When it comes to the Church, there is no right and left, because the truth does not admit to right and left. It just is. Either one is entirely in the truth or one is out of the truth. Period. When I taught CCD, I would tell the children that it's like this: If I gave you a glass of world's finest of whatever your favorite drink was, would you drink it? Of course! But, what if, right before I handed you the drink, I mixed in one half teaspoon of sewerage, would you drink it then?! No! Why? Because now it's just a fancy glass of sewerage. The same applies to Catholic truth. We either give religious assent to all of it, or we have none of it.
That's true but also isn't as relevant as you think. Catholic truth is immutable. But how to apply that truth? How to prioritize this or that in a given situation? That can, and does change. And the Church can make mistakes in that regard. This is also contingent upon situations on the ground. What makes evangelization and pastoral work such a difficulty, because often there aren't easy answers, just imperfect answers that provide the Spirit as much room as possible to operate.
When it comes to the Church, there is no right and left, because the truth does not admit to right and left. It just is. Either one is entirely in the truth or one is out of the truth. Period. When I taught CCD, I would tell the children that it's like this: If I gave you a glass of world's finest of whatever your favorite drink was, would you drink it? Of course! But, what if, right before I handed you the drink, I mixed in one half teaspoon of sewerage, would you drink it then?! No! Why? Because now it's just a fancy glass of sewerage. The same applies to Catholic truth. We either give religious assent to all of it, or we have none of it.
That's true but also isn't as relevant as you think. Catholic truth is immutable. But how to apply that truth? How to prioritize this or that in a given situation? That can, and does change. And the Church can make mistakes in that regard. This is also contingent upon situations on the ground. What makes evangelization and pastoral work such a difficulty, because often there aren't easy answers, just imperfect answers that provide the Spirit as much room as possible to operate.