Constantly criticizing Pope Francis is similar to claiming that the Eucharist is not the body of Christ.
Twice this week, the Gospel at Mass involved Christ taking a child and placing it in the midst of the disciples in response to their query: "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" [Luke's version Lk 9:46-50 was the Gospel for Monday of the 26th Week of Ordinary Time (9/30) and Matthew's version (Matt 18:1-4) was the Gospel on the Memorial of St. Therese of Liseux (10/1). I have been pondering this for the past few days in light of the significant push back I have seen against Pope Francis from some of his own "children," that is, some of my fellow Catholics. Their criticism saddens me and I am not sure what to do about it... Anyway, the thought struck me that often in scripture, the images of both children and sheep are used to describe the faithful. What is one thing that children and sheep have in common? TRUST. Children and sheep blindly trust their father/shepherd. Is that not what we are called to do with respect to Pope Francis? He is the shepherd appointed by God, our Heavenly Father. As God's children, can we not trust that our Heavenly Feather put the right shepherd in place? Trust is not always easy, but I think trust in God is the most appropriate response for us faithful right now. Let us trust in our Heavenly Father and, by extension, trust in our earthly shepherd, Pope Francis. In that regard, I think the author of the blog, Ms. Trasancos, hits the nail on the head with respect to the destructive nature of the criticism coming from within the fold. It hurts. We need to stop the divisive bickering. Let us pray for the Pope. Let us trust in God's will and His plan for His Church.
Every time I read the comments in articles or the strong opinions instantly against what the pope said without really digging into it further, it just always reminds me of the Pharisees and Sanhedrin always questioning or challenging Jesus. My father always told me growing up to think before we speak. I take this further than just thinking but do a little digging or research first before we just attack or react. I am not saying that we shouldn't react or have opinions just that I have noticed a lot of spin and questioning coming from either snippets or wrong translations or media spin. There is a lot of smoke being generated right now and I think it is because satan is on the ropes with this pope.
