~ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you … John 13:34

Give the Pope a break

The new Pope has not been crowned and it has started. From one side the self-styled traditionalists are bemoaning Pope Francis lack of their sense of his office in a way captured brilliantly here by Fr. Longenecker. Like the Father, I am rather inclined that way myself, but I find something ridiculously infantile and premature about the attitude of some. If Jesus Christ Himself turned up in the wrong regalia would you also criticise Him?

On the Fundie Right in the USA the fact that Pope Francis is a Jesuit has sent people into paroxysms of what is, frankly lunacy. One video asked ‘who rules this world?’ before going off on one about the ‘Illuminati’ (and no, I am not linking to it, you can find it easily enough).

The Pope mentions the poor as one of his main concerns, and some people need smelling salts. If they do that strange thing, read the Bible, they will find Christ had similar concerns; people of their persuasion crucified Him for it (among other reasons).

On yet another wing, the ageing dinosaurs of the Tablet seem to think that the fact that the Pope does not wear a mozzetta means that there wil be clown masses in the Vatican next Sunday and that there will be communal festivals of ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ on a weekly basis, complete with liturgical dancing and compulsory lessons in tumbling.

Suddenly everyone has a contact in Argentina, and on that basis they are qualified to pronounce as above. He worked with the Junta; no he didn’t; well he didn’t fight the Junta and that’s the same thing; and so it goes, and no doubt will go until the Pope actually does something. I prophecy that when he does he will not please all Catholics; there, that’s bold of me. You are welcome to come back and tell me I was wrong; I would love that, but we all know it is not going to happen.

It is, we are told by those whose minds were already made up, the Cardinals who did this. Well, the belief of the Church is that they are guided by the Holy Spirit, although those who are more Catholic than the Pope cleaely know better than that – and for all we know, than the Holy Spirit Himself.

I know next to nothing about the new Pope – so do most of those commenting. So I would ask them to calm down and pray for him, as he asked us to. Those subject to fantasies of the Middle Ages and of a Pope as a great ruler in pomp and state might take time off to pray for a Pope who, like Christ, wishs to concentrate on the salvation of souls. And if there are clown masses in the Vatican next week, we can all decamp to the Orthodox Church – and get back to a Church which thinks the filioque a novel addition.

So, how about we all give it a rest (even journalists) and see what this new chap gets up to. One question though about the photograph – the Cardinal on the far right looks like Rupert Murdoch – could it be …. (one for the conspiracy theorists).

It does to me as well, none of us knows diddley-squat yet, and like with our Supreme Court Justices, prior experience doesn’t really apply, when a man realizes that for the rest of his life, he answers to God alone, it can change him.

The papacy (and sometimes ones position in the Curia) has a way of changing the way the people of the world view them. Pope Pius IX was considered a liberal as a Bishop and yet was a Pope that was strongly orthodox. The same could be said of John Paul II and Benedict XVI who in the days of the Council were considered liberals but became known as Conservative Popes.

I remember right after Benedict XVI was made Pope the same silliness began and everyone thought he had become a liberal again and nothing was good enough. They blamed the problems in the Curia on him as if he alone had created the whole mess.

So we the world goes on as it always does making headlines and selling sensationalism when nothing yet warrants it. Within a year or two we would know if the Pope is working for the good of the Church or not. As you say the Holy Spirit is there for all Popes to lead them; although even the Pope has free will. Some may listen to His voice better than others but time will determine that. One thing we do know is that the new Pope will not introduce a change to doctrine or morals — we hold that as fundamental to our Faith.

You and I are both dissatisfied with “happy, clappy” Novus Ordo Masses and might be considered traditionalists. That said, we need only “pray, hope and don’t worry” as Padre Pio was fond of saying and have some confidence that the Holy Spirit is leading the Church in a direction that God feels appropriate for our times. I understand the anxiety of some after the progress with the SSPX and the Summorum Pontificum of Benedict XVI – it is only natural. But no matter who was elected Pope the same angst surely would have raised its head as it did during the Benedict XVI years. We are a fickle people and it doesn’t take much to have us see a snake on the path instead of a rope of rescue.

I think we have a “winner” here with Pope Francis. I don’t much care for what the naysayers believe.

As for the Novus Ordo, our version here in Paradise Valley at the Franciscan Renewal Center works fine with me. On the other hand, there’s nothing quite like the “Pange Lingua” chanted as The Blessed Sacrament is repositioned on Mauday Thursday. So yes, I guess I’m a switch hitter. I was brought up in the Tridentine even to being a full 360 degree Thurifer, yet enjoy the more participatory sense of the Novus Ordo.

Trying to be a man who pleases God<br>“Nothing is more certain, than that our manners, our civilization, and all the good things . . . in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles: and were indeed the result of both combined; I mean the spirit of the gentleman, and the spirit of religion” (Burke)