How should we answer this question: Why does Our Lord allow such crises in the Church?
God allows crises in the papacy and the Church for the same reason He permits the existence of evil in general, that is, in order to draw some good from it.
In this sense, Saint Paul teaches that all things, good or evil, “work out for the good of those who love God, who are chosen according to his designs” (Romans 8:28).
Let us see what good God draws from the presence of evil in the Church.
Test the virtue of shepherds and flock and increase the merits of the Christian faithful
Life on this earth is a state of trial. And the Church on this earth is, by nature, a militant Church.
God allows the action of evil inside the Church to try us and also to punish us, as Fr. J Wilhelm explains, speaking about heresy: "Heresy, like other evils, is permitted as a test of faith and a trial of strength in the Church militant; probably also as a punishment for other sins."
And he goes on saying that “[i]f the Church shows signs which bespeak the weakness of our human condition, this is not to be attributed to her juridical constitution, but rather to that lamentable inclination to evil in each individual, which her Divine Founder suffers to exist even in the more elevated members of his Mystical Body to test virtue of pastors and flock, to increase the merits of the Christian faith in all men. For Christ did not will to exclude sinners from the assembly which He founded.”
Excellent considerations for the current crisis we find ourselves in. Through the intercession of Mary Most Holy may we be more faithful and docile to the graces she provides, in spite of our past failures and sins, to please her Divine Son in our daily battle against our own evil tendencies. This pithy article will help motivate us in these difficult and confusing times to preserve in the practice of the Faith. Thank you for publishing this article.
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