Pope Francis Lays It Out

 

Pope Francis has condemned “conservatism” as “wanting to cling to something, and not seeing beyond it.” “It is a suicidal attitude.” “Being closed up inside a dogmatic box.”

Merriam-Webster defines conservative as “support of established institutions”; “tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions”; “marked by moderation or caution.”

Francis is misdefining “conservative” to mean “obsessive.”

But he obviously intends to malign real conservatives. 

He is, therefore,  objecting to and condemning support of established institutions, existing views, and conditions. And he objects to moderation and caution.

This means the pope stands in opposition to the Catholic Church: there is no more established institution. He stands against the “deposit of faith.” The reason for the church to exist is to preserve and spread dogma, this set of revealed truths. He calls it a “dogmatic box.” And he stands against the virtue of prudence, aka moderation or caution, which both Aquinas and the ancient Greeks considered the mother of all virtues.

"Prudence is the foundation of all these things and is the greatest good. Thus it is more valuable than philosophy and is the source of every other excellence.” It is “the cause, measure, and form of all virtues.”

So the pope stands against the Catholic church as an institution, against Catholicism as a faith or set of beliefs, and against virtue. 

Is the pope Catholic?

Clearly not.