A church for the 'pure' is heresy, Francis warns Curia

[public hermit]

From Pope Francis' end-of-year address:

Pope Francis has warned leaders of the Roman Curia against the “heresy” of becoming a Church that is only for “the pure” and which refuses to translate the Christian message into contemporary language and thinking.

Delivering his annual end-of-year Christmas speech on 22 December, the 86-year-old pontiff said the “form” of Jesus’ message can constantly change even as the “substance” remains the same....

During his speech, Francis emphasised the need for the Church to adopt “kindliness, mercy and forgiveness”, to recognise that the path to holiness is something that comes in “fits and starts”, and to give people second chances.

“A Church that is pure and for the pure is only a return to the heresy of Catharism,” he stressed

Church for the 'pure' is heresy, Francis warns Curia

Pope Francis warned against the heresy of becoming a Church only for the “pure” in his pre-Christmas message to the Roman Curia.

www.thetablet.co.uk

I love this man. A church that is for the pure is heresy. Amen. As the Theotokos said: God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, brought down the powerful, lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. That's the Christmas message the church needs to proclaim and embody.

 

[zippy2006]

"Ceasing to translate [the Gospel's] message into today’s languages and way of thinking" is not heresy. Francis is lying. He is conflating a failure to evangelize with heresy because he wants to use a strong word and draw attention. He is effectively engaging in clickbait.

Atheists, heretics, and those who wish to see Christianity fundamentally changed are understandably in love with Francis, but Christians are ready for him to step down, which he will soon do. May we receive a pope who is more interested in God and the needs of his flock than capitulating to the secular powers and baiting his hook for clicks.

 

[Fantine]

How easily Catholics forget that Catholicism is a worldwide religion--growing rapidly in Africa and South America, struggling in Europe and much of North America.
A priest from India was assigned to minister in our state, and he told me that in Indian seminaries Latin is not taught. I thought it was so interesting that Catholic traditionalists believe that all the Church's troubles began with Vatican II and in India and the third world the idea of a Latin Mass is so irrelevant that Latin isn't even taught.
In my small city there are English Masses, Spanish Masses, Vietnamese Masses, and even occasional Masses in Tagalog and Laotian. The idea of "translating the message into contemporary language and thinking" is an evangelistic imperative in a global Church.gr
I was fortunate to attend two national conferences for Catholics involved in music ministry, and both were awe-inspiring. About 2000 musicians were gathered to attend workshops and liturgies and keynote addresses that truly addressed the magnificent diversity in the Church led by Pope Francis.
The controversial Jesuit novelist, Fr. Andrew Greeley, used to say "Catholicism means 'here comes everybody.'" Pope Francis is wise to realize that "everybody" won't come without acknowledging and celebrating diversity.
Let's try to understand and appreciate one another. As contemporary as I am, one of the most beautiful experiences I ever had was staying at a Benedictine guesthouse in Guatemala while on a mission trip. At 4 a.m. each morning I was awakened by the monks chanting Matins. The purity of their voices raised in prayer in the pre-dawn stillness gave me a great appreciation for the Liturgy of the Hours, so much so that I keep the app on my phone and always try to pray at least one of the seven hours each day.

 

[rjs330]

I love Jesus' words.

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy, not sacrifice. ' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

The church is not for the pure. We Christians are a messy, dirty inconsistent group. Much like the rest of humanity. What Jesus want is for us to welcome everyone as they are. But love them enough not to allow th to stay that way. Jesus came to HEAL the sick. Not to let them stay sick.

No the church is not for the pure. Cause none of us are. We are to be a place of healing for the lost. And love enough to not to let them stay lost.

 

[rambot]

"Ceasing to translate [the Gospel's] message into today’s languages and way of thinking" is not heresy. Francis is lying. He is conflating a failure to evangelize with heresy because he wants to use a strong word and draw attention. He is effectively engaging in clickbait.

No. He's talking about a mindset.

Atheists, heretics, and those who wish to see Christianity fundamentally changed are understandably in love with Francis, but Christians are ready for him to step down, which he will soon do. May we receive a pope who is more interested in God and the needs of his flock than capitulating to the secular powers and baiting his hook for clicks.

I'm none of those three things but I think Francis is pretty great. I know more than a few Christians who think he's pretty solid. Of course who dislike him, they seem to tend towards staunch catholics who care for just certain types of downtrodden and outcasts though.

 

[public hermit]

I also found this encouraging:

Francis also apologised if he had directed harsh language to those working for the Church.

“Pardon me, brothers and sisters, if at times I say things that may sound harsh and pointed,” he said.

“It is not because I don’t believe in the value of kindness and persuasion. Rather, it is because it is good to keep our caresses for the weary and the oppressed, and to have the courage to ‘afflict the comfortable’

As @rambot pointed out, too many Christians, and not just in the RCC, have turned away from Christ's message and example of caring for the outcast and oppressed. Jesus ate with "sinners" and afflicted the "righteous." He was constantly critical of the religious establishment of his day, setting a precedent for the persistent need of in-house critique. But instead of following his lead, Christians circle the wagons, pointing their fingers at as those they deem as outside, heretics and "sinners," claiming they are the only true "Christians," and essentially becoming the very thing Jesus critiqued. It would be ironic if it weren't pitifully obvious.

The Catholic Church has been blessed with Pope Francis, and I think all Christians have; hopefully the next one will follow his lead.

 

[zippy2006]

No. He's talking about a mindset.

"Ceasing to translate" is an act, not a mindset. If one understands the context this is part of Francis' vengeful war against traditionalists. He is imputing bad motives to them and outright lying. He is acting like the child who disagrees with someone and gets so angry that he accuses them of heresy, even though everyone in the room knows that it has nothing to do with heresy.

