How to forgive Pope Francis

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I never thought there would be a need for this thread, but it has come to my attention that there are some Catholics (a vocal minority) that hold something against Pope Francis. They are reacting to his positions on capitalism, the environment, Israel, divorced who want to receive Eucharist, etc, and other issues.

To “hold against” means to take the actions, words, or other characteristics of a person and “hold them against” the value or dignity of the individual. A good way to know if one is holding something against someone is check one’s emotions: “do I feel any resentment toward this person?”.

Here is what the Gospel says to do when we hold something against someone:
Mark 11:25New International Version (NIV)

25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
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What has happened in the last 20 years or so in America is that civility in terms of not giving voice to people expressing resentment of others has drastically declined. People can voice their grudges openly on talk radio or TV commentary, and no one thinks anything of it anymore in terms of its sinfulness. Sadly, even some Catholic media sources are giving voice to those who resent Pope Francis, with no shame at all.

The am of this thread is to help people understand Pope Francis, so that they can return to a state of loving and forgiving the Holy Father, and appreciate that the Spirit has placed him in a position of pastor for all the faithful. To stick to this objective, if you do hold something against him, please put in your post the question, something like “Why did/does Pope Francis…?”

Also, this is not a place for gossip or hearsay.
 
There’s nothing to forgive Pope Francis of.

Those who are making false accusations against him, are bordering violating the 9th Commandment in bearing false witness toward the Pope.

Jim
 
The pope has condemned unrestrained capitalism, but the pope has also condemned communism and socialism. You’ll find that the catechism does the same thing. Pope Francis has never wronged me, in fact, I think we do well listen to him to know what we’ve done wrong to our brothers and sisters in this world.
 
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People should be more concerned with their own journey to Heaven rather than debating Pope Francis’s motives and actions. Quite frankly, it’s getting downright annoying hearing the bellyaching every time he does his job. Dear Lord Deliver Us!
 
I often don’t care for Pope Francis’ manner of leadership, and I don’t always like the way he presents Church teaching, but he’s not done anything wrong, and therefore isn’t in need of forgiving.

I can disagree with the pope on prudential things while still recognizing his primacy and my duty to him.
 
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Yes, I’m having a hard time figuring out what if anything Pope Francis has done to harm anyone directly, or at least anyone on this board as opposed to perhaps some cardinal, bishop, priest, or staff member whom the Pope actually works with or personally has dealings with - in which case the forgiveness would have to come from the person actually wronged by the Pope.

It seems like people’s beefs with Pope Francis on here come from their own disagreements with him or their dislike of something he said or how he handled something. An honest disagreement does not constitute the Pope wronging someone and needing to be forgiven.
 
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Brace yourself for the Pope-bashers.

There’s not a few fellow Catholics on this very forum who seem to harbor intense resentment for Pope Francis.

I lost a close Catholic friend about a year ago because I confronted her over the fact that she was consistently attacking the Pope while simultaneously praising President Donald Trump.

Pope Francis, the living Saint and Prophet. The Saintly Supreme Pontiff whose mind is the Mind of Christ. The Vicar of Christ on Earth who St. Peters spirit rests upon. The servant of the Servants of God.

President Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman and POTUS. The man who admitted he doesn’t seek Gods forgiveness - ever. The man who is a nominal Protestant. The man accused of sexual harassment by over a dozen women and who has a tape in the public domain of him saying things that would make Ron Jeremy blush.

If you’re a Catholic and you find yourself repeatedly being at odds with Pope Francis while being in near-constant agreement with President Trump, there is something very seriously wrong. Horrendously, tremendously, hideously wrong.

If you’re one of those people, you seriously need to gather yourself together and ask yourself what’s really important. Take a moral inventory and see why you’re finding yourself going along with an intensely worldly man while being utterly opposed to an incredibly holy man.
 
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Did you ask this of those that voted for pro abortion, redefining marriage Obama?
 
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Well, I can’t forgive the Pope because he has done nothing to me. He might have done stuff to other people (confuse folks about divorce and remarriage) but I cannot know that for sure. I don’t agree with all that Pope Francis has done and I disagree with some of his prudential decisions but I respect him as a man (although, even if I didn’t that would be no sin) and the office.

Although, to be honest, the more I live under this Pope as a Catholic, the more I’m confused by him. But that’s for another thread. 😎
 
Spyridon said:
If you’re a Catholic and you find yourself repeatedly being at odds with Pope Francis while being in near-constant agreement with President Trump, there is something very seriously wrong. Horrendously, tremendously, hideously wrong.
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Absolutely. (And yes, the same would hold true for those who found themselves repeatedly at odds with Pope Benedict while being in near-constant agreement with President Obama.)
 
American Catholics are no longer tempted to worship golden calfs.

Our most common false idols now are politics and money: worldly power and worldly success.
 
Some thoughts:
When HH Francis apologies for doctrinal confusion and insults (such as the infamous breeding like rabbits comment) then maybe people will forgive him.
Maybe people hold Trump to a much lower standard to begin with, so it’s easier to think he is living up to his office.
 
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You’re gonna have to define what those false accusations are and who is making them, because you are running the risk of doing the EXACT SAME THING.
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
Maybe people hold Trump to a much lower standard to begin with, so it’s easier to think he is living up to his office.
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Sure. But when Catholics bend over backwards to put the most positive spin on something Trump does or says, I can’t help but think it would be nice to at least extend the same courtesy to Pope Francis. He doesn’t have to be our favorite pope. We can even disagree with some of his prudential decisions. But I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt as much as possible.
 
Seriously though, why would the pope insult Catholic families with many children?
 
I also do not have anything to forgive Pope Francis for. I firmly believe that when the Cardinals are in the conclave praying to be guided in their decisions to bring forth a new Pontiff, that the Holy Spirit is in there with them and will intercede for the good of the Holy Church/ Therefore I accept Pope Francis as the successor of St.Peter and I am proud of all the work He has done for Holy Mother Church. God Bless and protect the Holy Father.🦋🦋🦋:
 
Regardless of what Pope Francis did or didn’t do, if he hadn’t had the Holy Year of Mercy I might still be missing Mass and not going to Confession instead of sitting here with you today. So whatever else he does or doesn’t do, he helped bring me back to the Church. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was so motivated.
 
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Any bets on how long this Thread will last? It just seems like I’ve seen this same thing before 🤔
 
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