Five rules for disagreeing with the Pope — and still being a good Catholic
By now most visitors to Vincentian Mindwalk are aware of Pope Francis’ reaction to some of his more outspoken critics.
For those who aren’t… In one of his informal in-flight press conferences, Pope Francis referred to “a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope.” Vatican Journalists immediately identified the American media company as EWTN, founded in Alabama in 1981 by the late Mother Angelica.
The Pope continued, “I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner but the church does not deserve them. They are the work of the devil.”
Background
One of the most vocal critics of the Pope is EWTN’s news director and lead anchor, Raymond Arroyo. His program “The World Over” frequently features what is called “The Papal Posse.” (An interesting self-description) He often appears on The Ingraham Angle on the Fox News channel.
Attacks on popes from clerics and the media are not new. These attacks come from the left or the right, depending on who the pope is.
Today, it is ironic that the defenders of papal authority who condemned “cafeteria Catholics” for picking and choosing what they accepted from John Paul and Benedict are now themselves doing the same with Francis.
Likewise, Catholics who felt free to disagree with John Paul and Benedict are now condemning critics of Francis for not being loyal to the Pope.
Let’s be honest. We are all cafeteria Catholics. The real question is how we avoid a food fight in the cafeteria.
Rules for criticizing the Pope… or anyone
Another Jesuit writing for Religion News Services offers some guidelines based on “Spiritual Exercises” of St. Ignatius Loyola. The founder of the Jesuits some 500 years ago laid out “Rules for Thinking with the Church.” In that spirit, he offers five rules for disagreeing with the Pope. The author adds, “this draft is not perfect, but I think the church needs to have a conversation about how we deal with disagreements.”
I think these 5 rules could be a systemic change in how we disagree.
- Be respectful.
- If you disagree with a pope, be sure to emphasize the positive things that he has done.
- Describe the pope’s position accurately and completely; do not create a straw man that can be easily knocked down.
- Never speak or write when you are emotionally upset.
- Ask yourself, would you speak this way to a parent or someone you love?
The church is a family, God’s family. Family fights are the worst. But disagreements are part of any family or community. Suppressing them leads to frustration and dysfunctional behavior. Our goal must be to be reconcilers, not dividers.
Keep in mind that in the 2014 synod on the family, he told the bishops to “speak boldly.”
“A general condition is this, Speak clearly. Let no one say: ‘This you cannot say.'” At the same time, speech must be respectful and aimed at building community, not tearing it down. It must be aimed at reconciliation, not division. Disagreements should lead to conversations, not shouting.“
Talking to those we disagree with is not about winning and losing. It is about conversation and better mutual understanding.
I believe none of us has a monopoly on the truth. We are all like the blind men touching different parts of the elephant and proclaiming that part represents the whole of the elephant.
St. Paul certainly recognized that each part of the body needs the other. 1 Cor. 12:12.
Do these rules make sense to you not only regarding the Pope but others you disagree with?
Click below for an audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk
Father John,
For baseball fans, this was like an inside-the-park homerun: you know it is good at the beginning and you’re hoping it will stretch further into something even better and with great skill and adeptness it results in a score. Some say that is more dramatic than the tape-measure shots that are obvious “off the bat.”
Great reflection and very timely, for a number of reasons.
The “food fight” analogy is a profound one – often a fracas originated by something that had nothing to do with any recognizable causes (often prejudices of one kind or another) and mushrooming out of control and involving others not remotely involved in the original dispute. Sad commentary on our daily lives, but it is becoming all too common.
Learning how to calmly disagree with someone (especially a family member) remains one of the many challenges of this current age, Thanks for offering some guidelines for that course of study and it clearly is not a once-and-done exercise.
Early in our lives, as we grew older, we began to recognize the imperfections of our parents and those entrusted with our care (especially teachers). Initially, that took on the attitude of “they can’t be trusted – they make mistakes.” As we grew still older, those imperfections became more and more evident in our own lives and it gave a new perspective on those who cared for us, often with limited resources but with lots of love.
When I speak with so many who “agree” with Pope Francis, they remark how much he loves – not just loving those you’d expect him to care about, but everyone he encounters. Those who “disagree” with him see him as abandoning a faith that they hold dear, whether that faith (in them) was well-formed or practicable does not seem to be a concern for them.
Frankly, I found many flaws in both John Paul and Benedict that seemed insurmountable to me at an earlier stage of my life (for some of the same reasons noted about for those disagreeing with Francis) but have come to appreciate their role in Salvation History, I would hope that those disagreeing with Francis come to a similar awareness as we face another orbit of the sun coming to a close.
Thank you. Amen. Alleluia.
*** Splat *** that was a tomato landing near me. FOOD FIGHT!
There is an old saying about those who have climbed the ladder of success, which is: “The higher the monkey climbs the tree, the more of his butt you’ll see.” I’m definitely sure that Pope Francis is very much aware that the higher leaders climb, he will be scrutinized… And I don’t blame him for feeling the way he felt toward EWTN or Raymond Arroyo; he’s just human…
I just remember a hilarious story about Saint Teresa of Avila which illustrates the human tendency to complain about hardships in our lives… When Teresa complained about the constant trials in her life, the Lord replied, “Do not complain, daughter, for it is ever thus that I treat my friends.” Witty Teresa responded with her typical sense of humor, “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few.”
Thank you, John.
I find as a very fitting companion reading to your reflection, John, is Austen Ivereigh’s 10/14/2021 piece in America Magazine, “Pope Francis was right to call the attacks from EWTN. You don’t dialogue with the devil.”