Pope Francis has complained that traditionalist Catholics, especially in the United States, are “gaging” reforms to modernize the Church. Even so, he insisted there was no turning back.

Francis told a gathering of Jesuit editors in comments published in mid-June that he was convinced some Catholics simply never accepted the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that led to the celebration mass in the vernacular rather than in Latin and revolutionized the church. relationships with people of other faiths, among others.

“The number of groups of ‘restorers’ – for example, in the United States there are many – is significant,” Francis told the editors, according to excerpts published by the Jesuit newspaper. La Civilta Cattolica.

“Restorationism came to gag the council,” he said, adding that he knew priests for whom the 16th-century Council of Trent was more memorable than the 20th-century Vatican II.

Traditionalists have become some of Francis’ fiercest critics, accusing him of heresy for his openness to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, his outreach to gay Catholics, and other reforms. Francis took an increasingly hard line against them, reimposing restrictions on the celebration of the Old Mass in Latin and taking specific action in dioceses and religious orders where traditionalists resisted his reforms.

The pope signaled that the progressive leadership is ready for a long battle with the restorers.

“It’s also true that it takes a century for a council to take root. We still have forty years to root it, then! he told the editors.

Traditionalists also dug into their heels. Yet history shows that they are fighting a losing battle…

Historical perspective

The Vatican has a long history of reversals and changes. The once ironclad rules have often been discarded or relaxed.

A Foreign Police The article detailed a number of major reversals that have come from the Vatican over the years.

Original rule on usury: “Lend freely, expecting nothing, the Bible teaches. Taken literally, this ban on profiting from borrowing played a major role in the creation of European credit markets in the Middle Ages. Bankers had to devise methods to profit from lending money without directly charging interest.

This rule was abandoned during the Renaissance when European capitalism took over, as interest charging is a mainstay of the modern financial system.

Original rule on slavery: “No less an authority than St. Augustine said that Jesus Christ did not set men free to be slaves. As late as 1860, the church taught that it was not a sin to possess another human being as long as the slave was treated humanely.

The church did not take a strong stance against slavery until it was widely outlawed in the West. While Pope Gregory XVI first criticized the practice in 1839, it wasn’t until Leo XIII, the first pope of the 20th century, that the Vatican declared slavery a moral outrage.

Original Rule on the Mass: “Traditionally, the Catholic Mass was celebrated in the original Latin, with the priests facing the faithful. More generally, Church institutions have maintained a level of distance both from followers and from the modern world as a whole.

During the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, it was decided to authorize the celebration of the mass in the local languages. The council has also launched a number of initiatives, including increased dialogue with other denominations and greater decentralization of authority from the Vatican to local districts.

Original Rule on Limbo: “In traditional Catholic theology, Limbo is the halfway point between Heaven and Hell where the unbaptized, including infants, go after death. Even though they had committed no sin, these people had not been cleansed from original sin by baptism.

The parishioners never really clung to the idea of ​​limbo and it was rarely discussed from the pulpit. Foreign Police wrote, “In 2004, John Paul II formed a commission to find a more consistent and informed way to describe what happens to infants who die. In 2007, Benoît signed a report recommending the abandonment of the concept. Instead of going to Limbo, unbaptized babies would enjoy eternal happiness after death, but would not attain fellowship with God.

what everyone misses

All of this raises important questions for Catholics and Protestants: Should Christianity change over time? The use of modern technologies and equipment is a matter of course. But what about doctrines? Do we also have to adapt?

In the culture war of modern Christianity, there is one thing that is rarely mentioned, if at all. That’s what the Bible Actually said.

Every practitioner should stop and look at the Word of God. Then they should take a long and serious look at the churches of today. Do these “houses of worship” and their leaders match what the Bible says?

Look at what Jesus Christ said: “But it is in vain that they worship me, teaching doctrines the commandments of men(Matthew 15:9). Mark 7:7 says the same thing.

Much of the argument among modern church leaders is about this: the commandments of men. These are ideas that have no biblical basis.

The celibate priesthood is an example. Notice what I Timothy 3:2 says: “A bishop must therefore be blameless, a woman’s husbandvigilant, sober, of good conduct, inclined to hospitality, apt to teach.

For emphasis, read Titus 1:6, which also states that ordained men should be “the husband of one wife, having faithful children not charged with rioting or unruly.”

Don’t complicate this too much. While some ministers may be single, the apostle Paul, inspired by God, clearly stated that they may marry and have children.

Another example of “teaching for the doctrines of the commandments of men” is to take days of pagan origin and adopt them for “Christian” worship. Jeremiah 10 is clear: “Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the Gentiles are appalled” (v. 2).

The pagan roots of Christmas and Easter are well known. Ask: Would God allow these pagan days, even if they are redirected, especially when the days He commands are swept away?

Note that God ordained that His weekly Sabbath day and His annual Holy Days be “an everlasting covenant” (Ex. 31:16; 12:20, 24).

Read what God says in Exodus 31: “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed” (v. 17).

As the leaders of modern Christianity bicker over the future of their churches, you should instead focus on what your Creator wants. Ignore political squabbles and petty arguments about tradition!

You have to prove to yourself that the Bible is the Word of God. Make I Thessalonians 5:21 your guide: “Prove all things; retain what is good.

While society is well into an era of redefining what “the church” is and its teachings, the Bible remains as relevant as ever: “But the word of the Lord endures forever” (I Pet. 1 :25).

Further, God declares “I change not” in Malachi 3:6, and Hebrews 13:8 declares that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (NKJV).

Read biblical authority…is it possible Proven? to begin to understand what God wants for your life.

This article contains information from The Associated Press.