lol. What "liberal" changes to doctrine has he actually made to inspire such revolt? Hint: there aren't any. All of this is hypothetical concern trolling.
Indeed. This all seems greatly exaggerated, much like the talk of liberal schism with other Popes.
There has been a liberal schism going on for decades though.
Large-scale conversion from one existing religion to others is not the same thing as schism.
BRTD is right though in that there has been a schism (behind closed doors) within the Church for decades whether people have formally left or not. Poll after poll of Catholics about the Church's teachings reveal such.
Also, if you want to only count those who are formally divided, one could quite clearly say that there has been a liberal schism going on for the last 498 years.
To the point of the article, there are definitely some dark clouds rolling across the horizon within the Church. Some of the drama is exaggerated of course. For instance, Cardinal Burke's comments here (which are obvious still dramatic) are less dramatic when placed in context. The 'ship without a rudder' comment wasn't him saying the Church is a ship without a rudder; he was saying people
think it's a ship without a rudder. The more recent stuff suggestive of a schism was in answer to a question he was asked about what would happen if the pope tried to change settled doctrines. He was not suggesting the Pope will.
On a more realistic note, the upcoming Ordinary Synod will likely be somewhat messy. The main divisive issue will be communion for people who are divorced and remarried, as promulgated by Cardinal Kasper and company, and reputed by practically everyone outside of Europe. Eventually Pope Francis may have to give a clear and definitive answer to this question, which he has gone out of his way to avoid doing for some time now. I think it is clear Pope Francis believes in gradualism and prefers to answer only to the individual he is talking to rather than issue definitive decrees. It may also be the case that Pope Francis intended his annulment reform to take that discussion off the table, as it would serve almost the same purpose without the required theological gymnastics.
Still, much to the dismay of the American left, if you take a good long look at the folks on the left side of this alleged 'schism' within the hierarchy (and I would be willing to bet a lot there won't be a major one), virtually all of the bishops mentioned here hold numerous views that would be considered completely unacceptable to American social liberalism. Bear in mind just where the overton window is here.
