Why is this one so hard to understand?
Doctrine determines Discipline. As Cardinal Pell points out here,
During Tuesday’s press briefing a journalist asked the panel if they would confirm whether the question of communion is one of discipline and not doctrine, and can it therefore be explored and developed during this Synod?
On Wednesday, asked by Aleteia the same question, Cardinal Pell replied by saying the doctrine “is spelled out in the criteria for the reception of Communion. The doctrine spells out what is practice. So if you change the practice you change the doctrine.”
This not only seems pretty basic, but it also seems pretty easy to understand.
Here’s an analogy. Beethoven wrote the Moonlight Sonata. The notes are on the page. The text is unchangeable. If you want to play the piece you play the note. You might make another arrangement of the piece, you might play it on the saxophone, but it’s still the Moonlight Sonata. The basic tune doesn’t change, and if you do change it, it’s not the Moonlight Sonata anymore.
Likewise with marriage. The basic tune is this: “one man and one woman for life.”
God made it. Jesus said it. I believe it. Continue Reading
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