In Pope Francis’s recent talks to Congress and to the UN, the Pope has surprised a number of committed Catholics by his talking points, mostly because he did not focus too heavily on abortion. However, it should come as no surprise that Pope Francis focused on many of the same themes from Laudato Si, his first encyclical, such as the environment, immigration, ending the death penalty, ending arms proliferation and human trafficking, and supporting the poor and marginalized. These issues are generally given more emphasis by more liberal Catholics (and non-Catholics).
Of course, the pope has also mentioned the hallmark conservative causes, particularly the importance of the family and the sacredness of human life, but not anything against abortion or same-sex marriage by name. R.R. Reno, editor of First Things, called the speech to Congress “modest” and said that, “Francis discourages conservative Catholics, more by silence than anything else. He encourages progressives, both by his silences and his affirmations.”
That seems to sum up the reaction of many faithful Catholics to Pope Francis’s visit: disappointment that he didn’t shore them up or champion their causes.
However, I don’t think such downtroddenness is appropriate for three reasons:
The first is that “popes speak Vatican-ese,” as a Jesuit priest and professor of mine Fr. Gerald Fogarty once put it. The pope is head of a worldwide Church with many different cultural, national and ethnic sensitivities that they seek to balance in their pronouncements. It is rare for popes to come out with guns blazing, naming specific condemnations of specific national laws and policies. Pope Benedict did discuss abortion and Pope Francis did mention immigration by name, but he also linked it with the wider refugee crisis of displaced persons fleeing the Middle East. His concern is global, as the Church is global.
The most notorious example of the Vatican not addressing an important subject explicitly, but still exerting substantial influence, was Pope Pius XII, who did many things against the Nazis, but never condemned the National Socialists or Adolf Hitler by name. He did, however, open Vatican monasteries and houses to Jewish refugees. Eugenio Pacelli, who became Pope Pius XII, was the principal author of Mit Brennender Sorge [With Burning Concern], the 1937 encyclical issued by Pius XI which denounced Hitler, Nazi ideology and Nazi tenets without calling out the party of the fuerher by name.
The lack of explicit names doesn’t mean he failed to speak out. Popes can influence us with their spiritual wisdom, but they do not control world affairs. So each pope can only speak as he sees fit and hope for the best.
The second reason not to be discouraged by his omissions is that Pope Francis sees a unity in the Church’s teachings, not a divide between the life ethic and other social teachings, as the liberal/conservative dichotomy sees it. To him, talk of the environment actually encompasses talk of human nature and sexual codes.
Pope Francis is keenly aware of the evils of abortion and the difficulties presented by same-sex marriage; he alluded to them both in his speech to Congress and to the U.N. In the second speech, he said: “Consequently, the defence of the environment and the fight against exclusion demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself, one which includes the natural difference between man and woman (cf. Laudato Si’, 155), and absolute respect for life in all its stages and dimensions (cf. ibid., 123, 136).”
In the Pope’s mind, the environmental concerns and the sexual teachings are very closely related. The key line is that “defence of the environment…demands that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself.” It seems to me that way in which Pope Francis sees human nature as played out in real, biological male and female with natural law based moral obligations, stems from the same view of the rest of biology and nature as part of God’s creation and endowed therefore with God’s natural law and moral demands. This view of the moral law as embedded in nature is classically Catholic natural law philosophy and theology. Pope Francis is not giving any fuel to liberal wings while excluding conservatives. Rather, he is simply orthodox, bringing the concerns of the Church full circle, into a unity. In many ways, this is actually a profound challenge to anyone who would seek to protect the earth while simultaneously denying the good and natural role of humanity therein.
The third reason not to be discouraged is that Pope Francis gets people’s attention in a good way and catches the ears of those who might not generally find Catholics worth listening to. This helps the Church and so helps us as lay people, even in facing the harder causes.
Pope Francis knows that we Catholics in the trenches who pray in front of abortion clinics and march for marriage, are, essentially, Catholic. We are convinced, and we are hoping to bring about cultural revival. That is a good thing; Pope Francis knows we are here.
He also knows that not everyone is a determined Catholic. But the teachings of Christ and His Church are meant for everyone. Pope Francis is aiming for those who tend not to listen to Catholics at all. In his remarks to Congress, he actually said, “We need a conversation which includes everyone.”
And if we are called to remake the culture in the image of Christ, that culture includes every single person of good will. So it does the Church a great service if the pope can reach more hearts and open them up even just a little bit. Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture speculated as much, asking: is it that the pope “knows that he must first establish some common ground with liberal secularists… before he can expect any positive response? Because he realizes that he can encourage pro-lifers indirectly, and the message will come through loud and clear? Maybe the Pope is reaching out to the lost sheep, confident that the others will await his return.”
This is exactly right. Pope Francis is not discouraging the Catholics who have been going to the mat for years on the tough issues of abortion and marriage. No, Pope Francis is inviting others who normally wouldn’t be inclined to listen. He is saying, “Our teachings matter for the good of all.” He is doing our job: reaching out to others and telling them about the good news that Christ brings.
We might even follow his lead, recognizing that maybe the crucial but hard issues of abortion and marriage might not be the best place to start a conversation with those who disagree. Liberal and conservative Catholics could stand to recognize that they stand together in orthodoxy. For those who are not Catholic or who do not accept a number of the teachings, it is worthwhile to acknowledge those places where we do agree. Converting hearts on controversial topics comes after we see each other as human beings.
I was down on the National Mall on Wednesday for the papal parade, and I spoke to a number of attendees about why they were there. A number of things surprised me. For one, many of them were not Catholic. One older woman, Claudia Mikulaninec, had come from North Carolina to see Pope Francis even though she had not been actively practicing the Catholic faith for years. She said that Pope Francis was “the only inspiration that could make a difference,” noting that he focused on issues that to her were “very central,” such as “poverty and the environment.”
There was a group from Germany, only some of whom were Catholic, but who appreciated how Pope Francis lived out Christ-like virtues by living in humble accommodations, focusing on the poor, and because he did not wear the famous red, leather, papal shoes.
But in all cases, the people gathered about excitedly for the chance to glimpse Pope Francis knew that he is a true Catholic, and that he has not changed nor desires to change any fundamentals of Catholic teaching.
When I asked, “Would it surprise you if I told you that everything Pope Francis has said and done is completely orthodox?” The unanimous answer was “No.” Even the non-Catholics understood Pope Francis’s stances on the culture-war issues, and yet they were there anyway.
One young man, who said he was non-religious, said that Pope Francis had tilted his view of the Catholic Church from negative to closer to neutral. That may not sound like much, but that is a huge shift, especially if others feel the same way, which I suspect they might.
If Pope Francis has got people excited or interested at all in the Church, that is a powerful step.
So yes, Pope Francis challenges conservative Catholics in some ways. But we ought not to be discouraged. The pope is asking conservatives to stretch, to find common ground for the sake of the common good and not to get trapped in ideological, political boxes. He does not want us to abandon our banners; he wants us to bring the banners to ever more people. For as Christ teaches, “For he who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40).
Stephanie Pacheco is a writer, blogger, and speaker in Northern Virginia. She earned a M.A. in Theological Studies, summa cum laude, from Christendom College and holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia in Religious Studies with a minor in Government and Political Theory. She has presented at a conference of the American Catholic Historical Association and for Christian Women in Action. She lives with her husband and two young children.
