'As the Church has always taught....' | National Catholic Reporter

'As the Church has always taught....' | National Catholic Reporter by MSW.  MGB: Unless one can really imagine the Apostles putting on purple stoles and going into confessionals, there is no always taught on the relationship between confession and communion - although we have separated confession from the sacrament of the sick (except in extemis, where Communion is also present). 

The issue is not whether the Church can and will change either praxis or teaching, but whether Rome has a monopoly on such teachings.  While standing up autocephalus patriarchies in the Western Church would certainly minimize that a bit, it is still the clergy taking unto itself what should be universal, the exploration of natural law.  While belief on the essentials of faith must be universalized by agreement, these truths are usually the ones that involve the Blessed Trinity - items that cannot be known by reason - although speculation should still be allowed for the possibility of progress on even these matters.  Of course, democratizing thought in the Church will likely drive Burke into retirement, it would so shatter his world view.  Sounds good to me.