Pope Francis vs. Beelzebub: Round 2

I Posted a story about, and a video of, Pope Francis' homily from the Friday before last, which he offered at the Domus Sanctæ Marthæ.  The Gospel passage he preached on was Luke 11:15-26, where Jesus is casting out demons and is accused by the Pharisees of doing so by the power of the Evil One.  The Lord explains that this charge is absurd from the get go because a kingdom divided against itself can not stand.  Satan may be evil, but he isn't dumb; he knows that his only chance at wreaking maximum havoc is to maintain a disciplined unity among his minions (and these aren't the cute, yellow, goggle wearing weebles from Despicable Me we're talking about here).  The Holy Father went out of his way to say that neither Jesus nor the Evangelist were speaking metaphorically about possession, demons and the destructiveness of demonic powers.  

I bring this up because the Holy Father has raised eyebrows on both sides of the ideological divide since his election in March; some perplexed (on the right) others gleeful (on the left).  This divide has been a plague on the Church since at least the end of Vatican II, sapping us of our ability to truly put into practice the true aim of the Council; the evangelization of the contemporary world.  Too many of us within the Church are overly concerned about coming off seeming the most intelligent, most relevant, most enlightened or most orthodox, forgetting that all that really matters is that we all should be holy; which does means being bold and unafraid, but more to the point humble and simple.  

Satan is a real force, a personal being who made a choice to do evil; a choice that because of his angelic nature makes his an eternal option.  To paraphrase the Holy Father, his existence and mission are real not because I say it, or the Pope says it, but because the scripture says it.  How we understand the nature of demons may be a bit murky if we stick with the Old Testament, but by the time of Jesus things are made clear; Satan is not simply a jokster or some kind of cosmic prosecutor.  He is the Enemy who has set his back to The Lord, and is a murderer from the beginning.  This is not true because any earthly myth or legend says it's so, it is true because Our Lord and His faithful witnesses do.

There are those that in the light of modern psychology try to explain away these passages.  They are mistaken, as much as those who try to dismiss the Sermon on the Mount as some sort of pious impossibility.  Both are real and the challenge is to embrace them, along with accepting all the hard teachings required of a disciple.

If we do not learn to embrace the whole Gospel we will continue to be divided by idiological lines.  The Evil One is very happy with this.  While we squabble over the "true meaning of Vatican II" or the proper posture of the priest during Mass we are giving the devil a head start to steal souls.  Does this mean we shouldn't care about or discuss things like the direction the Church should be taking or how the liturgy should be celebrated?  Of course not.  But we have to understand that the average woman on the street doesn't care about how Lumen Gentium, 9 should be read or if the priest should be facing east or west during the Canon of the Mass.   Insignificant issues?  No.  But to a person on the outside, a person searching and poking her head in to the Church to see if Christ really will fulfill the longings of her soul these discussions probably strike her as navel gazing and more than a bit obtuse.  Rather than a refuge from an idiologicly confused and relativistic world, she sees nothing but a mirror image of the chaos she is trying to leave behind.

Unlike the Enemy we do not see the value in being united.  We are happy to be divided up, not only Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox, but also within our own tribes (high church, low church, evangelical, nondenominational or what have you).  While we argue and keep a distance, Satan is cleaning our collective clocks.  Are there not real issues dividing those who bear the name Christian that can't be airbrushed away?  Yes.  But when we can't even agree on who the Enemy really is, or if he exists at all, we are not as intelligent, relevant, enlightened or orthodox as we suppose.

The Pope understands that greatest weapons against the devil are humility and unity.  It's time for us to stop worrying about if the Holy Father will change this teaching or that, and if it will be to our liking, and stand with him in the battle for souls. 

Salesian Loyalty to the Pope

I've always made it an unofficial part of what is an already loosely defined editorial agenda here at The Ax to cover the Pope, no matter who the pope happens to be, and explain his words and defend him as necessary (like he needs me to explain or defend him).  I did this with Pope Benedict, and I continue with Pope Francis.  It's important to me because I am a Salesian, and loyalty to the Pope is a central part of our spirit.  Don Bosco had a close relationship with Bl. Pius IX,  and a more distant one with his successor Leo XIII.  But when the latter pontiff asked Don Bosco to build the Basilica of the Sacred Heart for him the saint put all his energy into the project, to the point of possibly losing his health over it.  And so it is, or should be; our loyalty is not to Joseph Ratzinger or Jorge Bergoglio, but to the Pope, no matter who he is.  Though I must admit that it is with more than a little pride that I can mention that the Holy Father attended a Salesian school as a child.

