5 (more) Keys to Understanding Pope Francis, #4 (updated)

Continuing the theme from my 2014 e-book (now out of...print?), on understanding the Church's first Latin American Pope and his ministry, I present you with key #4: 

4. Pope Francis is Catholic.

I remember that back in the late 70's and through the 80's there were certain pious Catholics who, it seemed, could never refer to the Pope without using a string of titles: "Our Most Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on Earth, His Holiness, Pope (name)." Since this was invariably done in Catholic settings, it really was overkill. It drove me nuts. (Today I suppose we would call this "virtue signaling.") Granted, there were plenty of people in the Church who were doing crazy thing in the name of "the Spirit of Vatican II," it really wasn't necessary to affirm the status of the Bishop of Rome at every mention. Especially for daily Mass in a convent.

Not only as the Vicar of Christ on Earth, Successor of Peter, Servant of the Servants of God, and Bishop of Rome, but simply as a fellow member of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has a right to presume that what he says (even informally) about faith and right living will be interpreted in continuity with the whole trajectory of Church Teaching. In other words, it is not necessary to restate each and every time what definitions are to be used for ordinary theological terms and concepts, any more than it was necessary for those pious Catholics in the 80's to clarify exactly what the Pope's job description was every time they mentioned his name. This is not only a precept of charity, as St Ignatius reminded us over 400 years ago in the very trying years of the Protestant Reformation (while the Inquisition was actively involved in investigating any theological discrepancies that came its way); it is also an obligation of prudence, which does not leave everything open to question, debate, or challenge.

People can and may disagree with the practical conclusions or priorities they find in Papal documents; they may believe that other vital concerns are being neglected or sidelined; they may not like where things appear to be going. But it is unwise,  unfaithful and ultimately anti-Catholic to run Pope Francis' official teachings through any kind of "orthodoxy filter." It is especially unjust to interpret the Pope's words and official teachings through a lens of unbiblical, anti-christian or political philosophies, or theories that are plainly opposed to Catholic Tradition (that Tradition itself being understood in the broad sense, and not judged by one's own experience or by an appeal to limited cultural expressions). In other words, the only legitimate interpretive key for understanding Church documents (or papal remarks) is...Church teaching.

This can be a challenge in the case of a pastor like Francis who is willing to speak directly to the person he is with, off script and without regard for the way an expression can be taken out of context (even from good will or an excess of enthusiasm) and take on a life of its own. Most of us know how to "hear" what our friends or our trusted advisors mean even when they misspeak. A relationship wouldn't last long if one party was continually scrutinizing the other's every move with a prosecutorial ear,  presenting him or her with a tabulated list of faults or near-misses at the end of each encounter. And yet there are Catholics who presume to do this with the Most Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on Earth, and Visible Head of the Church, especially if they have found a Cardinal or two whose manner or clarity of style they find more congenial.

The gates of hell ultimately will not prevail over the Church, but in the meantime, our battle is not against flesh and blood, and certainly not against our fellow believers (much less the man entrusted with shepherding the Lord's flock!). No, "our struggle is against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness" (Eph 6:12) who will do anything to scatter the sheep or separate them from the one whom Jesus established precisely to be the visible center of unity for his followers.

Let us pray:

Lord,
Cover with your protection
our Holy Father,  Pope Francis.
Be his light,  his strength,  his consolation.
Amen.

Here are all the "5 (More) Keys" posts:
Key #1 (Pope Francis is Latin American)
Key #2 (Pope Francis is not afraid of chaos)
Key #3 (Pope Francis Trusts in the Holy Spirit)
Key #4 (Pope Francis is Catholic)
Key #5 (Pope Francis is the Pope)