The following is written by Michael Lofton, author of the website www.consolamini.org
Note: A “Ficterview” is a fictitious interview.
After reading about the Patricia Jannuzzi/Bishop Bootkoski incident, Consolamini was snatched up into the third heaven (whether in the body or in the spirit, I know not) and given the opportunity to interview the Saints about the incident.
Consolamini: Brothers and Sisters. I am glad to be able to speak to you about the Jannuzzi/Bootkoski incident. What are your thoughts on the matter? Was Bishop Bootkoski right in saying her comments opposing sodomy were “disturbing and do not reflect the Church’s teachings of acceptance”?
At this point, Pope St. Clement of Rome stepped forward, vested with his pallium and a copy of his first letter to the Corinthians in his hand, and said:
Long ago I wrote to the Corinthians on this matter, saying: “It is well that they should be cut off from the lusts of the world, since ‘every lust wars against the spirit’ and ‘neither fornicators, nor sodomites will inherit the kingdom of God.'” (First Epistle to the Corinthians) For this reason, it was fitting for Ms. Jannuzzi to speak against this sin.
Consolamini: Those are some pretty strong words, Holy Father. But is sodomy really that big of a deal? Many of those who engage in this act are nice people.
The eminent Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, stepped forward and said:
They may be nice people in the eyes of the world, but their acts are abominable in the eyes of God. Here is what I wrote long ago on this sin: “Those shameful acts against nature, such as were committed in Sodom, ought everywhere and always to be detested and punished. If all nations were to do such things, they would be held guilty of the same crime by the law of God, which has not made men so that they should use one another in this way.” (Confessions)
St. John Chrysostom chimed in and shared St. Augustine’s sentiment with the following:
All sin is evil, but this sin more than others, as I wrote: “All of these affections [in Rom. 1:26-27] . . . were vile, but chiefly the mad lust after males; for the soul is more the sufferer in sins, and more dishonored than the body in diseases.” (Homilies on Romans) Thus, it was not the words of Ms. Jannuzzi which were disturbing but the words of the Bishop Bootkoski.
Consolamini: But brothers, times have changed. Surely this is no longer a sin today.
St. Padre Pio stepped forward, slapped my face with his cincture, and read from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (CCC, 2357) Clearly, since this sin is one that is rooted in natural law, in addition to Sacred Scripture and Tradition, this is not something that can change over a period of time. There is no expiration date on the natural law. For this reason, Bishop Bootkoski should be publicly rebuked by his subjects because it was his view that was contrary to the teachings of the Church, not that of Ms. Jannuzzi.
Consolamini: Can the subjects of a prelate rebuke a superior?
St. Thomas, with a large copy of his Summa Theologica in his hand, stepped forward and politely stated:
It must be observed that if the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. (Summa Theologica)
Consolamini: But wouldn’t it be better to just remain silent, perhaps as an act of mercy?
St. Thomas Aquinas calmly replied:
Fraternal correction is a work of mercy. Therefore even prelates ought to be corrected. (Summa Theologica)
At this moment, the Saints indicated Consolamini must return to earth and report all that he heard. Consolamini asked them to pray for him and was assured he would be allowed to return and ask more questions in the future.
Michael Lofton is a Latin Rite Catholic in the Diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana and is also a member of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. He is a Catholic convert from Protestantism (his conversion story can be found here) and is an author of over a dozen books on Sacred Scripture, Catholic Theology and Apologetics as well as the editor of the St. Jerome Study Bible, found here. He is occasionally a guest on Radio Maria and is the author of the website www.consolamini.org
Also see this by the great Pope St. Pius V, prescribing that priests who commit sins of the sodomite perversion be stripped of their clerical dignity and handed over to the civil authorities to be put to death:
“That horrible crime, on account of which corrupt and obscene cities were destroyed by fire through divine condemnation, causes us most bitter sorrow and shocks our mind, impelling us to repress such a crime with the greatest possible zeal.
“Quite opportunely the Fifth Lateran Council [1512-1517] issued this decree: “Let any member of the clergy caught in that vice against nature, given that the wrath of God falls over the sons of perfidy, be removed from the clerical order or forced to do penance in a monastery” (chap. 4, X, V, 31).
“So that the contagion of such a grave offense may not advance with greater audacity by taking advantage of impunity, which is the greatest incitement to sin, and so as to more severely punish the clerics who are guilty of this nefarious crime and who are not frightened by the death of their souls, we determine that they should be handed over to the severity of the secular authority, which enforces civil law.
“Therefore, wishing to pursue with greater rigor than we have exerted since the beginning of our pontificate, we establish that any priest or member of the clergy, either secular or regular, who commits such an execrable crime, by force of the present law be deprived of every clerical privilege, of every post, dignity and ecclesiastical benefit, and having been degraded by an ecclesiastical judge, let him be immediately delivered to the secular authority to be put to death, as mandated by law as the fitting punishment for laymen who have sunk into this abyss.”
(Constitutionn Horrendum illud scelus, August 30, 1568, in Bullarium Romanum,
Rome: Typographia Reverendae Camerae Apostolicae, Mainardi, 1738, chap. 3, p. 33)
Why not quote in context?
Summa Theologica II-II Q33 A4:
“I answer that, A subject is not competent to administer to his prelate the correction which is an act of justice through the coercive nature of punishment: but the fraternal correction which is an act of charity is within the competency of everyone in respect of any person towards whom he is bound by charity, provided there be something in that person which requires correction.
Now an act which proceeds from a habit or power extends to whatever is contained under the object of that power or habit: thus vision extends to all things comprised in the object of sight. Since, however, a virtuous act needs to be moderated by due circumstances, it follows that when a subject corrects his prelate, he ought to do so in a becoming manner, not with impudence and harshness, but with gentleness and respect. Hence the Apostle says (1 Timothy 5:1): “An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father.” Wherefore Dionysius finds fault with the monk Demophilus (Ep. viii), for rebuking a priest with insolence, by striking and turning him out of the church.”
Hello Dave,
The context does not alter the point that was made in this article. The point is that a subject can correct a superior, provided it is done in a becoming manner, of course.
I think it does alter it in the sense that the “corrections” being done nowadays entirely lack the gentleness and respect, not to mention the correction in private. We see far more of “the bishop is an idiot” in the blogosphere than we do an example of loving respect.
Dave.
Aquinas clearly said in the quote that it can be done “publicly” and it should be done publicly because this is a public scandal.
Also canon law provides the faithful with the right of expressing their concerns with the rest of the faithful so nothing you quoted overturns that and the Church actually makes provisions for what is done here in this article.
But of course I agree with you more charity is needed in this area more times than not.
Thank you for your interaction.
Well written!!!!!!!!
This absolutely rocks!