The Flexible Church
(Signs of the Time - September 1999)
It has been some 20 years since the College of Cardinals elected John Paul II head of the Catholic community. In this short span, Pope John Paul II has created 270 saints, more than any other pope in history, and has beatified (the final step before becoming a saint) almost 800 people. In the past few months, this active pope has made some rather remarkable changes in the Catholic church, changes which will have a direct effect on Catholic believers. This month’s article will examine those changes and note that the Catholic church seems to be evolving even further away from the true teaching of the Bible and closer to the desires of the people.
Constant change
Since the second Vatican Council which concluded in l965, the Catholic church has
taken it upon themselves to become closer to their followers and to make it easier to be a
practicing Catholic. First, the Latin mass was replaced with a local-dialect mass. This
change was followed by the priest celebrating mass with his face toward the congregation
rather than his back. Lifestyle changes came next. The rules concerning the eating of fish
on Friday were eliminated. However slowly and methodically the changes over the last few
decades may have seemed, they were made simply to ensure that the Catholic church would
continue to attract and maintain growing congregations.
Shortcuts to salvation
Within the last twelve months, John Paul II has decreed further changes to make the
church more attractive to the world body. In November, l998, as reported by the New
York Times, Pope John Paul II announced: "In celebration of entering the
third millennium of Christianity, penitents who do a charitable deed or give up cigarettes
or alcohol for a day can earn an ‘indulgence’ to eliminate punishment on earth
or in purgatory." (Indulgences are an ancient form of church-granted amnesty
that release penitents from certain forms of punishment for past sins.) However, "Church
officials emphasize that indulgences are linked to a sincere repentance and are not a
one-day expedient."
The pope said, "Individual sinners would be granted ‘plenary indulgences,’ which cancel the punishment for repented sins." In Catholic theology, souls in purgatory are purifying themselves before their entry into heaven. The indulgences are not meant to save people from eternal punishment if they commit grave sins and do not repent, the church teaches. But for Catholic believers who are unable to forgo tobacco or alcohol, the pope has indicated that personal acts of penitence or charity work can be used instead as a way of earning an indulgence.
Moreover the pope indicated that throughout the millennial celebration, believers will be offered a wider selection of ways to receive a plenary indulgence. They can follow tradition and attend a mass in one of several designated churches and perform such devotions as the rosary or the stations of the cross. Or, in an appendix to his letter the pope says they can visit the sick, the imprisoned or the handicapped or give to the poor, or they may choose an act of private sacrifice. The appendix, signed by Cardinal William Baum, an American and top Vatican official, explained, "This would include abstaining for at least one whole day from unnecessary consumption (e.g. from smoking, alcohol or fasting)."
Driving out evil spirits
The church making recently reaffirmed belief in demons the devil thus underscoring the
member’s ability to blame their problems on these imaginary beings.
The New York Times reported, January 27, l999, "The 84-page Latin text which Pope John Paul II approved before he left for his visit to North America, contains prayers and rites for driving out devils, but also for cleansing places and things of demonic influence. By issuing the text, which replaces a 1614 version, the Vatican reaffirmed the existence of the devil."
Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez, head of the Vatican congregation responsible for religious rites, said genuine demon possession could be recognized by various criteria, including the use of unknown languages, extraordinary strength and the disclosure of hidden occurrences or events. He also mentioned as symptoms a "vehement aversion to God, the Blessed Virgin, the saints, the cross and sacred images." The Cardinal acknowledged that many modern Catholics no longer believed in the devil, but he called this a "serious fault in religious education," adding that the existence of the devil "belongs to Catholic faith and doctrine."
Not a man noted to sit still for long, John Paul II has also changed the meaning of "limbo." The church once taught the limbo was the place where unbaptized infants went when they died. According to the New York Times, "It’s still around, goes the new thinking, but it’s empty. It is now believed to have been the state of natural bliss enjoyed by the just, like Abraham and Moses who died before the Ascension of Christ to heaven. The Ascension brought them to heaven as well, and the babies got there too."
Latter days
As the children of Israel wandered through the desert, Aaron listened to the people
and provided them what their hearts desired, a visible god in the form of a golden calf.
We learned from this incident that God is not satisfied with beliefs that center around
man’s invention, but rather He desires worship according to His specific instruction.
Paul specifically told us that a declension from the apostolic faith, which would put down its roots in the very first century, would survive through the ages even to the end time, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths" (I Tim. 4:3-4).
Therefore, let us "test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (I John 4:l).
George Rayner, Echo Lake, NJ
The following note recently appeared on the "Associated Press Wire Service," 7/29/99: "Forget the flames and the devils with pitchforks. A week after telling Roman Catholic faithful that heaven was not up in the clouds, Pope John Paul said yesterday hell was not a physical place either. Lest sinners think they can get off lightly, though, the Pope said hell was for real and, rather than being inflicted by God, it was something sinners bring on themselves. "Hell is not a punishment imposed externally by God, but the condition resulting from attitudes and actions which people adopt in this life." - Editor