There’s little doubt that Pope Francis has been the most controversial pope of any of our lifetimes, dividing the Church into those who think he is the greatest pope ever and those who think he’s a heretic, with little in between. In recent years, the latter group’s voice has only grown louder, with some going as far to say that he is not the real pope at all. Obviously, one video cannot synthesize every detail of his pontificate or adjudicate every controversy, and I am certainly not qualified to even try.
Plenty of thick books have been written on the subject and surely many more will follow in the coming decades. For this video I want to focus on but one criticism I hear all the time: that he has created confusion in the Church. If you listen to his opponents, this is the resounding cry.
Pope Francis is confusing. He’s ambiguous. He is a weak and divisive leader that is causing the faithful to go astray because he doesn’t know how to directly teach the tradition of the Church.
…. I… really couldn’t disagree more. In this video, I’d like to suggest four things that are fueling this notion that Pope Francis is confusing, with a solution to each.
First, I think it’s important to approach the topic with a bit of humility and admit that the average Catholic is not particularly well catechized. Many of the same people who criticize Pope Francis like to cite the flawed communion study that says only 30% of Catholics believe in the real presence of the Eucharist, so this should be an easy point to concede. This week I posted a poll on Twitter and this channel.
“Who has read and can state something meaningful about Populorum Progressio, Laborem Exercens, or Caritas in Veritate? ” three major social encyclicals about the Church’s teaching in the economy, one each by Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. While only a few hundred responded, by no means a proper sample size, the results are what everyone would expect: almost no one has a grasp of what they say.
An overwhelming majority know almost nothing of three of the most important Church documents from the last 50 years—on the development of peoples, on worker’s rights, and on the social and economic issues of a global world. These are documents that criticize unfettered Capitalism, demand living wages for workers, call for social solidarity, and insist that the common good takes precedence over private property. Three documents that didn’t come out of nowhere, but were in keeping with the Tradition already set before it.
And so, if people are completely unaware of these documents, if they do not know that such teachings are the orthodox stance of the Catholic Church, they are going to hear about Pope Francis’ letters on the environment, the importance of native cultures, criticisms of capitalism, and call for solidarity across national borders… and they’re going to say “socialism,” they’re going to think he’s driven by politics, that he’s a heretic, that he’s creating confusion. Really… it’s just poor catechesis. Luckily, there’s a really easy solution to this problem—learn more about church teaching.
Read the Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church, it’s free online. Learn about the seven tenets of Catholic Social Teaching. When you hear Francis say something that sounds strange, look it up in the catechism, take it to prayer, use it as an opportunity to learn more… don’t just assume the pope is an idiot.
He’s not. What the pope IS… is Latin American, and a Jesuit, and a clergyman formed after the Second Vatican Council, meaning that he has a different ecclesiology, different style of leadership, and different approach to communication than we’re used to. If you look at the way Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI governed as popes, we see a clear top-down style.
As supreme pontiff, they saw it as their duty to dictate theology with absolute clarity and authority, expecting their bishops and theologians to obey and follow their leadership. When this didn’t happen, theologians were silenced. Bishops were reprimanded.
Under pope Francis, this is not the case. While there are situations in which he uses his authority decisively, he is more often interested in dialogue. As his recent synods indicate, particularly this new synod on synodality, he wants an active, vocal Church that works together.
He wants bishops to express the needs of their own dioceses, theologians to raise difficult questions, lay people to feel a part of the conversation. One of the reasons that we’ve seen so much open criticism of Pope Francis from the clergy is because he’s allowed it. Rather than silencing or demoting his critics, as his predecessors did, he allows it for the sake of public discourse.
This is not to say that he’s creating a democracy in which the most popular ideas win, it’s simply to say that he finds coming to the truth together, as a process, more effective than proclaiming with his voice alone. For those jumping into the conversation before it’s finished, or, returning to point one, don’t follow up by reading his post-synodal decrees, they are going to be left confused. This problem is one that is a bit more difficult to break because the pre-Vatican II ecclesiology and understanding of authority is imbedded in so many people.
I experience it in our churches. People expect the pastor to act unilaterally, to quickly and decisively fix problems from on high with no regard for the people’s opinion or present state. Leadership that involves and incorporates others, working slowly towards consensus, will always be more difficult, but it’s where faith flourishes in a community.
My only recommendation for this is to remember that the Church is as much a group of people as it is an institution. A pope may be right and know exactly what needs to be done, but if people aren’t ready to hear it, if they don’t feel heard themselves, it might not make a difference. Sometimes it’s better to go slowly, trudging through the mud, to make sure everyone gets there in the end.
Because, really… the reason some things don’t appear clear is because they can’t be. The human experience is complex, which means that there will always be some level of ambiguity to our answers. For many, this may very well be the crux of the issue.
We want black and white answers. We think and act in a subjective reality and yet want to speak in absolutes. We want clarity when clarity is not possible.
Dare I say… there are always exceptions. Take a seemingly simple question: is killing another person a mortal sin? For many, the answer is obviously yes.
