Will the new Pope reform the Church?

Coverage of the election of our new pope has been extensive, and it must be driving atheists and other detractors of the Catholic Church crazy because it’s getting so much air time.   There is great hope that Pope Francis will be a “reformer” as expressed by many of the people interviewed about his election, whether they be nominal Catholics, church scholars, or media pundits.  The real question is, what kind of reform is the new pope likely to pursue?   Much of the recent press coverage refers to declining church participation, clergy-abuse, and Vatican scandals, stating that the new pope will need strong leadership skills and the courage, to make sweeping changes in the bureaucracy of the church.  There is also a widely held assumption that the church has fallen far behind the times, and is losing members because it has failed to modernize its thinking.  This is especially the case with respect to the new ethics of sex, which separates sexual activity from the responsibility of marriage and family.  The modern worldview is that no one is expected to practice sexual continence, and in fact this is unhealthy.  One New York professor brazenly accused pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, of fostering a “culture of rape” because of unhealthy repression of sexual urges. 

Catholics who pick and choose which of the church’s teachings they will follow and which they’ll ignore, are referred to as  “cafeteria Catholics.”  Let’s face it, we would all like to make up our own rules as a matter of convenience, disregarding whatever might require temperance, virtue, or discipline, on our part.  However, authentic Catholicism means adhering to the universal moral code as handed down to us in scripture and in person by Jesus Himself.  Is the Catholic Church out of step with modern morality?  Absolutely!  Is the new pope likely to relax the church’s moral code with respect to sexual ethics, gay marriage, abortion, or contraception?  No way.  The whole point of the “New Evangelization” initiated by Blessed John Paul II, and promoted by Benedict XVI, is to “re-form” the knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faithful, so that we all better understand the scriptural basis of our moral code, as expressed by the teachings of the Catholic church.   Reforming the church has little to do with accommodating secular morality (or lack thereof), and everything to do with re-forming the knowledge and understanding of people’s faith. 

The reason so few people understand the church’s moral code is because there is a common belief that there is no universal moral truth.  President Obama made his view on this very clear in his book, The Audacity of Hope, where he wrote: “Implicit in the very idea of ordered liberty is a rejection of absolute truth, the infallibility of any idea or ideology or theology or –ism that might lock future generations into a single unalterable course….”  In other words, he believes that everyone gets to decide for themselves what is true, what is moral, what is “right” for them.   This belief is the reason why the president and other liberals believe in the importance of the bureaucratic state.  With no universal moral compass, he and his supporters believe it is imperative that the government coordinate society comprehensively and rationally, in such a way that people are free to believe whatever they wish, so long as those beliefs do not interfere with adherence to government rules.   Notice I said “rules” not laws.  Laws are supposed to be simple, understandable, and the result of congressional action.  Rules, on the other hand, are promulgated by the incumbent administration.   Executive orders and rules prepared by the various agencies of government, are the means by which the bureaucracy of government intends to direct society.   The problem, as stated by James Madison, is that “men are not angels.”  He was referring to the fact that if given too much authority, those with power over the government would be tempted to extend their reach beyond the basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution. Many of the same people who think our Church should “modernize” by relaxing its teaching on sexual ethics, condone the expansion of government rule-making, even to the point of violating our religious freedom.  They believe the Church is wrong for defining marriage as between a man and woman, and for wanting children to be raised by both father and mother, going so far as to label such thinking as “intolerant” and a violation of civil rights.  But at the same time, the government will fine employers who refuse to pay for contraception, abortafacient drugs, and sterilization even though it violates their religious beliefs, beliefs that are supposed to be protected by the first amendment.

High profile Catholics who condone abortion, the use of government tax dollars to fund it, and who want to redefine marriage, are at odds with the actual teaching of the Church.  These “cafeteria Catholics” are not practicing the true Catholic faith which is rooted in scripture, and the Truth as revealed by Jesus Christ.   This is why we need to re-evangelize the Body of Christ.  This is the greatest challenge faced by Pope Francis.  In his first few days in office, our new pope has already characterized himself as a man of personal humility and deep faith.   Let’s hope and pray that he is successful in “re-forming” our Church, the people of God, who would benefit greatly from a better understanding of scripture and adherence to the moral teaching of the Church.