PopeWatch: Fox

Roberto de Mattei

July 5, 2023

The appointment of Víctor Manuel Fernández, archbishop of La Plata, as head of the congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is one of the most disturbing acts of the pontificate of Pope Francis, not only for the choice of the questionable figure, but also for the unusual letter that accompanied his appointment. To Archbishop Fernández, known for his positions that often diverge from the Magisterium of the Church, especially in the field of morality, Francis wrote on 1 July 2023: «The Dicastery over which you will preside in other times came to use immoral methods. Those were times when, rather than promoting theological knowledge, possible doctrinal errors were pursued. What I expect from you is certainly something very different.».

What times is the pope referring to, and what are the immoral methods used by the congregation that, since it took its current name in 1965, has been led by, among others, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger (1981-2005) and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller (2012-2017)? Pope Francis urges the new prefect to avoid “pursuing” doctrinal errors. In fact, he affirms, quoting Evangeli Gaudium, the Church “‘grow[s] in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth’ without this implying the imposition of a single way of expressing it. For ‘Differing currents of thought in philosophy, theology, and pastoral practice, if open to being reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow’”.

It would seem that the Church must tolerate within itself, in a dialectical manner, different theological opinions, as long as they are not too «rigid», namely too consistent with orthodoxy, and that one should not content oneself “with a desk-bound theology”, with «a cold and hard logic that seeks to dominate everything». The truths of the Catholic faith must not be presented in an assertive, universal manner rigorously in keeping with the previous Magisterium. No document prior to Francis’s pontificate, not even of Vatican Council II, is cited in the eleven footnotes that accompany the disconcerting document.

Go here to read the rest.  Setting a fox to guard the chicken coop is par for the course in this Pontificate.