The Three Graces

Not, not those!

I think I shall always be bothered by the imprecision of Pope Francis' words, for as long as his pontificate persists. The sound bites often seem Hallmark-ish, ("Hallmawkish"?) and I think it behooves a spiritual leader to take note of common words more specific meaning within his particular "faith tradition."
(It's why I had such a visceral reaction to being asked to sing Ruth Duck's As a Fire Is Meant For Burning.... really??!?#?? NOT to "preach our creeds"?)
Yes, words mean different things in different contexts, but as a Catholic, in the context of catechesis, (which homiletics is,) you wouldn't, for instance, talk about a skanky ballet dancer as being "graceful."
So Francis' talk of the Gospels at the Chrism Mass...

"A single word - Gospel - that, even as it is spoken, becomes truth, brimming with joy and mercy. We should never attempt to separate these three graces of the Gospel: its truth, which is non-negotiable; its mercy, which is unconditional and offered to all sinners; and its joy, which is personal and open to everyone,"

...seems off to me.
Because yes, those three things are sharing in God's love, freely given (the simplest definition of Grace,) but, and pardon me for putting words in the Holy Father's mouth, but I wonder if what he really meant was a reference to the Theological Virtues, which do indeed seem to correlate with what he called "graces."
Because holding on to Truth is the essence of having Faith, our confident Hope cannot but fill us with Joy, and the granting of Mercy to others, (and ourselves!) is the highest good of Love in Action, (the way I describe Love/Charity/Christian Love to my religious education kiddos.)
And, of course, what sets the Theological Virtues apart is that they cannot be obtained by human effort, but are infused by God into a person freely given, (and in need of unwrapping, as I like to tell them.)

(Is it so wrong that on the cusp of Papa Ratz's birthday, at this, as at nearly every instance in which Francis says something that starts to make sense to me and cuae me to think in a new way, my wish is to know how his predecessor would have teased out the theme and crafted it into some all but perfect gem of theology for the blundering but trying, like me? Ah, well, if wishes were horses....)

The Man Who DOES Kneel Before God (edited)

As I said in another context, it's easy enough to google evidence.... ENOUGH with the calumny and detraction. (Unless you think all these are photoshopped...)

     

I don't know his life, I don't know his knees - and neither, I dare say, do you.

Trying Not To Play "Gotcha!" With the Holy Father

Pope Francis, not sure why, brings out the worst in me.

I know, I already KNOW, headlines are like as not completely deceptive, sometimes flat contradicted by the facts as presented in the article that follows. (Not as big a problem in middle-of-the-road Catholic news outlets, but still...)
And I'm not taking all the blame for this, I think it is a matter of sad confluence that we have at this time a president who thinks in tweets and and a pope who preaches in sound bytes.
Governing well may take more than 140 characters, the Holy Spirit probably doesn't sound like a Hallmark card.
So I see, "Trusting in God means letting go of what we want, Pope says,"and my first thought is, Oh, really? than why do you seem to be getting all bent out of shape when thwarted by Synods, Knights, and Catholics who feel a connection with previous centuries of Catholicism?
And now on top of this, I'm wondering, why is it all right to say, “this is my opinion: women are more courageous than men.”
Are positive generalizations not just as sexist/racist/whateverist as negative ones?
You might, in this PC world, barely get away with, “this is my opinion: men are less courageous than women,” just barely, but there'd be some sniffing, although it means more of less the same thing.
But yeah, you'd get away with it.
Because. Privilege.
But could you imagine the outcry if instead, “this is my opinion: women are less courageous than men.”
He might find himself in Origen's shoes. Or other item of clothing.
Oh, and I also know the Law of Projection, by which we are all to be judged in the 21st century, so if this bother me, clearly it is because if it is a fault it is one of which I myself am most grievously guilty.
So, I see an apt Lenten penance suggesting itself, weeks early....

The Woman Taken in An Other-Than-First Marriage

"This woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”
They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus asked, "So, is this a formal dubium?"
And they answered,"Well, uhm... I dunno... so what if it is?"
And He spoke, "Then I might not answer you. So.... in what diocese do you live?"
And one said, "Uhm.... Malta?"
But yet another declared, "I'm from Philly."
And they were sore confused.
But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, "Are you at peace with God?"
The woman replied, "Yeah, I guess so..."
“Neither do I condemn you. Go, from now on try to make it work with your current partner, okay?”

