Cardinal Kasper- Extraordinary Interview!

Have you seen this yet? It's not for the squeamish!

Cardinal Kasper furiously back-peddles from his confident assertions last year that he spoke for the Pope with regard to his proposals for communion for divorced & remarried Catholics. Instead, he asserts that he was merely commissioned with tabling the debate on the issue. He also says that he doesn't even want communion for all divorced and remarried Catholics, but rather a subjective approach which would consider each case by its individual circumstances.

While one can see in the particular circumstances (very particular circumstances) that the Cardinal desires to provide Christ's mercy to those in pain, he does seem very, very vague and unclear about how this can actually work without contradicting (or reversing) what the Church has always held and taught to be true.

Although he wants to provide an opportunity for mercy in the very specific circumstances he outlines, he does not want to hear about the more difficult (and somewhat inevitable) circumstance proposed by Raymond Arroyo.

It really does come across that Arroyo has a better grasp of the issue than the Cardinal! The Cardinal is unable to offer solutions to the situations that Arroyo puts forward and does not even want to consider or engage in speculation.

He seems to assert the teaching of the Church but with caveats that seem hugely relative and unclear. I have no doubt that if such subjective proposals were in fact embraced, they would lead to nothing short of a total capitulation in the face of modern ideas of the dissolubility of Marriage: this would be disastrous for the Church.

Cardinal Kasper speaks of a "deep wound" he feels as a result of other Cardinal failing to discuss and consult with him before writing and publishing the book Remaining in the Truth of Christ, co-authored by Cardinals Burke; Brandmüller; Caffara; De Paolis; Müller; Robert Dodaro, O.S.A.; Paul Mankowski, S.J; John M. Rist; and Archbishop Cyril Vasil', S.J. But has he considered, I wonder, how hurt the Church is by having a Cardinal suggest such divisive proposals at a Synod? Proposals which, in this interview, the Cardinal himself states contradict the very words of Christ. Surely it was his duty to approach those who are faithful to the Magisterium to find a better way forward than what has taken place?

The Cardinal suggests that there are still a great many "on my side" of the argument, but what seems clear to me is that those supporting his stance will include all those who want to see a far more liberal approach than even Cardinal Kasper is proposing. Can the Cardinal not see that what he is proposing is opening the door to all kinds of heresy and deeper problems? A slippery slope that will allow almost any practice to be accepted? We already have a situation where the practice of popular piety seldom reflects the doctrinal or canonical norm. Surely we need to work harder as a Church to hold and teach the faith deposited by Christ Himself, rather than doing everything we can to pick at it and reduce it?

Arroyo puts this point to Cardinal Kasper at about 20:20, but he says that people putting themselves forward for Sacraments when in positions of grave sin (homosexual relationships, divorced and remarried, etc) to priests and saying that "this is clearly what the Pope wants", but Cardinal Kasper simply dismisses this, he feels no responsibility and simply states that such assertions are mistaken.

What is clear is that something has changed. There is a different tone from Cardinal Kasper who is clearly back-peddling furiously on this.