Reflections on the Pope’s Interview
There has been quite a firestorm following the interview Pope Francis
gave last week. Initially, the mainstream
media, intentionally or not, misrepresented the comments of the pope,
suggesting that he was urging Catholics to stop focusing on issues like
abortion, homosexual “marriage” and contraception. Most Catholics by now should have recognized
the truth, that the pope is not moving the Church away from her teachings on
these issues, especially since the day after the interview Pope Francis made
his strongest
comments against abortion since his election.
Still, some Catholics have been concerned about the tone the
holy father has set and the direction they think he may be taking the
Church. Now it’s true that there is no
charism guaranteeing the pope will say everything perfectly eloquently or that
every decision he makes will be the best.
However, this is a holy and learned man, who happens to be our chief
shepherd, so I do think it’s important that we reflect on what the pope did
say.
The issue, I think, is context. Pope John Paul II coined the phrase “The
Culture of Death.” It was imperative
that the Church respond forcefully, consistently and often to the great evils
of the day. It still is. But perhaps Pope Francis is concerned that
the culture has begun defining the terms of our message.
The pope is clearly concerned about the right to life and has
spoken as archbishop against homosexual “marriage.” He made it clear in his interview that he has
no intention of moving the Church away from her teachings on these issues.
However, he spoke of the primary necessity of showing the Person
of Jesus Christ to the world. This, he
said, is the essential of evangelization.
He called to mind the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how their
encounter with Christ caused their hearts to burn within them. In this age of the New Evangelization, when
many people think Christianity is merely noise that can be dismissed, though
the consistent witness against the evils of our time is essential (the pope is
not calling on any of us to slow our pro-life work), it is easily ignored.
An encounter with Jesus Christ, however, can not be
ignored. I believe the pope is calling
on all of us to remember that our witness begins and ends with Him. We can not witness to the issues of life and
marriage apart from that context. And
the Church needs to offer the world her Lord.
Then hearts will be opened to all else besides.
This is my take on the pope’s interview. Agree with it or not, I would pray that we all
listen to Pope Francis as a father, and at least take his message to prayer, so
that we can be truly effective sons and daughters of the Church, and servants
of our Lord.