The Pope Gives Definitive, Clear Answer to Questions of Divorce, Remarriage and Sacraments

Assuming post-synodal exhortations are magisterial, (I am not convinced they are) and magisterial teachings may lawfully be developed, but not negated, (of this, I am convnced.)

Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage.
This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children's upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they "take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples."
Similarly, the respect due to the sacrament of Matrimony, to the couples themselves and their families, and also to the community of the faithful, forbids any pastor, for whatever reason or pretext even of a pastoral nature, to perform ceremonies of any kind for divorced people who remarry. Such ceremonies would give the impression of the celebration of a new sacramentally valid marriage, and would thus lead people into error concerning the indissolubility of a validly contracted marriage.

Well, that answers that.

So, dubia schmubia.

"Dives", Not a Bad Guy, Once You Get To Know Him

The Holy Father addressed catechists.

We all know the story from this past Sunday's Gospel, the rich man and the poor man who begged at his gate, yearning for scraps from his table.

The Gospel of today, which recounts the story of the rich man and Lazarus, “helps us understand what it means to love,” Francis continued.
He noted that the rich man is not presented as a bad person, but simply as suffering from a “terrible blindness”

Yeah, that's it, got it?
Not. A. Bad. Person.
So......just condemned to eternal damnation for not payin' attention.
You know, Jesus is telling us that the Father somehow allows the rich man to endure agony, to be tormented in fire until the end of time, even though he wasn't a bad person.

Does that sound to you like the way God does things?

Of course, not to worry, because just as with Sodom and Gomorrah, God changes his mind. You remember...

God creates an authentic relationship and pushes us to be daring. As daring as Abraham’s intercession prayer in favor of Sodom. A city upon which nobody would have bet a dime. His intercession prayer and his will to dare save Sodom. The city is saved because some righteous ones are there, even though a few of them. But the city is saved above all because Abraham, a man of prayer, is not a relentless accuser, he doesn’t speak against but in favor. 

"Demythologizing the Papacy"

And absolutely fascinating report by the wonderful Edward Pentin on a presentation by Archbishop Georg Gänswein.

Archbishop Gänswein, who doubles as the personal secretary of the Pope Emeritus and prefect of the Pontifical Household, said Benedict did not abandon the papacy like Pope Celestine V in the 13th century but rather sought to continue his Petrine Office in a more appropriate way given his frailty....

Drawing on the Latin words “munus petrinum” — “Petrine ministry” — Gänswein pointed out the word “munus” has many meanings such as “service, duty, guide or gift”. He said that “before and after his resignation” Benedict has viewed his task as “participation in such a ‘Petrine ministry’.

“He left the Papal Throne and yet, with the step he took on 11 February 2013, he has not abandoned this ministry,” Gänswein explained, something "quite impossible after his irrevocable acceptance of the office in April 2005.“

Instead, he said, "he has built a personal office with a collegial and synodal dimension, almost a communal ministry...

“Therefore he has also not retired to a monastery in isolation but stays within the Vatican — as if he had taken only one step to the side to make room for his successor and a new stage in the history of the papacy.” With that step, he said, he has enriched the papacy with “his prayer and his compassion placed in the Vatican Gardens....

“So it is not surprising,” he said, “that some have seen it as revolutionary, or otherwise as entirely consistent with the gospel,  while still others see in this way a secularized papacy as never before, and thus more collegial and functional, or even simply more humane and less sacred. And still others are of the opinion that Benedict XVI, with this step, has almost — speaking in theological and historical-critical terms — demythologized the papacy.”

