Lately, I’ve taken some heat for daring to engage some of the, shall we say… doctrinally challenged things that Pope Francis has said over the last several months, but in this post I wish to highlight and applaud a very important teaching recently offered by the Holy Father.
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis addressed the evil of relativism in his homily of October 11, 2013:
(Vatican Radio) Christians must always guard against the deceit of the devil, said Pope Francis at Friday’s morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta. The Pope underlined that Christians cannot follow the victory of Jesus over evil “halfway”, nor confuse or relativize truth in the battle against the devil … “Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me,” the Pope said. Jesus, he added, came to destroy the devil, “to give us the freedom” from “the enslavement the devil has over us.” And, he cautioned, this is not “exaggerating.” “On this point,” he said, “there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle where salvation is at play, eternal salvation; eternal salvation” of us all.
The Holy Father concluded with a very stern warning and exhortation, “Do not relativize; be vigilant! And always with Jesus!”
One cannot overestimate the importance of the teaching offered here; it touches on the very same evil that Cardinal Ratzinger famously called the “dictatorship of relativism” in a homily delivered just days prior to his own elevation to the Chair of St. Peter.
Pope Francis’ exhortation is most certainly welcome given the fact that relativism is even more widespread today, some 8 years later.
For instance, the prevailing popular culture simply rejects the notion of a single vision of the good, which of course is nothing less than the rejection of God Himself; He who is made known to mankind without any trace of error through His Holy Catholic Church alone.
Relativists, by definition, tend to take a more personalized, autonomous approach to determining what is morally good and acceptable. Unfortunately, all indications are they are a growing breed.
Such people cavalierly presume that each of us has a vision of good and of evil, a proposition that precludes the necessity of relying upon the wisdom and guidance of Holy Mother Church, she who teaches in Our Blessed Lord’s name. The relativists, in other words, are content simply to encourage people to move towards what they think is good.
This, of course, is nothing more than “the primacy of conscience,” a modern day heresy that conveniently overlooks the indispensable necessity of proper formation. The relativists eschew this solemn duty that every man has toward, not just himself, but toward God first and foremost; insisting instead that everyone must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them.
Needless to say, there is little room in such a worldview for the voice of the Church who speaks in the name of the Lord, the singular good from which all that is good and true comes.
Yes, the “dictatorship of relativism” of which Cardinal Ratzinger warned is alive and well; actively deceiving people into believing that following the good and fighting evil as we ourselves conceive of them would somehow make the world a better place.
That is why I gladly offer, and kindly ask you to please share with others, this post lauding the incredibly important homily of Pope Francis dated 11 October 2013.
Viva il papa!
“Such people cavalierly presume that each of us has a vision of good and of evil, a proposition that precludes the necessity of relying upon the wisdom and guidance of Holy Mother Church, she who teaches in Our Blessed Lord’s name. The relativists, in other words, are content simply to encourage people to move towards what they think is good.”
ahhhhhh, you are very good Mr. V…….very good indeed 😉
Hidden in plain view….great teaching tactic.
A brilliant exposition of the schizophrenic teaching coming from this early papacy…..a little orthodoxy; a little contradictory heterodoxy; everyone will hear what they want. Is this what “making a mess” looks like?
Caro et sanguis non sit inimicum, nisi demones
“Hence in their books you find some things which might well be expressed by a Catholic, but in the next page you find other things which might have been dictated by a rationalist.” – Pope Saint Pius X, cf Pascendi, #18, regarding the methods of modernists.
Contradictions are part and parcel of the modernist mindset. As excited as we might feel when we actually hear something orthodox coming from Pope Francis, we gotta take the whole thing. What he said in this sermon is good…but it stands in stark contrast with what he has said in the two interviews. Pray for this pope that he makes up his mind.
But WHY does he say such good things at times if he also says such damaging things at other times? Is he just saying whatever his audience at the time wants to hear? Is he that muddle headed that he can’t come up with a consistent approach?
Ir is it what Craig V cites above?
Perhaps Pope Francis was on his meds this day – or maybe off them. Who can say? Only God knows.
While I don’t pretend to have a full integrated understanding of Pope Francis’ doctrinal posture, I genuinely think he is sincere and sees no contradiction in his various statements. I’m sure it is making sense to him.
I supose there is the possiblity that he does have some form of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. But that does not usually manifest itself in forms of contradicting doctrinal statements. Or maybe there is some magical jesuitical key that unlocks the secrecy of compatability that is so well hidden from us mere mortals. Or, he just likes to play to the crowd in order not to offend and scare anyone off. That could be it, and would explain most of the facts – the loyal sons of the Church he can afford to chastize because he knows these sheep won’t leave; the “lost” sheep he believes he must cuddle in order to get them to return. In the process, he creates a holy lio.
c matt,
It’s a pleasure to meet you; your reviews at Amazon are gold.
As for Pope Francis, I have not only voiced the hypothesis that he does in fact suffer from a psychological or emotional imbalance, but am also trying to develop a complete theory to account for the Pope’s erratic inconsistencies. I would really welcome the input of readers here at my blog, not the least because my faith has been seriously rattled by this most “pastoral” Pope. –> ebougis.wordpress.com
Thanks Codgitator, but I can’t take credit for the Amazon reviews – that must be another c matt. I have seen you on Dyspeptic Mutterings and other blogs, though. I have Argentinian ancestry and went to Jesuit schools – I knew nothing of Bergoglio prior to his election, but just those two factors raised my eyebrows. I was mostly being facetious about the imbalance, and at this time my best guess is really that (1) he wants to be liked, and (2) he sincerely sees his mission as bringing in the lost sheep at almost any cost (still not sure how far he is willing to go unofficially, although he has obvious limits officially). He gives all indication of being a V II true believer (i.e., V II was nothing but a resounding success for the Church in every way). I suppose this is not too surprising given that most prelates his age are emotionally heavily invested in the council. It is their “baby” so to speak, therefore difficult for them to criticize it in any way. At some point, I suspect there will be a “bait & switch” that may not sit too well with all these lost sheep – when Francis’ unofficial baiting collides with his official limits. Maybe he thinks the “switch” won’t have to happen until after his pontificate.