Pope Francis likes to stir things up, to create debate. In this, he reminds me of nothing more than another frequently misunderstood popular figure, one Jesus of Nazareth.
Just imagine Twitter’s reaction to the bit about giving back to Caesar what is owed to Caesar. Half would have denounced Jesus as a stooge of the Romans and the other half as a dangerous fanatic bent on anti-Roman war.
Pharisees and Sadducees could not “process” Jesus because they tried to fit him in their political categories, while he was about something else.
If the pope says “Who am I to judge?,” it is imperative that I try to use that as a culture war weapon, lest I accidentally start to ask myself how much I am judging my neighbor and what I should do about it.
It is fine to have debate within the church. I just wish the debate were a little less—what’s the theological term of art again?—oh, yes: a little less dumb.
Take the latest episode in the never-gonna-die controversy around “Amoris Laetitia.”
A group of Catholics has published a letter of “filial correction” asking—politely, pretty please, no offense—the pope to stop being such a heretic.
Never mind the merits of this issue: Whose bright idea was it to include among the signatories of a document lecturing about heresy the infamous Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the breakaway traditionalist group the Society of St. Pius X?
What response is any faithful Catholic, even one sympathetic to the letter’s argument, supposed to give to a letter lecturing the pope about Catholicism signed by someone whose career and vocation is dedicated to undermining communion with the See of Peter, other than peals of laughter? Continue reading
- Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, who lives in Paris, is a contributing writer to America, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and a columnist at TheWeek.com.
News category: Analysis and Comment.
