Pope is a master of the one-liner, ideal for Twitter
Francis is open to misinterpretation, says Diarmuid Martin
THE Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has questioned whether Pope Francis’s Twitterlike one-liners are the best way to communicate with Catholics.
He has also said that even though people may think they like what the leader of the Catholic Church is saying, they could be mistaken about the Pope’s message.
Speaking at a lecture hosted by one of America’s most prestigious Catholic colleges last week, Archbishop Martin said: ‘ Has Pope Francis revolutionised the social teaching of the Church? The answer is yes, but probably not in the sense that you are thinking of.
‘One of the biggest difficulties is that we all like what Pope Francis says… when [what] he says is what
‘If you do not get it, you have lost it totally’
we like. Even there, I would have to qualify that statement and say rather than “when what he says is what we like’’ with “when we like what we think he says’’.
‘Pope Francis is the master of one-liners, short, pithy and striking phrases, ideal for Twitter.
‘The problem is that one-liners are like the parables. They have one message and if you get it, you get it,’ he said.
‘But if you do not get it or try to hyper-analyse it, you have lost it totally.’
Archbishop Martin made his remarks last Wednesday at Pennsylvania’s Villanova University.
Referring to the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops last month, Archbishop Martin said: ‘ The Synod was not the Synod of Confusion, yet there are many who seem to think this was the case. Why such
Irish ambassador emma Madigan meets Pope Francis talk of confusion? Most would draw the line at criticising Pope Francis directly, though some came close to doing so. There are those who do not like some of Pope Francis’s comments on social and economic questions either. Regarding the social teaching of the Church, some as the Pope himself mentioned, have called him a communist. Others say that his vision and experience are limited to the specific problems of Latin America or even only of Argentina and that he does not understand the market.
‘We are all trying hard to put
‘Some have called him a communist’
Pope Francis into categories, but these categories are most often our own categories.’
Meanwhile, referring to Ireland’s economic collapse Archbishop Martin accused experts and regu- lators of choosing to ignore the reality of what was unfolding.
‘In many cases they were guarding their own economic theories, rather than the realities,’ he said.
Meanwhile Pope Francis’s most vocal critic, who was demoted last week from his leadership of the Vatican’s Supreme Court, has said he would refuse Holy Communion to any Catholic legislator who voted for same-sex marriage.
Speaking before addressing a conference in Limerick, American Cardinal Raymond Burke called on the Pontiff to clarify where the Church stands on homosexuality and on giving Communion to divorced and remarried couples.