A growing phenomenon
to be observed in the contemporary Church is the ever increasing
partisan mentality that divides Catholics up as left-wing or
right-wing, liberal or conservative. It's not that these divisions
have not been around for some time - they have. It's just that with
the age of social media and twenty-four hour news it becomes
increasingly easier to construct religious-political narratives and
disseminate them far and wide across multiple digital platforms. This
is worrying development, especially, when these narratives are used
to drive a wedge between Papacies, and different groups within the
Church.
The recent furore
concerning the Amazonian Synod is, I believe is an example of this. A
narrative is being created that is attempting to cast Pope Francis,
the Vicar of Christ, as some kind of a neo-pagan, left-wing liberal
heretic. If this was coming from outside the Church I would be less
concerned, but the division is emerging from within. A comparatively
small but vocal group, among them some theologians and some high
ranking clerics, are it seems, hell-bent on creating this
self-fulfilling narrative. At present, the crisis does not exist in
the minds of most Mass-going Catholics, however, the more it is
talked about and hyped up - the more a 'crisis' emerges.
A brief look online and you will come across headlines along the
lines of: 'The worst Crisis the Church has ever faced' 'The most
Damaging Papacy Ever.' (I mean really?...study some church history,
please!) I am not going to spend time defending Pope Francis here.
He is the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, and I trust that the Holy
Spirit is with the Church and with the Magisterium just as it always
has been. Christ promised to build his Church on the Rock of Peter
and the gates of hell would not prevail against it – and Christ's
promise is enough for me!
What is worrying,
however, is the way in which some Catholics speak about the Pope in
the public forum. Some simply refuse to refer to him as the Pope,
referring to him as 'Bergoglio'. Others speak about him using
language that is not appropriate for a Christian to speak about
anyone, let alone the Vicar of Christ. Communion with the Pope is a
mark of Christian unity, so it is deeply concerning that some
'faithful' Catholics and 'Catholic' media outlets are taking to
social media and attacking this communion in the most pernicious of
ways. To disagree with the Pope is one thing, but to do so publicly,
to disrespect him, to mock him, to twist his words and to not give
him the benefit of the doubt, is to my mind, sinful.
What lies at the heart
of all this? Well I would remiss if I didn't think that there was a
spiritual dimension to all of us. The Pope's detractors are quick to
use colourful language to infer that what is happening is the work of
the devil – they may well be right, it's just that they may be
playing a bigger part in the work of the deceiver than they imagine!
Another significant
factor I believe is a lack of vision or rather 'focus'. By this I
mean that our focus, as faithful disciples, should be on Christ and
not on a need to preserve our own fixed idea of what we think
right-religion should look like. When we are focused on the wrong
things and too-fixed in our ideas it becomes very hard to listen to
what the other is saying. Furthermore, when we fail to hear the other
person, we fail to see them as a person and it becomes very easy to
demonise them; be they another Christian, a politician or even a
Pope. One of the gifts that I believe that Pope Francis brings to the
Church (from his Jesuit background) is the gift of discernment.
Discernment is a process, it takes time and involves listening,
talking and reflecting. Sometimes the process of discernment can be
unsettling, but it is a necessary process in the path of Christian
conversion. To discern properly we must have eyes fixed on Christ.
Pope Francis has encouraged us time and time again to “fix our gaze
on Jesus' face and become familiar with him.”1
Pope Francis, is I believe, helping the Church to rediscover the gift of
discernment at a time when it is desperately needed. The discussions
that take place in the Synods are part of the Church's rich
discernment process. Theological battles have been fought at many a
Synod and Council throughout the Church's long history. Animated by
the Spirit, however, the Church discerns the right direction and
moves forward confidently fixing her gaze on her divine Saviour.
As Catholics we are
invited to have our eyes fixed on Christ, on his kingdom and on what he
is doing. To fix our eyes on Christ, however, does not mean that we
can ever fully perceive or understand what he is doing. Christ's
Church is not some lifeless monolithic entity, in fact it is always
moving and changing as the Holy Spirit brings it, evermore, to
perfection. Whilst it is true that doctrine and revealed truths never
change, the way in which these unchanging truths are communicated to
an ever changing mission field inevitably must change. The mission
field of course, is anywhere where the Gospel of Christ is lived,
taught and preached – in short everywhere the Church is. In order
to facilitate authentic change, without jettisoning the essential
truths of the faith, the Church is safeguarded by the office of the
Papacy and the Magisterium of the Church. This safeguarding does not
mean that we do not talk about things, try and look at different
perspectives and listen to where people are at. This is all part of
the discernment process that the Church is on. If our gaze is fixed
on Christ, however, and if we believe that he has not left his
Church then this discussion and reflection, even when it encompasses
areas that we are unsure about, will be fruitful and peaceful. If on
the other hand, we are too fixed and ridged in our views of what we
personally think the Church should look like, if we are fixed on
maintaining a predominately Western model of being Catholic, then we
will begin to panic. Then, we will begin to be moved and motivated by
fear. Then, it will become easy to demonise what we don't like and
don't understand.
To be a Catholic is not
to be right-wing or left-wing, liberal or conservative. To be a
Catholic means that we are disciples of Christ, in communion with the
Pope, the Vicar of Christ and the Bishop of Rome. To be Catholic
means that every member of the body of Christ is our brother and
sister and we have an obligation to treat them as such. It means that
we are part of Church with a two-thousand year-old living history
that continues to unfold as it encompasses our own personal history.
To be a Catholic means that we have our gaze fixed firmly on Jesus
Christ and trust him for everything. To be a Catholic is to remember
that God is in charge of his Church, not us – and thank God, for
left to us we would make a right mess of it!
1https://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-tells-the-secret-of-life-fix-your-gaze-on-jesus-get-to-know-him/
[11/11/2019]