Francis has said some puzzling things over the years. Recently, he has peppered the Church with a few more of his insights, whose depths defy easy exploration.
One of them prompted Anthony Esolen (who has a new translation of Augustine’s Confessions coming PRE-ORDER) to respond at Crisis. Francis – really – “has encouraged priests to play soccer rather than, in the first instance anyhow, to preach dogma.”
Perhaps priests should also be doing other things as well. However, I am not sure what those are.
For example, in a letter to the priests of Rome, Francis wrote to put us on guard against “spiritual worldliness”, which leads to “doctrinal intransigence and liturgical aestheticism”.
“Doctrinal intransigence” and “aestheticism” are clearly huge problems most Catholics have to face today. Wherever you go, you run into elaborate liturgies and repetitions of the Athanasian Creed.
One might also wonder which doctrines we are not to be intransigent about.
The Incarnation?
The Immaculate Conception?
The Real Presence?
The Resurrection?
Perhaps something along the lines of morals, then.
Murder?
Defrauding people of their wages?
Or does he, perhaps, have another category of the Church’s doctrine in mind?
My heart goes out. I saw this awful news and the appeal at Rorate.
August 6, 2023
