By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
I think that there has been a lot of unnecessary fuss and the Pope has become a huge distraction.
The reason for the existence of the office of the Popes can be overshadowed by the man who holds the office. Although the office of the papacy does not come and go, the men who hold that office do. When the fuss about the human being serving as Pope overshadows all other aspects of the job, then we have a problem.
Sometimes a person gets in the way of the end for which the office that person holds was created.
“Perception is everything” and the results of the Pope’s behavior are not necessarily entirely his fault. After the shy and intellectual Benedict XVI, the ebullient and brash Francis is a big change. God can use every personality for accomplishing His will but the one non-negotiable is docility. Every human being must bow down under God’s mighty hand through humble obedience in order to receive the Holy Spirit. The larger than life personality of Francis comes with a very different approach than that to which we’ve become accustomed.
The Popes traditionally taught the faith and morals of the Church through their unambiguous words and actions. Yes, there are plenty of clear orthodox statements from Francis, but there are the ambiguous ones as well. The outcry to make sure people knew that the Pope did not have a private audience with Kim Davis at the U.S. nunciature in D.C. but did, as a matter of fact, meet privately with only one person — a man, and his male “partner” — had a dampening effect on the Church’s witness in opposing the redefinition of marriage.
The Pope’s publicized meeting with a woman and her “trans” “husband” in the papal apartments was a very odd and unfortunate moment, too.
In another diplomatic change, Catholic heads of state who are not married in a church ceremony will now be treated no differently than others when meeting the Pope. Spouses will not be excluded from aspects of the ceremony as they were in the past.
Is it mercy to expect some to not follow Church teaching? By appearing to do so, do we end by creating two classes of human beings: those who are deemed capable of following the faith and morals of the Church and those who for whatever unexplained reason are off the hook? Or is the end result that Catholic teaching itself is now paid mere lip service by the Church herself, rendering it a dead letter?
Recently we heard that Pope Francis privately opposed a same-sex marriage ceremony at Rome’s city hall in opposition to Italian law on the matter. That, however, has been overshadowed by many of his actions, resulting in continued confusion about teaching.
In the end it’s not about the Pope, it’s about the office. And the office exists for the sake of the teaching. For this reason you can’t separate pastoral and doctrinal: The office exists for the sake of the teaching and the teaching is imparted to save souls. When everything the Pope says and does is under a microscope and endlessly picked apart by news-hungry media, then the Pope’s words and actions should be consistently supportive of clear teaching.
One may not be able to “pick and choose among Popes,” but one can pick and choose among nonbinding teachings of Popes. This is because some teachings are binding upon all Catholics through consent of intellect and will, such as that on the inadmissibility of directly intended abortion. Some teachings are not so binding; for example, those on what is a just war. In principle, the Church is not always opposed to war, given the right conditions, but, in policy, the Church may often oppose a particular war. In such a case as this, individual Catholics may differ with a given Pope without losing their status as a Catholic in good standing.
The rock is Peter, yes, but the liturgy of the Church which celebrates Peter’s ministry handed on through our Popes also makes it clear that the rock is also the faith in Christ upon which the Popes stand. By standing upon the solid rock of Christ and His teaching and faithfully imparting that teaching to Christ’s people, the Popes lead them to salvation.
Faith is also “water from the rock.” Just as Moses tapped the rock and water flowed forth, so Popes nourish the baptized by giving abundantly of the living water which is Jesus Christ in word and sacraments, above all the Eucharist. The rock is Christ.
As Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, D.C., said in a recent interview about the Synod on the Family, published by Crux, “At the heart of our teaching is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The Church tries to sustain and protect that revelation through her doctrine.”
The teaching on marriage is non-negotiable; let’s all start speaking and acting as if that is in fact the case and clear up the morally dangerous confusion.
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I am planning to write a book and I’m asking for your help. You can do so by telling me what your favorite columns are for consideration to be included in the collection. My columns have appeared in this space at The Wanderer for about 20 years; you can tell me your picks by emailing me at mcitl.blogspot.com@gmail.com. You can also email me for information on a pilgrimage to Italy from September 1-9, 2016. Thank you for reading. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. @MCITLFrAphorism.
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