Letter #31, 2015: Rubicon

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Letter #31, 2015: Rubicon

[2015-08-13]

[Engleză]

August 12, 2015, Wednesday — Rubicon

Introductory note

We are just coming out with a special, splendid 132-page Commemorative Edition of Inside the Vatican magazine, welcoming Pope Francis to America. The Pope will visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia from September 22 to 27, after a visit to Cuba from September 19 to 22.

At the center of the issue is a beautiful, deeply moving Photo Essay on "The Beatitudes of Pope Francis." Eight full-color, full-page photos of Pope Francis at different moments of his pontificate illustrate the eight Beatitudes of the Gospel of Matthew in a unique, unforgettable way. This Photo Essay alone makes this magazine well worth obtaining, reading, and keeping.

In addition to the splendid Photo Essay, the issue contains many fascinating and provocative "open letters" from Americans on what they hope Pope Francis may say (or believe he should say), to the American people during his visit in September.

Who knows? Perhaps this Special Commemorative Edition, previewing the first trip to America of Pope Francis, could one day, a generation from now, be a quite valuable collector's item!

We would like you to receive and read this issue. To do that, all you have to do is click here, order a subscription, and you will receive this issue as the first issue of your subscription.

It is common knowledge that print magazines are facing challenging times. With the arrival of the internet over the past 15 or 20 years, many print publications have ceased publication. A lot of news and commentary is available on the internet.

But does that mean that all print publications should go out of existence? Is there no longer a place for a community of readers who all receive a print publication -- an "artifact," something stable and lasting made of paper and ink?

We have been passionate about keeping our publication in print, and we continue to be so. We think it is important. If you agree, why not consider a subscription?

The annual subscription price, of $49.95, is similar to taking out a membership in a gym (except a gym membership usually costs that much per month!), or buying two or three large pizzas and drinks -- a family pizza dinner. Not an insignificant cost, but not so enormous that it is a daunting prospect.

We hope that some of you, after seeing this beautiful Special Commemorative Edition, will say, "Ok, this magazine is worth supporting," and, along with thousands of others, you will become supporters of a relatively modest, "traditional-technology-based" printing enterprise, something actually quite "counter-cultural" in a time of Internet-based "social media" and instant, ever-changing electronic imagery.

Nothing could be more helpful for us than a few dozen, or a few hundred, new subscribers. So, please, consider ordering a subscription beginning with this Special Commemorative Edition, and please consider becoming a supporter of the magazine.

The special issue is now being printed and will reach subscribers in a few days.

If you would like to subscribe but for some reason cannot order on the internet, please let me know by return email -- but include your complete mailing address. Or call, in the US, to our fulfillment house toll-free: 1-800-789-9494.

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Rubicon

"The die is cast" ("Alea iacta est") —Julius Caesar, on January 10, 49 B.C., just before dawn on the northern bank of the river Rubicon, on the Adriatic coast of northern Italy; he then began to cross the river with his troops. According to Roman law, he was not allowed to take his troops across this river, so this meant that he was breaking the law and civil war was now inevitable. The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" has survived to refer to any individual or group committing itself irrevocably to a risky or revolutionary course of action, similar to the modern phrase "passing the point of no return." (link: Rubicon)

Suetonius was a Roman historian and biographer. He served briefly as secretary to Emperor Hadrian (emperor from 117 to 138 A.D.). His position gave him access to privileged imperial documents, correspondence and diaries upon which he based his accounts. For this reason, his descriptions are considered credible.

Suetonius's narrative begins as Caesar, in January, 49 B.C., receives the news that his allies in the Senate have been forced to leave Rome:

"When the news came [to Ravenna, where Caesar was staying] that the interposition of the tribunes in his favor had been utterly rejected, and that they themselves had fled Rome, he immediately sent forward some cohorts, yet secretly, to prevent any suspicion of his plan; and to keep up appearances, he attended the public games and examined the model of a fencing school which he proposed building; then, as usual, sat down to table with a large company of friends.

"However, after sunset some mules from a near-by mill were put in his carriage, and he set forward on his journey as privately as possible, and with an exceedingly scanty retinue. The lights went out. He lost his way and wandered about a long time, until at last, by help of a guide, whom he discovered towards daybreak, he proceeded on foot through some narrow paths, and again reached the road. Coming up with his troops on the banks of the Rubicon, which was the frontier of his province, he halted for a while, and revolving in his mind the importance of the step he meditated, he turned to those about him, saying: 'Still we can retreat! But once let us pass this little bridge, and nothing is left but to fight it out with arms!'

"Even as he hesitated this incident occurred. A man of strikingly noble mien and graceful aspect appeared close at hand, and played upon a pipe. To hear him not merely some shepherds, but soldiers too came flocking from their posts, and amongst them some trumpeters. He snatched a trumpet from one of them and ran to the river with it; then sounding the 'Advance!' with a piercing blast he crossed to the other side. At this Caesar cried out, 'Let us go where the omens of the Gods and the crimes of our enemies summon us! The die is now cast!'

