RIGHT-WING FUNK

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia put into words the anxiety many right-wing Catholics must be feeling at the extraordinary popularity Pope Francis has been enjoying.  Speaking on behalf of his conservative followers, Archbishop Chaput acknowledged that "members of the right wing of the Catholic Church 'generally have not been really happy' with some aspects of Francis's early months."  The Pope, Archbishop Chaput stated, "will have to find a way 'to care for them too.'"  (John L. Allen, "Right Wing 'Generally Not Happy' With Francis, Chaput Says," National Catholic Reporter, July 23, 2013).

What worries Chaput in particular is the sudden interest in the new Pope from unfamiliar quarters.  Practicing Catholics love the Pope, of course, "but they're not the ones who really talk to to me about the new Pope.  The ones who do are non-practicing Catholics or not even Christian."  Id.  And why should this be so?  Chaput has his suspicions:  Yes, these outsiders are thrilled by the new Pope's friendliness and his warmth, but "I think they would prefer a Church that wouldn't have strict norms and ideas about the moral life and about doctrine."  Id.

Wow.  Where do we start?  We could talk about the parable of the Prodigal Son since Archbishop Chaput truly sounds a great deal like the adventuresome young man's older brother, the one who stayed home and toiled with his father and grew resentful when the old man slew the fatted calf upon his brother's return.  Or we could talk about the shepherd who rejoiced over finding his lost sheep.

But let's focus instead on what it means to be an evangelical Church.  For some time now, decades really, the Church has been turning in upon itself.  This is most especially noticeable in conservative circles.  The culture is seen as hostile.  The ambient culture is "pagan," to use Archbishop Chaput's description.  Indeed, he has even called some Catholics pagan in their approach to the faith.  ("Many Christians Are 'Pagan' Claims Philadelphia Archbishop," nbcphiladelphia.com, June 28, 2013).

But shouting "pagan, pagan," is no way to win souls.  And this is evidenced by even the briefest consideration of Catholic membership statistics.  Catholic membership has grown in Africa, but it has lost members in Latin America to more enthusiastic forms of evangelical Protestantism.  And in the United States, Catholic membership would be decline were it not buoyed by immigration.

The right wing's favored response to these dismal trends is to blame the left.  But the right wing needs to know that it has controlled the Church hierarchy for some three decades now.  It is the right wing that must look in the mirror.  A stricter form of boundary police will not attract outsiders, it will repel them.  Indeed, it has.

Pope Francis has gotten the message and the tone just right. Jesus, after all, came not for the saved but for the sinners.  He dined with tax collectors.  He routinely and frequently forgave prostitutes.  He was followed in his evangelizing by women who did not come from respectable homes.  He promised the water of eternal life to a woman who was even then living out of wedlock.

The new evangelization about which so many on the Catholic right speak is not about new and better forms of border security.  It is about the imitatio Christi -- the imitation of Christ.  Like Christ, Pope Francis means to be evangelical, and that means finding people where Christ found them -- in desperate shape, in need of forgiveness and love -- and offering them hope.

Comments

[SMM]

Mr. Reid's animus toward the archbishop has unhinged his better judgment. Read the whole Allen interview, deleting Mr. Reid's exegetical notes ("Speaking on behalf of his conservative followers . . . " Uh, no.)

As for the "pagan" remark, read the actual Chaput talk in Malta, which was keyed to Junipero Serra. The context is obvious and not at all uncharitable, much as Mr. Reid would like to imply otherwise. It's fascinating to watch how self-described progressives seem to develop rage virus over this Capuchin.

[Kathy Sine]

In defense of Archbishop Chaput, whom I know on a personal basis, he like many of the John Paul ll appointees are locked into a rigid, "by a church in fear" mode. They have had to deal with a wide spread sexual scandal that has rocked the church and has left them heading for the trenches. By retreating to a what they consider a safe place, where there is no room for new ideas, but a "paint by the old numbers" they, like those politicians on the far right are going back where there is no room for freedom of conscience, but those in authority have all the answers. Hopefully, Pope Francis will take a different approach to governing.

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[Frank X. Blisard]

As a "right-wing" Catholic who absolutely loves pope Francis, I find your reporting of Bp. Chaput's comments very selective. I urge your readers to read the entire Allen/Chaput interview for themselves.

F.X. Blisard
Hopewell, NJ