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A commentator on an international news program recently stated that Pope Francis was depressed by the final document produced by the Synod on the Family. I suspect that this commentator assumed that the pope was not expressing his “real” position in his final address, when he congratulated the members of the Synod on their willingness to listen to the Spirit. He congratulated them for avoiding two temptations in the balanced position they developed, avoiding the pitfalls of both fundamentalism and relativism: 

“One, a temptation to hostile inflexibility, that is, wanting to close oneself within the written word, (the letter) and not allowing oneself to be surprised by God, by the God of surprises, (the spirit);… (and, second) a temptation to neglect the “depositum fidei” (the deposit of faith), not thinking of themselves as guardians but as owners or masters (of it).  

He received a standing ovation at the conclusion of his address.

Unfortunately, many in the media are reaching the conclusion that Pope Francis favored the position that would have changed the tradition, and that his remarks veiled his real position of disappointment. I suggest that they are reaching this wrong conclusion because they don’t understand that theology in the Catholic tradition usually embraces two positions that seem to be contradictory. G. K. Chesterton wrote in “Orthodoxy” that dualism is characteristic of Catholic theology and is the hallmark of a Catholic homily (The Catholic homilist, he said, often begins with these words:  “While it is true that…today I want to speak on….”) 

Although this dualistic approach to understanding the truth is long-held and practiced within the well-established traditions, a recent articulation of the principle can be found in the Principle of Complementarity proposed by nuclear physicist Neils Bohr. Developed by him during a period of acrimonious contention between proponents of two different explanations (models) of the nature of light (particles and waves), Bohr stated that we need both models in order to understand the nature of light. 

He proposed that this realization led him to discover what he termed the Principle of Complementarity”: in approaching any serious question, we will inevitably discover the need for two seeminglycontradictory but, in fact complementary, models. He proposed that this approach to understanding might be helpful in matters beyond physics. Later he realized that this principle has long been known and practiced in many cultures. 

Some examples of this principle from theology:

  • Catholic theology has long maintained that humans are to some extent responsible for the evil actions they perform, and to some extent they are not: (There are two kinds of sin: actual sin and original sin).
  • Similarly, Catholic theology has long maintained that humans have the ability to live holy lives and that they are incapable of this: (Recall the long acrimonious debate about free will and grace.)
  • A well-known spiritual guideline reflects dualism: “Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.” 

I believe that we have Pope Francis’ true position in his final remarks. As a man who knows the history of theology, he was neither surprised nor annoyed by the disagreements that took place in the Synod; nor was he surprised or annoyed by the final statement. But he believes that the debate that took place within the Synod is what inevitably occurs when members follow their consciences, which lead them to embrace different emphases within the tradition. 

Comments from readers

Jan Rush - 11/03/2014 05:20 PM
The problem is that many in the wider culture (including, sadly, some Catholics) seem to think that the Pope might change the moral doctrines of the Church with regard to human sexuality. Obviously these cannot be changed. How to help and show compassion for persons struggling with sin in this part of their lives should most definitely be addressed, but clarity about right and wrong can't be suppressed in the name of being pastoral. Love and truth must be presented together. You can't have one without the other.
Hope Sadowski - 11/03/2014 02:47 PM
How refreshing that true discussion guided by the Holy Spirit took place. Pray that the bishops will continue to reflect and appreciate the discussion and guidance given by Pope Francis. Nothing wrong with responsible, sensible difference of opinions. Thank Br. DeMaria for a fine article.
Antonio Fernandez - 11/03/2014 02:30 PM
Totally in agreement with Brother DeMaria. Actually, I think that Pope Francis is quite pleased with the final document, after all, the Bishops followed his request, as far as that they should express openly their thiughts without being afraid to be judged for say anything that could displeased others.

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