"Pope Francis has a very precise overall vision of contemporary society, of the Church today and, ultimately, of all history. He seems to me to be affected by a kind of hyperrealism that claims to be “pastoral”. According to him, the Church must surrender to the evidence: it is impossible for her to continue preaching a moral doctrine such as the one she has preached until now. It must decide to capitulate to the demands of modern man and, as a result, rethink its motherhood. Of course, the Church must always be a mother, but instead of being so by transmitting life and educating its children, it will be so to the extent that it knows how to accept them as they are, listen to them, understand them and accompany them...These concerns, which are not bad in themselves, must be understood here in a new and very particular sense: the Church can no longer impose itself, and consequently must no longer do so. It is passive and adapts. Ecclesial life, as it can be lived today, conditions and determines the very mission of the Church, even its raison d'être. For example, since it can no longer demand the same conditions as in the past for access to the Holy Eucharist, given that modern man sees this as intolerable intolerance, the only realistic and authentically Christian reaction, in this logic, is to adapt to this situation and redefine its own requirements. Thus, inevitably, morality changes: eternal laws are subjected to an evolution made necessary by historical circumstances and by the imperatives of a false and misunderstood charity."
January 1, 1970