The resistance to Pope Francis’ papacy continues unabated and, most of the time, it comes from prominent members of the hierarchy. Cardinal Robert Burke and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò are well known for their continual criticism of the pope. Among the most recent, the late Cardinal George Pell’s memorandum has made the headlines. In between there is an unending list of other critics, including a number of Catholic radio and television stations, especially in the United States.

On the other hand, Pope Francis is very popular and loved by ordinary Christians, much like Jesus himself who was loved by the simple people and resisted by the religious establishment. They experience Pope Francis as close to them and as understanding of their suffering and their difficulties. They appreciate his simple yet sensible way of saying things.

This contrasting reaction makes one wonder. Of course, people have their own conscious agendas for not liking Pope Francis but there could also be unconscious factors in play. In this article, I would like to suggest that, often, the reason for being baffled by Pope Francis’ message is not so much religious as psychological.

George Weigel, another known critic of Pope Francis, recently published a book praising the Vatican II documents for their use of biblical and patristic language rather than the language of medieval scholasticism. However, in the very publication, he laments what he sees as the loss of precision of scholasticism. Weigel believes that these documents remain vague and, consequently, much less helpful. This instills unease in him.

People were not sure how to be faithful. Ticking all the boxes set their mind at rest

I believe that the unease experienced by Weigel is also the unease of many. There is a longing for the precision that rigid, precise language and guidelines would give. I attribute this to a sense of insecurity, which I consider to be psychological because it is also suffered in ordinary non-religious life. Nor is this an issue exclusive to our times. Already in the Old Testament, God covenanted with the people and demanded fidelity for being their God. The people were happy but not sure how to be faithful. The commandments showed them the way but not with precision. So, they supplemented them with a series of other laws which were more precise. This provided them with a tick list. Ticking all the boxes set their mind at rest.

Jesus himself had the task of dealing with this mentality. He ignored many of the rules scandalising some good people and, first and foremost, the religious establishment. The honest among these did not resist Jesus because they were evil but because of the way Jesus deprived them of the security they were used to.

They didn’t understand that love cannot be measured by list ticking but by giving oneself totally to the other, and that its laws should not come from without but from within. To some extent this creates uncertainty, but the resolution of this uncertainty is discernment, not rigid rules. Love is a challenge and the way to be loving varies from situation to situation.

Security comes from our honest seeking and is found only if it is based on God, “our rock, our safety, our stronghold” (Ps 62,6) whose fidelity and mercy are without end.

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