I will not deny that I miss Pope Benedict every day, but I utterly denounce this insistence on pitting the theology and faith and Catholicity of Francis against that of Benedict, or vice versa.
Different styles, different ways of expression, (there is no doubt to which I incline,) different personalities... different reserves of prudence? of the prudence of reserve?  but they are brothers in arms.
Cooperatores Veritatis , indeed.
The unseemly backroom machination against the popes are no surprise, but I did not know about the sister who had been killed in the car accident.
That is the kind of blow that can be hard to bear at any stage in life.
Any way, good read, thank you Catholic Register.
I am finding, with the raging partisanship that seems to have invaded every kind of social and institutionalized information supplying, that there is very little that we can depend on.
Sometimes our enemies tell us the truth, and our allies lie.
Did you hear what....? Well, no, so and so said that what really.... But it said in.... But were there actual quotations, or did someone mischaracterize... Yes, he wrote that but in context he clearly....
And yes, I have been troubled by some things actually said, and other things imputed to Pope Francis, and I don't always think he has phrased things as felicitously as he might have, or taken into account likely misinterpretations.
But so long as neither Ratzinger nor Gänswein has turned on him, neither shall I dare to do such a thing.

Earth Day the Wrong Way, Earth Day the Right Way

First, we have a commendation of literal tree-hugging.
A Franciscan friar:

“The two of us made a kind of journey together where we would take three steps, bow to the earth, and then take another three steps. Whenever my friend saw a flower, he would stop for a while and bow deeply. When he encountered a tree, he would stop for a while and hug the tree. You could feel the mystery of small flowers and trees…they cannot speak in the same way we do, but they are more deeply related to the mystery of God, the mystery of life.”[Emphasis supplied]

Um... no.
Just no.
"Small flowers and trees"? NOT more deeply related to the mystery of God than are humans, (who are, ya know, made in the image and likeness of God,) not more deeply related to anything other than other trees and flowers, and maybe not even to them.

Contrast to the spur of the moment remarks of a Jesuit pope:

two images came to me: The desert, and the forest. I thought, these people, all of you, all, are taking up the desert in order to transform it into a forest. They go where there’s desert, where there isn’t hope, and they do things to make a forest of this desert. The forest is full of trees, it’s full of vegetation, but too disorganized … but, life is like that. Passing from the desert to the forest is the beautiful work you do! You transform deserts into forests!...There are many deserts in the cities, deserts in people’s lives who don’t have a future, because there’s always – and I’ll underline a word here – always there are prejudices, fears. These people live and die in the desert of the cities....The desert is ugly, both the desert in the heart of all of us, as well as the desert in the city, in the peripheries, which is also an ugly thing. There’s also a desert that’s in the gated neighborhoods … It’s ugly, but the desert is there too. We must not be afraid to go to the desert to transform it into a forest, where there’s exuberant life, and to go dry the many tears so that everyone can smile. [Emphasis supplied]

Why, why... it's almost as if he's trying to tell us other people should be more important to us than trees! That the salvation of the snail darter must take a back seat to the salvation of souls!

That, dare I say? the Church rather than the Earth is our Mother!
Well done, Holy Father!
(Extra points for the reminder that the poverty with which the People of God must most be concerned is not  want of coin.)

Pope Francis Is Not Always Talking To You!

Yet more proof, were it needed, that the Holy Father's experience, upbringing, perspective -- all are vastly different from mine, (and, I suspect, from that of most of the Enlgish-speaking 1st world,) so if he seems to harp on a problem of whihc I see no evidence, or fixate on an aspect of the human condition that is not even on my radar - GET OVER IT, Scelata!

Fortune tellers and seers cannot lead people to eternal life, and those who listen to such charlatans are not following Jesus, Pope Francis has said....
“He who follows Jesus is not mistaken!” the Pope said.
“Some people might say, ‘Yes, father, but things are difficult. So many times I don’t see clearly what to do. I was told that there was a seer and I went here or I went there; I went to a fortuneteller, who read the cards.’ If you do this, you do not follow Jesus! You follow another who gives you another path, a different (path),” Francis added.

"I see a tall, dark pope in your future...."

Papal Document: " In addressing this Encyclical to you, my Brother Bishops, it is my intention to state the principles necessary for discerning what is contrary to "sound doctrine", drawing attention to those elements of the Church's moral teaching which today appear particularly exposed to error, ambiguity or neglect."

Oh, sorry, wrong Pope.
But isn't that really at the root of the AL tizzy - one good, holy man's prudential judgement as to which teachings of the Church "today appear particularly exposed to error"?

