Blessed Pius IX and Pope Francis

Pope Francis is much adored by the media for his way of being, especially those media which are usually far from the teachings of the Catholic Church. Of course, looking closely, albeit with all due respect for the Roman Pontiff, you can not help but be puzzled by certain positions of the Pope himself. I have mixed feelings about Pope Francis: I do not share some of his stances that confuse the pastoral dimension with the doctrinal one, but on the other hand I like his effort for a Christian realism to help those who are in need. One of his statements that I find most interesting is when he speaks of the Church as a field hospital. I find it very meaningful, because it takes into account the wretchedness of the human nature. The enemies of Pope Francis oppose every single statement of the Pope with the pretext of his infidelity to tradition, but in in the case of the aforementioned statement, I do not think that they are right.

Blessed Pius IX, in a speech to the hospital Sisters of Mercy on July 18, 1872 said: “The passions invade the hearts of men, and draw them to all manner of sins. Truly it could be said that the world watched with the eyes of faith is a large hospital. You continue to cure as you can the minds and bodies. ” Certainly the similarity can not make us forget the differences: probably the medicine that Pope Francis proposed, in the eyes of many, are not the effective ones, treatments do not lead to healing but to a cronic disease. But the basic idea is right.