Pope Francis: many young people in the Church have fallen into the ‘temptation of rigidity’

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Pope Francis: many young people in the Church have fallen into the ‘temptation of rigidity’

The Pontiff criticised ‘rigid’ Christians who lack mercy, and those who are hypocritical and hide their sinfulness

Pray that those who are too rigid learn to follow the way of Christ and his meekness, Pope Francis said on May 5 during his early morning Mass in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

With the day’s first reading dedicated to the conversion of Saul — who went from fiercely persecuting Christians to patiently evangelising all peoples — the Pope used St Paul’s life story as an example of an honest, idealistic person of faith, who had been “convinced” of the rigidity of the law.

Pope Francis said Saul’s early life reminds him of “many young people in the church today who have fallen into the temptation of rigidity. Some are honest, they are good and we must pray that the Lord help them grow along the path of meekness.”

Others, the Pope said, use rigidity to cover up their weaknesses, sins and personality disorders and to assert themselves over others.

“They are the rigid with the double life. They show themselves as beautiful, honest, but when no one is looking, they do bad things,” he said.

Saul, on the other hand, was rigid, but honest, the Pope said, and he let himself be led by the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus with “a language of meekness: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’”

Saul was called with “the force of the meekness of the Lord” to become Paul, preach the Gospel and suffer and die for the Lord, the Pope said.

Saul’s conversion shows dialogue between condescending rigidity and meekness, a dialogue between “an honest man and Jesus who speaks with kindness.”

“This is the path of a Christian: going forward following Jesus’ footsteps,” which is “a trail of preaching, a trail of suffering, the trail of the cross” and resurrection, the Pope said.

The Pope asked people to pray to Saul for those Christians who are rigid — “for the honest-rigid like him, who have zeal, but get it wrong, and for the hypocrite-rigid, those with a double life.”

catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/05/05/pope-francis-many-young-people-in-the-church-have-fallen-into-the-temptation-of-rigidity
 
I think the pope really needs to come out and clearly say what he thinks because at least the English translation is not making sense.
“They are the rigid with the double life. They show themselves as beautiful, honest, but when no one is looking, they do bad things,” he said.
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You cannot be rigid and have a double life. A double life negates the characteristic of rigidness.

If you are rigid with respect to something then you are not changing.

There should be more rigid Catholics. Rigidness in no way denotes being unmerciful and it is an incoherent insult to suggest it does.

Perhaps the English translation of this word is lacking.

After living through a period of time where the church was decimated in the west exactly because it lacked rigidness I rejoice that there are now young Catholics being rigid in the faith. If the older generation would have been more rigid in the faith we would not have participated in the abuse of children and could talk with more authority about such sin.
 
abucs said:
I think the pope really needs to come out and clearly say what he thinks because at least **the English translation is not making sense.
**

You cannot be rigid and have a double life. A double life negates the characteristic of rigidness.
If you are rigid with respect to something then you are not changing.

There should be more rigid Catholics. Rigidness in no way denotes being unmerciful and it is an incoherent insult to suggest it does.

Perhaps the English translation of this word is lacking.
Click to expand...
For the sake of the Church, i hope you’re right!!!

How many of us are sick of hearing that word???

As you inferred, rigidity can mean having backbone, which too many these days don’t appear to have. 🤷
 
abucs said:
I think the pope really needs to come out and clearly say what he thinks because at least the English translation is not making sense.

You cannot be rigid and have a double life. A double life negates the characteristic of rigidness.

If you are rigid with respect to something then you are not changing.

There should be more rigid Catholics. Rigidness in no way denotes being unmerciful and it is an incoherent insult to suggest it does.

Perhaps the English translation of this word is lacking.
Click to expand...
Here’s an original video of him saying the same exact thing a few months ago. Even in Italian, it sounds like “rigid” to me.

mauroleonardi.it/2016/10/29/ce-chi-critica-papa-francesco-quando-dice-la-rigidita-non-e-un-dono-di-dio
 
I would hope that the resurgence of appreciation for the traditions of the Church among the young would be something to celebrate, and pray that these comments are directed against true rigidity and over-zealousness of the young.

Perhaps I misread it, but it seems like a more constructive tone could be struck that seems less chastising at the youth and more of a tempering that welcomes their enthusiasm while reminding themselves to be open to the mercy and the catholicity of the faith. Chastising can be good, but if the message is that all our welcome, I think enthusiastic youth would be the first to welcome home and to not make feel ostracized.

Perhaps Pope Francis is speaking about experiences with youth that I’m not familiar with. It’s a big world. I mean, there really is such a thing as over-zealousness in the Christian community that bears resemblance to Paul’s persecution of others. But sometimes the Pope’s comments seem to equate traditional catholics as a whole with this rigidty. That may very well be a misreading on my part.
 
