I heard the priest in his Sunday homily say “You all love Pope Francis,” and he went on with his thoughts on the state of the Catholic Church today.
I’m afraid I stopped at his statement about what he claims is a total “love” of Catholics today for the man who is currently pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
My mind stopped at his “love” statement because I’m not sure all Catholics “love” Pope Francis.
First of all, what does “love” mean in the context of the man in the Vatican? Perhaps demonstrating “respect for the office” might be a better phrase, since the office does deserve respect.
But what happens when the man in the office – the pope – says and does things that raise serious questions in the minds of the faithful concerning his interpretation of dogma and his attitude regarding the faithful who might not agree with him politically?
And speaking of that, how did we get to the point where the man in the Vatican takes positions on politics worldwide, including issues that have nothing to do with his expertise? Some examples of this include climate change, the internal politics of individual nations, the presidential election of the United States and the issue of illegal immigration and border protection.
Pope Francis, an Argentinian, a Jesuit and now the head of the Roman Catholic Church, has taken bold positions on the issue of borders and immigration – namely “open borders” and “illegal immigration.”
Essentially, he’s in favor of both, and it doesn’t matter what country is involved. The mass movement of people from Middle Eastern countries into Western Europe is, according to the pope, something that should be welcomed. Just last year, he said welcoming refugees is “our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism.”
Any time he speaks of refugees, it is with compassion and love but with no consideration – at least any that is visible – for the problems such migrations impose on the countries they move into.
As for the problems the United States faces with illegal aliens crossing our borders and assuming the rights of citizens? Pope Francis has nothing but contempt for how we handle it.
While President Trump deals with DACA and how to handle the hundreds of thousands of illegals who are demanding citizenship rights, Pope Francis called Trump’s plan “excessively harsh.” He claims Trump is not “pro-life” if he wants to separate children (the so-called “dreamers”) from their parents.
If Pope Francis has criticism of our president, he has even less respect for American citizens, calling our treatment of illegal aliens “racist and xenophobic.”
I recall when he deliberately celebrated Mass at the Mexican border, catered to the illegals and demeaned Americans for wanting a secure border.
Given another chance to knock President Trump, the pope commented to reporters that a person who thinks only about building walls and not bridges “… is not a Christian. This is not in the gospel.”
I can hardly wait to hear what else Pope Francis has in mind to criticize our president, our people and our country.
But then, for him, everyone is a target. He has greatly criticized the very Catholic country of Poland, which is trying to protect itself from an onslaught of Muslim immigrants. But then, so is every country of Europe. The mass movement of these people is changing the face of the continent and bringing new levels of crime and dangers. What the long-term results will be, one can only surmise at this point, but it doesn’t look good.
It’s not only Pope Francis who takes pot shots at this country and our politics; his friends do the same in their writings. Most recently, Fr. Antonio Spadaro S.J. wrote a scathing article against traditional Catholics in the journal La Civilita Cattolica, of which he is editor. His co-author was Marcelo Figueroa, a Presbyterian reverend who is the editor-in-chief of the Argentinean edition of L’Osservatore Romano.
The two men are said to be good friends of the pope, and their broad criticism of Christians clearly was not an accident. Their words allege there’s an “ecumenism of hate” promoted by American fundamentalist evangelicals and Catholics. They put the icing on the political cake by accusing Steve Bannon as a “promoter of apocalyptic geopolitics” – Bannon was a senior adviser to President Trump.
What is an average, traditional Catholic to think? On the one hand, we are told to revere the pope for the position he holds, and yet we have a man who insinuates himself into our politics and domestic issues.
He hates the U.S. border policy with compassion only for the illegals but none for the American people and their country who must deal with, and pay for, the concomitant problems.
He openly criticizes our president and his aides and never sees more than one side of any issue.
Add to these, the changes/reforms the pope is making in doctrine and the Mass, plus the unanswered questions, and average Catholics find themselves in a dilemma that, at this point, has no answer.
There are those who fear the Church is falling into a major schism.
Clearly, Pope Francis has considered that. He was quoted in the German publication Der Spiegel: “It is not to be excluded that I will enter history as the one who split the Catholic Church.”
Now what?
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