I find the possibility of a new adventure in evangelization exciting — beginning, as Francis does, at the beginning: “Jesus saves you.”

Anxiety Over Pope Francis? 

It’s a Case of Style More Than Substance

BY FATHER RAYMOND J. DE SOUZA

The interviews Pope Francis has granted have brought before the world’s attention the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a manner both refreshing and attractive.

At the same time, it is undeniable that portions of the interviews have also caused some discomfort in the Church, precisely among those who have labored heroically in service to the Church’s evangelizing mission.

To just take a few examples, Michael Novak, Janet Smith and Carl Olson have expressed misgivings. Such concerns should not just be dismissed. I think there are reasons — mostly to do with style and emphasis more than substantive disagreement — that explain some of that uneasiness.
Surprises

The three papal interviews — the airborne one with the flying Vatican press corps returning from World Youth Day Rio, the one granted to La Civiltà Cattolica and published in Jesuit journals around the world, and the interview published in La Repubblica — came like a bolt out of the blue.

Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI did interview books, but these were known about in advance, and journalists and commentators were briefed and had access to review copies.

There was time to read and understand what those popes were saying without hearing it first on the fly, as it were. Adequate preparation and notice do not compromise the ability of the pope to say what he wishes, but they can avoid misunderstandings and confusion. The main points of Francis’ message in all three interviews were at least partially obscured by such misunderstandings and confusion.

For example, that the Church must first proclaim the love and mercy of God and only then the moral consequences of discipleship was a principal theme of Benedict’s teaching.

However, Francis’ emphasis on that was obscured by the inflammatory headlines, about the Church getting over her “obsession” with pro-life matters, marriage and family, that appeared even before most people knew of the interview’s existence.

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