At CWR, Carl Olson took on some words of Francis to Portuguese Jesuits – we saw something about that elsewhere – published in La Civiltà Cattolica especially about US “backwardists” and we poor benighted American’s and “ideology”. Thus, he demonstrates his willingness to dialogue with everyone without a hint of dismissal or, quod Deus avertat, personal insults.
Olson’s opening is just right. My emphases:
Who is really trying to replace doctrine with ideology?
There you go again.” — Ronald Reagan, 1980
Pope Francis, addressing a group of Jesuits recently, said: “When you abandon doctrine in life to replace it with an ideology, you have lost, you have lost as in war.” He is correct. But not, I think, in the way he apparently thinks.
[…]
The timing of the interview is just as notable as the recycled and now all-too-familiar clichés about those who are “rigid,” “go backward,” and are “superficial”. While Spadaro is not very adept at mathematics or theology, he is a crafty operator who is undoubtedly looking toward the upcoming Synod in October in Rome. And I suspect this particular piece is meant to be something of a long stare at any U.S. bishops who might have the temerity to asks difficult questions about the endless process of the Synod on Synodality.
[…]
Olson concludes with:
And yet, ironically, I do take hope in Francis’s remark: “When you abandon doctrine in life to replace it with an ideology, you have lost, you have lost as in war.”
As mentioned before, “ideology” is never defined. We are left to guess at it what it is coming from someone whose meanings are variable. However, whatever they are, at moment, they, by gum, are right and – if you know what’s good for you – you will knuckle under and recognize their truthiness.
Meanwhile, “there you go again”! Carter accused Reagan of being “against health care”, which is the perennial Dem trope, along with, “His party wants old people to eat cat food instead of getting their medication as they are being pushed off the cliff in their wheel chairs.” Reagan, in fact, supported “health care” but in a different form, a different bill.
In other words Reagan’s opponent painted a picture which was, in effect, a lie. But if you tell the lie over and over and over and over and over and over and, it eventually punches through people’s incredulity into, first, the realm of the possible, and then the probable, and the “truth” in their meta-universe. The Big Lie.
Constantly throwing out “indietrismo” without any real basis is the same and it deserves: “There you go again.” Hence, Olson got it right from the start.
BTW… that Carter/Reagan debate… a turning point… was also when Reagan wrapped up with this famous bit:
We don’t have much “voting” in the Church – except in the case of radical “walking together”. However, use a little imagination and translate then Gov. Reagan’s speech into today’s ecclesial terms. Are we better off now than we were, say, two years ago? Since 16 July 2021? Are we better off now than, say, 2013?
Hurricane Idalia arrived, Cat 3.
Many years ago I posted 
The Bruised Optimist on ROME 26/10– Day 09: very cool and a rare restaurant review: “Beautiful art communicates. Modern art communicates only to the special people, or so it claims. I am no such person…”
