bergoglio's 'new morality' was condemned by Pope Pius XII in 1952

bergoglio's 'new morality' was condemned by Pope Pius XII in 1952

bergoglio's "new morality" is not new.

It is called "situational ethics" [LINK] and was condemned by Pope Pius XII in 1952.

[ ... and by Pope Innocent XI in 1679. (See below.) ]

Later, in 1956, it was prohibited from being taught in seminaries by the Holy Office and was given the name of "the new morality".

The documents condemning the "new morality" (situational ethics) are available online, but only in Latin.

The condemnation by Pope Pius XII is contained in AAS 44 [1952] on pages 270-278 and pages 413-419.

The prohibition by the Holy Office is contained in AAS 48 [1956] on pages 144-5.

The AAS is the Acta Apostolicae Sedis and contain official Church documents for a given year. All of the AAS are available on the Vatican website at:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/index_en.htm

I have been only able to find a few brief excerpts in English in various articles on situational ethics. Most of the writers of these articles are anti-Catholic and are promoting "the new morallity".

Here are some quotes from the AAS that I found in a more favorable article.

LINK

"The Christian moral law is in the law of the Creator, engraved in the heart of each one, and in Revelation. . . . The first step or rather the first attack against the structure of Christian moral norms would be to free them from the narrow and oppressive surveillance of the authority of the Church. This would be done in such wise that, once liberated from the sophistic subtleties of the casuistic method, the moral law might be brought back to its original form, leaving it simply to the intelligence and determination of each one's individual conscience." AAS 44 pages 272-3

"It is not difficult to recognize how the new moral system derives from Existentialism, which either prescinds from God, or simply denies Him, and in any case, leaves man to himself."AAS 44 page 416

"From the essential relationships between man and God, between man and man, between husband and wife, between parents and children; from the essential community relationships found in the family, in the Church and in the State, it follows (among other things) that hatred of God, blasphemy, idolatry, abandoning the true faith, denial of the faith, perjury, murder, bearing false witness, calumny, adultery and fornication, the abuse of marriage, the solitary sin, stealing and robbery, taking away the necessities of life, depriving workers of their just wages, monopolizing vital foodstuffs and unjustifiably increasing prices, fraudulent bankruptcy, unjust maneouvring in speculation—all these are gravely forbidden by the divine Lawmaker. No examination is necessary. No matter what the situation of the individual may be, there is no other course open to him but to obey." AAS 44 page 417

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It just so happens that I was looking at the Latin text of the speech of Pope Pius XII -- trying to decipher it -- when I noticed he used the term "metodo casuístico".

When I looked up this term it turns out that it is translated as "causuistry". This is an earlier version of "situational ethics" which was condemned by Pope Innocent XI in 1679. [LINK]

What is even more interesting is that there is a related term "jesuitism". [LINK]

"Jesuitism is a label given to particular casuistic approach to moral questions and problems often described by the adjective jesuitical, so called because it was promoted by some Jesuits of the 17th century rather than being the beliefs of the Society of Jesus as a religious order. The word seems to have been used for the first time in 1622."

"[Jesutism] stressed the importance of the 'case by case' approach to personal moral decisions and ultimately developed and accepted a casuistry (the study of cases of consciences) where at the time of decision, individual inclinations were more important than the moral law itself. It has been described as an attempt to achieve holy ends by unholy means."

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This form of "jesuitism" is certainly at play in the bergoglio's synod (on sex) in attempting to justify immoral behavior.

However, in typical modernist style, bergoglio has actually made a statement warning against "causistry" -- even as he himself adheres to this anti-Catholic methodology.

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LINK (May 27, 2014)

Regarding the two Synods of Bishops on the family he has called for this October and October 2015, the pope lamented what he characterized as an overemphasis, by members of the clergy among others, on the question of when divorced and civilly remarried Catholics may receive Communion.

The pope said focusing on that question posed the risk of "casuistry," which he has defined in the past as the practice of setting general laws on the basis of exceptional cases. He emphasized the synods would consider the pastoral care of the family in its totality.

"Today, we know, the family is in crisis, it's a worldwide crisis, the young don't want to marry or they live together," Pope Francis said. "The pastoral problem of the family is very large, very large."