THREAD: On the opinions of popes.

(1) We’ve had crisis after crisis under Francis because he can’t stop publicly giving his opinions about every topic under the sun. And the media report his every opinion as an official “shift” for the Church.

(2) Yet For 2,000 years popes have had opinions on every topic under the sun. Almost no Catholics ever knew any of those opinions until very recently, so it’s clear the opinions of popes have absolutely *nothing* to do with salvation. So why do we even care what the pope thinks?

(3) We care because he’s a celebrity. We care because he represents Catholicism to the world. And poorly-catechized Catholics care because they think it *does* impact their salvation. But it doesn’t.

(4) The fact is that a pope’s opinions about any topic don’t matter any more than anyone else’s opinions. And in fact, they often matter less, because he is not an expert in many of the topics he addresses (economics, science, politics, etc.).

(5) Even his opinions on religious topics don’t matter, because they are just opinions. All that matters is when he *teaches* something in his capacity as universal pastor on faith or morals. Then we should listen—but even then it’s not always necessary that we agree.

(6) Only when he is teaching infallibility do we have to submit to his teachings. All other times we should view his teachings in light of 2,000 years of magisterial teachings.

(7) And again, his *opinions* are no more important than the opinions of any celebrity. They don’t need to automatically be treated with “respect”, any more than you have to treat the political opinions of a great musician with respect.

(8) Of course, saying that is harder than actually believing it. For many people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, what the pope says is what the Church teaches. It’s scandalous, then, when the pope gives an opinion contrary to Church teaching.

(9) But I’m convinced the best way to combat this scandal is to make sure it’s clear that the opinions of popes are no more valuable than any others. If they make sense, great; if they are stupid, call them stupid.

(10) Instead of feeling guilty because you are supposedly “disrespecting the Holy Father,” just remember that Christ did not give us the papacy in order to give us a 24/7 cycle of opinions to chase after. He gave us the papacy as a protection in times of great controversy.

(11) So we can blissfully ignore most of what the pope says, without any fear of being a “bad Catholic.” The papolaters will tell you you’re not faithful, but remember this: if an 8th century peasant didn’t need to know what the pope thinks about a topic, neither do you. /fin