The 6th grade graduation picture at the Salesian College of Ramos Mejia c. 1949.

At this point, seven months into his pontificate, I've already written more posts about the pope than in the previous three years of this blog's existence, during Benedict XVI's reign.   This is due in large part because of how new the Franciscan Papacy is.  Even though he's not much younger than Cardinal Ratzinger was at the time of his election, Pope Francis is demonstrating a dynamism and charisma that has seemed to be missing since the first decade or so of John Paul II.  While it was less than ten years ago, it seems many forget that there was a buzz surrounding Benedict's first months in the Chair of Peter, and how he was attracting larger crowds to the Wednesday Audiences than Bl. John Paul II.  Peggy Noonan wrote that people came to see John Paul, but they were listening to Benedict.  Yes, he was called "God's Rottweiler," and people viewed him as coming out of JPII's shadow, much like George H.W. Bush emerged from Ronald Reagan's when he became president, but people were also noting differences in style.  Benedict was going off script more than his predecessor did, speaking of himself, as well as the apostles he succeeded as sinners in need of God's grace. (sound familiar?).  

Without a doubt Francis' personal style is much different that that of Benedict, his ascendancy has brought with it a bigger dose of "buzz" than previously, and for good reason.  If people came to hear Benedict, they are hanging on every word that proceeds from Francis' mouth--words that are coming at us almost daily and in differing forms than have been used by pontiffs the past.  He is using interviews, off the cuff comments to reporters at impromptu news conferences, his daily homilies (which can be found most days on You Tube) among other informal methods of communication to get his message across.  This has been beneficial for the faithful and non-believers alike , but has also left the Holy Father open to misinterpretation, a modern danger for any pope in this secular, multimedia age.  But even more so now with a Pope who speaks simply, but in small chunks that can leave room for doubt as to what he "really means."

There is no denying that Francis is shifting emphasis from his predecessors.  He still thinks abortion is evil--the product of a disposable culture that sees value in convenience and instant gratification over the deeper values of life, but wants us to also think about economy justice and the plight of the poor as life issues.  He still teaches that marriage is a union of one man and one woman, and that young people should have the courage to settle down and raise families, but he also doesn't think we should single out or target gays as somehow the greatest sinners in the world, or the root of the world's problems.  The temptation among some long suffering progressives in the Church, who feel they haven't had a "pope of their own" since Paul VI is to read the change of emphasis as a change in doctrine; that Francis somehow wants to do away with the "old rules" and usher in some Post Vatican II Golden Age, or what Ross Douthat calls the desire to "Episcopalianize" the Catholic Church.  I think before we get too far ahead of ourselves we need to do what I've been saying for a while now; take a deep breath, exhale and really see what the Pope is saying.  

The Salesian Rector Major, Don Pascual Chavez Villanueva (center) visiting Pope Francis 

The temptation for the more conservative or traditionalist Catholics is to think that the Church is going to fly off the rails somehow with a "liberal" pope at the controls.  I don't worry, I really don't.  I am a part of the John Paul II Generation of priests who came of age during his pontificate, and was reading Cardinal Ratzinger's books before he became Benedict XVI.  In Francis I see a Salesian educated Jesuit with vast pastoral, as well as academic experience who's putting a human face on Catholic doctrine, connecting them to the Gospel, putting Jesus first.  Not that his predecessors didn't, but their scholarly style may have distracted some from that fact.  I don't worry.  Like Don Bosco I'm with the Pope, now as much as ever.

Next time out I'll give you a more concrete reason why Pope Francis is right on target when we take a second look on his recent comments about Jesus and the existence of the Evil One.

Pope Francis vs. Beelzebub: Round 1

Here's something from Asia News on the sermon Pope Francis gave this morning, and a clip of the Holy Father's remarks from the Vatican You Tube page.  I'm going to have something to say on this a little later.


Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - "We must always remain vigilant, on guard against deception, against the seduction of evil, " because the devil, against whom Jesus truly fought and won," always tries to come back," to "take possession of us. "

Today's Gospel in which Jesus responds to some who accuse him of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebub, gave Pope Francis occasion to warn about the reality of the struggle against the devil, for which he offered three "criteria" of " vigilance. "

During the Mass celebrated this morning at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope, as reported by Vatican Radio, noted that all along, " and even in our days " , there is the temptation to belittle the figure of Jesus.
 
