Steve Skojec
Bishop Józef Wróbel |
In
what appears to be the first (of hopefully many) prelates to speak out publicly
in favor of the Four Cardinals Letter,
Auxiliary Bishop Józef Wróbel of Lublin, Poland, said in an interview with
Michele M. Ippolito of La Fede Quotidiana that “The four cardinals were right
to ask for clarification on Amoris Laetitia.
If anything, it is only just to answer them.”
In the
interview, the bishop is very candid in his support:
[Your] Excellency [Bishop] Wrobel, what do
you think of the letter of clarification on Amoris Laetitia sent by four
cardinals to the Pope?
They have done
well and they have exercised correctly the provisions of canon
law. I think it is not only a right, but even a duty. It
would have been just to answer to their observations.
They asked no questions about the next day’s weather, but on issues concerning
the Church’s teaching and therefore the faithful.
The doubts regarding AL, do you find them
pertinent?
As I said before, a clarification on the
document, and especially on chapter 8 is opportune. The text effectively lends
itself to various interpretations, it’s ambiguous.
Why does it lend itself to various
interpretations?
Because it was
not well written. Probably with too much haste, without analysing the contents
and the possible consequences with careful [extreme] attention. There is a need
to bring these questions to the Vatican and to the collaborators in whom the
Pope has confidence. Drawing up such important texts in haste does not render
good service to the Church.
Can one give Communion to those who have
remarried civilly?
You couldn’t
give [them Communion] before Amoris
Laetitia, it’s not possible now. The doctrine of the Church is not
subject to changes, otherwise it is no longer the Church of Christ founded on
the Gospel and the Tradition. It is given to no one to modify the doctrine
insofar as no-one is master of the Church.
Communion to gay couples?
It is not possible, and mercy is not a
permission slip. Homosexual acts are a very grave sin, much more than those
committed among heterosexuals. In fact, they go against nature.
His comments
on Amoris
Laetitia are strikingly firm, but equally so is his answer to
a question that is high on the Vatican’s list of priorities: the welcoming of
refugees:
Immigration, what to do?
Welcoming is
in the Christian spirit. Above all, in moral theology, the primacy is in
charity. It looks first to those closest [to us], to the neighbours, in order
to get to those further away. And so we should first of all ensure that those
who live close to us — relatives, children, parents, fellow citizens — are
doing well and only afterwards take care of those who come from outside.
Demagoguery leads nowhere.
Like Bishop
Athanasius Schneider before him, we see in Bishop Wróbel an auxiliary who
cares far more about the Catholic teaching and the faithful than about
advancing in his own ecclesiastical career.
And in a way, their work elevates them far beyond
the dignity of a diocesan see. They truly become bishops of the world.
We can only
pray that this is the beginning of a larger trend of support for the four
cardinals from among the world’s apostolic successors.
Roberto Tomasso contributed to this translation: OnePeter5
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