"Did you hear what the Pope just said?" That is the point that my stomach gets tied in knots. During the pontificate of Benedict XVI if I heard that comment I would respond the exact opposite: excitement and interest. Now I respond with worry (and sometimes even say "please don't tell me"). Yet, a couple times lately Pope Francis has said something that was quite solid. Once recently he gave clear support for priestly celibacy as the norm (yes, I know about his reference to the viri probati). On another instance earlier he endorsed the removal of priests who have homosexual inclinations.
I recall someone who mentioned these comments to me saying that he expected it to be withdrawn as a misquote. Although I understand his pessimism, there is another possibility. As many problematic comments and actions that we have seen come from Pope Francis, he has yet clearly and firmly to advocate a heretical doctrine. Yes, he has skirted the edges quite a few times, but never actually fallen to this (he is a poor communicator who is often hard to understand--maybe intentionally?). What does he actually believe? I suspect that we are better off not knowing -- finding out might be a serious cause of stress.
No one who has read this blog regularly will be surprised to hear that I am at times critical of things that are coming out of Rome lately. I am not a pessimist, nor am I an optimist -- I tend to think of myself as a realist. At least, that is true when it comes to things of men. When, however, we are speaking about the things of God, then I would be a radical optimist. The Lord is always stronger and more loving than we can imagine, and that means that He is always doing things that are better than we expect.
One thing that our Lord promises to do, but we often forget about in times of trial and confusion, is to protect us. He promises that He will keep the truth clear and available for us. He promises that the Church will remain indefectible. He promises that the Pope will not promulgate a heresy. It can be hard to remember these things when our current Pope, and many of those who surround him, are flirting with error, and speaking in ways that are so vague that we cannot clearly tell whether their comments are orthodox or not. Then, along comes a statement from Pope Francis that is solid and defends the truth.
We can hear solid truth and have two bad responses. The first bad response is to say, "see, the Pope is holding to the truth, what are you worried about?" The second bad response is to say, "sure, it sounds orthodox, but I'm sure he will deny it tomorrow". The first is foolishly hopeful, and the second is foolishly hopeless. A godly response is to say, "God promises to guide us in the truth, and that is what He is doing now"; that is real hope. In one sense, it does not matter whether Francis is orthodox or not -- that is the beauty of God's promise to protect us; it is not dependent on any one of us. God alone is the One to ensure that we have the truth from an authoritative source (regardless of how faithful or wise that authoritative source actually is).
Do you trust the Lord to provide you with the truth? Do you trust Him to ensure that the truth is spoken to all? This is what we are supposed to do so that we can remain open to the work of the Spirit. When an errant word is spoken, yes, it can be difficult; and none of us is the final interpreter of those things. Yet, something that contradicts the dogmas of the Church will usually be obvious, and whenever someone says he is advancing something "new" in doctrine you can be fairly sure that he is in error. New doctrines is how our separated brethren work (I know, I've been there), but not how the Church works.
Therefore, give thanks to the Lord for protecting us. Give thanks to Him that He still guarantees that truth is spoken even by those who make mistakes in other things that they say. Pray to the Lord that He continues to protect us from errors (especially our own errors!), and guide us into all wisdom. With this kind of faithfulness, we can all rejoice at seeing the Holy Spirit doing His work in our Church, and in our lives.
