Pope Francis again interviews with an Atheist.

So the Pope once again opened himself up to an atheist reporter. You can read all about how he is "assaulting Vatican traditions" or "criticizes the Vatican's narcisism", whatever. Fact is, if you want to find something said about anything, you can and you will. 

 

Like I said before in this post, parts of the media are on a honeymoon with Francis. They want to believe and convince themselves and others that there is finally a Pope or Catholic leader who has a Liberal agenda, who supports atheism, abortion, gay rights, and women priests. But that last one, women preists, that one will always stump me. How can people even imagine that happening? That is like fighting for the right for a man to be a Nun or a Mother of a monastery.

 

So he spoke again to an athiest and this time he is being twisted to say that the Vatican is egotistical, and that anyone can and should choose their own "truth" as it apeals to their intellect. The Washington Post is the one I read first, which has the Holy See quoted saying, “Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good . . . Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.” You can read that article here. I havent found the full interview. This is what becomes of cut-and-paste reporting. The unassuming reader would be convinced the interview took a mere two minutes, and this was the apex of the conversation.

 

Understandably, this quote on its own would make the educated Catholic weary. Pope Leo XIII called for the battle against philosophical relativism in his encyclical Aeterni Patris and was followed up by John Paul II in Fides et Ratio nearly a century later, but nobody has made as strong a case against relativism as Cardinal Ratzinger did at his April 18, 2005 homily widely knows as the "Dictatorship of Relativism" homily. Check that out here.

 

But is our Francis saying anything different? Did the first Pope not say "... but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:35)? But taken as its own, this can mean any number of things and anyone can make a case for relativism.

 

What is even more interesting is the comments I found on the Washington Post last night. The comments do not appear for me on the regular website, but only on the mobile site, so I took a screenshot with my phone. Now, I cannot speak for the commentors, as to whether they are in favor of or think the Pope is in support of atheism, or relativist or what have you. The thing that speaks to me is the pebble in their shoe, that is, this Pope is gathering some to listen futher, which is better than a populus that wishes nothing to do with religious rhetoric.

 

 

"The Pope is a Flaming Liberal"

Did you know the new Pope is a far left extremist? Well he said so himself. Yeah - he will turn the Catholic Church around and finally allow abortions, promote gay equality, and even allow women to become priests. Its crazy right?

Enter meme.

Yes it is crazy. I guess the world can also be convinced that the Pope is not a practicing Catholic either. You know by now that the media is making a huge deal of the latest interview from Pope Francis (CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW). Sorry, you'll have to read a little (a lot). Its not short. If you want to save some time here is a short bit on what he said.

You should then proceed to read Jimmy Akin's blog about.

Now... I am not about reinventing the wheel. There are many things I can discuss in this blog but I choose not to discuss things if I feel I can just link the reader to a great source. So what I want to do here is quickly talk about the situation in a contemplative sense. What's that you say? Let me bring to you wonderful mind some nuggets to consider in listening to the media and going forward with Pope Francis.

The media is on a honeymoon with Pope Francis. He gives them more firepower with his off the cuff remarks. Francis is not as, lets say precise or considerate of what he says as his predecessor or his predecessor's predecessor. It really speaks to his humility when you think about it. From day one we have witnessed a Pope that doesn't care for a lavish life. The media soaked this up early and soon turned to malign or twist anything and everything he says. Now if a Pope makes a silly comment we need to know the difference between a Magisterial document and an interview.  Each week its as if there is new material to spin. It was the "who am I to judge" comment on gays. It was the comment about the Priori. Then it was the scribble of the atheist-being-saved comment. The fact is, our Holy Father isn't as careful to explain in context what he is saying and naturally much of what he says is interpretable.

Where with Blessed JPII and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI we were in a season of scholarship, we could and should consider the season to have changed to a season of humility and love. In Patrick Madrid's "Envoy for Christ", his other book "Search and Rescue" and still the newest "On a Mission" he re-re-re-re-re, and still more emphasizes LOVE, GENTLENESS, PRAYER, and HUMILITY. In Madrid's eyes, even if you would learn the world over and become a perfect Apologist and were capable of converting Satan himself, if you had not love, you are null, ineffective and all your efforts would be like a cake without icing. It just wouldn't be a cake. You'd have a convert, but not a real convert of the heart. There has to be both.

We are among very few generations who will live to see more than 2 or even 3 Popes. Let us be accepting and understanding of the benefits of that. 

Now what about the Catholics who are dissident to the Church? Those "rebels" who are public figures who claim the title of "Catholic" yet pick and choose which parts of the faith fit their lifestyle? For those faithful Catholics, these people at times anger us. But let me offer this to you if you think like that (which we all do from time to time): what about the vineyard workers who worked all day and earned the same as the hand hired in the last hour? Yes, this is a parable about those who are life long religious vexing those who convert in their last hour, but it works the same for those who accept and submit their entire lives to the Magisterium and those who just barely cut the quick. It might be a shame for them and an embarrassment to the Church but it says a great deal about the power of the first principal of the Church - Jesus is Lord and He has saved your life. The Kerygma.

There is so much more to say but I promised a friend I would make these short. You get the point though. There is a change of season. The Pope is not a far-left liberal Catholic. We must challenge wrongful teaching, but do so with humility and love. And finally we must first remember the power of truth and that some will get much of it and some will get little of it. What you must do is pray for them and if the opportunity comes you must love them.