There's a lot of buzz concerning Pope Francis' interview last week that was reprinted in the Jesuit USA weekly, America.
Suffice it to say, however, many in the mainstream media didn't read critically the interview's entire contents. Instead, they extracted elements of what the Holy Father said, but not only took some of his statements out of context, but also irrespective of the structure of the interview, from The Motley Monk's point of view (aka, "hermeneutic").
The bottom line: Church doctrine doesn't change but Church discipline can.
If The Motley Monk is correct, reading the Holy Father's interview in America in this context indicates that the Pope believes early into this era of New Evangelization--one of the two projects entrusted to him by the consistory that elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, to the Petrine ministry (the other being to sweep aside any institutional impediments to the New Evangelization)--conversion of heart and healing from sin is the foundation for the proclamation of the Good News of salvation that Church teaching is intended to safeguard. For Pope Francis, it isn't until people experience personally what Jesus has accomplished for all through his suffering, death, and resurrection--to meet the person of Jesus Christ and to have a personal relationship with him--that they can effectively communicate to others the joy that's associated with rising from the death of sin and begin to experience conversion from sin themselves.
Suffice it to say, however, many in the mainstream media didn't read critically the interview's entire contents. Instead, they extracted elements of what the Holy Father said, but not only took some of his statements out of context, but also irrespective of the structure of the interview, from The Motley Monk's point of view (aka, "hermeneutic").
The bottom line: Church doctrine doesn't change but Church discipline can.
If The Motley Monk is correct, reading the Holy Father's interview in America in this context indicates that the Pope believes early into this era of New Evangelization--one of the two projects entrusted to him by the consistory that elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ, to the Petrine ministry (the other being to sweep aside any institutional impediments to the New Evangelization)--conversion of heart and healing from sin is the foundation for the proclamation of the Good News of salvation that Church teaching is intended to safeguard. For Pope Francis, it isn't until people experience personally what Jesus has accomplished for all through his suffering, death, and resurrection--to meet the person of Jesus Christ and to have a personal relationship with him--that they can effectively communicate to others the joy that's associated with rising from the death of sin and begin to experience conversion from sin themselves.
In this context, Pope Francis also believes that for too long the balance of evangelization has tipped in favor of the latter, unintentionally alienating sinners who otherwise might be open to learning about Church teaching...if they first experienced healing from sin and its devastating effects in their lives. Welcoming alienated sinners into the "community of sinners" where God is most present--the Church, in general, and at the parish level, in particular--is the first step in this ambitious project to take the Gospel to the ends of the world in this generation.
Be sure to read the entire interview and carefully examine its structure to contextualize the Holy Father's comments more properly.
For those who may be interested in reading a more complete treatment of this discussion from The Motley Monk's perspective, read his homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2013).
Let the discussion begin...
To read the interview of Pope Francis in America, click on the following link:
http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview
To read The Motley Monk's homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2013), click on the following link:
http://www.richard-jacobs-blog.com/13-09-20-proclamation-in-a-missionary-style.html
Be sure to read the entire interview and carefully examine its structure to contextualize the Holy Father's comments more properly.
For those who may be interested in reading a more complete treatment of this discussion from The Motley Monk's perspective, read his homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2013).
Let the discussion begin...
To read the interview of Pope Francis in America, click on the following link:
http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview
To read The Motley Monk's homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (2013), click on the following link:
http://www.richard-jacobs-blog.com/13-09-20-proclamation-in-a-missionary-style.html
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