Tackling Cardinal McElroy’s ‘radical’ proposal
Mar 14, 2023
•Charles Camosy’s “Deciding Who’s In” in the March 10 issue seems to imply that Cardinal Robert McElroy’s recent statements on “radical inclusion” extends a welcome to some people seen as engaging in sinful behavior.
McElroy’s point, however, is to propose a reconsideration of how we think of sinful behavior, perhaps especially of the belief that every sexual sin is a mortal sin.
As a moral theologian, Camosy should engage with the three main elements of Catholic teaching that ground McElroy’s argument: (1) everyone is wounded by sin and in need of God’s grace and healing; (2) priority of conscience; and (3) the Eucharist as a profound grace in our conversion to discipleship.
Unlike Camosy’s proposed “via media,” which does not really resolve the pastoral/doctrinal controversy, McElroy looks for resolution in the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the coming sessions of the synodal process.
— Robert V. Caro, SJ, Loyola Marymount University