In the Church as in politics, 2016 has been a year of anxiety, anger and sharp divisions. But whereas politics has had its moments of drama – the Brexit vote, the US election – the Church’s internal argument has been mostly confined to private discussions and the occasional leaked document.
Now, however, the controversy may be coming into the open. This week, in a highly unusual step, four cardinals revealed that they had written to the Pope asking for clarification of his recent exhortation Amoris Laetitia. Two months have gone by with no response. Now one of the four, Cardinal Burke, has told the National Catholic Register that if the Pope remains silent, they may have to take the highly unusual step of issuing him with a formal correction.
