Pope Francis and a black and white world

In an extensive interview with the Associated Press before visiting Africa, Pope Francis made clear his opposition to the criminalization of homosexuality. Today, homosexuality is illegal in 67 countries, with 11 imposing punishment by death. But after issuing his definitive answer, his interrogator asked whether homosexual acts are sinful. The pope responded, saying, “It is also a sin to lack charity with one another.”

Immediately, public attention centered on the pope’s use of the word “sin.” Within hours, the pontiff had sent a handwritten letter to Fr. James Martin, the leading Catholic voice in the United States advocating building bridges between gays and the church. In his letter, the pope wrote that the “criminalization of homosexuality is neither good nor just,” but it is “a sin” to engage in homosexual relations, “as is any sexual act outside of marriage.” The pope then added, “Of course, one must also consider the circumstances, which may decrease or eliminate fault.” 

If the pope were a politician, he would have been told to “stay on message.” Today, much of our political life is centered around an “us vs. them” mentality. It is this black and white world in which many find comfort knowing what that they believe is often ratified by family members, peers and self-selected information sources.

In the Catholic Church, opposition to Pope Francis has assumed its own black and white mentality. Thomas Tobin, the retiring bishop of Providence, R.I., has criticized the pontiff’s support for gay civil unions, telling his flock: “The Church cannot support the acceptance of objectively immoral relationships.” Charles Chaput, archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, is openly critical of the pope’s call for synodality, describing the ongoing two-year listening sessions between church leaders and the laity as “imprudent and prone to manipulation, and manipulation always involves dishonesty,” adding, “Speaking the truth is polarizing.”

The late Cardinal George Pell, writing under a pseudonym, proclaimed Francis’s pontificate a “catastrophe,” condemning the “deepening confusion, the attack on traditional morals and the insertion into the dialogue of neo-Marist jargon about exclusion, alienation, identity, marginalization, the voiceless, LGBTQ as well as the displacement of Christian notions of forgiveness, sin, sacrifice, healing, redemption.”

Critics eagerly await the next papal conclave where, they hope, someone who sees their world from their black and white perspectives will be chosen. In the meantime, Pope Francis is remaking the Catholic Church by accepting the retirements of bishops like Tobin and refusing to promote others like Chaput. Referring to his critics on his return trip from Africa, the pope said, “They are people who belong to a party, not to the church.”

San Diego Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, one of Pope Francis’s recent appointees, is a vocal defender of this pope. McElroy advocates a “radical inclusion” of LGBTQ persons, women, immigrants and divorced and remarried Catholics, into the life of the church.

McElroy writes that the Catholic Church’s present-day challenges “arise from the reality that a church that is calling all women and men to find a home in the Catholic community contains structures and cultures of exclusion that alienate all too many from the church or make their journey in the Catholic faith tremendously burdensome.”

Catholics understand that the world in which they live is not a black and white one. After two years of listening to the faithful, church leaders have heard criticisms about divorced and remarried Catholics being excluded from receiving Holy Communion, a lack of welcoming for gay and lesbians into the church community, wanting more acceptance for those from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and the need to extend a hand of friendship to immigrants.

Many of the faithful also want politics to end at the church doors, explicitly agreeing with Pope Francis, who has previously stated that he has never denied Holy Communion to anyone, including pro-choice Catholic politicians. These responses are an acknowledgement that the laity do not live in a black and white world but see all kinds of colors, including many shades of gray.

That said, they do have definitive views on certain moral issues. For example, when it comes to priestly sexual abuse of minors, the outrage has been loud and clear. There is also a recognition that moral clarity exists on other issues, including conducting extramarital affairs, possessing child pornography, and, among many Catholics, even enforcing the death penalty.

The pope understands that the world is messy and, against whatever advice political consultants might give, he is willing to engage in Socratic dialogues that his critics so often assiduously avoid. Perhaps it is this understanding that has made Pope Francis a popular figure, with 82 percent of Catholics expressing a favorable opinion. The pope’s candid comments about homosexuality, “Who am I to judge?” along with his encouragement to Fr. Martin to “continue this way” in his outreach to gay Catholics, make him a leading voice seeking to win converts, not blacklist heretics.

And then there is the pope’s admonishment to his priests – “the homilies!” – advising them to keep their sermons to 10 minutes and leave parishioners with “a thought, a feeling, and an image” so that “people may bring something home with them.”

This pope understands that the Catholic Church is at an inflection point. It can become smaller and more homogenous, and also older and whiter. Or it can see a world where converts are welcomed, mercy is extended and healing is found. This pope alone cannot accomplish that. But his emphasis on synodality and engaging in constructive dialogue with those outside the church doors is one way forward — the only way forward.

John Kenneth White is a professor of politics at The Catholic University of America. His latest book, co-authored with Matthew Kerbel, is “American Political Parties: Why They Formed, How They Function, and Where They’re Headed.”