PopeWatch: Incomprehensible

http://the-american-catholic.com ^ | April 24, 2018 | Donald McClarey

[NKP_Vet]

One of the keys to understanding Pope Francis is to grasp that much of what he says and writes is incomprehensible. Case in point from a recent homily:

Closeness, dear brothers, is crucial for an evangelizer because it is a key attitude in the Gospel (the Lord uses it to describe his Kingdom). We can be certain that closeness is the key to mercy, for mercy would not be mercy unless, like a Good Samaritan, it finds ways to shorten distances. But I also think we need to realize even more that closeness is also the key to truth; not just the key to mercy, but the key to truth. Can distances really be shortened where truth is concerned? Yes, they can. Because truth is not only the definition of situations and things from a certain distance, by abstract and logical reasoning. It is more than that. Truth is also fidelity (émeth). It makes you name people with their real name, as the Lord names them, before categorizing them or defining “their situation”. There is a distasteful habit, is there not, of following a “culture of the adjective”: this is so, this is such and such, this is like… No! This is a child of God. Then come the virtues or defects, but [first] the faithful truth of the person and not the adjective regarded as the substance.

We must be careful not to fall into the temptation of making idols of certain abstract truths. They can be comfortable idols, always within easy reach; they offer a certain prestige and power and are difficult to discern. Because the “truth-idol” imitates, it dresses itself up in the words of the Gospel, but does not let those words touch the heart. Much worse, it distances ordinary people from the healing closeness of the word and of the sacraments of Jesus.

Go here to read the rest. A besetting sin of many clerics is a lack of clarity. With the Pope this besetting sin is constant and produces some of the most muddled and opaque prose to ever emanate from the Vatican, and that is saying something.

[NKP_Vet]

“This here is also a Jesuit, meaning that to him ambiguity is a way of life. Before reading Pope Francis, you know already he will either run with the hare or hunt with the hounds, and the only uncertainty is which of the two is going to be on the day. The banality of much of what he says is the result of this way of thinking, and it won’t be long before millions discover they have to do with an intellectual Pygmy.”

Father Nemo

[ClearCase_guy]

Benedict XVI is a great intellect. He got pushed out and replaced by this guy?

[Telepathic Intruder]

It seems to fit today’s world of spiritual and intellectual vacancy. No one will even notice that he’s not really saying anything.

[I want the USA back]

He is quite clear in what he says. Catholics are bewildered, because they can’t reconcile the pope’s words with Catholic tradition. He needs to resign if he can’t accept tradition.

[BipolarBob]

A man for our time. The end of time.

[Rapscallion]

The pope is a destructive influence on what is left of the Roman Catholic Church.

[tet68]

It’s Pope Chomsky!

Bless you my son/daughter/it go and sin, no more?

The church deserves this guy.

[Lurkinanloomin]

The ImPopester has a mission, to destroy the moral authority of the Catholic Church and prepare his flock for slaughter by muslims.

[CharleysPride]

Ideology and preconceptions keep people at a distance from each other, when we follow Christ’s example and bridge this divide (abstract and literal) we see that we are all children of God.
As the good Samaritan we are called to see the humanity in each other and not just the adjectives people use to isolate themselves.

It’s not that incomprehensible.

[Thank You Rush]

A perfect example of “word salad”...If it’s not understandable, it’s not worth saying or reading...Can anyone decipher it?

[OpusatFR]

Argle-bargle that reminds me of Director Whither in That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis.

As my dear dad used to say, “This too will pass.”

[fruser1]

I’m not a Francis fan because he has socialist tendencies, but the above is not incomprehensible. The difficulty is in the abstract case he makes without providing specifics, at least, in the extract above.

For those with only the benefit of a public education, here’s a specific and forum-relevant example of what he’s talking about in a nutshell:

You hear a snippet of speech from a lefty or lib. As an ardent right winger you automatically hate the person. But if you actually knew them personally, you might actually like them, though not agree with them. (They may simply be a useful idiot).

As such, without the closeness (personal awareness), you are further from being in the light God’s love and, in a way ,idolizing your politics over your humanity. Common dismissal of people for beliefs by calling them lefty, righty, or what not, would be a kind of “culture of the adjective”.

In spite of my “comprehension” of what he’s saying, I rarely follow the above and frequently disdain the left, hence my own personal beef w/Francis, as he doesn’t recognize how evil they are, like John did.

[exPBRrat]

Eve was tricked in the garden of Eden by likewise confusing arguments...

...please pray for the conversion of pope Francis.

[Political Junkie Too]

"As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden... In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again... There will be growth in the spring!"
-Chance the Gardener

-PJ

[mc5cents]

One of Bishop Sheen’s 30 minute TV shows had more wisdom and true Catholic thought than anything this “Pope” has said since the white smoke came forth from the Vatican!

[nanetteclaret]

Too bad he doesn’t follow his own advice when he disses Tradionalist Catholics.

[mkmensinger]

Pope Irwin Corey.

[G Larry]

“We must be careful not to fall into the temptation of making idols of certain abstract truths.”

uh....WHICH “abstract truths” might be at issue here?

I’m not aware of any Catholic Doctrine comprised of “abstract truths”......

[SkyPilot]

Closeness, dear brothers, is crucial for an evangelizer because it is a key attitude in the Gospel (the Lord uses it to describe his Kingdom). We can be certain that closeness is the key to mercy, for mercy would not be mercy unless, like a Good Samaritan, it finds ways to shorten distances. But I also think we need to realize even more that closeness is also the key to truth; not just the key to mercy, but the key to truth. Can distances really be shortened where truth is concerned? Yes, they can. Because truth is not only the definition of situations and things from a certain distance, by abstract and logical reasoning.

The "Vicar of Christ on Earth" must of have written this as well:

The Missile Knows Where It Is...

[outofsalt]

"One of the keys to understanding Pope Francis is to grasp that much of what he says and writes is incomprehensible."

Pope Francis is Q???

Actually I prefer Q to Il Papa.