I know that many lay people hate it when the “us-them” distinction comes out; but there are times when it has to come up, because we live in different worlds. This is one of them.
We have to be very patient with each other here. Here’s what I mean. Those of you who are laymen have not made a vow of obedience and you have no moral obligation to stand by the pope. You can be as critical and have as man opinions as you like. Most of the time, they’re not going to be helpful, because the pope has made up his mind; but some people feel good expressing them and that’s fine too. People should have some freedom in expressing opinions as long as they do not cross certain lines.
However, I would also ask for respect and consideration for those of us who Franciscan, Benedictine, Salesian, Dominican, Carmelite, etc. We have surrendered that freedom. I know that there are some loose cannons out there who are religious and run their mouths at every opportunity; but that is not the norm with us.
The norm with us is that unless a pope, bishop or superior is insane or a heretic, we support We obey and we respect his opinions and his actions. We ask only one question, “Is this a defined sin?” Obviously, if the pope says that it is not a defined sin, then we ask no further questions. It is not our right to think or question what our betters do. It is our duty to obey, comply, support and cooperate, because it is pleasing to God and in this case to the pope.
The Vatican has already come out with a statement asking people to support this gathering, because it’s important to the pope. Orders have already been told that they must support this and there is no questioning and no discussion. As far as we’re concerned, the conversation is over. The Holy Father has spoken.
What is left? We try to understand where this is coming from and what he’s trying to do here. As someone, not so kindly said, “Francis is not a pope”. This was true. However, even popes recognize that there has not been another Christian in history who has reached the perfection of Christianity as he did. Therefore, the popes have great admiration for him, his work and his wisdom. Since this is an area at which he was very good and at which his sons have excelled, it would be silly to have this resource and not make good use of it. That’s why Bl. John Paul and now Pope Benedict have decided to take the Church down the Franciscan path. That’s what this really is. It’s the Franciscan path.
This path is not a familiar one for most lay people. Until Pope John XXIII, every pope that we had was a Thomist and Scholastic. Pope Paul VI was the first pope in over 100 years who was not part of this school. In fact, he was not a theologian at all. He was a lawyer, civil and canon. Pope John Paul I, was a theologian, but did not reign very long. Bl. John Paul was a theologian and philosopher, but he was very much a Carmelite, not a Thomist. The Carmelites are much closer to the Franciscans, than they are to the Dominicans. Now we have Pope Benedict who is definitely a Franciscan. His area of expertise is Franciscan Theology and Franciscan Pastoral Practice. His area of spirituality is Augustinian.
In light of the fact that previous approaches, not matter how noble, did not work to bring people to peaceful co-existence, which is the starting point of all evangelization, there is always room for something new. If we continue to repeat what has not worked, of what use is it?
The idea is to bring the world to live in peace. If these men and women are influential in their respective societies and can deliver this message of peace, why not gather with them and be brothers with them?
As faithful religious, our place is to help others understand what the Holy Father is thinking, what he wants to achieve and the particular school of theology in which he is grounding himself. It is not our role or even our right to have an opinion one way or the other. We don’t become religious to think. We become religious to obey and to serve.
Look at the friars and Poor Clares in Assisi. They have to host this event. Guess what? Francis said that they must do this or suffer for disobeying him. Well . . . no friar or Poor Clare who is faithful is going to refuse to cooperate with the pope, when the Seraphic Father has already laid it down in his rule that you must always comply or suffer for it. You can even be dismissed from the order for not complying, even excommunicated if you push the right buttons.
There is not going to be a lot of support for these concerns from Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Salesians, Carmelites, Missionaries of Charity and any other religious who is faithful to his tradition, obedient to his founder and faithful to the Holy Father. I’m pretty sure that the same can be said of diocesan priests, even though they are not consecrated men. They have promised to obey their bishops. If their bishops command support, those who are faithful will support the Holy Father.
As Fr. Lombardi said, this is important to the Holy Father. It is a work in which he has engaged for several decades. This is not something new to him. He is a man who has led the Church well, at many levels in the many posts that he has occupied. He has served God’s people well. He has earned the respect and trust of the people of God. Once again, he deserves our best wishes and our support on this even as well. We never know what God has in mind for us and what God can do with this gathering.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
), is because certain topics only seem to have room for one opinion. Most of the people who don’t agree with the gatherings have true concerns. They are not just mouthing off.