Of course there is also great irony in accusing someone of being a 'purist' and simultaneously accusing them of heresy, but at this point everyone with eyes to see is aware of Francis' hypocrisy.

 

[Desk trauma]

Atheists, heretics, and those who wish to see Christianity fundamentally changed are understandably in love with Francis, but Christians are ready for him to step dow

The spokesperson for atheists, heretics and true Christians (tm)? That’s gotta be a difficult gig to get, interesting to meet you.

 

[rjs330]

I also found this encouraging:

Francis also apologised if he had directed harsh language to those working for the Church.

“Pardon me, brothers and sisters, if at times I say things that may sound harsh and pointed,” he said.

“It is not because I don’t believe in the value of kindness and persuasion. Rather, it is because it is good to keep our caresses for the weary and the oppressed, and to have the courage to ‘afflict the comfortable’

As @rambot pointed out, too many Christians, and not just in the RCC, have turned away from Christ's message and example of caring for the outcast and oppressed. Jesus ate with "sinners" and afflicted the "righteous." He was constantly critical of the religious establishment of his day, setting a precedent for the persistent need of in-house critique. But instead of following his lead, Christians circle the wagons, pointing their fingers at as those they deem as outside, heretics and "sinners," claiming they are the only true "Christians," and essentially becoming the very thing Jesus critiqued. It would be ironic if it weren't pitifully obvious.

The Catholic Church has been blessed with Pope Francis, and I think all Christians have; hopefully the next one will follow his lead.

Umm.. Jesus didn't afflict the righteous. He afflicted the self righteous. Those that thought they were wonderful and righteous while evil inside.

But you are right. Sinners should be welcome in the church to be able to hear the gospel and be welcomed to be chang d by Christ. He ate with sinners to change them. Every single sinner is welcome just as they are. But to be part of the kingdom they must repent and accept Christ. Otherwise they are not part of the body of Christ.

Today, far too many want to be "saved" and still remain a sinner without Christ.

He came to call sinners to repentance and that's exactly what he did. And he cared for them all the way.

 

[public hermit]

Umm.. Jesus didn't afflict the righteous. He afflicted the self righteous. Those that thought they were wonderful and righteous while evil inside.

But you are right. Sinners should be welcome in the church to be able to hear the gospel and be welcomed to be chang d by Christ. He ate with sinners to change them. Every single sinner is welcome just as they are. But to be part of the kingdom they must repent and accept Christ. Otherwise they are not part of the body of Christ.

Today, far too many want to be "saved" and still remain a sinner without Christ.

He came to call sinners to repentance and that's exactly what he did. And he cared for them all the way.

I agree with a couple other points Pope Francis makes. For instance, he says the path to holiness comes in "fits and starts." The dichotomies like that between "sinner" and "righteous" were rejected by Jesus as they should be by us. Grace doesn't end once one begins following Christ. The idea that those on the inside have somehow arrived is presumptuous and contributes to the problems Pope Francis is highlighting. As he says, “We are in greater danger than all others...we could easily fall into the temptation of thinking that we are safe, better than others, no longer in need of conversion.” Repentance is not a one time act but a way of life.

Or again, as he says "the process of understanding Christ’s message never ends, but constantly challenges us.” We can never come to a place where we have arrived and can start pointing crooked fingers at others as if we have escaped judgment. We will be judged more strictly. That being the case, it is helpful to remember that we have been given a ministry of reconciliation not one of condemnation. God is more than capable of making judgments commensurate with divine justice and mercy. We are servants and shouldn't forget the grace upon which we rely.

 

[JSRG]

How easily Catholics forget that Catholicism is a worldwide religion--growing rapidly in Africa and South America, struggling in Europe and much of North America.

While Catholicism does seem on the rise in Africa, this statement is not true about South America. In South America, Catholicism isn't growing rapidly; in fact, the evidence I can find is that it's rapidly shrinking.

Let's start with this:

Religion in Latin America

Nearly 40% of the world's Catholics live in Latin America, but many people in the region have converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, while some have left organized religion altogether.

www.pewresearch.org

"Overall, 84% of Latin American adults report that they were raised Catholic, 15 percentage points more than currently identify as Catholic. The pattern is reversed among Protestants and people who do not identify with any religion: While the Catholic Church has lost adherents through religious switching, both Protestant churches and the religiously unaffiliated population in the region have gained members. Just one-in-ten Latin Americans (9%) were raised in Protestant churches, but nearly one-in-five (19%) now describe themselves as Protestants. And while only 4% of Latin Americans were raised without a religious affiliation, twice as many (8%) are unaffiliated today."

This clearly shows a reduction in Catholicism.

But this is data from 2014. What has happened since? Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find (not immediately anyway) anything about general South American trends afterwards. But I could find information on particular countries, so let's look at Brazil (as it's the largest). The data I found indicates the trend is continuing. The above article, from 2014 notes that 61% of people in Brazil identified as Catholic. Now let's take a look at data from 2020:

50% dos brasileiros são católicos, 31%, evangélicos e 10% não têm religião, diz Datafolha

Pesquisa também aponta que mulheres representam 58% dos evangélicos e são 51% entre os católicos. Levantamento foi feito nos dias 5 e 6 de dezembro do ano passado.

g1.globo.com

According to this, 50% of people in Brazil identify as Catholic. That's a pretty big reduction of 11%, and in only six years! Obviously, these are polls, so margin of error is a thing and all, but even taking that into account, the evidence seems to be that Catholicism, far from growing rapidly in South America, is shrinking rapidly.

If anyone is wondering where those Catholics are going, we do see a rise in people who are nonreligious, but we see an even more marked rise in Protestantism. From what I can tell (based both on anecdotal evidence as well as some information in the first link), the Protestant denominatons that are seeing the biggest increases there are Pentecostals.