For the overwhelming majority of Catholics in the United States, and maybe even those of other faiths or no faith, the visit of a pope who displays humbleness — and a pastoral rather than political approach — has filled Washington, D.C., and the country with excitement and anticipation.
For the minority of ultra-uber-conservative Catholics, sadly, this is not true. They see Francis’ visit as an insult from a papacy that doesn’t give their political positions two thumbs up. For instance, George Will, a conservative columnist, nearly blew a gasket in a recent piece over the pope’s environmental message on global warming and what Will perceives as Francis’ self-righteousness.
But Francis is no Che Guevara. When the pope talks about greed and consumption, I don’t think it’s a condemnation of capitalism, open markets or making money in general. The editorial pages of the Economist are just as likely to say that social inequalities, greed and bad business practices are bad for business. Talking about the terrible plight of immigrants — lives lost crossing a river on the Mexican border or the seas of the Mediterranean — is a humanitarian concern, not a prescription for a specific type of immigration reform. In talking about the environment, maybe the pope is telling us to care for the place where we live, something that I don’t believe Republicans would be opposed to.
Conservatives shouldn’t fear a more inclusive church. Though their viewpoints are certainly in the minority, as the great theologian said, Catholicism is defined by unity in diversity. When I look around the church on Sunday, I see the two gay men who’ve been happily living together for years, two lesbian women who have recently adopted a child and a divorced and remarried couple. And though I know that almost every Catholic woman in the U.S. has used birth control, that Catholic women have abortions at the same rate as women of other faiths and no faith, at my church I also see the husband and wife who are committed to conservative Catholicism and prefer the Latin Mass, and the husband who is a member of Opus Dei. These people, too, are my church.
The real fear that haunts conservatives is that in a month, when Pope Francis reconvenes the Synod on the Family, it’s possible that Francis’ spirit may open up a conversation among the bishops about family as it really is lived, not imagined by the celibate clergy. Maybe as the bishops push forward with the Synod on the Family, a miracle could happen and some change could come — change that reflects the reality that is the church today. I don’t think that would be a bad thing at all.
Jon O’Brien is president of Catholics for Choice. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