Wesrock said:
I would hope that the resurgence of appreciation for the traditions of the Church among the young would be something to celebrate, and pray that these comments are directed against true rigidity and over-zealousness of the young.

Perhaps I misread it, but it seems like a more constructive tone could be struck that seems less chastising at the youth and more of a tempering that welcomes their enthusiasm while reminding themselves to be open to the mercy and the catholicity of the faith. Chastising can be good, but if the message is that all our welcome, I think enthusiastic youth would be the first to welcome home and to not make feel ostracized.

Perhaps Pope Francis is speaking about experiences with youth that I’m not familiar with. It’s a big world. I meam, there really is such a thing as over-zealousness in the Christian community that bears resemblance to Paul’s persecution. But sometimes the Pope’s comments seem to ewuate traditional catholics as a whole with this rigidty. That may very well be a misreading on my part.
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Pope, in interview, laments ‘rigidity’ of youth who prefer Latin Mass

Asked about the liturgy, Pope Francis insisted the Mass reformed after the Second Vatican Council is here to stay and “to speak of a ‘reform of the reform’ is an error.”

In authorizing regular use of the older Mass, now referred to as the “extraordinary form,” now-retired Pope Benedict XVI was “magnanimous” toward those attached to the old liturgy, he said. “But it is an exception.”

Pope Francis told Father Spadaro he wonders why some young people, who were not raised with the old Latin Mass, nevertheless prefer it.

“And I ask myself: Why so much rigidity? Dig, dig, this rigidity always hides something, insecurity or even something else. Rigidity is defensive. True love is not rigid.”

catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=29904

detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/nicholas-g-hahn-iii/2016/12/04/pope-francis-insults-catholic-youth/94978052
 
If I had a dollar for every rigid young Catholic I’ve met in my life, I wouldn’t be able to buy a cup of coffee.
 
I don’t know what things are like in Argentina, but His Holiness seems to be discussing Jansenism and a form of Jansenism returning.

I also think the translations are horrible. “Ridged” is most likely the wrong word.

The Holy Father is most likely concerned to make sure the young do not make the same mistakes of the previous generations.

Some people think the Baby Boomers’ parents (inside and outside the Catholic Church) were too “ridged” which prompted the sexual revolution and other rebellions.

Perhaps the Holy Father is afraid of a new generation similar to that World War II generation, afraid that being to to strict would lead to a lack a mercy and/or another social rebellion.
 
Seamus_L said:
If I had a dollar for every rigid young Catholic I’ve met in my life, I wouldn’t be able to buy a cup of coffee.
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True, I don’t see it as a problem. But I live in an area with 4% Catholics…I would happily attend a Latin Mass, if only for the nostalgia value.
 
JPUSC said:
Pope Francis: many young people in the Church have fallen into the ‘temptation of rigidity’

The Pontiff criticised ‘rigid’ Christians who lack mercy, and those who are hypocritical and hide their sinfulness

Pray that those who are too rigid learn to follow the way of Christ and his meekness, Pope Francis said on May 5 during his early morning Mass in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

With the day’s first reading dedicated to the conversion of Saul — who went from fiercely persecuting Christians to patiently evangelising all peoples — the Pope used St Paul’s life story as an example of an honest, idealistic person of faith, who had been “convinced” of the rigidity of the law.

Pope Francis said Saul’s early life reminds him of “many young people in the church today who have fallen into the temptation of rigidity. Some are honest, they are good and we must pray that the Lord help them grow along the path of meekness.”

Others, the Pope said, use rigidity to cover up their weaknesses, sins and personality disorders and to assert themselves over others.

“They are the rigid with the double life. They show themselves as beautiful, honest, but when no one is looking, they do bad things,” he said.

Saul, on the other hand, was rigid, but honest, the Pope said, and he let himself be led by the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus with “a language of meekness: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’”

Saul was called with “the force of the meekness of the Lord” to become Paul, preach the Gospel and suffer and die for the Lord, the Pope said.

Saul’s conversion shows dialogue between condescending rigidity and meekness, a dialogue between “an honest man and Jesus who speaks with kindness.”

“This is the path of a Christian: going forward following Jesus’ footsteps,” which is “a trail of preaching, a trail of suffering, the trail of the cross” and resurrection, the Pope said.

The Pope asked people to pray to Saul for those Christians who are rigid — “for the honest-rigid like him, who have zeal, but get it wrong, and for the hypocrite-rigid, those with a double life.”

catholicherald.co.uk/news/2017/05/05/pope-francis-many-young-people-in-the-church-have-fallen-into-the-temptation-of-rigidity
Click to expand...
The Holy Father is exactly correct.
 
While Pope Francis might be accused of overusing that one word, this doesn’t seem as bad as some of you are making it out to be.

