Ok, seriously though, the Pope is not always the smoothest when it comes to interviews. It's off the cuff, it's his opinion. But there in lies the key, it's his opinion. Let's discuss.
Ok, yes, the Pope is the leader of the largest Church on the face of the planet. Notice I didn't say denomination. The Catholic Church is not a denomination, it did not break off from anything. So let's set that straight. Yeah, being the leader, his words, his opinions hold some weight and will sway and affect people's views. But, the key word is opinion. Many talking heads are saying he needs to stay out of politics. If you want religion, religious figures to stay out of politics, then stop bring it in. Every person running for an office needs to stop talking about their Christian faith and using that as proof they'd be trustworthy and honest. He was in an interview and he was asked a question. He didn't call into Fox News and tell them he had something to say. Keep religion out of politics? Well then stop calling this a Christian nation. We sure don't live up to it.
Let's talk about infallibility. The biggest misunderstanding about the pope is on infallibility. Infallibility is very specific. The pope only speaks infallibly when teaching on elements of faith and morals. Now here's where it is obviously confusing people. This happens when the pope is speaking ex cathedra, from the chair, from the power of his office. By office I don't mean the room he is in, but the role given to him. Now, his statement is talking about faith and morals. Yet, he is not teaching, nor is he speaking ex cathedra. He's on a plane being interviewed by the press. A pope's opinion is not teaching. He could say that Freebirds is the best burrito restaurant and if you disagree and believe that Chipotle is better then you are going to hell (he is right, but this is not an infallible statement). This, holds no weight and in no way is anyone bound to believe this, though they should.
Now here's where I will offer some criticism of the pope. I honestly don't think it's our business to judge the "Christianess" of a person. I can attempt to make judgments about the morality of one's actions and words but I don't know the inner workings of their brains, souls, etc. Oh yeah, that's right I can judge others actions, just not their salvation (2 Timothy 3:16). If you make faith based judgments based on your politics, left and right, you're doing it wrong anyway. And please tell me, how does building a wall fulfill Matthew 25:31-46?
For those pointing at the Vatican walls as being hypocritical, here's a defense against that from a non religious site: In Defense of Trump, Some Point (Wrongly) to Vatican Walls
For those pointing at the Vatican walls as being hypocritical, here's a defense against that from a non religious site: In Defense of Trump, Some Point (Wrongly) to Vatican Walls
You can listen to this audio clip, which is about another controversial statement Pope Francis made, and go to 20:50 to understand more about infallibility.
You can watch this video to challenge your politics...I mean faith on your relationship with the less fortunate:
Really refreshing! Great post. -anika
ReplyDelete