J
JReducation
Guest
I just want to address what I said before about the pope being right and we being wrong.
The Franciscan school is very simple, to the point that most Catholics don’t understand it and take it to be something that it’s not.
Francis admonished his sons and daughters to discern when something is a sin. Obviously, we do not obey sin, follow sin, repeat sin, endorse sin, etc. However, in his admonitions, he also tells us that even when the superior commands sin, we may not criticize him, judge him or walk away from him. We must stand closer to him in fraternal charity. Getting into conflicts with authority, because authority is wrong, is actually contrary to the Franciscan ideal of fraternity. One can refuse to obey sin without creating a scene and without making the superior, bishop or pope look badly. Doing so is a sin of its own. Obviously, there are Franciscans who have done just this. They are wrong in doing so. It is contrary to what we were founded to be. We were founded to be a family, not an institution governed by cold rationalism. That’s the first part that must be understood here.
The second part that we ask that you (laymen, religious and clergy) understand is how we view the papacy. You don’t have to view it as we do. Though it is our sincere hope that you would do so, because it would bring unity and peace to the Church.
It is contrary to our tradition to sit around making finer distinctions between the pope’s opinions, the ordinary magisterium and the extraordinary magisterium. Francis was a very profound man who looked to see things in their most fundamental form. The pope is the Vicar of Christ and the Successor of St. Peter. He is also the temporal ruler of the Church. He exercises legitimate authority not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in temporal matters regarding the Church. By virtue of his office, he is a person of authority.
Unless the pope preaches heresy, we assent to his opinions, rules, directions and teachings. Such an assent is born out of love for the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Vicar is the pope and out of obedience to our holy father St. Francis who commanded that his brothers obey him for all eternity and who promised that he in turn would obey the pope. In simple language, whatever Francis obeys, a good Franciscan obeys. Francis is the master teacher in holiness. He is the Seraphic Father whom God has given to us as the model of Christian virtue and Catholic fidelity. If we want to reach the heights of sanctity that Francis reached, then we follow his lead. Again, there are Franciscans who believe that such thinking is Medieval. They are right. It does go back to the Middle Ages. However, what they propose, an obedience based on critical thinking, has only hurt the spiritual life of Franciscans and the people we serve. Such critical thinking would be ideal if the person doing the thinking were given some grace over and above that of the pope. There have been very few such people in history.
Finally, as many of you know, about 25 years ago, there began in NY a renewal of the Franciscan family and another renewal in Italy. They came to be known as the Franciscans of the Renewal and Franciscans of the Immaculate. One of the most important qualities of the renewal movement is obedience and submission.
This movement is spreading like wildfire among Franciscan men. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be having the same impact among Franciscan women, but that’s for another discussion. Our position can best be exemplified by the recent discussion between the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Holy See regarding the EF. The Friars have publicly said that they accept with great joy whatever the Holy Father asks of them. They have said that they agree with what the Holy Father asks of them. They have stated, in rather stern terms, that everyone else is to mind their own business and stay out of Franciscan affairs.
This way of thinking is not unique to the FI. It is part of Franciscan tradition and goes back to St. Francis himself. After Vatican II, it was laid aside. As I said, some thought it was Medieval and they were right. What they did not realize was that it has worked for eight centuries.
Over the last 800 years, the Franciscan family has grown more than any other family in the Church. There have been many internal conflicts over interpretations of the rule. There have been conflicts over questions that arise due to time and place, but Francis never anticipated. Therefore, we have not known which way to go. In every single one of those situations, it has always been the popes who have come to the rescue of the Franciscan order.
As a result of this relationship with the popes, St. Francis’ admonitions regarding authority, our desire to be like Francis, and the realization that we must go back to our roots, we take the position that unless the pope speaks heresy, we agree with whatever he says. We put distance between our personal opinions and ourselves.
Such distance is healthy. It is part of being poor. Poverty begins with detachment from material things and places. But the man who remains attached to his opinion, his point of view, and his wishes, runs the risk of becoming his own god. Real poverty surrenders to legitimate authority, even when that authority does not require it. We surrender out of respect for the office and out of charity for the person who occupies the office. We surrender because it is pleasing to God that we do as the Apostles did, remain quiet and let Christ speak.
The easiest way of reminding ourselves to keep our big mouths shut and our opinions to ourselves is simply to remind ourselves of what St. Francis often said to himself. “He’s the pope. I’m not. He’s right and I’m despicable.” It does not hurt to put ourselves in our place once in a while.
