Francis vs John Paul II on Love & Marriage

Pope Francis gave his annual address to the Roman Curia on Thursday, 21 December 2023.

He obliquely supported Fiducia Supplicans “On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings”, which he released a few days before with the help of his friend Cardinal Victor Fernández, the head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. FS allows for the blessing of people in “irregular relationships.”

Pope Francis introduced Fiducia Supplicans without any of the Synodality he has demanded for other issues. (Synodality is one way to prepare the Church for a major change and it appears he has underestimated the opposition to this document.)

To the Curia he noted:

*Love and Responsibility:* Fr. Karol Wojtyła

“It takes courage to journey, to fare forward. It is a matter of love. It takes courage to love. I think of something I once heard from a zealous priest, which can also help us in our work in the Curia. He said that it is not easy to rekindle the embers under the ashes of the Church. Today we strive to kindle passion in those who have long since lost it. Sixty years after the Council, we are still debating the division between “progressives” and “conservatives,” but that is not the difference: the real, central difference is between lovers and those who have lost that initial passion. That is the difference. Only those who love can fare forward.”

love vs passion / progressive vs conservative

Pope Francis’ statement is loaded with problems, one of which is the mixing interpersonal love with that of religious life. Commitment to God is a form of true love, but he does not provide nuance on the differences.

Then there is his view of “passion” …which may be the first flames and develop into true love — or it may burn out or stay an infatuation or other illusory rapture. Pope Francis seems to lack insight into the deeper love needed for long-term relationship.

Add to this, his correlation of “lovers” to “progressives,” and, “those who have lost that initial passion” with “conservatives.” The logical fallacy here is Faulty Comparison: "Comparing one thing to another that is really not related, in order to make one thing look more or less desirable than it really is."

It is sad that a Pope can disparage the deep — less demonstrative — devotion of many conservative Catholics.

love and responsibility

A a little-known professor in the Catholic University of Lublin — Fr. Karol Wojtyła — wrote “Love and Responsibility,” which was published in Polish 1960. It was translated into English and published in 1981 after Fr. Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II in 1978! I read it in the early 1980’s — a long, long time ago..!

JPII presents a mature view of love, relationships and marriage. You can see this in the seven appended quotations! The responsibility of love is an important aspect missing in Pope Francis’ teachings.

“Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family – a domestic church.” [ Karol Wojtyła]

An excerpt from a review of Love and Responsibility: “The alternative, utilitarian view, according to which a sexual partner is an object for use, holds no possibility of fulfillment and happiness. Wojtyla argues that divorce, artificial methods of birth control, adultery (pre-marital sex), and sexual perversions are all in various ways incompatible with the personalistic view of the sexual self-realization of the human person. Perhaps the most striking feature of the book is that Wojtyla appeals throughout to ordinary, human experience, logically examined. He draws support for his views on the proper gratification of sexual needs, on birth control, and on other matters, from the findings of physiologists and psychologists. His conclusions coincide with the traditional teachings of the Church, which invoke scriptural authority.” [Kenneth Briggs, New York Times Book Review]

caveats

Love is not restricted to heterosexual relationship & can even occur in non-sexual relationship. This is not “irregular” — it is human.

conclusion

Between the two Popes, Pope John Paul II clearly had a better understanding of love, especially in relation to marriage. (If, perhaps overly idealistic at times.)

Pope Francis has rushed the introduction of Fiducia Supplicans at a bad time. The world is being manipulated by dark forces like the World Economic Forum and widespread paedophilia. There are two major armed conflicts, with some smaller regional ones. There is fracturing within the Church, some of which has been increased by Pope Francis’ vague, divisive teaching — culminating in Fiducia Supplicans.

This fiasco is his legacy.

Kevin Hay

You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 / Twitter — Twi𝕏 — @ kevinhay77

Copyright: Catholic Arena