Opinion
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Pope Francis meets Yayo Grassi, left, and his homosexual partner, Iwan, at the Apostolic Nunciature on Sept. 23, 2015.Marisa Marchitelli

Editor's note: An international group of lay Catholics held a public demonstration in Rome yesterday just outside the Vatican, demanding that Pope Francis and the world’s bishops address homosexuality during the upcoming abuse summit as the major cause of the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. The following statement was given by Jean-Pierre Maugendre during a press conference at the event. Read all statements here

February 20, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – It is utterly indisputable that the Church needs a reform. But we need to know what the principles that will guide this reform are.

In fact, ineluctably, the principles show their logical consequences. It does not seem that the next synod organizers intend to return to the principles that brought the holy Church of God to the tragic situation that it is going through today. What are then the causes leading to the effects we are blaming? 

While 80% of the recently reported acts of pedophilia are of a homosexual nature, a deafening silence accompanies the observation of this reality. Only the truth sets us free (John 8:32). This truth is that “The acts of homosexuality are inherently disordered. They are contrary to natural law. In no case can they be approved“(CEC § 2357).

Fifty years ago, in a recently republished work, Jean Madiran exposes the Twentieth-century Heresy, which, according to him, was caused by the bishops, who abandoned the teaching of natural law, which is nothing but the law of God. To those who have just asked Him: “What am I supposed to do to enter eternal life?” the Lord answers, first: “If you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments” and reminds them of the Decalogue commandments (see Mt XIX, 16-19).

As popular wisdom states: the one who keeps silent, consents. The Church seems to have agreed, with a complicit silence, on a trivialization of homosexuality. Nothing new. For 2,000 years the Church has been confronted with the temptation to conform to the mentality of the world despite St. Paul's admonition: “Nolite conformari huic saeculo“, “Do not be conform to the mentality of this century” (Rom. 12:2). The spirit of reconciliation with the world has emptied the dogmas of their substance, destroyed the liturgy, reduced morality to a vague sentimentality, annihilated the missionary spirit and reduced the Church to aspire only to be a vague Movement of Universal Democracy's Spiritual Animation.

Every so-called reform of the Church would be doomed to failure if it were not mainly a theocentric reform and more essentially focused on Jesus Christ. To this end, it is urgent to restore the Catholic priesthood in its sacrificial and oblative meaning.

We, simple faithful, in the last positions, are sad and wounded witnesses of the Catholic priesthood's desacralization. To the young man asking him the way, the curate of Ars promised to show him the way to Heaven. This is the only reform of the Church which we long for: that which, actually, will clearly show the roads of Heaven and will give Christians the means to complete these paths strewn with traps.