The reports originated after Gänswein read a message from Benedict at last week's funeral of German Cardinal Joachim Meisner.

In the message, Benedict alluded to the Church being near "capsizing," which Gänswein says is a familiar image in his writing.

"The emeritus pope was deliberately exploited, he wasn't alluding to anything specific with that phrase, but talking about the situation of the Church of today and that of the past as a boat that doesn't sail in calm waters. Francis also says this." Read more

Meisner, and cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Carlo Caffarra and Raymond Burke are called the "dubia cardinals" because of a series of five questions (dubia) they put to Francis last September. They asked him to clarify aspects of Amoris Laetitia.

Meisner was the archbishop emeritus of Cologne and was known as a strong defender of the Church's doctrine and orthodoxy. Read more

Francis has not answered their request or replied to the letter.

They released a copy of their letter to the press.

The letter was written by Cardinal Carlo Caffarra on behalf of Cardinals Walter Brandmüller, Raymond Burke, and Joachim Meisner.

It begins with the four renewing "our absolute dedication and our unconditional love for the Chair of Peter and for Your august person, in whom we recognize the Successor of Peter and the Vicar of Jesus: the ‘sweet Christ on earth.'"

They go on to "most respectfully" ask for an audience with him as they have received no response to the letter containing their five questions, or doubts (dubia) they sent him on 19 September last.

They told Francis their concern is a great division in the Church on basic morality has resulted from Amoris Laetitia. Excerpts of the letter say:

"Despite the fact that the Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith has repeatedly declared that the doctrine of the Church has not changed, numerous statements have appeared from individual Bishops, Cardinals, and even Episcopal Conferences, approving what the Magisterium of the Church has never approved, the letter says.

"Not only access to the Holy Eucharist for those who objectively and publicly live in a situation of grave sin, and intend to remain in it, but also a conception of moral conscience contrary to the Tradition of the Church...

"Numerous competent lay faithful, who are deeply in love with the Church and staunchly loyal to the Apostolic See, have turned to their Pastors and to Your Holiness in order to be confirmed in the Holy Doctrine concerning the three sacraments of Marriage, Confession, and the Eucharist...

"Faced with this grave situation, in which many Christian communities are being divided, we feel the weight of our responsibility, and our conscience impels us to ask humbly and respectfully for an Audience.

Source

• National Catholic Register
• LifeSite News
• The Tablet
• Image: LifeSite

He said immigration is not the answer to the demographic crisis in Germany, which has the lowest birth rate in Europe at 1.36 children per woman.

The cardinal compared the government's family policies to those of Communist East Germany, where women who wanted to stay at home to look after their children were considered "demented".

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Though a spokeswoman for the German cardinal said he had consulted the Vatican, the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, Dr Jose Maria Simon Castellvi, said he had been misinformed about the effects of the pill.

Dr Simon said "the morning-after pill works as an anti-implantation product in 70 per cent of the cases where the woman is fertile".

Cardinal Meisner was drawn into the discussion about the morning-after pill after a story surfaced in the local press about a 25-year-old woman who walked into an emergency room and told the attending physician that she thought she was drugged and possibly sexually assaulted at a party the night before.

The doctor on call said she called two different Catholic hospitals and asked if they would admit the woman, but both refused because the prescribed course of treatment would involve using the morning-after pill.

Cardinal Meisner subsequently met medical experts who told him the latest research on the morning-after pill indicated the drug does not have anti-implantation effects.

He then issued a statement saying that if "a medication that hinders conception is used after a rape with the purpose of avoiding fertilisation, then this is acceptable in my view".

His statement was widely interpreted by the media as giving permission for Catholic hospitals to dispense the morning-after pill to rape victims.

The head of Germany's Association of Gynaecologists, Dr Christian Albring, said there were two pills with exclusively contraceptive (and not abortive) effects available in Germany.

But the president of the Catholic doctors' federation, Dr Simon, pointed out that the manufacturer of the morning-after pill says the drug may prevent an embryo from implanting on the uterine wall.

"So, we cannot accept it, since even a microscopic human embryo is a person with rights, dignity and a son of God," Dr Simon insisted.

Sources:

EWTN News

Reuters

The Tablet

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