1) That the media love him but that the honeymoon period will soon be over when they realise he is not going to revolutionize the Church.
2) That he offends both reactionaries and liberals (but not me, the author always rather smugly implies).
3) That he baffles the secular world by holding "left wing" views on social justice and uses "left wing" rhetoric about tolerance and mercy, while continuing to uphold the Church's teaching.
4) That he is playing a clever game by refusing the media any soundbites on the sex issues, concentrating instead on redemption and mercy.
5) That it's nice to hear a Pope talking about the Devil and sin.
6) That he is steelier than he looks.
7) That he is full of radiant and evangelistic joy.
8) That Pope Benedict had already said many of the things Pope Francis said, without anyone getting into a tizzy about it.
All of this is very true but I am getting rather bored reading it over and over again. We have a new Pope and he's great. Just like Pope Benedict was great. And just like Blessed John Paul II was great. And they are all saying the same thing with a different emphasis. Let's move on!
Not every Catholic does hold these views though. I've seen a few who have very negative views of Pope Francis, and I wouldn't consider them to be sensationalist types; not all at least.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. But most Catholic publications and websites tend to be supportive, I think. The "every" in my post title was a bit of hyperbole!
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