"Some priests when they read this Gospel passage, this and others, say : 'But , Jesus healed a person from a mental illness .' They do not read this here , right? It 's true that at that time you could confuse epilepsy with demonic possession, but it is also true that there was the devil! And we have no right to simplify the thing, as if to say: 'They were not possessed ; they were mentally ill .' No! The presence of the devil is in the first page of the Bible and the Bible ends with the presence of the devil, with God's victory over the devil. "

For this reason "we must not be naive". The Pope, therefore, observed that the Lord gives us some criteria to "discern" the presence of evil and to chose "the Christian path when there are temptations ." One of the criteria is "not to follow Jesus' victory over evil "only "halfway". "You're either with me - says the Lord - or you're against me." Jesus came to destroy the devil, "to liberate us" from the "slavery of the devil upon us ." And you can not say that this is an "exaggeration" . "At this point there are no grey areas. There is a battle, a battle where salvation is in play, eternal salvation , eternal salvation" for all of us. Then there is the criterion of vigilance. "We must always remain vigilant, on guard against deception, against the seduction of the evil one".

"And we should ask ourselves this question: 'Am I watching over myself, my heart, my sentiments, my thoughts? Do I still preserve the treasure of grace? Do I still preserve the presence of the Holy Spirit in me, or do I leave it, certain in the belief it is? ' But if you do not safeguard it, along comes someone stronger than you . But when someone stronger attacks it and overcomes it, he takes away the weapons in which one trusted, and divides the spoil. Vigilance ! With three criteria: Do not confuse the truth . Jesus fought against the devil: the first criterion . Second criteria: whoever is not with Jesus, it is against Jesus, there is no halfway. Third criterion: keep guard of our hearts , because the devil is cunning . He is never completely banished, only on the last day will he be. "

Jesus said that when the unclean spirit leaves someone " it haunts desert places , seeking rest and finding none it says : 'I will return to the house from which I came .' And when he finds it " swept and decorated". Then it goes "gathers seven other spirits more wicked than itself , and they take up their abode are". And so , "the last state of that man becomes worse than it first was".

"Vigilance! Because his strategy is this: 'You became Christian. Advance in your faith. I will leave you. I will leave you tranquil. But then when you are used to not being so watchful and you feel secure, I will come back'. The Gospel today begins with the devil being cast out and ends with the devil coming back! St. Peter would say: 'It is like a fierce lion that circles us'. It is like that. 'But, Father, you a little ancient. You are frightening us with these things...' No, not me! It is the Gospel! And these are not lies: it is the Word of the Lord! Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He conquered the devil ! Please do not do business with the devil ! He tries to find his home, to take possession of us ... Do not relativize this, be on guard! And always with Jesus! "

Fr. Barron Comments on the Pope Francis Interview

St. Francis of Assisi: The Transitus

Another Papal Interview

I was preparing a post about October being the Month of the Rosary and chock full of important saint's days, when I saw that Pope Francis has been interviewed yet again; this time in a secular Italian publication.  Eugenio Scalfari, the veteran journalist and publisher who conducted the tete a tete, is a self proclaimed non-believer who also stresses that he is not anti-clerical.  And he has reason not to be; after he deserted the Italian Army during World War II he was hidden in a Jesuit residence.


The interview is not long, and you can read it for yourselves, so I won't waste time with a line by line review.  I'll just give a few impressions.

The Pope as Happy Culture Warrior
The Holy Father approaches the encounter as a meeting of minds seeking understanding, not as a missionary meeting a heathen in search of a convert (he calls proselytizing "solemn nonsense.")  This doesn't mean that Pope Francis is somehow passive or without an edge.  While it is very obvious that this is a congenial encounter, at one point the Pope makes Scalfari articulate what he believes in if not in God.  It's always hard to judge tone in the written word, but it strikes me as a very forceful, passionate moment in the interview.  The interviewer becomes the interviewee, with the new interrogator always respecting the person while probing the ideas, challenging assumptions.

Also, while some might accuse Francis of being too subjective when he says that a non-believer following his or her conscience, that is following one's natural inclinations as to good versus evil, would be enough to make the world a better place, he speaks of grace in purely objective terms.  When Scalfari expresses incredulity that a non-believer could be touched by grace the Pope tells him that grace touches the soul, not the consciousness, so that we are unaware when of it.  Scalfari protests that he doesn't believe in the soul, to which the Pope assures him that he has one irregardless of what he believes.  The Pope is here to debate, but he's not accepting the world's terms, or acting like he has to necessarily defend Christianity's basic assumptions.  He is willing to be challenged as well as to lay down the gauntlet himself, always with respect, vigor and joy.

