{"id":46851,"date":"2013-09-05T00:06:36","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T07:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=46851"},"modified":"2014-12-29T21:16:47","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T04:16:47","slug":"a-reader-remarks-on-pope-francis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/09\/a-reader-remarks-on-pope-francis.html","title":{"rendered":"A reader remarks on Pope Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Refreshing Mark, though I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve read the original ages ago<\/p>\n

Pope Francis: neither a liberal nor a conservative, but a radical Christian with a heroic gospel<\/a><\/p>\n

Pope Francis is a beguiling, confusing pontif. Some in the media imagine him to be Fr Liberal, parachuting into the slums to feed the hungry and chastise the rich. Others regard him as positively medieval \u2013 all that crazy talk about demons and exorcisms (\u201cThe power of Christ compels you!\u201d). He\u2019s a New World man doing the oldest job in the Old World; an Argentine with Italian blood who doesn\u2019t like Latin. He writes very little yet talks incessantly. He is, one Left-wing journalist reassures the obsessive critics of the Church<\/a>, still a Catholic. That\u2019s a relief, because traditionalists tell me that we\u2019ve elected a Buddhist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then a chance click on a blog by Alejandro Berm\u00fadez, head of the Catholic News Agency<\/a>, leant me a fascinating insight into his intellectual character. During his first homily, Pope Francis quoted the 19th century French convert L\u00e9on Bloy. And it\u2019s a striking quote:<\/p>\n

When one does not confess Jesus Christ, I am reminded of the expression of L\u00e9on Bloy: \u2018He who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil.\u2019 When one does not confess Jesus Christ, one confesses the worldliness of the devil.<\/p>\n

Oh my! To anyone who doubts Pope Francis\u2019 orthodoxy, there it is in black and white. God is a reality and to reject him is to embrace the only real alternative \u2013 the devil. Note that it\u2019s \u201cthe devil\u201d with a small \u201cd\u201d, because he\u2019s much smaller than God and cannot possibly win the Final Battle between the two. Satan is a pipsqueak and a born loser, and you\u2019d have to be pretty dumb to pick him for an ally.<\/p>\n

\u2026but it\u2019s never past it\u2019s \u201csell by date\u201d.<\/p>\n

Once again a nod to the Catholic \u2018both\/and\u2019, to the inability to make a boxed definition of the man & office who is Peter for our time.<\/p>\n

For me a more than gentle nudge to my own complacency.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Actually, I hadn\u2019t seen this particular piece, but I like it.\u00a0 It captures yet again the Chestertonian fact that authentica Catholic faith is neither fish nor fowl.\u00a0 Often the world reacts to this fact by complaining that the Church is too conservative or too liberal, too masculine or too feminine, too round and too square, etc.\u00a0 Now and then, though, a Catholic catches the attention and admiration of the world\u2013for a time.\u00a0 Francis has done so with his obvious personal goodness and evangelical love of the poor.\u00a0 It\u2019s a grace I\u2019m glad of, even though I know that the world wobbles and has a genius for moving from \u201cHosanna\u201d to \u201cCrucify!\u201d in a New York Minute.\u00a0 Still, \u201cHosanna\u201d is the proper response to the presence of God and it\u2019s nice to see Him acknowledged if only for a moment.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Refreshing Mark, though I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve read the original ages ago Pope Francis: neither a liberal nor a conservative, but a radical Christian with a heroic gospel Pope Francis is a beguiling, confusing pontif. Some in the media imagine him to be Fr Liberal, parachuting into the slums to feed the hungry and chastise the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[374],"class_list":["post-46851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pope-francis"],"yoast_head":"\nA reader remarks on Pope Francis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Refreshing Mark, though I'm sure you've read the original ages ago Pope Francis: neither a liberal nor a conservative, but a radical Christian with a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/09\/a-reader-remarks-on-pope-francis.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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