"Accordingly, he marched his army over the river; [then] he showed them the tribunes of the Plebs, who on being driven from Rome had come to meet him, and in the presence of that assembly, called on the troops to pledge him their fidelity; tears springing to his eyes [as he spoke] and his garments rent from his bosom."

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What will Pope Francis do in October?

Almost everyone in the Catholic Church is wondering what Pope Francis will do regarding the difficult issues facing the Bishops' Synod on the Family, which will take place from October 4 to 25 in Rome.

The essential problem is apparent conflicts between three facts, three realities -- three teachings of Christ:

(1) Marriage: the quite clear teaching of Christ on the indissolubility of marriage; that Christ taught that marriage is "forever," indissoluble by its nature, is based on Christ's own words, "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6) and there is a similar passage in Mark, Chapter 10, verse 9

(2) Ministry: the quite clear teaching of Christ that his disciples must minister to "the sheep" (the "shepherd" and "sheep" metaphor fills Christ's preaching); keeping the flock together if possible, and going to seek out the one lamb out of 100 that is "lost" when necessary; always showing special love, and mercy, not just for "the righteous" (who aren't in grave need of it) but for "sinners" (who are; see the Parable of the Prodigal Son)

(3) Reception of the Eucharist: the Pauline teaching that the sacrament of communion must be received "worthily," that is, by those -- and only by those -- whose faith is orthodox and whose actions are moral, that is, by those who believe as the Church believes and who in regard to their actions are in a "state of grace"; that is, that the Eucharist, communion, is only for those Christians who, though they may have sinned (done evil), have repented, received forgiveness (absolution) and turned decisively away from (repented of) their sins

These three teachings of Christ are all so clear that none of them can be set aside without rejecting the very words and will of Christ.

And yet, life itself, especially in recent decades, has begun to pose numerous practical difficulties and perplexing situations as the Church seeks to maintain all three of these teachings in their fullness without contradiction.

Caught in the crossfire, far too often, are children.

The children are arguably the chief concern of Pope Francis.

Increasingly, it is concern for the children, for their formation as happy and healthy young people, not warped and wounded by the troubles and decisions of their elders, that is motivating Francis as he reflects on the pastoral care the Church can offer to families.

In his profound desire to be "merciful" to the children in difficult family situations, Pope Francis will have to be careful to defend the truth Christ taught, for these children -- like all children and, indeed, like all of us -- need the entire truth, not any partial truth.

This is the great battle Pope Francis faces in the coming days and weeks, and at the October Synod, for which he needs our prayers.

Pope Francis, and the bishops and pastors of the Church, are pondering deeply the nature and extent of the conflicts, if any, between the three teachings of Jesus mentioned above.

For the millions of couples who have divorced, and many who have remarried without annulments and started new families, pastoral care has become complicated.

It seems to many that the Church must deny, or "reinterpret," one or more of the three teachings of Christ listed above in order to minister to people in these "problematic" situations in a caring and loving way.

It seems to many that the Church must allow some exception to the indissolubility of marriage, as the Orthodox seem to allow (by allowing second marriages after divorce), or some re-interpretation of what it means to be "in a state of grace," in order to allow participation in the Eucharist to those persisting in second marriages following non-annulled first marriages.

All of this debate takes place against a global cultural background which has eroded the formerly Christian "ethos" of western culture.

The entire problem of the family and marriage, in this sense, has been aggravated by social, cultural, economic and even technological shifts in recent decades (for example, widespread availability of the contraceptive pill).

In other words, the rapid increase of urban centers; the rise of wage-based employment in corporations as opposed to family-based or village-based work without monetary compensation; the widespread use of artificial means of contraception; the changes in the social roles of men and women (or the decrease in the precise definition of those roles); all of these things (and many more) have created a socio-cultural-economic-technological context for marriage and families which has made what we term "traditional Christian marriage" increasingly difficult. The statistics on divorce show this clearly.

Some Catholics are quite worried. They fear Francis — who has been unpredictable during his two and a half years as Pope — will assent to a change or changes in pastoral practice implying an underlying doctrinal change, which they would have to fiercely oppose as a departure from orthodoxy.

However, on several recent occasions, Francis, or his representatives and confidants, have spoken out clearly to say there will be no doctrinal change.

(1) The Parolin Letter

First, a letter to the American Knights of Columbus on August 5, signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, but written throughout as conveying the message of the Pope himself (see the full text below).

In the letter, the Pope expresses unswerving support for the traditional Christian vision of marriage as being:

(1) life-long, that is indissoluble; and

(2) between a man and a woman

Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com

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