Pope Francis' experience is different from Pope St. John Paul's, (and needless to say, from mine.)

I can disagree with him, (with either of them - I can even use gentle sarcasm, I think,) without calls for his head.

Frankly, if you think the Holy Father goes too far in decrying a dearth of mercy, and you express that by hurling words like idiot, nincompoop, evil, jackass and clown at him or those who agree with him - you're proving his point.

So if you think the Straighten Up and Fly Right Gang isn't nearly as dangerous to the salvation of humanity as the Wink Wink Nudge Nudge Absolutions For Everybody Absolutions on the House Party, make your case.

Explain why leaving sinners in their sin is the opposite of mercy, and ignoring the plight of the abandoned in favor of ministering to the abandonee is both unjust and unmerciful - but do it with love.

Here's my quibble of the day:

How is it possible that as the world grows ever smaller, information ever more accessible, instantaneous communication ever easier, social safety-nets of an ever finer mesh - how is it possible that people seeking to marry and be given in marriage in today's world are somehow more in need of a mulligan than their great- great- grandparents were?

Receiving the Sacraments, the Way We Live Now

Be courageous, go to Confession!

So urges Pope Francis.
God bless him, he has made commendation of this sacrament a centerpiece of his pontificate, God prosper his work.

In preparing a class on the "Sacraments of Healing" it suddenly hit me - not only has the Church of most of my lifetime, at least in this country, taken rather different tacks with the two sacraments that are most available and one would think would be those by which each of us is blessed most frequently with an outpouring of God's grace...

It has likewise turned the practice of the 2 sacraments of healing on its ear!

I have long laughed at the inconsistency of the .... what, "progressive"? not really, but whatever... of the Catholic establishment in its demands, (that amount to bullying,) regarding frequent reception of the Eucharist, (especially under both species,) and its simultaneous denigration of the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Yes, I said "denigration," and I meant it.
The "box" is disparaged, priests chase penitents away for wasting the priest's time with petty sins, catechists have discouraged inculcating reception of the sacrament by making much of the fact that canon law does not absolutely "require" it prior to a child's first Communion, the condtion of Confession for gaining Indulgences elicits the same kind of contempt indulgenced practices themselves do, the specification of "mortal" is always now highlighted in the precept of the Church dealing with the sacrament of penance, (if, indeed, anyone is so backward or ill-bred as to mention the Precepts of the Church).....
It seems never to have occurred to them that what makes confession of mortal sin terrifying is that by deprecating and making difficult if not downright unavailable the confession of venial sin, (who is going to make the effort to receive "by appointment" for "hitting my brother"?) confession itself has been turned into a daunting "emergency procedure."
The prospect is as horrifying as a root canal - how can someone who has never brushed his teeth be less than sick at the thought?
Or perhaps that was the intention? to eliminate confession entirely?
Guilt and shame are baaaaaad.
Do away with them by neutering the concept of sin, of there being anything for which one should feel guilty.

But as our beloved Holy Father has said, "“It’s healthy to have a bit of shame… It does us good because it makes us more humble.”

But strangely, at the same time as the practice of confession has been frittered away to nothingness, reception of the sacrament of the Sick is growing by leaps and bounds!
Some parishes offer it at every single Mass on a weekend, two or even three times a year, and everyone is encouraged to partake, Getting a scratchy feeling, might be a cold coming on, sign me up!

I literally know a normally healthy, walking around, living-her-life adult who has received the Sacrament of the Sick far more times than she has been to Confession.

How did this happen?

Do you think Francis can change how things are?

"Let us pray to the Lord to help us be 'infected' by His mercy" - 12 Quotes from the Holy Father on Mercy and Forgiveness

1."Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: Encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God. The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil. Christ carries in His body and on His soul all the weight of evil, and all its destructive force. He burns and transforms evil through suffering, in the fire of His suffering love."

2. "The secret of the true happiness of individuals and peoples: to believe and proclaim that the Lord has done marvellous things for us and that His mercy is from generation to generation on those who are faithful to him."

3. "God loves us in a way that we might call 'obstinate' and enfolds us in His inexhaustible tenderness."

