Catholics: Lay off the Pope

I don't think I'm making headlines by saying that Pope Francis has a way of getting people talking pretty much every time he opens his mouth. Unfortunately, a lot of that talk has been unfavorable, and it's a shame.

During the Synod of the Family in the Fall of 2015, I read a lot of chatter from people who were convinced Pope Francis was going to turn the Church on her head. Some of what was being discussed was if the divorced and remarried could receive Communion, the importance of the family, and who should be allowed to get married. The fact that these topics were being discussed disturbed many. Many thought Pope Francis was going to make sweeping changes. He was going to carelessly hand out the Body of Christ to people like the hot dog vendor at a ballgame. He was going to follow some other Christian denominations who have buckled under pressure and redefine marriage.

What actually happened when his exhortation was released was a whole lot of nothing drastic. Yes, in a shocker, Francis upheld the words of Christ. There is something no man can do, and that is change the words of Christ, the Word of God made flesh. Christ's words are everlasting. They can never be outdated, never have an expiration date. His words are Truth.

So why even discuss these topics? The short answer: why not? Let's remember part of the reason that we are Christians. The Pharisees couldn't accept Jesus as the Son of God. He didn't fit their idea of what the Son of God would be like, and He was breaking some of their age old rules, even if He was showing God's love. He was rocking the boat.

Again, why discuss the topics that were talked about during the Synod? To make sure we're not becoming like the Pharisees. To make sure we're doing things the way Christ taught us to, and not because it's something we've always done and well, we just don't want to change. To make sure we're not doing things for selfish reasons.

Many didn't have faith that Christ would work through Pope Francis to uphold Truth. Ultimately, many were wrong. Pope Francis couldn't change what Jesus said. He couldn't change Truth. He wasn't out to make the Church about himself, as many thought.

Well, here we are again.

On a recent return flight home from Armenia, Pope Francis said that Christians should apologize to groups of people they didn't defend when they had the chance, groups of people they had helped marginalize. Some of those groups were the poor, and homosexuals.

This brought out a lot of criticism, mainly regarding apologizing to homosexuals. Some have been, and continue to be, very negative toward the Pope. In the comments of the story, there were countless remarks such as, "I apologize that Francis hasn't resigned as Pope yet" and "I apologize that Francis is ruining the Church." Why should the Church apologize to them, they ask. If anything, they should be apologizing to the Church, right?

We have a lot to apologize for and it has zero to do with homosexuality being deemed a sin. I can't speak for all, but many have treated homosexuals with scorn. And as much as I hate to admit, the Church is probably responsible for pushing some people down that road. Yes, we can definitely apologize. We must. There will still be disagreements. Disagreeing is one thing; treating with hatred is quite another. Forget for a second about what people may be doing. There is a time to have those talks. It should not consume every interaction.

Think only about what face of Christ we are showing. Are we showing a discriminating face? That shouldn't be possible, as Christ didn't discriminate. Yes, He spread a message of repentance, but did so with love, not by scoffing or making snarky comments. Let us instead show the true face of Christ, a loving face. It will be met with hate, but will also be met with love. Showing a hateful attitude will only bring out hate. It will not show Christ's love. The responsorial psalm at Mass this morning (July 6) really spoke to me, and should to all Christians. "Seek always, the face of the Lord."

Pope Francis is not out to change Church teaching. He is only out to change our hearts to be more like the Heart of Christ. Isn't that what we should be striving for? Have faith that Christ is working through the Pope, just as he has been throughout his papacy.

Pray that we can all keep our emotions in check and not let them speak for us, and instead let us allow the love of Christ to shine, regardless of how that love is received.

As the Pope's namesake, St. Francis said, "Lord make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love."