A Letter to Pope Francis

First Things ^ | 4/16/15 | Robert George

[marshmallow]

Your Holiness:

I recall with pleasure and gratitude my visit to the Vatican in November and your moving address to our Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman in Marriage. There, gathered with leaders of the world’s great religious traditions, East and West, you reaffirmed the Church’s doctrine of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife and spoke movingly of the right of every child “to grow up in a family with a father and mother.”

Here in the United States we are blessed with many bishops who join you in bearing witness to these profound and indispensable truths. Even in the face of social and economic pressure on them to yield or go silent, they boldly and joyously proclaim the Church’s teachings on marriage and chastity. None has been more fearless or ardent in upholding these beautiful and liberating teachings than Salvatore Cordileone, the Archbishop of San Francisco.

Faithful Catholics in his archdiocese and throughout our country have been edified by his labors—particularly those addressed to ensuring that the Catholic schools under his care teach and model fidelity to Catholic doctrine in all matters of faith and morals. Unsurprisingly, however, these labors have drawn the antagonism of many who despise the Church’s moral teachings, especially those concerning marriage and sexual morality.

This morning, a group of people published an open letter to you in a San Francisco newspaper urging you to remove Archbishop Cordileone from his office. They identify themselves as Catholics and plead with you to send them a new archbishop that will be true to what they describe as “our values.” But their values, unlike the values proclaimed and upheld by Archbishop Cordileone, are not the values of the Catholic faith. Their complaint against the Archbishop finally comes down to his refusal to bow......

[edwinland]

Superb!

[Resettozero]

This letter lost me at “Dear Holiness”.

[ReaganGeneration2]

Why?

[Resettozero]

Apology. At “Your Holiness”.

Because that’s a dangerous and erroneous title to call any man or woman. Especially dangerous if any man accepts that title without refuting it.

[ReaganGeneration2]

Point taken. Men and women can be holy to some degree, although, yes, most of us have the humility to play down such a compliment. I’d suggest he accepts it out of tradition and his calling to lead. I’m sure he knows he’s not perfect.

And hopefully he takes the author’s advice on this issue. A storm of secular morality is approaching.

[Resettozero]

A storm of secular morality is approaching.

Oh, it's here, now. And I would already have drowned in it years ago (actually, I did) were it not for the firm footing on the Rock under His wing of protection.

[Organic Panic]

“Abortion is the most sacred part of my Catholic faith” -Nasty Pelosi

[Resettozero]

Men and women can be holy to some degree...

Nope. Many religionizers obviously believe this error. We are commanded, Scripturally, to be holy even as He is Holy. This can only be accomplished the same way that we are redeemed and saved from the responsibility of paying our own sin-debts (eternal death): By having Lord Jesus Christ's atonement credited to our account and, born again of the Spirit, accepting that we are holy ONLY because He is holy.

Not sure Francis belongs to the Lord and CERTAINLY should NOT accept this somewhat blasphemous accolade.

The Death of Herod
Acts 12:
…22 The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!"
23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

[Salvation]

Last paragraph:

With gratitude to God for your own witness and ministry, I humbly ask you to join those of us who are supporting and encouraging Archbishop Cordileone. It would be a wonderful thing for you quietly to let him know that he has your blessing, and that the insults and defamations he is experiencing as a result of his faithful apostolic work are a participation in the redemptive suffering of Jesus, who said: “anyone who would be my disciple must take up his cross and follow me.”

BTTT!

[Campion]

You can't actually address any of the substance of the letter, so you just troll the thread complaining, essentially, that the author writes like a Catholic.

And we wonder why social conservatives lose every argument in this country.

[Resettozero]

You are blinded to what I actually posted as opposed to your own suppositions of what you think I might have posted.

Address what I’ve actually posted or buzz off with your tiny irritations, name-caller!

(You have no idea who or what a troll on FR is.)

[ReaganGeneration2]

Agreed. You’d need to look into Francis’ heart to see if he believes his holiness is a gift of God’s grace, or not. We Catholics pray that he does have that humility.

[Resettozero]

You’d need to look into Francis’ heart to see if he believes his holiness is a gift of God’s grace, or not.

Oh, that's not necessary; Francis has made "his holiness" very apparent for all to see. Even some FRoman Catholics can see it. He reminds me not at all of Lord Jesus Christ.

[RobbyS]

Is there any reason why you chose to make a fuss over the form of address to the pope, rather than speak to what the open letter says? The archbishop is working against the Corinthian culture that has so tainted the Christian community, including the Catholic community, and is taking fire for it. I stand with the archbishop and the Apostle Paul in opposition to such behavior.

[Resettozero]

Is there any reason why you chose to make a fuss over the form of address to the pope, rather than speak to what the open letter says?

Yes. The letter's greeting stopped me cold. Didn't care then what the letter might say.

Also, I addressed this further in my post #9.

[RobbyS]

Well, it does keep you from taking a stand on what the archbishop is trying to do, which is to secure a measure of religious liberty for all, even including sectarians such as yourself.