"I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral
people, not at all referring to the immoral of this world
or the greedy and robbers or idolaters, for you would then
have to leave the world. But I now write to you not to
associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral,
greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber,
not even to eat with such a person. For why should I be
judging outsiders? Is it not your business to judge those
within? God will judge those outside. 'Purge the evil
person from your midst.'" 1 Corinthians 5:9-13
Once a person has been converted to the Catholic Christian religion, has accepted Jesus Christ and been admitted to his Church, it is assumed that such person believes in the tenets of the faith, believes that Jesus Himself created the church and made Peter, the first bishop of Rome, the rock upon which it is built. Each Catholic person is charged to and promises to reject Satan and all his pomps and works. At every mass, Catholics recite the Creed, which includes the statement that we believe in "the Holy Catholic Church."
Imagine my surprise when, upon becoming Catholic, I have witnessed a slew of individuals and "Catholic" blogs and newspaper articles in which people who claim to be Catholic openly defy the faith, dispute doctrine and malign the Pope, either this one or Benedict or John Paul II. Imagine my horror when I found that a number of these detractors actually reside within the church as priests, deacons and bishops! Some are secular bigwigs who make a living from writing about the Church.
Widespread criticism of the Pope would be understandable if he was obliterating doctrine or was living in unrepentant sin. I would fully expect a massive uprising and quite a lot of "fraternal correction" coming from the college of cardinals and many others, but in the case of Pope Francis, for instance, I am dumbfounded by the arrogance of some who blatantly lead Catholics into the mistaken notion that public criticism of the pontiff's habit, style or manner of communication is something desirable, edifying or worthwhile in any way.
For example: recently, in THE CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT, Carl E. Olson's article appeared, the title of which is THE HYPERBOLIC AND EXHAUSTING PAPACY OF FRANCIS, which you can read HERE. One immediately gets the thrust of the article from its title and the first sentence.
"My impression is that many Catholics are weary of the seemingly
constant addresses, homilies, interviews, texts - many of which
read like lectures - that come from the Holy Father."
Carl E. Olson
"The Hyperbolic and Exhausting Papacy of Francis"
Carl Olson sucks off the teat of Holy Mother Church while he criticizes its Holy Father. He is editor of Ignatius Insight, and, most significantly, the editor of Catholic World Report in which the article in question appears. He wrote a previous article in that online magazine entitled POPE FRANCIS: THE GOOD, THE BAFFLING AND THE UNCLEAR, which you may read HERE. He is also the author of the book WILL CATHOLICS BE LEFT BEHIND? and another with Medievalist Sandra Miesel called THE DAVINCI HOAX. He writes a weekly column for OUR SUNDAY VISITOR. Clearly he has his fingers in a lot of Catholic media pies and is, without question, a talented person, which is the danger, of course.
I am not picking on Carl Olson in particular. His other contributions have been helpful to the faith. Nor is he the only writer to critique the Pope in a disrespectful way, but he provides a perfect example of what ought not be done. Whether or not his criticisms and complaints are objectively accurate is irrelevant. We already have enough people in the secular media lambasting our church and its leaders without adding to the confusion and leading others down a twisted path away from the light of Christ. We don't need to encourage a lack of willingness to be led by Holy Mother Church or to be taught by it and learn from it.
All of us need to model the correct attitude toward the pontiff which is indicative of our place in the scheme of things. Cultivating a humble attitude can be challenging for Americans. We have enough freedom to say whatever we want, and we rely so heavily on our opinions that our love for our own opinions, independent of any authority except ourselves, verges on idolatry.
Christ said that those who love Him follow his commandments. Then He set up our church, organized it on the apostle Peter, and transmitted to the apostles some of His power and authority. That power and authority has been, in turn, transmitted in an unbroken line until today. Our Pope, a common sinner, is the recipient of that power and authority. It is a remarkable dichotomy and one of the greater mysteries of our faith, especially when one considers that this power and authority are not simply organizational devices. It is real power. It is real authority.
My dearest wish is that these talented and intelligent writers would turn away from critiques of our Papa and, instead, fix their attention and their skill on helping everyone find the instructive value in each missive that the Pontiff sends our way. Just as the power and authority of God reside within the common human who is Pope, remarkable jewels lay hidden in that artless, off-the-cuff comment, or that dull paragraph about which those writers complain.
If our Pope really is overwhelming some people with the volume of teachings, there is some good reason for it. Perhaps he is aware of a lack of time. Maybe he senses an impending crisis, like the deceptive quiet before a tsunami hits land. On the other hand, all of those things about which some of these writers complain could simply be the Pope's earthy, simple style. All of God's laborers in the vineyard, including the Pope, are trying to accomplish God's work within the parameters of our abilities, hampered by the defects of our human failings and imperfections.
I pray that we all learn to shift our focus to the jewel that lays within that pile of dust, rather than the dust itself.
God bless us all.
Silver "Rose" Parnell
(c) 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment