By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
The Pope continues to get heat for departing from his prepared texts in talks to the faithful at Rome and in his pastoral journeys around the world, most recently in Cuba and the U.S.
It isn’t just the folks at Rorate Caeli, for example, who have misgivings about the inadvisability of the pontifical penchant for eschewing the printed text in favor of sharing spontaneous inspirations.
Add the voice of the bishop of Trenton, N.J., to the perhaps growing chorus of those who are concerned about the effects of his words because of their eminent adaptability to the worldly agenda of the change agents.
Just take, for example, “Who am I to judge,” a papal toss-off from the flight back to Rome from Rio, which has been spun completely out of context so often that very few perhaps understand that the whole statement affirms Church teaching on human sexuality rather than the opposite.
Many continue to come away thinking that Pope Francis has, in effect, softened Church condemnation of the evil nature of sexual expression outside of marriage, to include same-sex activity when, in fact, it is impossible for him to do so without calling both his catholicity and papal legitimacy into question.
Bishop David O’Connell was unusually explicit in his cautioning remarks about the Pope’s habit of spontaneity when interviewed in the days leading up to Francis’ visit to Philadelphia. O’Connell served as narrator for the events taking place there as part of the World Meeting of Families and was quoted in an article published at app.com, the Asbury Park Press.
O’Connell gives the context for his concerns in the dropping numbers of sacramental marriages and the resulting scarcity of Baptisms with fewer children in Catholic schools. All of this and more, he says, adds up to a crisis: The Catholic faith is not being handed on to a new generation of souls. The Pope’s style ends up at times with the result of only adding more fuel to this fire.
“If I had to give the Pope advice, I would say to him, ‘Stick to what’s in the paper’,” said O’Connell. In remarks quoted by app.com, he stated that he values his opportunity to narrate during the World Meeting of Families because “it’s an opportunity for me,” O’Connell said of his commentating role in Philadelphia, “to make sure the right thing is said.”
O’Connell said that pastoral difficulties result at the local level, his God-given responsibility as a bishop and pastor of souls, from the last-minute nature of some papal initiatives such as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation held last September 1. Bishops were given three weeks to prepare for it and O’Connell celebrated a Mass to mark the occasion at a location near the ocean in his diocese.
It is expected that certain voices will always call for more prudence among pastors and less individual creative expression because of a preference for the safety of tradition. This is good advice coming from anyone who values the salvation of souls, codified as the highest law of the Church. This concern certainly must come first for the common good of the Church as a whole, where individual expressions of faith must always be submitted to the wisdom and teaching of the Church.
The tradition always offers us the long view of the Church through time, under the working of the Holy Spirit, with the riches of the wisdom of the fathers and doctors that have held their place in the life of the faithful through the ages, still offering solid foundation for those who seek them today.
St. Paul in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 teaches how to incorporate the signs of the times and discern the working of the Spirit in our own day:
“Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things; hold fast that which is good. From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves.”
Openness to the Holy Spirit, then, is not an end in itself. The work of the Spirit must always be tempered by and held in balance with “proving” the things of the Spirit because not all leads to the upbuilding of the Body of Christ in the sense of the common good. This is the concern with the remarks by the Pope which, though in some cases they may be of good for the pastoral needs of some, may result in rather the opposite for the flourishing of all souls in the Church at large.
This is the dilemma faced by Bishop O’Connell and all leaders at the local level throughout the Church who face the results of papal initiatives for good or ill. Most pastors today are trying to get people into the pews. An atmosphere in which some Church practices seem to be thrown to the winds leads some souls to believe that this is the case with other matters.
Only after testing all things to see if they indeed are compatible with and further God’s will do we permit them to enter into the teaching and worshiping life of the Church. Bishop O’Connell certainly is on solid ground as he reminds us that his first task is as pastor to the people entrusted to his care. The signs of the times as he is reading them tell him that these times do not call for innovation, but rather for the solid teaching and nourishment brought by lives dedicated to relearning our Catholic tradition of faith, worship, and family life.
Certainly many of his brother bishops would agree with Bishop O’Connell that the crisis in handing on the Catholic faith should be met head-on. How they should integrate or welcome the freewheeling style of the first among their number in the Bishop of Rome might be where some of them disagree about how this is to be done.
Thank you for reading. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.
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(Follow me in Facebook at Reverendo Padre-Kevin Michael Cusick and on Twitter @MCITLFrAphorism. I blog occasionally at mcitl.blogspot.com and APriestLife.blogspot.com. Email me at mcitl.blogspot.com@gmail.com.)
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