Pope Francis’ Ecclesiology

Ecclesiology is one of those churchy terms many hear but which is not well defined.  It means, in a sense, how one understands the mission, function, or duty of the Church, both by itself and with respect to the world.  Ecclesiology is one of those terms which has become perhaps far too common since the last council.  I must say, before I get to the meat of this post, I almost did not post this.  I have been really struggling with how much to cover the Pope, and how to cover him, because I cannot give scandal.  But I think these things need to be known, because of their huge import and potential impact.

Louis Verrecchio has a quote from Pope Francis’ Wednesday general audience, wherein Francis defines how he views the Church.  Here it is:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: In the Creed, we profess that the Church is “catholic”; in other words, she is universal. We can understand this catholicity in three ways. First, the Church is catholic because she proclaims the apostolic faith in its entirety; she is the place where we meet Christ in his sacraments and receive the spiritual gifts needed to grow in holiness together with our brothers and sisters. [How about receive the Grace necessary for salvation?] The Church is also catholic because her communion embraces the whole human race, and she is sent to bring to the entire world the joy of salvation and the truth of the Gospel. Finally, the Church is catholic because she reconciles the wonderful diversity of God’s gifts to build up his People in unity and harmony…

Verrecchio then goes on to analyze this statement, in concert with the Pope’s still stunning words that proselytism is solemn nonsense.  I added that emphasis above, and will add emphasis and comments below:

 …..one is simply left to wonder exactly what it means to say that the Church’s “communion embraces the whole human race.”

Does the pope really believe that the entire human race enjoys, in some form or fashion, communion with the Church?

Well, yes, apparently so, which explains why he has so much difficulty accepting the Church’s mission as the Lord plainly gave it. [The Great Commission, to go forth and baptize in Christ’s Name, revealing and living – and expecting others to live – all (ALL!) that Christ revealed to His Apostles, and through them, throughout the entire Tradition of the Church]

In other words, if communion with the Church already exists among the entire human race, to what end does it make sense to call others to conversion? As the pope said to Eugenio Scalfari, “It makes no sense!”  [And, I’m sorry I have to add this, but this vision of the Church – if it be accurate, and there is some data that says this definition from the general audience may not contain the fullness of Pope Francis vision or understanding of the Church – this vision is heavily embued with modernism as I defined it in two posts yesterday. Remarkably so.  This is straight up out of the French modernists, de Lubac and de Chardin and Congar and Loisy, that the Church subsists in ALL men, even those who specifically reject the Church, and Christ is already in ALL men and all living things make up God, ergo, all are automatically saved as part of a “divine being.”  So why hassle people with evangelization?  This vision is utter DEATH for the Church, as the past 5 decades have so plainly revealed. Mind, I’m not saying Pope Francis really believes such, I’m simply relaying the implications IF he does.]

What then is the mission of the Church? I mean, she must have a mission, right?

Indeed, and Francis tells us that it is “to bring to the entire world the joy of salvation and the truth of the Gospel.”  [And as I noted above, Pope Francis seems to speak remarkably little of salvation.  Conversion is for a better life, not salvation.]

It’s all starting to make sense now, isn’t it?

As Pope Francis sees things, since the whole human race is already “embraced by the Church’s communion,” we need only let them know the joyful news that salvation is presently theirs! [Does this make sense? Does it all come together?  Perhaps……this bit certainly seems to fit with the proselytism is solemn nonsense bit, but could there be more, something to make this line of thinking orthodox?  I have to state, for the record, that Guadium Et Spes 22 does, in a very unclear and imprecise way, claim that Christ “in a certain manner” is united to all men through His Incarnation.  But that is one of many unclear claims in VII documents that sort of hang there like a hand grenade with the pin almost out, just waiting to go off, because this new claim was never well justified or tied in with the prior Tradition]

Lastly, it only makes sense, therefore, that the final part of the mission of this “catholic” Church is to invite the peoples of the world to realize and behave as if they are in communion, regardless of who they are or what they may believe. [Thus, atheists can “do good” and achieve salvation, even while specifically repudiating both Christ and His Church. Even though such a claim is a total contradiction of Sacred Scripture, for, “without Me, you can do nothing,” and “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, no one can come to the Father except through Me.  In fact, claiming that souls could work their way to salvation outside Grace was condemned as the Pelagian heresy and fought for a loong time.]

That is why the “Church of Francis” feels called to “reconcile the wonderful diversity of God’s gifts to build up his People in unity and harmony,” and make no mistake about it, among “God’s gifts” as this pope understands them is religious diversity and the multiplicity of false religions and false gods that pollute the human landscape.

——————End Quote———————

Well, I pray not.  But we do know that Pope Francis strongly believes that the Old Covenant is still intact, and the Jews have their own path of salvation, which makes Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus into something of a joke, in addition to contradicting the Scripture quoted above, and much more from Scripture. But both Benedict and JPII believed the same.

I do feel compelled to reiterate, in closing, how modernism, Catholic modernism in particular, posited that the Catholic Church was NOT the One, True, Everlasting Church instituted by Christ to be His Church and Body on earth until His Coming, but that it was just one of many intermediary steps along man’s path of earthly and spiritual evolution, sure to be superseded by a future one world materialist new age modernist “church” to which all men would belong.  But later modernists felt that the Church must change to become that one world “church.”  Such were very influential during and after Vatican II.  Many in the hierarchy have visions of a much more worldly, immanentist church.  It is still possible Pope Francis is not one of these, but…….