So we have a new Pope. He is supposed to be a strong advocate for the poor, and at a time when the rich are getting obscenely richer every day, this is good news.
Consistency has been a problem for the Catholic church. There is no point in handing out money and food if you are simultaneously encouraging people to have families they cannot feed. However, greater equality and a better life for all human beings is a basic tenet of Epicureanism, so let’s watch and see what he actually does.
Posted on behalf of Carmen:
Any belief system which tries to explain our human experiences must rely on content more than on form. We human beings need all the insights we can accumulate while navigating our brief lives; the truths flow through family, friends, nature, religion, philosophy, history, art, science,and any combination thereof. The Catholic Church, like any outlook claiming to offer ultimate truths about humanity, must make its case.
Pope Francis seems to be a humble person–in his first papal appearance he wisely rejected the traditional costume, he rides public transportation, and speaks compassionately about the poor. True, his behavior during Argentina’s Dirty War will undergo continuing scrutiny but something matters more than either Jorge Bergoglio’s past ties with the Argentine junta or his present humility. In the day-to-day realities of the organizational Catholic Church, how will he present church teachings?
What If he continues the policy of trying to shut down all dissent from church’s overwhelming emphasis on those issues about which it is least knowledgeable? Bergoglio has adamantly defended the RCC’s sexual teachings, views which fail to persuade all but the most externally devout. A test case is lying in wait. Bishop Robert Vasa of the diocese of Santa Rosa, California, is demanding that all teachers in the area’s Catholic schools sign an addendum to their 2013-2014 contracts. The men and women, Catholic or non-Catholic, must agree that they are: “a ministerial agent of the bishop” and that they reject “modern errors” that “gravely offend human dignity,” including “but not limited to” contraception, abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage and euthanasia. Other doctrinal issues concern the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Mary, hell, purgatory, and the authority of the church. http://ncronline.org/node/47291
The content of Catholic teachings and not form of the Pope’s personal bearing will shape the religion’s ability to say anything meaningful to the world. If he refuses to address the current theological desiccation people will look elsewhere for understanding.