We can’t say we weren’t warned.
On World Youth day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Pope Francis, excited by the crowds of young people, adopted something of the energetic creativity of the teenagers he was surrounded by and exhorted them to make a mess:
“I want to tell you something. What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess. We knew that in Rio there would be great disorder, but I want trouble in the dioceses!
“I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out!”
During the years since, he has put into action himself what he urged the youth in his native South America to do – and a mess has followed.
Whereas youth create a mess more often by shaking the system with exuberant interrogations, Pope Francis himself has made use of a more subtle method. He has engaged in ambiguity. That is until the recent “dubia”, when the policy changed and the strategy became more overt. According to my interpretation of what Pope Francis has said, ambiguity has now given way to direct action on homosexual blessings.
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