It drives me crazy when liberals say the Church needs to change
with the times. How? The Church’s job in straight forward liberal speak is to
study and disseminate the teachings of Christ/God and belief in the Trinity
just to keep it simple. Sure there is much more, yet for today’s purposes, this
is what the Church does day in and day out. What can it change without a change
coming from God?
The Church is not a political belief. It cannot change with
the times. You cannot have a liberal or a conservative Church. You can review
the teachings and adhere strictly to doctrine and that might be considered a
conservative approach or vice versa you can take a generous view of the
teachings and that might be a liberal view of the teachings, yet the Church is
not liberal or conservative.
You cannot argue doctrine like you can argue if capitalism or
socialism is better in practice than the other. It is a completely different
ballgame.
Yet nowadays we have conservatives especially in the United
States making the same mistakes liberals have made for God knows how long. They
want the Church to reflect their political beliefs, what they think the Church
should do or in essence change with their times.
And compounded by all this is Pope Francis and now Pope Leo
XIV have different worldview experiences since they are not European Popes. Pope
Francis especially having come from South America is not as dominated by Papal
history. And mainly his personal history is set in second or third world
country. He sees the world from a different lenses than most Popes.
Sure Pope John Paul II lived in trying circumstances during
WWII and it definitely had an impact on his Papacy, yet he was European. Francis
and now Leo XIV have completely different experiences with Francis from Latin America
and Leo XIV being in mission in Latin America.
Popes Francis and Leo XIV are just as attuned to the
magisterium as all previous Popes, but how they view the world is also impacted
by the environment of their lives. Yes, Leo XIV was born in the United States
yet that is not his main or dominant life as a Priest. A person can easily see
his missionary work has a great impact on him.
The reactionary right Catholics struggle with them, not
because of Catholicism but because like the liberals they want the Church to
serve their needs not God’s direction.
Pope Francis probably didn’t help himself with this group
because he tended to speak off the cuff sometimes, but his work as Pope always
was God’s work, not ours. Popes Francis and Leo XIV are not liberals just
because the right in the United States and some of Europe say so. They aren’t
liberals period. They speak from a different vantage point than the right does
and that really is what is driving the right wing conservatives crazy. The
Popes have seen first hand the suffering, the poor, the downtrodden Jesus spoke
of and said we should help. This isn’t being liberal this is just them making
the right wing uncomfortable. As right wing Catholics deep down they know Jesus’
teachings, but they let worldly views dominate their perspective. This is causing
the disconnect from Papal teaching they cannot resolve externally and maybe
even internally. It is the same word taught for 2,000 plus years.
Times do change, a person can choose one political belief
over another, and they can even change their mind, yet when Jesus said whatever
you do for the least of us, you do for me, it means the same now as when he
walked this Earth. That will never change until God changes it.
Cheers
No comments:
Post a Comment