Francis is the most informal and accessible pope in history - but is that a good thing?
by Fr Dwight Longenecker Pope Francis is the most informal and accessible pope in the history of the papacy and much of his instant accessibility is due to modern communications. The pope uses his cell …More
by Fr Dwight Longenecker
Pope Francis is the most informal and accessible pope in the history of the papacy and much of his instant accessibility is due to modern communications.
The pope uses his cell phone to make personal phone calls, then the content of the phone call ends up on Facebook and goes global. In an informal conversation with reporters the pope says of a sincere homosexual who truly seeks God, “Who am I to judge?” and it becomes perhaps the quote of the century. Visiting with a friend, he makes an impromptu cell phone video greeting Protestant Pentecostals, takes selfies with the crowd, and makes off-the-cuff comments that often remain ambiguous and tantalizing. Like Benedict XVI before him, Francis uses Twitter to communicate the gospel worldwide. Through social media, the mainstream networks, television, YouTube, and the internet he is seen and heard by the whole world instantly.
Is this what the Pope should be doing? Should the Pope tweet? Should he give impromptu …More
Pope Francis is the most informal and accessible pope in the history of the papacy and much of his instant accessibility is due to modern communications.
The pope uses his cell phone to make personal phone calls, then the content of the phone call ends up on Facebook and goes global. In an informal conversation with reporters the pope says of a sincere homosexual who truly seeks God, “Who am I to judge?” and it becomes perhaps the quote of the century. Visiting with a friend, he makes an impromptu cell phone video greeting Protestant Pentecostals, takes selfies with the crowd, and makes off-the-cuff comments that often remain ambiguous and tantalizing. Like Benedict XVI before him, Francis uses Twitter to communicate the gospel worldwide. Through social media, the mainstream networks, television, YouTube, and the internet he is seen and heard by the whole world instantly.
Is this what the Pope should be doing? Should the Pope tweet? Should he give impromptu …More
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Informal--yes. Accessible--I'm not so sure.
The pope fancies himself a missionary and, like many post Vat II clerics, is more interested in the lost sheep than in the flock. Over the years this strategy has done little except facilitate ecumenical meetings while the flock has wandered (or just as often, run) away from the Church.More
Informal--yes. Accessible--I'm not so sure.
The pope fancies himself a missionary and, like many post Vat II clerics, is more interested in the lost sheep than in the flock. Over the years this strategy has done little except facilitate ecumenical meetings while the flock has wandered (or just as often, run) away from the Church.
The pope fancies himself a missionary and, like many post Vat II clerics, is more interested in the lost sheep than in the flock. Over the years this strategy has done little except facilitate ecumenical meetings while the flock has wandered (or just as often, run) away from the Church.
Prof. Leonard Wessell
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"Familiarity breeds contempt" is an English saying. "How can I take the guy seriously when he is always making jokes" is an ancient English saying that I just, on the spur of the moment, sort of an internal tweet, made up.
Pope Francis' personal style is that of self-conscious cynosure who does all kinds of "cool things" such that the whole wide world knows about it--that is the purpose of the mass …More
"Familiarity breeds contempt" is an English saying. "How can I take the guy seriously when he is always making jokes" is an ancient English saying that I just, on the spur of the moment, sort of an internal tweet, made up.
Pope Francis' personal style is that of self-conscious cynosure who does all kinds of "cool things" such that the whole wide world knows about it--that is the purpose of the mass media, all of which assuages his ego with praise. He exhibits all the characteristics of a narcisstic person who continually draws attention to himself, far more to himself, then to the content said. His pastoral style might well function in a one-to-one evangelization, but not as the "chief" evangelist, viz. realizing the essence of his papal office. Fr. Bergoglio, a parish priest, can clown around, act as a pop star, shock people with his off-the-cuff remarks, tweet to his satiation of his ego, always becoming the talk of the town, whoops, of the WORLD, all that and more if it works in the confines of those few he sees daily. If a priest (a person with various duties) intends to evangelize, he is dealing with a limited number of people, not with the whole world. Billy Gramhan, the very successful Protestant Evangelist, would preach to hugh crowds in a stadium and those, moved by his words, would come forward and then be sent to pastors for the personal one on one evangelization. The preaching of Graham was phantastic and rhetorically effective, Graham being sort of a parallel speech master to Bishop Sheen. Both Graham and Sheen were very successful, non-assuming, convincing and non-cynosures.
Francis is not in the linguistic or rhetorical league of Sheen, let alone Graham (who preached in a Protestant style that seems to attract Francis). Francis simply shows off with his seeming erratic, though constant selfies. That is not the Evangelization proper of the dignity and sublimity of the Papal Office. At best that of a clown. This Pope has become a fun-guy. Who wants to listen to him when he gets, on occasion, serious. The world press? Who is being evangelized by him? Give me the statsitics! Worse, what does an evangilization founded on jealousy of those who have success have to do with converting. Converting? A joke, alas, one of no humour.
