Do You Have Any Issues With Pope Francis' Messaging?

[StMichael]

Everywhere I turn I read from friends who are as far from Catholic that can be to left wing, socialist blogs how Pope Francis states that "all religions are true" that there is no hell or that Jesus came to obliterate the Old Testament.

 

Outlets claiming that he is the 3rd Vatican Council, etc.

 

So, the question is do you have any issues with what he is putting out there? 

[MIKolbe]

No

[NotreDame]

He talks too much.

[AnneLine]

I think that, rather like Jesus, if people want to quote Pope Francis to their own ends, they will.

 

I actually like him a lot.

[Archaeology cat]

The "quotes" about no Hell and Third Vatican Council were from a satire site. Unfortunately, many didn't understand that it was satire. I found the article rather funny, because I saw it as the parody it is, but some non-Catholics I know thought it was serious.

[PhuturePriest]

I feel like he could sometimes be a bit more specific when he speaks. For instance, when he said "Who am I to judge?" when it comes to gay priests, and didn't expound upon that further (As far as I know). A lot of people took that to mean that we can't take stances on right or wrong, because who are we to judge? It's of course ludicrous and I know the Pope doesn't think that, but the public also needs to know it's ludicrous and the Pope doesn't think that. I feel like if he spoke more clearly and meticulously we might not have to explain to people that the Pope isn't changing anything. I don't really recall this issue with Pope Benedict, but he was a very clear and meticulous man. I'm not blaming it all on that, however. I also have my suspicions that the media wants to portray him a certain way and will portray him in that manner no matter what he actually says. Chopping up quotes to say what you want isn't a difficult or unheard of practice.

[Lilllabettt]

It seems like sometimes he speaks without thinking things through, and then someone else has to "walk it back."  Sometimes I think things have been said more for the sake of "shaking things up" than for anything else; I personally don't see much merit in that practice but that is a matter of perspective,  I guess.

 

I think he is still getting used to using his microphone. It's not easy... how does one person speak so that his meaning will be clear to people using 30 different languages in a million different cultures. I think Papa deserves a break. These things take time, although the folksy, inexact style I don't think is going away.

 

also...

 

Papa Ratzinger is habitually didactic, he explains rather than speculates, and just has a plain way of putting things. So that is our most recent precedent for how Popes "talk." People forget though that while Papa Wojtyla was usually clear in what he said or wrote for pop culture consumption, quite a few of those "spiritual reflections" of his left people scratching their heads.  I remember the person who led my (very orthodox) RCIA class explaining it was because he was a mystic.

 

So while I think it is obviously a good thing for the pastor of the universal church to teach in an unmistakable way, its not the first time a Pope has used a less-than-crystal-clear communication style ... and the world did not melt.

 

 

[Cherie]

It seems like sometimes he speaks without thinking things through, and then someone else has to "walk it back." Sometimes I think things have been said more for the sake of "shaking things up" than for anything else; I personally don't see much merit in that practice but that is a matter of perspective, I guess.

I think he is still getting used to using his microphone. It's not easy... how does one person speak so that his meaning will be clear to people using 30 different languages in a million different cultures. I think Papa deserves a break. These things take time, although the folksy, inexact style I don't think is going away.

also...

Papa Ratzinger is habitually didactic, he explains rather than speculates, and just has a plain way of putting things. So that is our most recent precedent for how Popes "talk." People forget though that while Papa Wojtyla was usually clear in what he said or wrote for pop culture consumption, quite a few of those "spiritual reflections" of his left people scratching their heads. I remember the person who led my (very orthodox) RCIA class explaining it was because he was a mystic.

So while I think it is obviously a good thing for the pastor of the universal church to teach in an unmistakable way, its not the first time a Pope has used a less-than-crystal-clear communication style ... and the world did not melt.

Great post.

To me, it seems as though he doesn't have a strong grasp of "public relations" as Pope quite yet. I also personally think his own culture plays a big part in how he speaks and what he says. We're not used to that, and he's not quite used to speaking in a way that is, as mentioned above, meaningful to every single person throughout every single culture. I don't think he realized JUST how much everyone seems to hang on his every word, and how much his words would be skewed by those with their own agendas (no matter how easily it could be skewed.)

