Cardinal Kasper's Sense of the Unfaithful

Some critics of Pope Francis (and some critics of yours truly) seem to think that it’s only a matter of time before Pope Francis endorses the the Kasper proposal, and gives the green light for Catholics who are divorced and remarried to receive Communion. Some traditionalists are already planning how they might organize resistance to this papal move. I say they’re wasting their time, because the Pope is not going to change Church doctrine.

It’s incontrovertible that the Pope has encouraged discussion of the Kasper proposal. But discussing a proposal doesn’t necessarily entail accepting it. (I’ve encouraged discussion at the family dinner table about what we would do in case of a fire in our home; I wasn’t suggesting that the kids should burn down the house.) Sometimes a serious discussion of Option A, which is unworkable, will lead to discovery of Option B, which fits the bill.