Nailing Cdl. McElroy To the Tree of Knowledge

 Deacon James Toner nails it regarding the "theology" of Cdl. McElroy.

...Cardinal McElroy implicitly declares “conscience” as godly because, in his judgment, our perspective on right and wrong, noble and noisome, virtue and vice, reigns supreme. We have become gods, knowing good from evil. (cf. Gn. 3:5)...

An ancient heresy, indeed!  You may call it 'gnosticism,' or Adam-and-Eve-ery.

...He would no doubt contend that I have caricatured his position. He knows and preaches that one’s conscience must be formed: “As Pope Francis has stated, the church’s role is to form consciences, not replace them. Categorical exclusions of the divorced and remarried and L.G.B.T. persons from the Eucharist do not give due respect to the inner conversations of conscience that people have with their God in discerning moral choice in complex circumstances.” 

 The single word that discloses the cardinal’s heterodox belief here is the simple possessive adjective their. “The inner conversations of conscience that people have with their God.” This clearly suggests that we do not simply belong to God; rather, in some unspecified sense God belongs to us. ...

And we are back to the top:  WE know good from evil; OUR God agrees.

So we toss God a cookie at the Offertory and move on.