Pope Francis, Politics and Being Catholic: Briefly

Pope Francis criticized (some) Catholics in my country.

If I had any sense, and was trying to make A Catholic Citizen in America famous, influential, profitable or some combination of those qualities, I’d have long since picked an earnestly wacky political fringe position.

And, having picked my target demographic, I would now churn out a rant denouncing the pope for not being sufficiently American; for not supporting the civil rights of wombats — or whatever the Great Cause of the Month was.

I don’t, happily, have that sort of “sense”. But I do think this deserves a brief response:

“Pope Francis laments ‘reactionary,’ politicised, US Catholic Church“
Philip Pullella, Reuters (August 28, 2023)

“…Francis made his comments on Aug. 5 in a private meeting in Lisbon with members of the Jesuit order, of which he is a member, during his trip for World Youth Day. They were published on Monday by the Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica.

“In a question-and-answer session, a Portuguese Jesuit said that during a sabbatical in the United States, he was saddened that many Catholics, including some bishops, were hostile to the pope’s leadership.

“‘You have seen that in the United States the situation is not easy: there is a very strong reactionary attitude. It is organised and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally,’ the pope responded.

“Religious conservatives in the United States often have aligned with politically conservative media outlets to criticise the pope over a host of issues such as climate change, immigration, social justice, his calls for gun control and his opposition to the death penalty….”

Being Catholic, and American

To begin with, I’m “A Catholic Citizen in America”, like the blog title says.

In other words, I’m a Catholic.

I live in America. I’m a citizen.

But I am not a [liberal/conservative/libertarian/whatever] Catholic Citizen.

I’m a Catholic, and I take my faith seriously.

Since no political party reflects the values and behaviors that come with being Catholic, I can’t reasonably give unyielding, unwavering, unthinking allegiance to any political party.

I probably wouldn’t, even if by some miracle there was a political clique that was a good match, and that’s another topic.

I’m not utterly apathetic, so I do have views that correspond to political platforms.

[Not] Fitting a Political Pigeonhole

A few years back, I took a few of those ‘what are your political beliefs’ online (and free) questionnaires.

I learned that I was conservative, liberal, and — in one case — libertarian.

Results depended on what questions the questionnaire asked.

Now, about what Pope Francis said.

I think the Pope is Catholic, and that he’s right: some folks in this country who say they’re Catholic, and may sincerely believe that they’re the only ‘real’ Catholics left, act a great deal like the wacked-out and very Calivinist-Protestant radio ranters of my youth.

There may be loony left Catholics who are convinced that the Church oughta be more firmly supportive of voting rights for pigeons, or whatever the current cause is.

My guess is that the ‘Jesus was a liberal’ faction doesn’t make much noise, at least not in a religious context. And that’s yet another topic. Topics.

There. I’ve talked about Pope Francis and making sense.

That, at least, is what I hope I’ve done.

Now, the usual ‘more stuff’ list:

• “Climate, Neighbors, Bogeymen and Responsibility“
  (November 5, 2022)
• “Killing Prisoners, Valuing Human Life“
  (August 27, 2022)
• “Independence Day: America and Acting Like Love Matters“
  (July 4, 2022)
• “Evolution: Science, Religion, Opinions and Me“
  (August 28, 2021)
• “A Gallimaufry: Politics and Prayer, A Dragon and Turkeys“
  (January 21, 2021)