I tend to think it's more a matter of us getting used to such a different way for a Pope to speak, and him getting used to speaking in a clearer manner that he didn't have to worry about quite as much when he was in charge of a much smaller area of the world with a very particular culture.

:shrug: I do prefer Pope Benedict's way of speaking, and I think it's strange that people have grasped onto this Pope as some sort of champion of heterodoxy (?? Like, seriously???) but I think it'll get better with time. And the world won't melt. We've had some pretty crazy Popes in the history of the Church and hey, the gates of hell haven't prevailed against the Church, so ... Not much to really worry about, I don't think. Maybe I'll change my mind, but that's what it seems like to me, anyway.

[Selah]

The "quotes" about no Hell and Third Vatican Council were from a satire site. Unfortunately, many didn't understand that it was satire. I found the article rather funny, because I saw it as the parody it is, but some non-Catholics I know thought it was serious.

 

The Catholic response was more annoying with their "is outrage" and certain other Catholic forums that shall remain anonymous had an embolism and I was just over hear like: :popcorn:

[CatholicsAreKewl]

He doesn't have a good grasp of public relations? His statements are so general that he's managed to make the Catholic Church likeable in the public eye without diehard Catholics converting. He goes out and says seemingly unorthodox things that other officials clarify. For this reason, the diehards end up forgiving these statements and the progressive Catholics/the media mainly focus on what they want to interpret out of these statements. It's brilliant. He's either a tactful politician or all of this is just a convenient coincidence.

Edited December 29, 2013 by CatholicsAreKewl

[NotreDame]

About the 3 previous posts on Papa Francesco speaking off the cuff...  I found an article that said this was not his previous style (can't find link, sorry.)  It said in Argentina he was much more reticent in Argentina and, after the papal election he felt inspired and suddenly felt free to speak.  I didn't believe it, so I ran it by a trusted catholic scholar friend in Argentina who said it was all true.  Take that fwiw.

[NotreDame]

He doesn't have a good grasp of public relations? His statements are so general that he's managed to make the Catholic Church likeable in the public eye without diehard Catholics converting. He goes out and says seemingly unorthodox things that other officials clarify. For this reason, the diehards end up forgiving these statements and the progressive Catholics/the media mainly focus on what they want to interpret out of these statements. It's brilliant. He's either a tactful politician or all of this is just a convenient coincidence.

 

If you are so impressed, when are you converting?

[Selah]

The Catholic response was more annoying with their "is outrage" and certain other Catholic forums that shall remain anonymous had an embolism and I was just over hear like: :popcorn:

 

HERE. I meant HERE. I swear I know the differences between hear and here.

 

My life is over  :cry:

[Cherie]

About the 3 previous posts on Papa Francesco speaking off the cuff... I found an article that said this was not his previous style (can't find link, sorry.) It said in Argentina he was much more reticent in Argentina and, after the papal election he felt inspired and suddenly felt free to speak. I didn't believe it, so I ran it by a trusted catholic scholar friend in Argentina who said it was all true. Take that fwiw.

Very interesting! I hadn't heard that at all. Good to know. Makes me rethink things perhaps.

CatholicsAreKewl: perhaps "public relations" was the wrong term. I guess I mean more "clarity." He's not as clear as Pope Benedict, at least not in my opinion, which is why you have some crazy people upholding him as a champion of heterodoxy - wasn't there a recent thread about a free bumper sticker that says, "This Pope Gives Me Hope," from a heterodox, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, pro-women's ordination (etc) organization? I mean, it seems like at least a LITTLE bit of a clarity issue when you have groups like that thinking he's going to overturn 2,000 years of Church teaching.

[Norseman82]

Same-sex marriage is legal in Illinois because a few of the legislators (enough to provide the needed margin) used Pope Francis' words as cover for voting in favor of SSM: 

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-gay-marriage-illinois-20131105,0,7759837.story?page=1&fb_source=other_multiline&action_ref_map=%7B%2210153469098055217%22%3A%22s%3Dshowsharebarui%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like%22%7D&action_=&fb_action_types=og.recommends