4. "We are all sinners but God heals us with an abundance of grace, mercy and tenderness."

5. "How many people also in our time are in search of God, in search of Jesus and of His church, in search of divine mercy, and are waiting for a 'sign' that will touch their minds and their hearts! Today, as then, the evangelist reminds us that the only 'sign' is Jesus raised on the cross: Jesus who died and rose is the absolutely sufficient sign."

6. "Wherever people are suffering, make it your task to serve them."

7. "To understand and accept God's merciful love: May this be your commitment, first of all in your families and then in every neighborhood"

8.  "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil."

9. "'Thus says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning'. But is this return to God possible? Yes, because there is a force that does not reside in our hearts, but that emanates from the heart of God and the power of His mercy. ... It is possible to return to the Lord, it is a 'grace', because it is the work of God and the fruit of faith that we entrust to His mercy. But this return to God becomes a reality in our lives only when the grace of God penetrates and moves our innermost core."

10. "Love never ends or fails. Love never ends. Everything must be based on love - the relation between two friends, my ministry, my service; the church services in every field must be based on love. Why? Because God is Love."

11. "We must note that Christ, in revealing the love-mercy of God, at the same time demanded from people that they also should be guided in their lives by love and mercy. This requirement forms part of the very essence of the messianic message, and constitutes the heart of the Gospel ethos."

12. [Our Lenten fast is not accomplished with mere abstinence from food, but with good deed; moreover]  "it should lead to personal amendment and domestic harmony... Let faults be forgiven, let bonds be loosed, offences wiped out, designs of vengeance fall through, that the holy festival through both Divine and human grace may find all happy, all innocent.
...................
Ah, but which Pope, you ask?  Well, 2, 6, 8,  and 11 are from Pope Saint John Paul II; 4 from Pope Francis; 10, Pope Theodore II; and 12, Pope St Leo the Great. The others and the title are Pope Benedict XVI.

So, Benedict's Not the Only One Who May Have Retired a Bit Too Soon?

I kid - obviously the Pope Emeritus like the retired recently deceased Theologian of the Papal Household deserved, and undoubtedly needed some rest.

But look what Cardinal Cottier said of his "job," and think of how useful he could have been in the age of papal improv:

Before his retirement, Cardinal Cottier explained to the Catholic News Service that the most important part of his job was to ensure that the many thousands of words written by Vatican aides did not contain any dubious theology or phrases which could embarrass the Church.
The cardinal explained that he also had to ensure that the Pope did not express too much about some topics. “By this, I mean that when we have a theological issue that is still open to discussion and study, it’s not a good thing that the Pope pronounce on it too early. Because when the Pope speaks with authority, it means the discussion is closed.”

"Okay, look, come back tomorrow, okay? no, no...we're not gonna build a wall, or anything like that, we're just gonna.... make a bridge! yeah, that's it! Come back later, I'll have my people build a bridge for ya! Then my people will call your people and..."

"I mean, it's really right there in my title, when you think about it, Attila...."

Famous Persons Not From the Realm of Filmdom Appearing in Movies?

Methinks Bolingbroke Henry IV would be ag'n' it. (as is the Holy Father):

Had I so lavish of my presence been,
So common-hackney'd in the eyes of men
So stale and cheap to vulgar company,
Opinion, that did help me to the crown,
Had still kept loyal to possession
And left me in reputeless banishment,
A fellow of no mark nor likelihood.
By being seldom seen, I could not stir
But like a comet I was wonder'd at;
That men would tell their children 'This is he;'
Others would say 'Where, which is Bolingbroke?'
And then I stole all courtesy from heaven,
And dress'd myself in such humility
That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts,
Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths,
Even in the presence of the crowned king.
Thus did I keep my person fresh and new;
My presence, like a robe pontifical,
Ne'er seen but wonder'd at: and so my state,
Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast
And won by rareness such solemnity.