The Worldly and the Spiritual Intersect
The Pope states that the most serious evils facing the world right now are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the elderly.  He is asked if these are not matters for governments and trade unions to sort out.  Francis agrees, but stresses that these conditions touch body and soul.  They sap the person economically and emotionally, robbing them of hope for a better life and a feeling of belonging in the social community.  But they also touch the soul.  The Church as an institution is not to get involved with politics, but the People of God certainly have this responsibility to be involved in the shaping of the public order.  Catholics do this not as people who seek to dominate, but rather contribute.

The Holy Father also stressed the importance of mysticism.  The Church has a distinct role from that of government, which is secular by nature.  We come to certain conclusions about what constitutes the correct social order because we have met Jesus Christ, not because we adhere to some political ideology.  He states clearly that "Religion without mysticism is philosophy."  While he does not see himself as being a mystic in the strict sense, he has had what he would describe as brushes with the mystical, particularly when he was elected and asked for a few moments to reflect before accepting.  While politics and religion are distinct, you can gather from the Holy Father's words he believes that faith brings with it political implications, even if the Church as an institution needs to let the state do it's job free of interference.  

The Liberation Theology Pope?
This is strictly me musing a bit, but a lot of ink has been spilt over Francis' views on liberation theology, and that his election signals a sea change in the Vatican's attitude toward that controversial theological school of thought.  Both Bl. John Paul II and Benedict XVI were cool to LT, but with Francis, a native of the region where it was born, meeting recently with LT's founding father Gustavo Gutierrez there is much speculation that the theology of liberation's time has come.  I think we need to take a pause and a deep breath on that one.

It is true that the Pope has spoken on economic justice, both as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and in his recent interviews and talks.  It's safe to say that Francis, like most European and Latin American prelates, can probably be best described as a social democrat (as was JP II and BXVI).  In other words he believes in more government oversight of the economy than your average Republican, but is no Marxist.  He has stressed in the past that there is not one liberation theology, but rather theologies of liberation, some in greater accord with Church teaching than others.  Someone at a private audience with the Pope after the sit down with Fr. Gutierrez indicated that Francis made it clear that the approval of the theologian's work given by a curial cardinal was that person's personal opinion and did not necessarily reflect Francis' point of view.   Even in the latest interview the Holy father talks about the need for economic rules, but that "if necessary direct intervention from the state to correct the more intolerable inequalities" should happen (emphasis mine).   

Again, I'm not arguing that Francis is a free market libertarian.  He also said that "Personally I think so-called unrestrained liberalism only makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker and excludes the most excluded."  He means liberalism in the classical sense, not in today's U.S. political usage.  His words tell me that his threshold for when government should intervene into the economy would be lower than mine, but he still doesn't see the state as the first or only line of defense against economic injustice.  

In other words Francis will not be afraid to appeal to elements of LT, but is a true believer in Christ, not in an ideology, even one that dresses in theological cloths.
    
Who's Wig is the Holy Father Twisting?
It is becoming a cliche to say that Pope Francis is the liberal (in the contemporary political sense) answer to Benedict and John Paul.  There is no doubt that some conservative minded or traditionalist Catholics are nervous about the Pope's recent statements.  As one friend said to me recently, "I love Pope Francis, I just wish he wouldn't talk so much."  

If I can be so bold, both liberals and conservatives in the Church are getting things wrong.  We can't view the Holy Father's words through the lens of ideology or politics.  He is not advocating fundamental changes in doctrine but in structure and emphasis.  Look to his words on clericalism and role of Church councils and synods in Church governance and you will find the key to understanding the Pope's mind.  

Conservatives should be nervous about talk of conciliarism, but liberals shouldn't think they're off the hook when he speaks of clericalism.  Clericalism takes many forms, and I've encountered it here in the States, but also in Latin America where the clergy has by and large abandoned the use of clerical dress and some like to think of themselves as a part of the "People's Church."  It can take the form of priests overly concerned with liturgical pomp and circumstance and with those who are entrenched in diocesan bureaucracies more concerned with the maintenance of the Church "machinery" than in extending the mission they are there to serve.  In my experience people who think of themselves as progressive fall into the trap of clericalism just a easily those on the right.  If we think the Pope's words are meant for "the other guy," we better think twice.  The call is to move beyond ideology and into the pure light of the Gospel, and that should make all of us a little nervous.