Will the Catholic Church experience another schism? I think the answer is yes. I think it's inevitable and I think it could happen sooner than later for a few reasons.
My dad knows more about this kind of thing than I do, but he mentioned that Germany is one year into a synod and they generally take two years according to what he said. Francis called for a world synod shortly after and my dad said he believes it's because the outcome of the Germany synod is binding and Francis wants to try to override or overshadow the results of the Germany synod.
Per my dad, what could be the results of the Germany synod? An acceptance of gay marriage and abortion. If that happened the Vatican would be forced to react and either go along or reject.
Another reason I think a schism is inevitable is that secular society has become increasingly aggressive and outspoken against Catholic Church teachings against gay marriage, practicing homosexuality and abortion. I believe Francis and the Curia have been benefitting from largely "getting a pass" from secular society. Meaning, secular society hasn't been pushing the Vatican to declare where exactly The Church stands on those issues. Francis has been perplexing many Catholics because while he hasn't outright said that gay marriage and practicing homosexuality should be regarded as valid, he hasn't firmly stated or reaffirmed the Church's historical opposition to them. Francis is really "playing both sides of the fence" or is really making an attempt to appease both sides. That's not an honest representation in my opinion. He should very clearly pick one side or the other. Ambiguity abounds as a result and it's not right.
I believe secular society won't allow Francis to "play the middle" for much longer. I believe it will soon get to a point where secular society will pose an ultimatum to Francis: "Will you (ie The Catholic Church) allow for gay marriages in your churches or won't you? If you say you won't we demand you declare it plainly and unequivocally. If you say you flat out refuse to allow gay marriages in the Catholic Church, we're coming after you and you will once and for all be targeted and portrayed as the enemy. We will demonize you."
If the Catholic Church did allow for gay marriage, there would immediately be a schism. I think we'd see a splinter initially into three factions: 1) Pre-Vatican II Latin proponents. 2) Traditional Catholics (they type seen in the U.S. today as they currently practice and believe. 3) Neo-Catholics who would align with secular society in basically everything.
I'd like to hear other's thoughts on this. Also, if anyone disagrees with me that Francis is conveniently catering to "both sides" and "playing the middle", I'd like to hear why you think he's not doing that. In my opinion you can't have it both ways and by him doing that, it's really off-putting and disappointing.
My dad knows more about this kind of thing than I do, but he mentioned that Germany is one year into a synod and they generally take two years according to what he said. Francis called for a world synod shortly after and my dad said he believes it's because the outcome of the Germany synod is binding and Francis wants to try to override or overshadow the results of the Germany synod.
Per my dad, what could be the results of the Germany synod? An acceptance of gay marriage and abortion. If that happened the Vatican would be forced to react and either go along or reject.
Another reason I think a schism is inevitable is that secular society has become increasingly aggressive and outspoken against Catholic Church teachings against gay marriage, practicing homosexuality and abortion. I believe Francis and the Curia have been benefitting from largely "getting a pass" from secular society. Meaning, secular society hasn't been pushing the Vatican to declare where exactly The Church stands on those issues. Francis has been perplexing many Catholics because while he hasn't outright said that gay marriage and practicing homosexuality should be regarded as valid, he hasn't firmly stated or reaffirmed the Church's historical opposition to them. Francis is really "playing both sides of the fence" or is really making an attempt to appease both sides. That's not an honest representation in my opinion. He should very clearly pick one side or the other. Ambiguity abounds as a result and it's not right.
I believe secular society won't allow Francis to "play the middle" for much longer. I believe it will soon get to a point where secular society will pose an ultimatum to Francis: "Will you (ie The Catholic Church) allow for gay marriages in your churches or won't you? If you say you won't we demand you declare it plainly and unequivocally. If you say you flat out refuse to allow gay marriages in the Catholic Church, we're coming after you and you will once and for all be targeted and portrayed as the enemy. We will demonize you."
If the Catholic Church did allow for gay marriage, there would immediately be a schism. I think we'd see a splinter initially into three factions: 1) Pre-Vatican II Latin proponents. 2) Traditional Catholics (they type seen in the U.S. today as they currently practice and believe. 3) Neo-Catholics who would align with secular society in basically everything.
I'd like to hear other's thoughts on this. Also, if anyone disagrees with me that Francis is conveniently catering to "both sides" and "playing the middle", I'd like to hear why you think he's not doing that. In my opinion you can't have it both ways and by him doing that, it's really off-putting and disappointing.
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