Perusing the pages of human history, and comparing ages long past, peoples distant from one another, and the most different cultures, we notice one common denominator: the presence of egoism, power struggles, greed and all the other vices related to pride. It is not surprising, since our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell into the trap of the evil one, thinking that by their disobedience they would become ‘like gods’ (cf Gen 3:5).
On the other hand, when Jesus came to the world, he taught us about the evils of pride, and his whole life was a profound example of humility: he wished to become man, to be born in a stable, to die on the cross… And he showed his disciples the path to follow: ‘Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mt 20: 26-28).
However, the humility of Jesus that we are all called to imitate is often confused with a false modesty which leads to forgetting the greatness of the Christian vocation, leading to a timid attitude of submission towards the enemies of the Church, or even a simulation of attenuating Catholic doctrine and morals so as not to ‘hurt the feelings’ of those who think differently. And as always, there are those who make the most of certain affirmations of the ecclesiastical authorities to project this distorted vision…
Perhaps something like this is what happened to Pope Francis in one of his morning homilies on this topic. Were his words well understood? Or had we better ask what were his intentions by saying them? The Magisterium, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church can help us to answer…Read more…
If Pope Francis is so humble, why does he not accept criticism? Like, why the outbursts with the cardinals, at the angelus and so on?
Why? Because he follows the Argentine dictator’s rulebook:
Rule 1: The chief is always right.
Rule 2: In case of doubt, refer to rule 1 above.