OSNABRÜCK, Germany (LifeSiteNews) – Germany’s Bishop Franz-Josef Bode, accused of knowingly promoting abusive priests, supports government plans to legalize cannabis consumption under the condition that it is “strictly regulated.”
According to a report by the German Catholic online news site katholisch.de, Bode said that “criminalization alone is not a solution” during an event held in his diocese of Osnabrück, where lawyers and doctors discussed cannabis regulation.
The proposed legislation of the left-wing German government would ensure that cannabis and its active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) would no longer be legally classified as narcotics. The purchase and possession of a maximum of 20 to 30 grams of “pleasure cannabis” for personal consumption would be exempt from punishment, regardless of the specific THC content. Private cultivation would also be allowed to a limited extent of “three female flowering plants per adult.”
Bode said that he shared the German government’s view “in principle” if the protection of minors, a ban on advertising, and help for people at risk were included in the regulations. This would require significantly better funding for prevention and counseling services, and the Church could contribute to this, Bode said.
However, the German bishop’s permissive attitude is at odds with Catholic teaching, for using drugs, if not for strictly medical reasons, is contrary to the moral law. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following:
The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of drugs and trafficking them are scandalous practies. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law. (CCC 2291)
When cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) condemned the new legislation and pointed out that marijuana use would still be a sin after it became legal.
“With the exception of cannabis use for medicinal purposes, consuming marijuana violates the virtue of temperance and should be avoided,” said Monsignor Frank Leo, the CCCB’s General Secretary.
READ: Our Christian obligation to heal the sick means we must oppose marijuana use and transgender surgery
***MAJOR UPDATE, November 10, 2022*** LifeSiteNews reported the bombshell statement issued by Archbishop Viganò, declaring that members of the “Bergoglian church” are no longer in union with the Church of Christ.
According to Archbishop Viganò:
the visible church, to which the world gives the name of Catholic Church and of which it considers Bergoglio as Pope, is no longer Church...
This statement was long overdue, and Archbishop Viganò is finally sounding the alarm — Pope Francis is leading the Church into something radically different than the Church established by Christ. Pope Francis cannot continue betraying the faithful by abdicating his duty as Universal Shepherd.
The time to redouble our efforts and fervently request that Pope Francis repent and be reconciled with the Church is NOW.
SIGN and SHARE. Defend the Church and demand that Pope Francis faithfully uphold the authentic Catholic faith!
Bishops from across the world have raised concern over Pope Francis' unfaithfulness to the 2,000+ years of Catholic teaching, and the recent statement by Archbishop Viganò is truly the breaking point into a new era for faithful Catholics.
READ THE FULL STATEMENT FROM LIFESITENEWS AND SIGN THIS PETITION TO DEFEND THE CHURCH NOW.
****************
Bishop Joseph Strickland, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Fr. James Altman, and two dozen more faithful Catholic priests & scholars are publicly calling out Pope Francis for his outrageous, dangerous, and heretical teaching concerning reception of Holy Communion.
Pope Francis stated that "faith" is the only requirement for those who wish to receive Holy Communion in his June 29 Apostolic Letter on the liturgy, Desiderio desideravi.
This statement is dangerous because:
- The Council of Trent explicitly anathematized those who make this claim calling it 'heresy'
- Pope Francis omitted the essential step of repentance for sin to worthily receive the Eucharist.
- Pope Francis is thereby allowing the faithful to eat and drink condemnation on themselves, should they receive Holy Communion unworthily
- Pope Francis is supporting moral relativism, eradicating the clear distinction between good and evil
- Pope Francis is eradicating the need for the Sacrament of Confession
- Pope Francis is damaging the teaching office of the Church by sowing doubt and division among faithful Catholics
But there is a way to stop Pope Francis' modernist attack and defend the true Catholic teaching on Holy Communion.
Catholics everywhere must renounce Pope Francis' heresy and uphold the truth: only Baptized Catholics in the state of grace, and therefore free of mortal sin, can receive Holy Communion*.
For those in mortal sin, repentance and absolution must first be sought in the Sacrament of Confession before receiving the Eucharist*.
Pope Francis' statement would mislead many souls, which is why we need your help today to stand with Bishop Strickland, Fr. Altman, Bishop Schneider, and more.
TELL POPE FRANCIS: HOLY COMMUNION CAN ONLY BE RECEIVED IN THE STATE OF GRACE!
The growing list of faithful Catholics who are standing for the truth and bravely resisting Pope Francis' attempt to dilute the Church's moral authority is only growing. This is great news, but the news can't simply stop with you.
You must join the growing list of supporters to but a STOP to Pope Francis' heresy.
WATCH: LifeSiteNews' co-CEO and Editor-in-Chief, John-Henry Westen, fully breaks down the growing list of faithful Catholics choosing to resist Pope Francis' attack on the faith.
Stand with these faithful Catholics: Bishop Joseph E. Strickland, Bishop André Gracida, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, Father Gerald E. Murray, Father James Altman, Father John Lovell, Professor Claudio Pierantoni, Dr. John Lamont, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, Professor Anna Silvas, Dr. Anthony Esolen, Professor John Rist, Professor Paolo Pasqualucci, Julia Meloni, George Neumayr, and LifeSite’s John-Henry Westen.
*However, if a Catholic is unable to attend Confession but has a grave reason for receiving the Eucharist (such as a priest who may be required to celebrate Mass at a given time but who is unable to go to Confession), such a person must be confident to the best of his ability that he have perfect contrition for any mortal sins that he may have committed before receiving Holy Communion in an exceptional situation.
MORE INFORMATION:
Full statement by Catholic bishops and scholars correcting Pope Francis' heresy - LifeSiteNews
When discussing the legalization of marijuana, the drug is often compared to alcohol, which is legal in most countries and not immoral if consumed in moderation.
While alcohol can be licitly consumed in moderation, drunkenness is condemned as a sin by the Church because it compromises our reason and is a violation of the virtue of temperance, according to such authorities as St. Thomas Aquinas.
Drugs like marijuana are aimed directly at compromising human reason, altering the consumer’s capacity to think clearly. The use of any drug can therefore be likened to alcohol abuse and not to the moderate consumption of alcohol, as Father Raymond de Souza explains in an article on catholiceducation.org.
Bode is the vice president of the heterodox Synodal Way in Germany and the Vice President of the German Bishops Conference. The German prelate has made numerous heterodox statements in past. He claimed that the Catholic Church could start giving Communion to non-Catholics in mixed marriages and publicly supported blessings for same-sex couples, as well as female ordinations. In February 2020, the German prelate made a scandalous statement, saying “For us, Christ became a human being, not a man.” This led to a public correction by his fellow Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who described the statement as “ridiculous & heretical.”
Furthermore, Bode has been accused by an official report published this September of knowingly promoting abusive priests. In response, he has refused to resign.