Pope Francis and His Audience

I donate to what I believe is a wonderful organization, FOCUS, whose focus is Catholic campus ministry, by young people for young people.
Anyway, a newsletter contained this, which is a month old, yet timely.
I'm not certain I buy everything in it, in fact, I'm certain that I don't, but it does tease out a theme to which I have often returned - before judging what someone has to say, (in this case, the Holy Father,) try to look into to whom he is saying it, and seeing if that doesn't mitigate some of your criticism.
We especially owe the courtesy of the presumption of goodwill and the presumption of possessing an understanding of Church matters that surpasses our own to our leaders in the Faith, I believe.

There I was, listening to Pope Francis’ speech to Congress with my wife on Thursday morning. Toward the end of the speech, Pope Francis brought up two topics, one on the dignity of every human life and the other on the fundamental role of the family. During one of the pauses for applause, I emphatically whispered under my breath: “Say it! Say it!”
What did I want Pope Francis to say, you ask?

Two things, to be exact:
1.    That all children deserve a mother and father, and that we can’t allow gay marriage.

2.    That it is murder to kill children in the womb, and that we can’t allow abortion.

While he alluded to both, he didn’t in fact say these things. Though he has said both of these things before, I wanted him to tell our politicians directly. But he didn’t.
I’ll be honest: I was frustrated, confused — and even a little let down. .... I do think it is worth reflecting on why Pope Francis did what he did and to see the positives of his particular style...
The Catholic Church promotes three transcendentals: Truth, Beauty and Goodness. These transcendentals go back to the days of ancient Greek philosophy; they help us to understand how to communicate the faith.
So often we Catholics want to hear Truth. In fact, over the last generation, the truth was often missing from our homilies, our CCD classes and our conversations within the Catholic Church. The faith became confused. The doctrines of the Church became relative. There was a great need (and still a great need in the Church) for people to know Truth.
Many of us within the Church have made great sacrifices for these truths. We’ve followed them at a cost. We’ve defended them to our family and friends. And because of this, many of us in the Church are starving for our leaders to stand up and preach the truth.
But one thing to keep in mind is that Pope Francis wasn’t addressing the Church. He was addressing the secular world. Pope Francis’ speech to Congress reminded me that the greatest need for those outside of the Church is to see the Church as good.
We who are faithful Catholics often assume that the Church is good because we are in it. But the leading Western opinion is that religion is bad, that the Catholic Church is the poster child for conducting evil through religion....
There is no possibility that these people will listen to the Church about the truth when they don’t believe that the Church is good....
When the world looks at Pope Francis and hears his words, they remember the goodness of the Church. They remember the kindness of a priest instead of the scandals. They recall the service of a nun instead of accusing the Church of hoarding wealth.
Pope Francis helps those outside of the Church to remember its goodness; he did this quite remarkably in his speech to Congress without leaving the truth behind. While he didn’t say exactly what I wanted him to say, and while he didn’t preach every truth that he could have, he did help restore the belief in the goodness of the Church. I believe this most of all is what will help non-believers listen to and dialogue with the truth — something that might not have been possible before.

Dear, Dear, and Right After I Was Whining About People Overusing the Word "Attack"

Here is Steve Skojec reporting on a rather ignorant-of-the-subject-on-which-he-wishes-to-pontificate academic ATTACKING the wonderful Cardinal Burke by unjustly accusing the Cardinal of ATTACKING the Pope's actions.
(Actually, more than merely unjust, it seems like deliberate and knowingly false calumny.)

I think the academic might be the inadvertent Crocodile Dundee of religious Poppycockery reporting.....

"THAT's not an attack...

... now, THIS is an attack.

More Misunderstandings of the Holy Father By Those In the MSM

The Washington Post asks, What has Pope Francis actually accomplished?, and then answers it by telling us about things the Holy Father has said, acknowledging as much themselves, " by giving us "8 of Pope Francis’s most liberal statements."
I dunno -- you'd think a newspaper that operates in D.C, around people who are, er... politicians, might understand in the words of the immortal Po'k,

Sayin' ain't doin'...

