Pope Francis had it rough with far-right Catholics. How will Pope Leo fair?
By Robert Fontana
One might think Pope Francis was the anti-Christ with the depth of vindictive comments leveled at him for his pastoral approach, small changes, and efforts at more inclusive dialogue. Here are some reasons for their complaints:
a. For placing lay women and men in leadership positions at the Vatican: Cardinal Beniamino Stella wrote, “[Pope Francis] is “breaking long standing tradition…imposing his ideas” which separate church governance from ordination.
b. For allowing controversial topics to be discussed at the synod, e.g., whether divorced and remarried Catholics be admitted to communion; ministry to gay and lesbian persons; and care for the earth, five cardinals complained. They wrote Francis a letter expressing their concerns that he was sowing “confusion, error, and discouragement” in the Church. They accused Francis of changing church doctrine because of the influence of sinful elements in western culture.
d. For allowing lay women and men to have a vote equal to bishops at the synod, Restore Tradition (a US based women’s group) wrote, “We wish to be represented only by bishops!”
Some far-right critics of Francis accused him of being “soft on sin” because of how he permitted the parish priest to forgive sins related to having an abortion, spoke too little about the sin of abortion and too much about the dignity of migrants and their right to seek a better life in another country. Pope Francis even drew the ire of the far-right with his encyclical Laudate Si’ that placed care of the earth alongside care of the unborn at the center of a pro-life agenda.
By all accounts, Pope Leo will continue the trajectory of Pope Francis. This was indicated by Pope Leo’s visit to pray at Pope Francis’ tomb. Like Francis, he won’t change Catholic doctrine on any of these hot-button issues. What he will do is place the doctrines and disciplines of the Church at the service of Catholics specifically and the human community in general. The images of the Catholic Church as a “field hospital” for the wounded and the Eucharist as “medicine for the sick and not a reward for the saved” will continue.
This echoes the teachings of Jesus who said, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” Mark 2:27
Pope Leo is also following in the footsteps of another Chicagoan, Cardinal Bernardin, who coined the phrase of a “seamless garment,” uniting all the prolife issues of the church under a common banner and not just under one primary issue: abortion. This was certainly the practice of Pope Francis and his successors, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.
To be pro-life is also to take seriously the human influence on climate. Few people remember that Pope Benedict often spoke and wrote about the human responsibility to care for the earth:
“Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for the entire human family.” (September 1, 2007)
“We are responsible for the protection and care of the environment. This responsibility knows no boundaries.” (January 1, 2010)
To be pro-life is also to critique economic systems in terms of their service to human dignity and the common good. Pope Francis was labeled as a socialist by his far-right critics because of his criticism of the so-called “free-market” system that creates great wealth for a few and poverty for many. He was just echoing what every pope, from John XXIII to the present, has said, including Pope John Paul II who wrote,
“We see a small number of countries growing exceedingly rich at the cost of the increasing impoverishment of a great number of other countries; as a result, the wealthy grow ever wealthier, while the poor grow ever poorer.” (1998 visit to Cuba)
“If the aim is globalization without marginalization, we can no longer tolerate a world in which there live side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need. Such contrasts are an affront to the dignity of the human person.” (Pope John Paul II, 1999)
The popes have taught what the bishops at the Second Vatican Council taught based on what the Scriptures taught: that the government (or king in the Scriptures) is responsible to protect the common good, especially protecting the dignity of every human being, from the unborn, to prisoners, to migrants, and the elderly.
“The state has the duty to prevent people from abusing their private property to the detriment of the common good. By its nature private property has a social dimension, which is based on the law of the common destination of earthly goods. Whenever the social aspect is forgotten, ownership can often become the object of greed and a source of serious disorder.” (Vatican II document, Church in the Modern World)
Pope Leo will continue his papacy in the trajectory of Pope Francis because it is the trajectory of the Holy Spirit’s leading the Catholic community since Vatican II and into the new millennium. Leo will have his own style, perhaps with a little less spontaneity and a little more clarity than his predecessor.
But synods with lay participation, Vatican congregations led by women, church leaders in dialogue with marginalized Catholics, mercy as the guide to pastoral behavior, pro-life work including care for migrants and care for the earth, and the church’s advocacy for government protection of the common good and a safety net for the poor – these values are here to stay.
Pope Francis had it rough with far-right Catholics. This doesn’t have to be the case with Pope Leo’s papacy. With the guidance and grace of the Holy Spirit, we can unite the “left” and the “right” in the Church behind these principles, taken straight from the GOOD NEWS of the Gospels.
