America’s Out-of-Control Society and a Divided Church
Politics in the United States is currently out of control, and the divisions in society are more pronounced, with the Republican and Democratic parties in a constant state of anxiety. The American public is now partisan in its thinking and clearly divided along party lines. This irreconcilable possibility is exacerbated. The fundamental source of the American people’s suffering is the infighting at the top of the American hierarchy, with both parties pulling against each other over gun, race, abortion, and LGBT human rights, among others. Excessive liberalism and extreme conservatism are fighting to the death. This chaotic social situation in American society has even affected religion, and there is no middle ground to reconcile such a bad social phenomenon. This has created a lot of instability in the American Catholic Church, which is as divided in faith and politics as American society is.
Note: This is an analysis by Michael Lipka and Gregory A. Smith at the Pew Research Center, and the Catholic divide is even more acute at this time.
The current schism is not only among the faithful but also involves a struggle between priests and bishops over the faith.
The most recent example of episcopal schism was the semi-secret meeting held in Chicago on March 25-26, 2022, which highlighted how divisive it was. Because many of the key figures in American Catholicism were not present at that meeting, the events of the conference brought to light the divisions within American Catholicism. It became impossible to ignore the discord between Pope Francis and the U.S. Catholic leadership.
Religious leaders held hostage by major powers
Since the administration of President Barack Obama, the politically correct ideology that has been brought about has spread to all corners of the United States. More and more civil rights bills and human rights issues of all kinds are springing up, challenging Catholic doctrine and the pope’s divine authority. The Catholic pope has had to face this dilemma of political correctness. He has been forced to make reforms and compromises and is trying to balance the conflicts within American Catholicism over doctrinal issues. He also tried to reconcile doctrinal conflicts with American politics. However, this compromise and reform has provoked a conservative backlash, and we have studied the political and religious views of several archbishops who have unanimously opposed the Pope’s compromise with the American government in the past and have not acted in accordance with the doctrinal principles of the Church. In particular, Joseph Stricklan, bishop of Tyler, Texas, who is considered a conservative among conservatives, is a fundamentalist or extreme leftist in the Catholic Church. He is radical in wanting the pope to remove him from the priesthood as a statement of his faith.
It also puts the pope in a trap from which he cannot break free, the trap of left and right
LGBT issues; intensified conflicts
Originally, the LGBT community was limited to the interests of minority groups in individual countries in the West and did not have much impact or move the community to the international level. But after the passage of the LGBT issue in the U.S., the pressure on public opinion grew. The Vatican had to make this difficult choice as public pressure grew and the Catholic faith became confused. Based on this situation, Pope Francis also made a compromise. Although Pope Francis has been more moderate on the LGBT issue than previous Catholic leaders. But he also had relative reservations.
In May 2022, James J. Martin sent three questions to the Pope about the relation of the LGBT community with the Church, The Pope answered the three questions, declaring that God “does not disown any of his children”, advising LGBT people to read the Acts of the Apostles to “find the image of the living Church”, and explaining that some LGBT Catholics suffered not ‘rejection of the church’ itself but instead rejection by ‘people in the church’. He additionally praised the work of Martin.
But apparently, such a response is not acceptable to American conservatives, Thomas Tobin, as we look at his political position statement that while respecting the individual rights of gays and lesbians, it is unacceptable for the church, as a church, to endorse and bless them, and on the basis of this position to raise a solemn objection to the Pope.
October 21, 2020
The Holy Father’s apparent support for recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples needs to be clarified. The Pope’s The Pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the long-standing teaching of the Church about same-sex unions. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and must have their personal human rights and However, the legalization of their civil unions, which seek to simulate holy matrimony, is not admissible.
Lifesitenews
The U.S. Abortion Act; The Vatican Yoke
No sooner had the LGBT issue subsided than the enactment of the abortion bill, which touched on Catholic doctrine and put another layer of chains on the Vatican, which was already hostage to it. In such a sensitive period, Pelosi still attended the Eucharist and met with the Pope, pushing the Pope to the forefront. We should ponder whether Pelosi is sincere in her worship or is it a political game. Regardless, this politically charged meeting has now added another catalyst for division within the American Church. This situation will only worsen as church conservatives and the anti-abortion movement rise, and conservatives and right-wing extremists become more closely aligned. On this website, it is widely reported that Congresswoman Dean Pelosi has been banned from communion, showing absolute disrespect to the U.S. head of state while strongly opposing the “murderous” practice of abortion. It magnifies the authority of doctrine over the U.S. government and condemns the practices of liberal humanists who care nothing for America.
Churchilitant
Last month Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, openly accused Pope Francis of being a pro-abortion politician, and Pelosi met with the pope and received communion.
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/15670/us-archbishop-criticises-pope-over-abortion- and-communion
The Pope had previously given an interview to Reuters journalist Philip Pullella. In an interview with Reuters’ Philip Pullella, the Pope made his attitude clear but was still unable to win over American Catholic conservatives.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/pope-francis-says-follow-the-science-on- abortion/
And this website can be described as a Catholic right-wing website because of the Pope’s ambiguous statement that they support women’s abortion
right to abortion, deeply disturbed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s possible decision to ban abortion and to protect those who become pregnant as a result of rape
This fighting spirit is the defining characteristic of the organization, and in the purpose section, it states that they are not fighting for heaven or hell, but for the Lord in the world, so they should be roughly classified as a liberal human rights wing within Catholicism.
They should therefore be broadly classified as a liberal human rights group within the Catholic Church.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/whitmer-issues-abortion-directive https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%99%B3%E6%97%A5% E5%90%9B
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