News Item: : Update on Archbishop Scicluna
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
Posted by admin
Tuesday 11 April 2017 - 10:21:59

1. Wording

In my haste to thunder out yesterday's article on the keyboard, in between duties around here, I typed the word ''contraceptives'' in a sentence instead of the word ''abortifacients''.

That meant that for most of the day, a section of the article confusingly read: ''As a result, countless numbers of couples and other observers around the world, the majority of whom will never get to hear of Papagiorcopulo's answer, have been left with the false impression that Pope Francis' chum Scicluna has said that it is now OK to contracept, as long as this is only done in marriage and with the avoidance of contraceptives. Only a clear and direct statement from Scicluna himself could put that right.''

With the word abortifacients inserted in place of the word contraceptives, the section now makes correct sense. The original was updated around dinner time here in the UK last evening.

2. Malta Today Pulls the Original Article

LifeSiteNews now reports that the original article at Malta Today has been pulled; and that the pro-life Dr. Miriam Sciberras has provided a translation to suggest that Malta Today's depiction of Archbishop Scicluna's words had been inaccurate.

As that original article at Malta Today had been the source of the many headlines around the world, to which we were responding yesterday, it is important to put up Dr. Sciberras' translation here to be fair to Archbishop Scicluna.

Whilst Dr. Sciberras' translation follows, we will conclude with some further commentary on this update at the end.

Archbishop Scicluna: First of all, we insist that people who request or buy these medicines should be informed of the mode of action of these products. We are also saying that the faithful should listen to us, that people of good will listen to our advice. That if any of these tablets - because there are various, just as there are various active ingredients - instead of preventing fertilization, actually act after fertilization - then they are not acting as contraceptives but stifle a new life that has begun. In this case the consumer has a right to know and to avoid killing a newly conceived human life.

Saviour Balzan: How do you see the position taken by Gift of Life Network?

Archbishop Scicluna: I think that they have a right to ask the question, is the drug authorized corresponding to the intention of the authorities such as it acts as a contraceptive, or is the product abortive? This is a legitimate question and I feel that I should not be the one to answer it... I do not agree that all is black or white, because there is also the grey... that is why people do not always agree with what I say... because I would be speaking about grey, and not necessarily clear-cut white or black. Why? Because I feel that the role of the Archbishop is not to decide on brand names - because it is simply not within my role to substitute science. Science must be presented, the consumer should be informed - he is then free not to accept my suggestion. What I am saying is - do not take pills that kill a new life.

Saviour Balzan: You are clearly stating that a couple who have sexual relations can use some form of contraception.

Archbishop Scicluna: I do not judge people who use contraception in sexual relationships.

Saviour Balzan: If you were speaking on the Church position on contraception in this room 10 years ago, your position would have been crystal clear. Today you are more cautious?

Archbishop Scicluna: Quite often we avoid mentioning the Church teaching but I think in this case, it needs to be made clear that the anti-contraceptive stance is first of all related to marriage - and in these discussions we are not speaking about marriage. The second point is that one should not have sexual relations outside of marriage, thereby avoiding the problem. However, should anyone still insist or persist in using a contraceptive, we are saying, do not kill a newly conceived human being in the process.

We reflect

The pro-life Dr. Sciberras has said to LifeSiteNews that Archbishop Scicluna was misrepresented when Malta Today claimed that he had said that non-abortifacient contraception was acceptable within marriage. Instead, Dr. Sciberras has argued that the Archbishop was explaining that Church teaching about contraception is a teaching specifically to be presented within marriage.

I think it fair to say that the translation provided by Dr. Sciberras certainly appears to put Archbishop Scicluna's discussion in a better light than was originally suggested by the Malta Today article; and by all of those, including ours, that either followed or critiqued it around the world. Certainly, that comes across in Archbishop Scicluna's discussion of the abortifacient component of some forms of contraception.

That being said, one could hardly describe his overall performance as a bold expression of Catholic orthodoxy.

As we said yesterday, the Archbishop does fail to clearly spell out the intrinsic evil of all forms of contraception. Nowhere is the word ''sin'' mentioned.

His insistence that he does not judge those who use contraception and his final words, which seem to present an ''if you can't be good, be careful'' approach, are certainly less than is needed at a time of such widespread rejection of Church teaching on chastity and Holy Matrimony.

And, although his ''grey areas'' remark has a context, it could easily be used by some to affirm the relativistic mentality of those rejecting Church teaching.

At the end of the day, whilst it is good that Archbishop Scicluna does say that there should not be sexual relationships outside of marriage, there remains a logical and theological inconsistency in his use of those words, when his very own Amoris Laetitia ''guidelines'' so clearly subvert Church teaching on marriage, and reduce moral decision making about divorce, re-''marriage'' and Holy Communion from the objective truth to merely subjective criteria.

To conclude: Dr. Sciberras' translation brings some further light and nuance to the discussioin, but we still feel that Archbishop Scicluna needs to correct all the impressions given by his interview with a clearly worded affirmation of Church teaching on the intrinsic evil of contraception.

And, of course, he needs to publicly repent of his sacrilegious and scandal-giving ''guidelines'' before anyone can really take his statements about Holy Matrimony with any degree of seriousness.

Please pray for Archbishop Scicluna during Holy Week to be given the grace to put right the harm he has already done with those ''guidelines'' and to return to the clarity of his earlier defences of Catholic Truth.

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
( http://www.torchofthefaith.com/news.php?extend.1608 )