Posted on 10/06/2013 6:30:36 AM PDT by marshmallow
New York City, N.Y., Oct 4, 2013 / 03:43 pm (CNA).- Each of the last three Popes has had a different but complementary emphasis, highlighting different aspects of the faithful and the Church, said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York.
“A good way to understand the different gifts of each of these recent pontiffs might be to use the imagery of soul, head and heart,” the cardinal explained in a Sept. 30 opinion piece for the New York Post.
The three most recent Popes – Blessed John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis – “are all giants,” Cardinal Dolan said, and each “has particular talents.”
“John Paul II emphasized the soul,” he suggested.
“His eloquent calls to prayer; his accent on the revival of the spirit; his concentration on the sacraments and devotions of the church, which bring the grace and mercy of Jesus; his tender trust of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his record ‘saint-making,’ cogently reminded us that the soul comes first.”
“In Pope Benedict XVI we have a successor of St. Peter who emphasized the head,” Cardinal Dolan continued, noting that the recently retired Pope helped to “renew the church’s vast intellectual heritage, and remind us so effectively that faith and reason are hardly at odds, but actually allies.”
“And now, Pope Francis emphasizes the heart,” he said.
“Warmth, mercy, joy, tenderness, outreach, acceptance, love,” the cardinal observed, “all flow from the heart, and those are the words most used by Pope Francis.”
“Don’t get me wrong: All three knew well that the soul, the head and the heart were all essentials,” Cardinal Dolan explained. “But each had a particular favorite.”
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
I think this is going to make me sick.
Cardinal Dolan rocks!
I think Cardinal Dolan is saying that what JP2 said still holds, that the Catholic Church still holds on to the teachings of Aquinas even as it holds on to the teachings of Augustine (B16) and Assisi (F).
You mean the slobbering?
Actually, Dolan puts this very well. It’s no secret that I’m not a great fan of JPII, precisely because I think he was vague on doctrine (things like his Assisi masses and kissing the Koran gave a sort of visual expression to this!) and weak on enforcing Church discipline at a time when it really needed enforcement. But he did have a sort of pietistic-type spiritual bent, and perhaps that was good for the Church at that time.
BXVI was an intellectual and also much better at doctrine and enforcement (although I think this was what wore him down) but maybe he did all he could or needed to do.
And it’s true, Francis is very much about the heart - although as he himself constantly repeats, he adheres to all the rest of the Church’s teachings too - so he is following Our Lord’s orders for being perfect: that is, do not neglect the Law, but at the same time, go beyond it in your actions.
Interesting observations by Dolan.
bookmark
Biden showing up for the Host today?
No, the fact that these three are giants alright, but not in a good way.
I will say that they do complement each other. But not in the Traditional Catholic Faith.
“Nice shoes.”
“Thanks. I like your cassock.”
Thank-you and God Bless!
I sense with Pope Francis you will see A LOT of fallen away Catholics come back home, whom would have had under Blessed John Paul II, whom I call the Pope of the Divine Mercy of God, but with Pope Benedict XVI were maybe about the efforcement stuff. Pope Francis is more of a Pope who is taking serious what Jesus said to him from the cross, “Francis, rebuild My Church.”
Cardinal Dolan was SPOT ON.
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