What Does the Pope Mean By "Rigid"?

In interview this evening on Italian television, Pope Francis: “The biggest crisis facing the Church today is a worldly spirituality, which causes clericalism and a rigidity, an ideological rigidity which is opposed to the Gospel” pic.twitter.com/R0kmSxtOob

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) February 6, 2022

If there were a single word to sum up the papacy of Jorge Bergoglio for me it would be this one word: "Rigid". He doesn't seem to be able to leave it out of a single address and, as the quote above seems to suggest, he appears to see this as "the biggest crisis facing the Church today". What do you say to that apart from "Mental!" - It's just mental! Mental to engage in internal naval gazing and exacerbate divisions within the Church when we have so many challenges to the Gospel from the secular culture. Relativism & the cult of self-idolatry and self-worship is pushing in on Christianity from every angle and all the Catholic Church seems to do is accommodate and appease.

The powerful medicine the Catholic Church has for these societal ills - which are causing real harm to our culture and our children right now - is locked in the cabinet while the pope rolls up his sleeves and deals with....RIGIDITY.

Let's be honest, this term is typically Bergoglian. No one is even sure what, exactly, it means. I don't get why someone at the Vatican doesn't grab hold of him and tell him to either explain himself or just shut up. We can't say for sure exactly what is on his mind, but the tendency is to assume it means Catholics who abide by Church teaching instead of embracing the chaotic pseudo-Christianity preached by the Argentinian Pontiff. It really is hard to get away from the shocking impression that the Pope of Rome has being using the term "rigid" to attack orthodoxy, and this is all the more shocking when one considers he has done this throughout his papacy. At best, the term is a vague metaphor which in and of itself, calls for clarification - how very Pope Francis!

This term does not appear in Scripture or the Tradition of the Church, it is a Bergoglian innovation. It is something he uses as a hammer against those who he disagrees with. Although it is certainly not clear who exactly that is, although faithful, orthodox Catholics have taken it as a very personal attack and have felt personally criticised throughout the papacy of Jorge Bergoglio. Stop being so set in your ways! Loosen up!

When you consider the pope's avant garde approach to liturgy from the outset, his evident disdain for theology, fundamental Catholic doctrine and Canon Law (for example he raised Zanchetta, the gay porn bishop and one of the very first Argentines whom Francis promoted, on his own initiative, bypassing all canonical procedure, on July 23, 2013) it seems in keeping he would have an unreasonable hatred for anyone who does care about the Catholic Church.

Indeed, one of the biggest groups of Catholics since pope Francis was elected on Facebook was self-proclaimed "Rigids". The problem is made clear from this very fact: Catholics see rigidity - faithfulness as a good thing! Of course we do! I recall as a young man a priest telling me that the Catholic Church was like a great anchor in the sea of chaos. Secular storms rage all around the Barque of Peter but anchored to Sacred Scripture, Tradition & the Magisterium: that is to the truth that is Our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Church stands steady against the storm. 

It stands firm. It is the Rock. We are Faithful, steady...Rigid.

The use of this term as a pejorative seems counter-intuitive to any Catholic because we are by definition rigid in our faith. We are sure; certain in the knowledge of the truth. Surely we want the foundations of our beliefs to be firm and solid, not built on shifting sand? We want our beliefs to be something we can rely on. In Matthew 27 Jesus says that His teachings are a firm foundation to base our lives on: rigidity and a firm foundation is exactly what we should be looking for!

There are our two options in religion. We can expect our religion to change to become more compatible with who we are, which is idolatry, or we can change to be more aligned with who and what God is – which is worship.

So being firm in faith does not mean we do not change. Yes we change - metanoia - "change" is the whole point of the Gospel message Jesus preaches:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” - Mt 4:17

We grow in careful reflection of the challenge Jesus sets us every day:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." - Mt 7

Jesus doesn't say don't have a difficult conversation, He says understand your own flaws before you have that conversation. With careful reflection on this lesson we aim to change ourselves, to become like Jesus: Christ Like. The Imitation of Christ. That's our journey.

But in order to embark on this journey we need to train ourselves to stand fast to the teachings of Jesus despite the storm raging all about us that would force us to desist on our voyage to Christ. (2 Thess 2:15).

Pope Francis at Angelus: "The disciple of Jesus is a humble, open person, free from prejudices and rigidities." pic.twitter.com/bA72GSNA2N

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) February 13, 2022

If Catholics are bound to follow the teachings and doctrines of the church, how is that not "Rigid"? https://t.co/xhAJb4rLtw

— Jim McLean (@DoubtingDeacon) February 14, 2022

Brian Holdsworth does an excellent job of pointing out why the Pope should STOP using this confusing, ambiguous term in this video: