6 Times You Were Flat-Out Lied To About Pope Francis
The Love Affair That Won’t Stop
Ahead of the Pope’s visit to the United States, a trip that will be wrought with sound-bytes, drama, and press releases, I thought it would be fitting to put together a short list of instances where the Holy Father has been completely taken out of context or mis-reported (flat-out lied about) by the national media and press corps.
Here, in a somewhat chronological order, are Pope Francis’ “beliefs”:
1. Homosexual acts are not sins.
“Who am I to judge?”
I start with this first quote due to its quintessential role in the growth of the media love-affair that has since swelled around Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis. The quote was widely reported on and swept the United States by storm, who in its cathartic jaundice, were absolutely jubilated that the Catholic faith had finally embraced the lifestyle choices of same-sex individuals.
The truth could not be farther. In fact, the media went so far as to hide the entire quotation (try finding it in any news article):
“Who am I to judge them if they’re seeking the Lord in good faith?”
Shortly before his passing, Cardinal Francis George indicated that the quotation “has been very misused . . . because he was talking about someone who has already asked for mercy and been given absolution. . . . That’s entirely different than talking [about] someone who demands acceptance rather than asking for forgiveness.”
Want proof? The Holy Father rebuked the French government in April of this year when it attempted to install an openly gay envoy, Laurent Stefanini. Francis allegedly criticized the brute nature of the nomination and the French people’s acceptance of the same-sex marriage law. This got very little press as you might imagine.
2. Trickle-down economics is bad.
Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.
The Washington Post reported in bold headlines, “Pope Francis denounces ‘trickle-down’ economic theories…” in his new exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. This one is entertaining because it gets all the fiscal conservatives screaming. However, it is a fairly easy error to dispute, chiefly because it was a translation problem that everyone overlooked.
Here’s the Spanish & English side-by-side.
En este contexto, algunos todavía defienden las teorías del derrame, que suponen que todo crecimiento económico, favorecido por la libertad de mercado, logra provocar por sí mismo mayor equidad e inclusión social en el mundo.
Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.
There’s two problems:
- “las teorías del derrame” does not translate into “trickle-down economics.” There’s no similar phrase in Spanish. Derrame means to spill or leak. However, it can still be argued that Francis meant trickle-down.
- Here is the worse error: “por sí mismo” does not translate into “inevitably” but rather into “by itself.” To the detriment of all those reading the initial translation, it would seem like Francis was attacking a particular set of economic theories. However, he is simply stating that income inequality and poverty cannot be fixed by only pursuing “trickle-down” and nothing else.
If you think that we should not care about the poor and that “trickle-down” alone should solve world poverty, you should probably stop reading here.
3. Priests should be able to marry.
“The problem is in my agenda.”
A few places picked this one up, claiming that Francis had the question of married priests on his agenda and was looking to squash any type of “reform of reform” doctrine inside the Church. It did not take long for the national media to pick it up and run with their “who am I to judge” narrative.
Here is a translation from an Italian article that accurately covered the interaction:
The celebration was attended by seven priests who celebrated their 50th anniversary of priesthood, but also five priests who had left the ministry because they married. Asked by one of the priests present, Don Giovanni Cereti, on the issue of married priests (in which he recalled the case of the Eastern Churches, where married men can be ordained priests and the thousands of married priests of the Latin rite who can not celebrate), Bergoglio responded in surprise: “the problem is in my agenda.”
Francis here is not reflecting on or looking to change the policy of the Catholic Church. Helping these former priests is what is on his agenda.
Upon their re-unification into the Church, Eastern rites are allowed to retain their cultural traditions — because they were already married, they are allowed stay married as unified Catholics. The priests present at this gathering complained about allowing them to marry, yet keeping those in the Roman rite out of the priesthood if they married. This is the issue Francis needs to tackle.
Furthermore, the same priest who quoted that Francis has it “on [his] agenda” also explained that Francis did not show any intention of taking any dramatic steps to resolve the problem. “He simply expressed great sympathy over the difficulties of former priests.”
4. The Church finally forgave abortion.
(CNN) Pope Francis shook up the Catholic world — again — on Tuesday by announcing that priests around the world will be authorized to forgive the “sin of abortion” when the church begins a “Year of Mercy” this December.
This issue really shook up Americans this month when Francis acknowledged that priests would now be allowed to finally forgive abortions. The headlines make it appear like abortions have never been forgiven until now and that somehow abortion is a lesser sin because it can be forgiven.
Number one, the Catholic Church has always forgiven sins since the time of Jesus Christ. Second, priests in the United States and Canada have had the ability to lift the sanction of excommunication for the sin of abortion for a long time now. This is not new.
The actions by Francis are merely an administrative change during the “Year of Mercy” that affects those dioceses who have not already removed the process step of the Bishop first lifting excommunication before forgiveness.
See the statements below:
“It is my understanding that the faculty for the priest to lift the ‘latae sententiae’ excommunication for abortion is almost universally granted in North America.”
Don Clemmer, Director of Media Relations, USCCB
“The priests of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and throughout the United States have … had the faculties to lift the sanction of excommunication for the sin of abortion for more than 30 years. Any woman who has had an abortion, any person who has been involved in an abortion in any way, can always seek God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation, if they are truly sorry for their actions.”d
Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, New York
“The Archdiocese of Cincinnati wants to make it clear that our priests have already had this faculty for many years. No one who has received absolution for this sin from a priest of the Archdiocese, acting as the instrument of God’s mercy, should doubt the validity of the sacrament.”