(I don't know if Po'k actually said that, but Himself quotes the man's aphorisms extensively when expressing dubiety.)
That said, at least two of the items enumerated are actual accomplishments, actions - the embrace of the surgically altered woman, (no one should be called "the devil's daughter,") and the issuing of the 2 motu proprio altering the way decrees of nullity may be granted.
Other matters are range from nothing new, (nothing new aside from the media taking notice of something - many of Francis's words, once unpacked, reiterate what has long been the case, or long been taught,) or yet to accomplish what they, hopefully, adumbrate.
Frankly, the writer would do well to read his own article, and heed the words of the Scary Red Robed Church Monster ©, (the bogeyman who inhabits their nightmares, the very thought of whom so delights Church regressives that like children at a horror movie, they can't help peeking at him again and again and again, through their fingers held tightly to their eyes, to enjoy the chills and thrills even as they lose control of their bladders.)

For the Dread Cardinal Burke ©, has said,

“One must be very attentive regarding the power of the pope [which] is not absolute.”

The horror!

Um.... boo?

But the Pope said.....

There you have it. In the minds of some who know not the mind of the Church, The Pope Said closes the conversation.

(It's kinda like, "But the bell rang!", the definitive, not to be gainsaid, unrebuttable answer to anything, anyone ever said, about anything. In the Code of Canon Law, expressed campana resonata, causa finita est.)

Well, I suppose it may indeed be sort of raining spiritually, only I am too sinful to see it.

"Tragedy," "Unjust," "A Defeat," "Agonizing Decision"

Yes, yes, all of those, and women do experience and remember their abortions as an "existential and moral ordeal."
But as I expected, or at least feared, Pope Francis has not couched his beautiful gesture in language of a precision to forestall the distortion we know the enemies Enemy of life will attempt to disseminate.

Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.

One of the serious problems of our time is clearly the changed relationship with respect to life. A widespread and insensitive mentality has led to the loss of the proper personal and social sensitivity to welcome new life.

The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realising the extreme harm that such an act entails.

Many others, on the other hand, although experiencing this moment as a defeat, believe they they have no other option. I think in particular of all the women who have resorted to abortion. I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonising and painful decision.

What has happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable one not to lose hope. The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father.

For this reason too, I have decided, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to concede to all priests for the Jubilee Year the discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it.

May priests fulfil this great task by expressing words of genuine welcome combined with a reflection that explains the gravity of the sin committed, besides indicating a path of authentic conversion by which to obtain the true and generous forgiveness of the Father who renews all with his presence.

"Changed relationship with respect to life"?
Really?
And other priests provide "a reflection that explains the gravity of the sin committed," so we need never go into that?
I understand that in the extension of this [eternal] lifeline, it may not be the acceptable time to do so, but does he ever really go into it?
I wonder if this merciful gesture also offers accessories, purchasers and abortionists themselves a new path to absolution and the lifting of latae sententiae excommunications which were incurred through their "insensitive mentality"?

Well, God's ways are not my ways, and I would make a lousy pope, so what do I know?

He said what?

I have a friend, good Catholic, very devout, with Stations and novenas and Sacraments and very devoted to service, with social justice and visiting the sick and building houses for the underprivileged.

More and more often, he is asking me, did you see where the Pope said.....? followed by something either flat contradictory to Catholic teaching, or really judgy about the kind of people the Pope is thought not to like, or just plain cray-cray.
It upsets him, because he's not accustomed to Questioning Things Popes Say, (even long dead ones, if speaking "officially" as opposed to  just talking the way we sinners are wont to occasionally talk, even with the best of intentions.)
(And some popes, sadly, can not be trusted to have had the 'best of intentions.")

I can often set his mind at ease, because what he has heard is someone else's dishonest paraphrase, or irresponsibility, or even completely fabricated balderdash, (you know, like the dogs go to heaven "news story," or the atheist citing from memory?)
And really, is there much the media is more likely to get wrong that anything in anyway related to religion?
But sometimes it's something of which I have not heard, of worse, have heard and know to be true but cannot think of anyway to put a good construction on what was said.

He had one in our most recent conversation that rang no bell, so I don't know if it was an accurate post or not.

And that's troubling, because I realized we've reached the point where we can't just flat deny something absurd out of hand because the Pope "wouldn't have" said it.

'Cause, you know..... he might.

 This was one that recently caused to to ask,  "Huh?"

“To find a woman, man first must dream her and then find her.”

That's really all I have to say. Huh?