Since he’s using “rigidity” in a negative sense, he obviously doesn’t mean “having backbone” or “standing up for the Faith.” He’s the Pope, for cryin’ out loud. Reading him to say “People just shouldn’t be so darn Catholic” is absurd.

There is a negative sort of rigidity in religious belief and practice, though, and we’ve all seen it. Jesus pointed it out in the Pharisees who questioned whether humanitarian acts were “work” that ought not be performed on the Sabbath. Today there is always the temptation to use our religion as a club to beat on people we see as not living up to our standards – ignoring that, in Christianity at least, the whole point is that none of us live up to the standards.

And while it’s true that hypocrites aren’t really strict in their religious practice, we all know the terrible stories of those who strongly and publicly condemn the sins of others, whether from the pulpit or from public office, only to turn out to be doing the same or worse things themselves.

JPUSC, I certainly hope you weren’t any of those kinds of “rigid” before Pope Francis’ election. I’m sure you mean you were a staunch and faithful Catholic, and I hope and pray you will find your way clear to remaining one or becoming one again, despite the confusion engendered by some of the Pope’s statements and writings. As Pope Benedict wisely said about Vatican II, another troubling time for many Catholics, the confusion arises when people insist on seeing a violent separation from previous teaching (whether they oppose or welcome such a rupture) rather than a continuity.

I’ll admit, I myself am uncomfortable with the Pope’s use of “rigid” to describe young Catholics who come to prefer the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Surely someone brought up on the Ordinary Form who nevertheless sees the beauty in what they might have rejected as belonging to an earlier generation is being anything but rigid. Now, there are those whose attachment to the Extraordinary Form goes so far that they disparage or even question the validity of the Ordinary Form; those folks I could see being admonished as rigid.
 
Some amount of rigidity is good, I think. As in, taking your faith seriously and not approaching everything as “Well, I know the Church and Christians for two thousands years have thought x, but I think y, so…”

On the other hand, there are people who approach their faith like a spreadsheet instead of a relationship. Growing in virtue and getting closer to God isn’t like a video game cheat code, where if you just say the correct formula or go to Confession every other day you’re automatically going to “win.” The prayers and rituals and formulas are all tools in service of the ultimate goal: holiness and union with God. They’re incredibly important and powerful tools, but they aren’t the end in and of themselves. I see this most often with the way scrupulous people approach Confession.
 
JPUSC said:
Here’s an original video of him saying the same exact thing a few months ago. Even in Italian, it sounds like “rigid” to me.

mauroleonardi.it/2016/10/29/ce-chi-critica-papa-francesco-quando-dice-la-rigidita-non-e-un-dono-di-dio
Click to expand...
The problem is that words is different languages, even if they sound the same, might have different connotations. I don’t kniw how this works in Italian, but in English, rigidity has a wide spectrum which covers both a good sort and a bad sort of rigidity.

When he uses this word, the Pope does seem always to accompany it with the idea of forgetting God’s mercy. In English, we might be careful to use a word more like judgemental or censorious, which are more strongly negative.

I have to stop and think when His Holiness chooses the word rigid and links what he calls a rigid attitude to those who attend a Latin Mass, because I have to remember that he is using a different language (and even if he is speaking in English, his thoughts come from a different language).

Lots of people who are attached to the Latin Mass can be judgemental and even censorious, and lots of young people have a tendency to be judgemental and even censorious: wrt young people, look at how some college kids are 😉
 
What is rigidity?
Is it having a preference for the EF?
Is it adhering to Catholic doctrine?
Is it hypocrisy? Sometimes it seems that hypocrisy is what is meant, but if that is the case why not use that word?
Is it being judgmental? The young people I know, even those of a traditional bent, are seldom judgmental.
Is it lack of compassion? Lack of mercy?
It seems to me that rigidity could apply to anyone along the spectrum from traditional to liberal.
 
The Holy Father Francis is merely talking about certain Catholics who attack others and act like Pharisees.

I thank Christ that the Latin missal is returning so many people and youth back to the True Faith.

The Holy Father Francis is constantly being misinterpreted by the media but there is a big difference between attacking and criticism
 
I don’t understand the connection between the Latin Mass and rigidity. If EF and OF are both valid, then why does it matter which one a person prefers? We all have personal preferences - in music, the clothes we like, the color car we have, what type of architecture we find aesthetically pleasing, etc. If somebody prefers the Latin Mass how does that make them rigid? I’m not rigid because I prefer vanilla over chocolate.

(And I’ve only been to a Latin Mass 3 times in my entire life, so I have no strong preference either way. Just trying to understand what the issue is here. Because in this day and age, I am happy that the young people are going to Mass at all, never matter which form.)
 
If real life behavior is roughly analogous to behavior on the Traditional Catholicism forum, then I know exactly what the Holy Father is talking about, and I’m a generic laymen sitting living in the desert.

We are spiritually raping would-be reverts & converts by the millions.
 
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