Since I was under ten at the time and had no connection to the Catholic Church the Second Vatican Council was a total non-entity for me. Still in retrospect I have wondered about the disconnect between what the Council actually taught and how it was perceived by Catholics and the world-at-large. Information about the Council was almost entirely filtered through the media. Even for Catholic who were watching closely there was a lot of misinformation to wade through and as the actual documents were published there were relatively few who read them. So partly it is easy to comprehend how the “Spirit of Vatican II” developed in an atmosphere of cultural upset and expectation of change.

I think I have a better understanding now how this dynamic worked. The reason I say this is I believe there is a “Spirit of Pope Francis” dynamic working right now. Once again change seems to be expected and that dogma and doctrine is up for grabs. The media amplifies anything interpreted to be in this direction; a grasping at straws and straw-men. It has been quite ludicrous when it comes to dogmatic teachings related to abortion, homosexual acts, women’s ordination are going to result in a total rewrite of the Catechism. Areas concerning discipline and not dogmas spin out of control on something totally unsubstantial. For example Archbishop Pietro Parolin’s answer regarding clerical celibacy that was anything but a signaling of future change. More recently all the talk about women Cardinal’s being appointed.

The Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi said yesterday:

“Being a cardinal is one of the roles in the church for which, in theory, one does not have to be ordained as a priest,” Lombardi said. “But to move from that point to suggesting the pope will name female cardinals for the consistory is not even remotely realistic.”

So of course the media reports “Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi fuels rumours on female cardinals”

More evidence of the “Sprit of Pope Francis” at work. You don’t need actual statements or documents just and expectation of change. The media, non-Catholics, and some Catholics not exactly friendly to the Church see Pope Francis as a “breath of fresh air.” So since they like him many assume that he can’t possibly be a “dogmatic” Pope and someone that actually believes all that the Church authoritatively teaches. The Pope’s repeated claims that he is a “son of the Church” is rather lost on them. He’s a humble guy with an obvious love for the poor so of course that means he is a political liberal. Some of the imprecision in the Pope’s language also contributes to agenda interpretations regarding what he has said. Some missteps such as the interview with Eugenio Scalfari that was not recorded and published based on Scalfari’s memory. There are reports that the Pope “regretted” the publication of the interview in “L’Osservatore Romano” and “complained of it to the director, Gian Maria Vian, in Assisi on Oct. 4.”

So there are many things that lead to the “Spirit of Pope Francis” and once again obvious contradictions don’t matter. Pope Francis can preach repeatedly about the reality of the devil and at the same time is expected to eject everything that went before. So just like the “Spirit of Vatican II” the “Spirit of Pope Francis” is full of contradictions between what is actually written and what is expected. The question is how is this to be overcome? Just the fact that the Pope won’t be changing these teachings will not be enough for those Bullwinkle Catholics who keep thinking “This time, for sure!”

With the pontificate of Pope Francis there has been a growing of two kinds of Chicken Little’s. One kind sees the sky is falling and the Church teaching is being corrupted and the other see things falling – their way. Often both seem to have the same level of theological understanding as most media reporting. The same headline sends some into panic and others into ecstasy with stories that cover the Vatican are as accurate in prediction as hepatomancy – the reading of entrails. The media also greatly distorts/misunderstands anything Catholic, the difference is that you have what I see as a growing number of people listening to their nonsense.

For example the lastest example of this regarded allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. To be specific allowing Communion to those who have remarried where either their spouse was still alive or did not receive a decree of nullity in a case where no marriage was actually contracted.

The amount of attention this was getting lead to Archbishop Gerhard Muller, the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, writing a lengthy article in the L’Osservatore Romano putting a kibosh on the speculation. Funny I also remember how when Archbishop Gerhard Muller was selected by Pope Benedict XVI there were also cries of doom as he was suppose to be some sort of “progressive” theologian.

Part of the problem is how the term “acting pastorally” has come to mean different things to different people. Some think the term is a politically correct term for ignoring sin and doing nothing in response. Others that mercy means there is no sin or consequences and acting pastorally is about affirming people. The Pope’s repeated talking about mercy gets translated into a narrative instead of what he is actually saying and doing.

As Jimmy Akin ends his recent post on the subject:

12) So what is going to happen with the Church’s approach to the civilly remarried?

It’s a given that the Pope will continue to stress the need to be pastorally close to them and to help them draw closer to the Church.
Benedict XVI did that, and Francis is certain to continue the approach.

We’ll have to wait and see what practical forms this takes, and it will be a major point of discussion at the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, but I would be gobsmacked if the discipline regarding receiving Holy Communion were simply dropped.

That discipline is too closely based on biblical principles and infallible Catholic teaching, and Archbishop Muller’s article seems written precisely in order to communicate that the idea of dropping it is not on the table.

Moses compromised due to people’s “hardness of heart”, but that is not a solution available to us.