It’s a heinous thing to take another’s life. Which makes sense, and in most cases the statement “killing is a mortal sin” is a true statement. But what if it was an accident?
What if the person we killed wanted to be killed and so jumped out in front of our car while we were driving? No one in their right mind would put fault on the driver. Before we can make a moral statement, we have to consider the intention, the actor’s freedom, the circumstances of the situation—lots of different factors.
We have to understand that these aren’t just principles, they’re complex human beings acting in complex human situations, and what we find is that even a seemingly clear-cut situation isn’t always black or white, but various shades of grey. For those who want to argue that pope Francis has brought ambiguity to issues like marriage, sexuality, communion, immigration, the afterlife, and so on… this is a big reason why. It’s because he does not speak in absolutes, he does not approach these issues with a one-size fits all solution, he does not try to come up with simple answers for complex problems.
Rather, he has repeatedly called for us to see the person, not the issue; to look for those who are left outside on the margins; to understand that the law is meant to serve the life of the Gospel, not the other way around. Everyone loves justice, but few have time for mercy. Sometimes our demand for clarity, for easy answers, misses part of the problem.
Francis is willing to sit in the ambiguity, he is okay with answers that are incomplete and open-ended, because sometimes that’s the way the world works. For those struggling with this, I invite you to spend more time with people than with ideas. I invite you to seek out those struggling with moral issues and listen to their stories.
It’s not about sentimentalism or being soft on the law, it’s about remembering that no law can fully capture the human experience. There might be a nuance, an exception, a shade of gray that we have forgotten. And so, poor catechesis, a leadership style that is unfamiliar, a theological approach that shies away from easy answers.
These are understandable, innocent, and largely fixable problems. In a community of patience and love, seeking truth and wisdom, none of these would last long as issues… And yet here we are. Here we are, growing ever more divided, indicating that there is yet another factor at play… one that is not necessarily patient or loving.
If you ask me, the number one reason that Pope Francis’ pontificate has been marked by confusion, it’s because of the ill-will of his enemies. For a moment, step out of the world of Catholicism and into the world of politics. What is the state of discourse these days?
How’s it been going for the last decade or so? We have men and women who are so stubborn that they refuse to accept even the most obvious achievements of their enemies; attack ads that intentionally mislead, even lie, to hurt another person; false narratives that continue to circulate even years after they’ve been debunked. We have people who refuse to accept facts, prefer conspiracy theories to testimonies of experts, and are willing to say anything and support anyone to get their moment in the spotlight.
The Church is not immune to these attitudes. Despite the call to evangelize the world, there are many in our Church that are as much of the world as any politician. On a routine basis, I see lies, conspiracy theories, misrepresentations, unfounded accusations, and shameless cries for attention from people in the Catholic world aimed against Pope Francis.
When you have a world struggling with the first three points—honest problems that occur in people of good will—the words of people like Taylor Marshall, Michael Voris, Archbishop Viganò, Raymond Arroyo, Cardinal Burke, and Patrick Coffin are pure gasoline on a fire. They present themselves as coming from a place of concern, as legitimate sources of Catholic authority, but all they are doing is creating confusion and discord themselves. Why is there so much confusion surrounding pope Francis?
Because men like this say there is. Because men like these do not like Francis and want to do anything they can to undermine him, even if it means spreading lies and hurting the Church. Now, this is not to say that there are no legitimate criticisms of his pontificate or that one has to agree with everything Pope Francis says.
Clearly, as I’ve already pointed out, Francis is better at tolerating this than his predecessors. But I’m not talking about a difference of ecclesiology here. I’m not talking about disagreements held in good faith.
I’m talking about the intentional and deceitful attempts by some to discredit Pope Francis for their own personal gain. As a result, there is a lot of confusion, yes. Maybe it’s because our world as a whole is in such a state of confusion that people latch onto the people who take the most absolute stances.
The ambiguity of the world is just too much for some to handle and so they’ll take clarity even at the cost of reason. I don’t know. What I do know is this: Pope Francis is a good man.
He is a holy leader. His teachings are orthodox and his exhortations inspirational. Is he the leader that everyone wants?
Probably not. Does he have some flaws? Absolutely.
But that doesn’t make him confusing. It doesn’t make him a heretic. And it most certainly doesn’t make him a false pope.
But maybe you’re unconvinced by my words. Maybe you truly do find Pope Francis to be confusing and problematic and you kind of like those people I mentioned. What do we do then?
In these situations, I’d invite you to consider changing the source of your news—at least for a little while— to something a bit more balanced, a little more mainstream maybe. I invite you to read his own words—start with Evangelii Gaudium and Gaudete et Exsultate—and discuss them with people you know. Come with an open mind, with a true Catholic disposition that trusts in the Holy Spirit, and look for the truth that you can find.
Because really, if this is too much to ask, if you are unwilling to approach the teachings of the pope with an open mind and heart, if you openly denounce him or his teachings… I’m very sorry to hear that, but never fear. For you will not be alone. The Church has had many people throughout history who have undermined the authority of the pope and instead followed charistmatic leaders on the fringes.
Enjoy the new Church you are creating.