A very fine thinking Jew, David Goldman wrote recently in PJ Media (reprinted in First Things) a review of the antics of Pope "Tweeter" Francis in Israel. The "spontatneous" kissing of the wall Israel has built to fend off Palestinian terrorists, his "spontatneous" designating himself not as a "friend" (scripted), but as a "brother" of the Palestinians, whose leader Abbas has just united with the designated terrorist group Hamas, the Pope's discourteous put down of Netanyahu concerning the languageS of Jesus (interpreted as an attempt to distant Jesus from being a Jew like the others of the time), all these "cool thngs" have alientated many Jews, in Israel and elsewhere. Goldman has concluded that the Pope is less interested in evangilizing the world to Christianity, rather he is de facto striving to save the world, and in its terms. The Pope isa social justice "dude", that is where he places his most notable efforts. Goldman has repeatedly praised Pope Benedict as the leading thinker of the world and, like myself, misses such intellectuality. (France emotes feelings, not reflected thoughts.) sBenedict was prepared, for the sake of doctrinal purity, to have a reduced Church of real believer, whereas Francis is the opposite, shooting for the whole world. But it is not working!!! The Church is collapsing (check Voris) and the Pope keeps being political (= secular saving). I Think that Goldman is on to something.
Alas, the more familiar the man Bergoglio becomes, the more contempt I have for him and long for a "real", not a clown, Pope such a Benedict.The time will come when the world and its press become bored of Francis, as only so many shockers make good press.
Pope Francis' personal style is that of self-conscious cynosure who does all kinds of "cool things" such that the whole wide world knows about it--that is the purpose of the mass media, all of which assuages his ego with praise. He exhibits all the characteristics of a narcisstic person who continually draws attention to himself, far more to himself, then to the content said. His pastoral style might well function in a one-to-one evangelization, but not as the "chief" evangelist, viz. realizing the essence of his papal office. Fr. Bergoglio, a parish priest, can clown around, act as a pop star, shock people with his off-the-cuff remarks, tweet to his satiation of his ego, always becoming the talk of the town, whoops, of the WORLD, all that and more if it works in the confines of those few he sees daily. If a priest (a person with various duties) intends to evangelize, he is dealing with a limited number of people, not with the whole world. Billy Gramhan, the very successful Protestant Evangelist, would preach to hugh crowds in a stadium and those, moved by his words, would come forward and then be sent to pastors for the personal one on one evangelization. The preaching of Graham was phantastic and rhetorically effective, Graham being sort of a parallel speech master to Bishop Sheen. Both Graham and Sheen were very successful, non-assuming, convincing and non-cynosures.
Francis is not in the linguistic or rhetorical league of Sheen, let alone Graham (who preached in a Protestant style that seems to attract Francis). Francis simply shows off with his seeming erratic, though constant selfies. That is not the Evangelization proper of the dignity and sublimity of the Papal Office. At best that of a clown. This Pope has become a fun-guy. Who wants to listen to him when he gets, on occasion, serious. The world press? Who is being evangelized by him? Give me the statsitics! Worse, what does an evangilization founded on jealousy of those who have success have to do with converting. Converting? A joke, alas, one of no humour.
A very fine thinking Jew, David Goldman wrote recently in PJ Media (reprinted in First Things) a review of the antics of Pope "Tweeter" Francis in Israel. The "spontatneous" kissing of the wall Israel has built to fend off Palestinian terrorists, his "spontatneous" designating himself not as a "friend" (scripted), but as a "brother" of the Palestinians, whose leader Abbas has just united with the designated terrorist group Hamas, the Pope's discourteous put down of Netanyahu concerning the languageS of Jesus (interpreted as an attempt to distant Jesus from being a Jew like the others of the time), all these "cool thngs" have alientated many Jews, in Israel and elsewhere. Goldman has concluded that the Pope is less interested in evangilizing the world to Christianity, rather he is de facto striving to save the world, and in its terms. The Pope isa social justice "dude", that is where he places his most notable efforts. Goldman has repeatedly praised Pope Benedict as the leading thinker of the world and, like myself, misses such intellectuality. (France emotes feelings, not reflected thoughts.) sBenedict was prepared, for the sake of doctrinal purity, to have a reduced Church of real believer, whereas Francis is the opposite, shooting for the whole world. But it is not working!!! The Church is collapsing (check Voris) and the Pope keeps being political (= secular saving). I Think that Goldman is on to something.
Alas, the more familiar the man Bergoglio becomes, the more contempt I have for him and long for a "real", not a clown, Pope such a Benedict.The time will come when the world and its press become bored of Francis, as only so many shockers make good press.