholic and non-Catholic. Even the lowliest Catholic living in a New York slum at the time could look to Karl and Zita for inspiration on what it means to live a Catholic marriage. From high to low, most Catholics tried and suffered to live true marriages. Now they are cavalierly dismissed by a man who has little to no idea what he is talking about, content to blurt out any thought that comes into his head no matter how much it contradicts reality or common sense.
Pope Francis' words were clumsy and stupid, not to say historically illiterate, and not becoming of a Vicar of Christ nor I dare say anyone who has ever bothered to glance through a history book..
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| Zita and Karl von Hapsburg and family. |
That's because he is full of crap.
ReplyDeleteKarl and Zita were a saintly couple who took their private and social duties very seriously....it is just a shame their eldest son Otto wasn't in the same mold!
ReplyDeleteThere is a clip on youtube of their wedding ca. 1905. It is well worth watching. Don't miss the cigar smoking 'Ruritanian Hussars', very dubious characters. There is also Franz Josef in relaxed mood sharing a joke with the married couple while his heir apparent, Franz Ferdinand, fusses with a bouquet of flowers.
Francis mocks God who gives His grace in a Sacramental marriage. That grace is why most Catholics, up until recent decades where we have a counterfeit church with counterfeit sacraments, have managed to honor their vows through the deaths of children, poverty as well as wealth, infidelity and anything else the Devil can throw at them. Those who failed did not cooperate with that grace. It is that simple.
ReplyDeleteThe modern approach seems to be that someone can't enter into a valid marriage unless they have doctorates in psychology and canon law! It's a detestable elitism.
ReplyDeleteNot Prot: You may have hit on the problem!
ReplyDeleteAnon: Thanks much for the youtube reference. Much appreciated.
CJ: You have stated the case clearly and eloquently.
Felix: Indeed. You see that kind of nonsense, too, in those idiotic "marriage preparation" classes.
I think the marriage prep classes are just a money maker. They obviously do no good -- Catholics divorce at the same rate as non Catholics.
ReplyDeleteDear Dymphna:
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right...and those so-called "classes" are often a source of grave scandal to young people.
By the way, my congratulations on that brilliant one-liner on your blog recently. It isn't often that one hits the nail on the head so accurately and succinctly. Great job.
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