Or are some just 'more Catholic than the Pope?'
Sorry, couldn't resist the cliche.
Anyway - everyone is talking about it... you know... washing the feet of women and Muslims. Jimmy Akin has a helpful shakedown on the 'scandal' - with links to another couple of perspectives written by the clergy. Go here.
No. He isn't. Catholics follow Church teaching.
ReplyDeleteFr.Z's piece was suprising and super excellent.
ReplyDeleteHe broke the Law.
ReplyDeleteCrucify him!
By former standards, no, the Pope isn't Catholic, which is very confusing.
ReplyDeleteChrist allowed the woman living in sin to kiss and anoint HIS feet, despite cries from the elders and the scribes that she was defiling Him. But the Pope isn't Catholic because he's made a few of you feel uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you bill bannon. I was shocked, frankly, but pleased nonetheless with what Father Z wrote.
It's not my place to judge the judges of Pope Francis but one wonders what place some of his critics might have played had they been part of the mob when Christ stood before Pilate.
Lord have mercy on us all.
Joyce
At my parish they wash each other's feet - the priest initiates it and many of the parishoners line up in all 3 aisles to wait their turn - men and women. I sit off to the side and in the back and don't participate. Normally I'd be fighting off negative, critical thoughts, but because the Pope did what he did, I was able to be at peace, and I prayed my chaplet. Otherwise, the Mass was done well.
ReplyDeleteI was so grateful to receive Holy Communion and then to keep Jesus company afterwards.
Terry, they did that at mass last night and I felt the same way. I didn't go to have my feet washed, but a guy in front of me did overhear me whispering to my brother that the reason I didn't go was because I have 13 toes.
ReplyDeleteTLW, the man in white doesn't follow Christ's teaching and has removed the premise of the Church. I was raised to believe that the Church is not of God but that the rules are from men. He has shown this to be true so I have no hope of salvation.
ReplyDeleteBow to the letter of the law and violate the heart of it...
DeleteSomeone recently noted while reflecting upon Pope Francis' radical proclamation of the Gospel that, "we find ourselves (and the Church of Rome will find itself) when we lose ourselves by finding God in the people whom we serve. If we focus upon ourselves we become sick and our anointing turns rancid."
ReplyDeleteFrancis, himself, of course, warned of the evils that come when the Church becomes, as he put it, "self-referential". I see so much evidence of the truth in those observations as I peruse the Catholic blogosphere, especially since Pope Francis appeared on the scene.
There is something of a mob out there clamouring against their pope, demanding that he leave in place the wall of "traditions"(man-made customs)that stands between the Gospel and their hearts. If he chips away at that wall, then he isn't Catholic...because to a number of people it's the wall that's "Catholic", not the Gospel hidden behind it.
If salvation doesn't lie in man-made customs and Rennaissance-era ecclesiastical haberdashery or in ceremonial rubrics or in all sorts of other "things" but really does lie in what Jesus taught his disciples, then many of us will be faced with the harsh reality that we need to make radical reforms in our lives and habits and attitudes.
Such reforms can often seem so painful and uncomfortable that we would rather just decide that the externals and ornaments are the essentials and condemn the impertinent man who has the audacity to assure us that they are not. He's not a Catholic! Crucify him.
Someone said on the other thread that now everyone was just talking about the "scandal" and not the message of faith and service that the Pope was sending. I think that that is not correct. The world of conservative Catholic blogs is not everyone. I think non-Catholics are being drawn toward the message of faith, service, and humility. Example from yesterday: the (very nice) young man who cleans our windows regularly asked me as he was getting ready to leave: "Not to be nosy, but are y'all Catholics?" I said yes (he's seen the inside of our house and I guess it was obvious). "Well, what do you think about the new Pope?" I said I was happy with him and asked if he (the windows guy) was a Catholic. "No, but I'm really impressed with what I see of this Pope. He's out there serving the poor, preaching the Word, he's really doing what the Lord said for us to do." We talked about it for a few more minutes and then he left. Keep in mind that this is Oklahoma and we Catholics are kind of strange and exotic to the Baptists and Pentecostals who make up probably 80% of the non-Hispanic population. I believe that the Pope is speaking a language that these people can hear and understand and I am very glad.
ReplyDeleteAttracting non-Catholics at the expense of existing Catholics is a bad message. Jesus said to Peter "feed my sheep." Francis isn't feeding them, he's feeding someone else's sheep.
ReplyDeleteFor brevity's sake, I didn't mention all the Catholics I know who are expressing delight and hope, including a once-Catholic friend of mine who hasn't been to church in over 20 years.
ReplyDeleteAll of this BS is a pretty good indicator of what the foundation of traditionalists is built upon.
ReplyDelete