After all these years, what has Pope Francis meant by the thought of being “narrow?” I have heard it plenty of times in different circumstances and that word seems to be pretty important to his line thought. Here are a few quotes and news snippets over the years:
November 30, 2015: “Pope Francis said that efforts to push the Church to allow condom use to prevent HIV are too narrow and do not see the whole picture.”
The more I ponder what he sees with “narrowness” the more I realize the importance of his prescription to avoid it. At first, I fell into thinking that if the Holy Father does not want us to be narrow-minded, then he must want us to be open-minded. This left me uncomfortable because I know we cannot be open-minded on some things and I also heard from Pope Francis’ own words that he is “a son of the Church.” So Pope Francis must have something else in his heart when uses that word.
I am going to try a little thought experiment that helped me make sense of it.
Secular Steve: Is fornication a sin?
Catholic Cathy: That question is too narrow.
Secular Steve: So you do not support the Church’s teaching on fornication?
Catholic Cathy: I did not say that. You asked if fornication is a sin.
Secular Steve: I know I did and you said “It is a narrow question.” That makes you a pick-n-choose Catholic.
Catholic Cathy: I think we are speaking different terms here. Fornication, according the CCC, is “gravely contrary to the dignity of persons.” However, a sin needs three criteria for a person to be held accountable. By itself, fornication is grave matter and that is one part of a sinful action. The other two are: knowing the action is sinful and doing the action freely. Your question was too narrow. It would be like asking me “Is a pickle a cucumber?” In a way it is and in a way it is not. If I said “No.” then you would claim that I do not know that pickles are cucumbers. If I said “Yes.” then you would claim that I cannot tell the difference between pickles and cucumbers. In a way, your question is a trap.
Narrowness seems be bountiful. Many want to catch a leader into a word trap so they can claim him as one their own or be able to disqualify him as a heretic in their own imaginary Vatican. What would convince you that Pope Francis is a loyal son of the Church?
It has now been a few years since Pope Francis has taken the chair of St. Peter and it is time to walk the straight and narrow under the leadership of Pope Francis so that the Church can fulfill Jesus Christ’s prayer “that they may be one.” A wonderful gift has been given by the Father to the Church so that She will continue to breath new life, protect the Church from error, and help us avoid falling into word games that do little to convert hearts. The Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that traveled over the waters at Creation, the same Holy Spirit that Jesus breathed upon the Apostles, and the same Holy Spirit that fills the faithful with His gifts, is sending us out to bring the Gospel to the peripheries, the poor, the wounded, and the imprisoned. We have been afforded an excellent opportunity to evangelize, let us not miss it!
12 thoughts on “Don’t be too narrow”
Congrats, JQ on giving us an example of a camel going through the eye of a needle.
Great post.
Thank you James. Blessed Advent and Merry Christmas.
It’s all good bs.
Jesus said…..“Neither do I condemn you (compassion); go, and do not sin again (conversion).”
Compassion for this life, conversion for the next. Jesus called sin a sin out of love but the Church today seems to want to avoid talking about sin.
Let your yes be a yes, and your no be a no.
Out with it man.
With total certainty, one can say, “It is a sin.” Always. Keep the same Gospel that was preached to you.
The example of “open-minded”-ness you give is an incorrect use of the means by which the distinction is made between the two species of actual sin, namely, venial and mortal. One needs full knowledge that one willing contravenes the law for a sin to be mortal.
But this requirement for full knowledge is no out for:
Everyone knows fornication is a sin.
Everyone.
It is one of those things that you can’t not know. Else why would people spend so much energy trying to prove otherwise? Ask any fornicator if he knows it is a sin and he will attempt to justify with, “Well, sure, it used to be called that.” Or a scoff, “Do people still believe that?” Both show full knowledge.
Matthew 7 13-14: Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!
Being “open-minded” rarely, if ever, leads to becoming a Saint.
Exactly. That is why I was not comfortable with it and knew something else must be meant by it. Being narrow-minded is also a problem. The way to go is open-hearted.
Q: Is fornication a sin?
A: Yes (see 6th and 9th commandments).
Q: Can an act the Church calls “grave matter” ever be anything other than sinful?
A: Committing an act considered by the Church to be “grave matter” is to commit an act that is objectively evil, meaning it is always and everywhere sinful. Culpability may only be judged by a priest in the confessional, and by the Living God at one’s Particular Judgement.
Q:Is a pickle a cucumber?
A: A pickle is a pickled cucumber.
Q: Is the author of this article distorting an obvious truth?
A: Without a doubt.
I love Catholic trivia!
francis has a long way to go to get some of these catholics out of their black and white prisons.
and prisons they are.
Black and white prisons? You do realize the Catholic Church follows the One who said ‘I am the Way, The Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me’? Nothing grey about that at all.
‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Rev 3:15-16
What?