Is Christ Still King? Sunday November 24 6 PM

We have heard a great deal about Religious Freedom the past couple of years, but what does that really mean? What about The Social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ? Is Christ still King or has that teaching been dropped?

At this year’s Christ the King Forum, Fr. Brian Harrison, O.S., S.T.D., will address one of the gravest doctrinal issues that has troubled and divided the Church since Vatican Council II. Many traditionalist Catholics complain that the Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom has "dethroned" Christ the King from his rightful sovereignty over human social and political life by embodying a twofold contradiction of weighty papal documents from the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Its first error, they say, is to present Church-State separation as the best constitutional arrangement for all nations, even those with predominantly Catholic populations. Secondly, they read the Declaration as teaching that non-Catholics, in every historical period and in every country on earth, have a natural right to civil freedom (i.e., immunity from government coercion) in publicly manifesting their false religious beliefs.

Click here to register before Wednesday 20-November

According to Fr. Harrison, who has written or contributed to several books and scholarly articles on these issues, it's clear that many influential Vatican II bishops and theologians did indeed try to get the Council to teach these novel doctrines, and in fact managed to gain a large majority of votes for a text that tended to favor them. However, he maintains that last-minute amendments insisted on by Peter's Successor, Pope Paul VI, have nuanced the final text in such a way that the Declaration can -- and therefore should -- be read with a "hermeneutic of continuity" that develops classical Catholic doctrine without contradicting it. He will also argue that Pope Francis' first major document, the Encyclical Lumen Fidei, also implicitly confirms Christ's kingly authority over human society in its final section on how the "light of faith" should illumine public affairs as well as the private lives of citizens.

Logistics

Registrations must be received before Wednesday 20-November. Click here to register.

We’re back at the Crowne Plaza in Clayton. This time you have a choice between a Pork Chop with an Apple-Sage sauce; and Baked Chicken Breast with an Orange Sauce. Both come with bread stuffing on the side, and seasonal veggies. Sweet Potato Pie for dessert. As ever, you may order a vegetarian meal, but it is Chef’s Choice as to exactly what it is. Entrees are served with salad, rolls, iced tea, and coffee.

We’re going to get underway at 6 PM sharp, so please arrive early enough to get checked-in beforehand.

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