Pope Francis may not be a liberal at all. \u00a0Certainly not based on American media definitions. \u00a0The world, believe it or not, is not divided between Red State and Blue State. \u00a0Trying to see Pope Francis through such lenses \u2013 one way or another \u2013 is likely an exercise in pointlessness at best.<\/p>\n
Much of the speculation and flat out fist fights over the Real Pope Francis is due to the clear and obvious fact that Catholicism has changed quite a bit over the last century. \u00a0On almost every level, a Catholic dropped into the Church 200 years ago would be stunned by the differences. \u00a0Some are necessary. \u00a0Electricity happens. \u00a0So does indoor plumbing. \u00a0Some accepted sins and problems are dealt with. <\/p>\n
But changing to fit with the times can be like eating peanuts. \u00a0Once you start, you just can\u2019t stop. Ask any one of a hundred variations on Protestantism in our world today. \u00a0Some are barely Christian, if at all. \u00a0So as the Catholic Church struggles to find a middle ground between the Modern Way and the Traditional Christian Way, it has created not a few reactions from various groups and individuals.<\/p>\n
Some are mighty unhappy, and have been for some time. \u00a0Others are more than thrilled. \u00a0Some are OK, but want more change and accommodation. \u00a0Others seem to be overly defensive, as if they can\u2019t bring themselves to admit what is patently obvious. \u00a0 <\/p>\n
In any event, I stumbled across an interesting article yesterday. \u00a0It\u2019s from a member of the Orthodox Church. \u00a0As insulting as this is to some Protestant denominations who fancy themselves as modern incarnations of the first century church, and as shocking as it might be for Catholics who imagine otherwise, the Church closest to the most ancient approach we have to living Christianity is the Orthodox. \u00a0As a history professor I had once said, if you want a Church that hasn\u2019t changed much in 1500 years, you could do worse than going to an Orthodox church.<\/p>\n
Not to say the Orthodox aren\u2019t without their skeletons, or their modern splits. \u00a0Some appear to be following the ways of the post-Christian Left just like Catholics and Protestants. \u00a0Still, they can only do what others who want to follow the Modern Way do and reject outright the teachings of their faith and demand change. \u00a0But for a Church that smells, sounds and acts like its forefathers centuries ago (with the possible exceptions of electricity and indoor plumbing), there seems to be a willingness on those resisting the Change to do so outright, without need to find some middle ground. <\/p>\n