TRANSCRIPT
A prominent priest and moral theologian is claiming Catholic sexual morality must change and that Pope Francis is the catalyst.
Church Militant’s Paul Murano goes “beneath the surface” on what may be the Devil’s last stand to force the Church into the sexual revolution.
In a keynote address last week at the Vatican, Jesuit theologian Fr. Julio Martinez claimed post–Vatican II popes have dropped the ball when it comes to moral theology. At issue is whether some sexual behaviors are objectively wrong. Martinez claims conscience should dictate moral choices, regardless of Church teaching.
Targeting the landmark papal encyclicals Humanae Vitae and Veritatis Splendor, Martinez claims Popes Paul VI and John Paul II largely ignored the “discernment” that began with Vatican II’s Gaudium et Spes.
By discernment, Martínez appears to mean a pastoral approach to moral choices, gutted of all moral principles.
Fr. James Martin, S.J., editor at large, America Magazine: “But it is also the pope’s reminder that the Church should avoid simply judging people and imposing rules on them, without considering their struggles.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “There are some concrete acts — such as fornication — that [are] always wrong to choose.” The current crop of theologians under Pope Francis sees this as “rigid,” opting instead for a moral ambiguity that leads to situational ethics — something the Church has always condemned.
Martinez points to the Francis letter Amoris Laetitia as the beginning of the dismantling of solid Catholic moral teaching. What he doesn’t say is that moral relativism is filling the void.
Theologically, this is the final battle between the Church and Satan, which Our Lady, at Fatima, said would focus on marriage and the family.
Martinez warned about “getting lost in the meanders of Veritatis Splendor.” This landmark letter from John Paul II set the record straight on the influence of modernism in moral theology.