Second of three parts
Pope Francis may be ahead in the fight for inclusivity, but some Catholics, including his fellow priests, no longer follow him.
When now-emeritus Cardinal Raymond Burke, often described in the Western media as the de facto leader of the conservatives, was a bishop, he advised his fellow American bishops against loosening the church’s stance toward gays and divorced Catholics. He had a number of supporters, including former Tyler, Texas, Bishop Joseph Strickland, another pope critic who once said that while he recognized Francis as pope, he opposed “his program of undermining the deposit of the faith.” Outside the U.S., German cardinals Walter Brandmüller and the late Joachim Meisner and Italian archbishop Carlo Caffarra joined Burke in making public their complaint against “Amoris Laetitia,” Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation that made it easier for divorced and remarried people to receive the sacraments.
Global opposition to the Pope’s recent approval of pastoral blessings for same-sex couples is also hard to ignore. In Africa, where the governments of 31 of 54 countries criminalize homosexuality to varying degrees, the bishops of Malawi and Zambia have banned their priests from giving such blessings. In Europe, some bishops in Kazakhstan, Poland, and Ukraine are also either suspicious or confused by the Pope’s open-door strategy. In an article for the Catholic News Agency in January 2024, Peter Pinedo reported that “nine bishops from France have instructed priests in their dioceses to bless homosexual persons but to refrain from blessing same-sex couples.” In Germany, where the government taxes its citizens on behalf of religious organizations (including the Catholic Church), reports suggest that in 2023, about 400,000 members will have officially (i.e., with full documentation) left the Church.
In the U.S., the divisions are reflected in party politics. A Pew Research poll conducted earlier this year shows a divide between Democrats (liberals) and Republicans (conservatives) in expressions of support for Pope Francis. The poll report showed that “89 percent of U.S. Catholics who are Democrats approve of the pope, while 63 percent of U.S. Catholics who are Republicans approve.” This gap widens dramatically when the pope is unpopular: Only 7 percent of Democrats disapprove of him, while 35 percent of Republicans disapprove of him.”
Further data, echoing trends in Europe and to some extent Africa, show that the pope’s average approval rating among U.S. Catholics of 75 percent represents a worrying decline from 83 percent in 2021 and 90 percent in early 2015.
The accusation is that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) created its Eucharistic Congress to compete for attention with the Synod on Synodality, a four-year process (2021-2024) that the Pope has initiated for the Catholic Church to “collectively chart its path into the modern era.” In a recent blog post, “Where Peter Is,” Mike Lewis thinks aloud that “among the speakers at the Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, there are very few who are known for promoting the Pope’s vision for the Church, while many (such as Patrick Madrid, Jason Evert, and Scott Hahn) are on the list who publicly oppose Pope Francis.”
While Pope Francis is undeterred by dissent, he has expressed displeasure at the “strong and organized reactionary attitude” of some Catholics in the United States, once calling his critics “backwards,” which can be defined as an inability to understand (in his own words) “the evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morality.”
Years of investigations ultimately led to sanctions being imposed not only on Vigano, but also on Burke and Strickland. In 2021, Pope Francis spoke of attacks by a Catholic television station and called EWTN the “work of the devil.”
Thus, Cardinal Tagle delivered his address to the Eucharistic Congress against a backdrop of closed walls and rebellious centers challenging the papacy – a backdrop that is more pronounced in the United States than anywhere else.
Gift for others
In his homily, the Cardinal spoke of the pain of not following Him and quoted passages from the Bible that tell of the disciples who abandoned Jesus. Perhaps realizing that he was in the midst of a scattered flock, he encouraged everyone to “stay together” and give each other the gift of presence.
He reported how the disciples doubted Jesus, as described in the Gospel of John, when Jesus said: “To accept him means, first, to believe in him, and second, to eat his flesh and drink his blood… They also doubted that Jesus was sent by God, since they knew him to be the son of Joseph and Mary. For this reason, many of his disciples abandoned him… They returned to a life without Jesus… Their rejection of the gift of Jesus’ word, body and blood meant that they would not go with him. Nor could (Jesus) send them on missions.”
Cardinal Tagle continued his diplomatic mission:
“I invite you, dear brothers and sisters, to pause and ask some rather painful questions about this mysterious rejection of Jesus by his disciples.
“Is it possible that we, his disciples, also contribute to turning others away from Jesus? Why do some people turn away from Jesus when he offers them the most precious gift of eternal life? … Do young people feel heard and understood in their search for Jesus? What cultural ways of thinking challenge faith in Jesus’ word and self-giving?
“Perhaps there are people who desire to be with the Lord but are hesitant to come, such as the poor, the homeless, the migrants, the refugees, the indigenous people, the hearing impaired, the elderly and many other people who are hiding and perhaps feel like they do not belong.”
The evil in me couldn’t help but wonder how he could add members of the LGBTQ+ community, divorced and remarried Catholics, and pro-abortion supporters to this list, but the good Cardinal really chose to “behave well.”
“But we must not lose heart,” the Cardinal continued. “Jesus never tires of coming to us with his gift, even when he is wounded… After some of the disciples had left, Jesus asked the twelve apostles: ‘Do you also want to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him: ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus asks each of us: ‘Do you also want to leave me like the others?’ I hope we can answer like Peter: ‘We remain with you, Lord.'”
The last point could have been addressed to schismatics like Vigano, but I have too strong an opinion there.
The most important insight, in my opinion, was that Cardinal Tagle took on the role of cheerleader: “Whoever decides to stay with Jesus is sent by Jesus. The gift of his presence and love for us will be our gift to people… The gift we have received we should pass on… A Eucharistic people is therefore a missionary and evangelizing people.”
Completion on August 28, 2023
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