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The effort of some of our Catholic friends on the right to question or object or contextualize to the point of gutting the obvious import or even to demean Pope Francis’ happy penchant for speaking frankly continues. They rightly perceive that something different is happening in the church under the leadership of our new Holy Father. It brings to mind the words of the prophet Isaiah (43:19): “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
The Rome correspondent for LifeSiteNews, Hilary White, perceives there is something new, and she is not happy at all about it. She writes of the concern that Pope Francis’ words have “reached so deeply into the minds of orthodox believers,” but why is that a concern? Isn’t that a good thing? No. Because these orthodox believers have relied upon Rome to provide “doctrinal precision.” Of course, no one is in favor of doctrinal imprecision. But, really, what is the concern here?
Pope Francis, like Pope Benedict before him, has insisted that our moral teachings flow from our doctrinal teachings, not the other way round. Benedict said this repeatedly, but he said it in his dense manner, which is not a complaint — I liked the density of a Ratzinger sermon. But it was easier to ignore. Pope Francis says it plainly: Mercy first, then the rules. Social justice and concern for the life issues — indeed, the life issues understood as part of our commitment to social justice. Love, unconditional love, the premise and promise of evangelization, not a checklist of precise doctrinal conformity. Accompany people before you lecture them. These are the leitmotifs of this pope’s interviews, and they are as doctrinally pristine as the words of the Lord when he stood down the Pharisees of his day. Continue reading
Sources
- Michael Sean Winters in Vassallomalta
- Image: The Telegraph
Michael Sean Winters is an American journalist and writer who writes for National Catholic Reporter.
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