If asked an academic question about what the pope said, we’ll answer.
The Franciscan school is very simple, to the point that most Catholics don’t understand it and take it to be something that it’s not.
Francis admonished his sons and daughters to discern when something is a sin. Obviously, we do not obey sin, follow sin, repeat sin, endorse sin, etc. However, in his admonitions, he also tells us that even when the superior commands sin, we may not criticize him, judge him or walk away from him. We must stand closer to him in fraternal charity. Getting into conflicts with authority, because authority is wrong, is actually contrary to the Franciscan ideal of fraternity. One can refuse to obey sin without creating a scene and without making the superior, bishop or pope look badly. Doing so is a sin of its own. Obviously, there are Franciscans who have done just this. They are wrong in doing so. It is contrary to what we were founded to be. We were founded to be a family, not an institution governed by cold rationalism. That’s the first part that must be understood here.
The second part that we ask that you (laymen, religious and clergy) understand is how we view the papacy. You don’t have to view it as we do. Though it is our sincere hope that you would do so, because it would bring unity and peace to the Church.
It is contrary to our tradition to sit around making finer distinctions between the pope’s opinions, the ordinary magisterium and the extraordinary magisterium. Francis was a very profound man who looked to see things in their most fundamental form. The pope is the Vicar of Christ and the Successor of St. Peter. He is also the temporal ruler of the Church. He exercises legitimate authority not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in temporal matters regarding the Church. By virtue of his office, he is a person of authority.
Unless the pope preaches heresy, we assent to his opinions, rules, directions and teachings. Such an assent is born out of love for the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Vicar is the pope and out of obedience to our holy father St. Francis who commanded that his brothers obey him for all eternity and who promised that he in turn would obey the pope. In simple language, whatever Francis obeys, a good Franciscan obeys. Francis is the master teacher in holiness. He is the Seraphic Father whom God has given to us as the model of Christian virtue and Catholic fidelity. If we want to reach the heights of sanctity that Francis reached, then we follow his lead. Again, there are Franciscans who believe that such thinking is Medieval. They are right. It does go back to the Middle Ages. However, what they propose, an obedience based on critical thinking, has only hurt the spiritual life of Franciscans and the people we serve. Such critical thinking would be ideal if the person doing the thinking were given some grace over and above that of the pope. There have been very few such people in history.
Finally, as many of you know, about 25 years ago, there began in NY a renewal of the Franciscan family and another renewal in Italy. They came to be known as the Franciscans of the Renewal and Franciscans of the Immaculate. One of the most important qualities of the renewal movement is obedience and submission.
This movement is spreading like wildfire among Franciscan men. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be having the same impact among Franciscan women, but that’s for another discussion. Our position can best be exemplified by the recent discussion between the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Holy See regarding the EF. The Friars have publicly said that they accept with great joy whatever the Holy Father asks of them. They have said that they agree with what the Holy Father asks of them. They have stated, in rather stern terms, that everyone else is to mind their own business and stay out of Franciscan affairs.
This way of thinking is not unique to the FI. It is part of Franciscan tradition and goes back to St. Francis himself. After Vatican II, it was laid aside. As I said, some thought it was Medieval and they were right. What they did not realize was that it has worked for eight centuries.
Over the last 800 years, the Franciscan family has grown more than any other family in the Church. There have been many internal conflicts over interpretations of the rule. There have been conflicts over questions that arise due to time and place, but Francis never anticipated. Therefore, we have not known which way to go. In every single one of those situations, it has always been the popes who have come to the rescue of the Franciscan order.
As a result of this relationship with the popes, St. Francis’ admonitions regarding authority, our desire to be like Francis, and the realization that we must go back to our roots, we take the position that unless the pope speaks heresy, we agree with whatever he says. We put distance between our personal opinions and ourselves.
Such distance is healthy. It is part of being poor. Poverty begins with detachment from material things and places. But the man who remains attached to his opinion, his point of view, and his wishes, runs the risk of becoming his own god. Real poverty surrenders to legitimate authority, even when that authority does not require it. We surrender out of respect for the office and out of charity for the person who occupies the office. We surrender because it is pleasing to God that we do as the Apostles did, remain quiet and let Christ speak.
The easiest way of reminding ourselves to keep our big mouths shut and our opinions to ourselves is simply to remind ourselves of what St. Francis often said to himself. “He’s the pope. I’m not. He’s right and I’m despicable.” It does not hurt to put ourselves in our place once in a while.
If asked an academic question about what the pope said, we’ll answer.
