So apparently Pope Francis came out and warned against religion that stokes divisions. Mr. Divisions himself. But then, he is the postmodern pope. And with postmodernity, our 'yes' is forever 'maybe', and our 'no' is 'it depends'.
It's true. Pope Francis seems to have no problem saying that it's a sin to apply adjectives to people - like those rigid types over there. He condemns those who are too rigid while being about the most rigid person I know when it comes to promoting his own views. So it shouldn't be surprising that a pope who has more than once invoked the 'me vs. them' template is suddenly bothered by religious leaders who cause divisions.
And as for those who have felt marginalized by Pope Francis and targeted by Pope Francis and villainized by Pope Francis, I have seen the following Bible verse quoted time and time and time again:
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
Yep. Because apparently our Faith is all about dividing the sheep from the greatest of all time, all about bringing a sword, all about speaking in parables for the expressed purpose of the inner circle enlightened Catholics who always get it. Yet now, it turns out religion shouldn't do what his supporters have more than cheered him for doing, which he himself seems to have had no problems doing time and again.
I fear Pope Francis, while having made some good points over the years, has nurtured two very, very bad developments in modern thinking:
1. That Christianity is entirely optional as opposed to the importance of fealty to worldly narratives and agendas. Oh it's nice to have and Jesus and all, but one can happily reject the Gospel as long as you are in line with the proper activism and political advocacy. And
2. Words definitely speak louder than actions, which is why 'do as I say and not as I do' is a perfectly appropriate approach to ministry in the postmodern global spotlight. Something that almost defines, I should add, those Catholics who proudly hang on every word of Pope Francis unless he criticizes something left of center.
"and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household."
ReplyDeleteThis is the part of which I've always had a narrow understanding. Yes, members of my own family may be called foes of my faith and some are, but to a greater extent it is those in the family of our Church, our fellow Catholics who can and are many times our foes. Just as Judas was. Some of our bishops, priests and pew-sitters can definitely be called foes.
That's a good point. It has been used, however, by those who doggedly follow Pope Francis to explain away his tendency of being so divisive with his 'us and those bad Christians over there' approach. Just like his lack of clarity is often excused by 'and he spoke in parables.'
DeleteAs for this pope and his gang, there is a huge gap between what they claim as their religion and what actually constitutes their religion. It should be clear by now that Progressivism, not Christianity, is what they believe and teach. The Christian elements are simply window-dressing for a profoundly un-Christian belief system. Catholics, for the time being, should reject the current leadership and keep to the authentic faith. ---- G. Poulin
ReplyDeleteIn my Protestant days, I knew mainline Protestant ministers who simply didn't believe in Christianity anymore. They were nice people and we got along. But they had no problem questioning or rejecting - almost any of it. One minister I knew, and she was a sweet woman I liked talking to, questioned belief in a personal God. In their respective denominations, they could do that. Many had officially rejected most of the historical biblical accounts of the Faith anyway. I often wonder, if allowed to be honest, how many Catholic leaders today would follow suit.
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ReplyDeleteIf it's my words that are stoking divisions, that's a problem. If it's God's Word, that as expected.
(Tom New Poster)
ReplyDeleteBad grammar strikes the old teacher again.
So if the homilist riles the congregation because he babbles about recycling or DEI, or some theologically illiterate ramblings, yeah, that's a problem. He needs to be reminded that a pulpit is not a personal podium, and that goes all the way up to the top, Francis. Something similar should be said to Catholic bloggers who confuse God's Word with their own political predilections.
But if a homilist riles the congregation because he says stuff like: "Contraception is immoral", or "Abortion is murder", "Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist so don't receive Him unworthily", that's just what's Jesus said would happen. There's a problem, but it's not the homilist's.
We used to say the Word of God can bring offense, so you don't have to. The trick was make sure it's the Word of God offending people, and not just me being a jerk.
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