As Lutherans and other Protestants raise their gaze to October 2017, they are likely to plan some significant gatherings, projects, and celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 Theses. That date is generally accepted as the outbreak of the Reformation. Only three years later, the ringleader, Martin Luther, was excommunicated and anathematized by a papal bull entitled Decet Romanum Pontificem (“It pleases the Roman pontiff”). Bull comes from the Latin word bulla, which means “knob, badge, or seal,” and refers to the raised embossed seal on the bottom of the more important papal documents. They are known by the first several Latin words of the opening line, and they carry a lot of heft because they are the pope speaking officially. Popes make plenty of speeches and unload a lot of personal opinions, but a bull is serious business. The teachings are thought to be binding on all Christians, since the pope is said to be the personal representative of Jesus Christ on earth (although of course only Catholics think of themselves so obligated).
Pope Francis issued another bull last week. Entitled Misericordiae Vultus (“The Face of Mercy”), it has been greeted with some fanfare by the press, which is desperate for signs of fulfillment in its chosen narrative—that Francis is liberal and progressive and will move the church forward toward the liberal agenda, especially on environment, social justice, and human sexuality. They didn’t like Benedict XVI, whom they regarded as harsh and regressive. Anything Francis says that sounds critical of capitalism will get a lot of play, as will anything that sounds like tolerance of a gay lifestyle or gay marriage.
The new bull has two features noteworthy to me. One is that it promises a plenary indulgence to the faithful who make a pilgrimage to a cathedral or basilica with a “holy door,” a special portal in one of the major churches that is closed and locked most of the time. That indulgence is valid during the coming Jubilee Year, from December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016. You may recall that Luther’s challenge to the Catholic system of indulgences launched the Reformation. Indulgences are papal documents that relieve punishments in purgatory, an imaginary “temporary hell” that the church has threatened people with for many centuries. Protestants find it hard to believe that the Roman Church still holds fast to purgatory and indulgences, thinking that they were medieval superstitions that had disappeared. Nope. Still here.
The second feature of M.V. is that during the Jubilee Year priests will be allowed to announce forgiveness to repentant women who have had an abortion. In Catholic teaching, having, performing, or paying for an abortion is a “reserved sin,” which I think used to be termed “mortal sin,” i.e., you are excommunicated if you do it and presumably also go to hell. This is a puzzle. Invading a womb and taking the human life there is indeed a miserable sin, but is it actually worse than all the other forms of murder (which are not considered “reserved” sins)? And what about repentant women after November 20, 2016? Back to excommunicated status?
Answering those dilemmas comes back to the central issues of the Reformation. What is the content of the church’s message? What is the authority of the church’s message? Now more than ever people need to go back to the Bible and say and believe no more and no less than God has revealed there. Everything beyond that is human law and speculation.
Originally posted by Time of Grace.
