The Pope's Opponents Preach Pagan Morality

In today’s second reading, we are looking at St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Here is where he talks about morality. You know that I warn Catholicism is not a moral system, however, moral living is a part of who we are. What I will show you today is that many, people angry at the pope,come from a pagan perspective even though they call themselves Catholics. St. Paul obviously is teaching us a Christian perspective.

When we hear the term pagan today, we think of people practicing all kinds of moral and spiritual ideas rooted in the world. Witchcraft, druidism, etc. However, a pagan is really someone who is not practicing the spirituality of monotheism. The term does not mean people who worship in the woods and dress as trees.

Aristotle

Aristotle was a pagan. He lived two hundred years before Christ but he was a moral man in the context of his own culture. Later, the Muslims discovered his writings as they moved throughout the Middle East and Europe. The philosopher’s teachings ended up in the hands of Thomas Aquinas and became a powerful source in his Summa Theologica. However, Aristotle’s morality was not Christian; our morality has a basis in his natural law teachings.

He would look at the way the world operated and based his morality upon it as well. Many people today who oppose the pope do the same thing. It appears Catholic because Catholic morality follows a similar path. However, it is not.

When St. Paul writes about sexual morality and he talks about the marriage and the sins of the flesh. He and Aristotle would agree on many things but not all.

Paul believed that Christians should not marry but remain celibate for their life preparing for encountering Christ face to face. He explains that if self-control was an issue then people should marry. This is not what we teach today about marriage.

The pope’s opponents believe we need to live a moral life so that we can go to Heaven. Only moral people, they say, go to Heaven and they will also teach that one unrepentant mortal sin can get you cast into Hell. They draw their teaching on the Council of Trent and the Baltimore Catechism. However, that is not what St. Paul and the Church actually teach.

The person who goes to Hell rejects God right to the end. It is not the mortal sin that sends you to hell, it is the obstinacy, the hardened heart, which rejects God and his kingdom. It is a refusal to repent even when you encounter evidence that you are wrong. This is a self-condemnation to Hell.

The pope grounds his teaching in our relationship with Christ. Remember, before we they called them Christians, first-century first centuries hearers of their words called them prophets. The pope calls us to prophetic living, his opponents call us to moral living. They may appear the same but they are very different.

The why of moral living in Catholicism is simple to glorify God. That is what prophets actually do. We live a moral life because in doing so we are glorifying God. It is not about working to get to Heaven, it is about prophetic living.

The pope’s opponents come from the perspective of working to stay out of Hell. Pope Francis and the Church call us to live as prophets to the world so that in all we do, we glorify God.

This is something to consider when you seek Heaven—not only avoid sin but understand sin undermines your call as a prophet. Once you understand this, you will see the reality of sin.

This becomes the great difference between the pope’s opponents and the pope.

They have a focus on sexual morality which is why they are so angry over the latest document from the DDF called Fiducia Suplicans. They also commit all kinds of sins of detraction which undermine their prophetic witness. They remain blind to their actions because they are focused on not doing anything that will lead them into Hell instead of prophetic witness. This is the traditional morality that is not actually church teaching.

We need to focus on prophetic living as St. Paul says acting in ways that glorify God. This is why our main focus has to be prayer. We have to be people of prayer if we are to live as prophets that is our call at Baptism. We cannot live prophetically if we do not pray. This is the distinct difference between the pope’s opponents and the pope. They rarely mention prayer in their moral statements. They will discuss virtue, morality and rules but not prayer.

We have to be people of prayer because at our baptism, Cardinal Sarah explained in his Catechism of Spirituality, we become united to the divine. This is what makes us prophets. He explained that the original sin is to take from God ungratefully what he happily gives to us in making us like gods.

Therefore, listen to what the Church teaches of moral living and act on it. However, remember it is all about prophetic living not about earning our way to Heaven.

Fr. Robert J Carr is the pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Allston, MA

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