Bishop Joseph R. Binzer of Cincinnati, Ohio
If we should be troubled by anything, it is that abortion is so common in the United States that most women who have the abortions do not understand the gravity of the act, therefore not necessitating excommunication. The sin can be quickly and easily forgiven by a priest, whereas excommunication would have needed a Bishop.
5. Catholics can now exit marriage easily.
(LA Times) Many Catholics across the United States have welcomed Pope Francis’ annulment reforms, the most far-reaching in almost three centuries. Making it faster, simpler and cheaper to obtain an annulment, many hope, will foster greater acceptance and encourage lapsed or wavering Catholics to rejoin the faith.
If Americans understand anything going on in Washington, D.C., it is usually legislation related to removing unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles from our ability to make money, start a business, pay taxes, etc. You get the hint.
However, the introduction of Motu Proprio, a document reforming the Catholic annulment process, yet again made traditionalist Catholics light their hair on fire as it cut through much of the pork of old ways.
These changes are actually very solid and much to the surprise of the national media, have absolutely nothing to do with the “truth” of an invalid marriage.
Here are the major changes in Motu Propio from Aleteia:
Lay canonists are now allowed to take a greater role in the process. Prior to these changes, cases were judged by three judges which needed to consist of at least two ordained clerics. Now, two of the three may be laypeople.
Trials can be held in locations other than where the wedding took place. Prior to the changes, you would have to appeal in the diocese where you were married. Now, the trial may be held in the diocese where either party is resident or in the diocese where it would be easiest to collect evidence for.
No more automatic appeal. Before Motu proprio, if a tribunal was to decide in favor of granting an annulment, it was required that the regional appeals court confirm the original decision. Now, one or both of the parties may still request an appeal to the archbishop if they disagree with the original decision, but an appeal is no longer mandatory.
The process can be expedited. In certain cases where both parties agree to seek an annulment and the circumstances of their case make the likelihood of the invalidity of their marriage especially obvious, the parties can now have the bishop judge their case directly, instead of going through the tribunal process. They will still need to present enough solid evidence for the bishop to make a confident determination of the status of their marriage, but in many cases this will be a quicker and simpler process.
Is getting an annulment easier in the Catholic Church? If by easier you mean calculating the revenue of your Fortune 500 company in excel as opposed to on notebook paper, then yes.
The key word here is accessible. The burden of proof for annulments have not changed. Only the process. Reform which, if you have ever tried to become a member in a Catholic parish, you know we really need.
6. Preventing climate change is dogma.
“So at this pivotal moment in world history, His Holiness, Pope Francis, is intending to spend the majority of his time on one of the world’s greatest stages focusing on climate change. I have both a moral obligation and leadership responsibility to call out leaders, regardless of their titles, who ignore Christian persecution and fail to embrace opportunities to advocate for religious freedom and the sanctity of human life.”
Congressman Paul Gosar
Skipping over this gentleman’s intention to boycott the leader of his own religion (an authority of which he supposedly submits to) and his LC’s inability to find at least one video of the Holy Father holding masses for the murdered and persecuted Christians in the Middle East, let us talk about Laudato Si’:
[Incidentally, here is a direct quote from Laudato Si’ on the sanctity of life the Holy Father apparently does not defend:]
“How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties? “If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of the new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away.”
Gosar and his staff are not guilty of ignorance or malice — no more than anyone else above who has been misled by the constant noise and deception of the past 5 examples. They are, however, victims of our times.
Laudato Si’ is not a legislative manual for the carbon tax reforms or enhanced LEED certification. It is a rich, philosophical and theological take on mankind as stewards of our modern world. It connects life, technology, industry, and climate in a human ecology that is difficult to understand after only one read.
“The effects of imposing this model on reality as a whole, human and social, are seen in the deterioration of the environment, but this is just one sign of a reductionism which affects every aspect of human and social life.”
The encyclical is 40,618 words long and would take a reader of average pace 3 hours to complete. I hardly know anyone who has read it. However, I have met tons with their one-liners and opinion pieces who deem Pope Francis perceivable only in a leftist communist light — our very own Mao-Tse Tung on climate change.
The truth is that Catholic Church has always been consistent in its philosophy on the environment and is not phased by policies on the American left who seek to codify their victories using the Church.
Furthermore, our Americentric ideals find it impossible to grasp that the Holy Father is discussing these problems with 7 billion people in the world, of which we, as Americans, only make up 5%. Want to see where industry is obliterating the environment at an intense rate? Go to South America or China.
Do yourself a favor. Read through Laudato Si’ yourself and I promise you will be surprised how different the substance is than you have been told.
These are but a few manifestations of a people who are entirely comfortable seeing and hearing from the Church as a worldly institution, an organization or corporation. However, the Church is greater than that. She speaks to us of our own heart and if anything, when we hear from the Pope, it should require intense self-examination of our relationship with Christ before heading to the bully pulpit.
As we approach the Holy Father’s visit to the United States this week, let us show enough courage to be skeptical of what is quickly reported and listen to what Pope Francis has to say, himself. Let us resist the temptation to be lazy and hear only what other people have said about him or merely use him as device for our own purposes.
