Let us have this conversation in six months to a year. I refuse to condemn him as a failure in his first week on the job.
He may be the pope we need. He may be the pope we deserve. Only God knows at this juncture which is which. One thing for certain, though, he is the pope.
Can. 331 The bishop of the Roman Church, in whom continues the office given by the Lord uniquely to Peter, the first of the Apostles, and to be transmitted to his successors, is the head of the college of bishops, the Vicar of Christ, and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. By virtue of his office he possesses supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely.
And we are the Christian faithful:
Can. 212 §1. Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church.
So I don't see too much of an alternative to trusting that the Holy Spirit will work with him (or, at a minimum, keep him from doing permanent damage):
Mat 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
“I refuse to condemn him as a failure in his first week on the job.”
I don't condemn him, now or ever. Just not my job. I merely note that so far, he has failed to do what is needed.
I don't dispute his authority, I don't fail to submit to the teachings of Holy Mother Church. But I will no longer pretend that our hierarchs are doing a bang-up job when in truth, they fail to do what is right, and by omission, do what is evil by leading souls to Hell.
This thread promotes the idea that the cavalry has arrived and is going to set all things to right. It pretends that somehow Pope Francis is going to be a great enforcer of discipline, that he will clean up the Augean stables.
Maybe he will, maybe he won't.
But he had a spectacular chance to start off on the right foot, and he muffed it. I hope things will get better. I'm not counting on it.
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
I won't get fooled again.
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