Pope Francis and McCarrick: Balancing Patience and Wisdom

"Patience is a virtue," has to be one of the most repeated Chinese Proverbs in the book. Any time we want to see something happen, whether it be within ourselves or a situation or other person, the reminder that "patience is a virtue" is bound to come up. We, as humans, know that the only constant in life is change. Sometimes things are modified in a way we feel is in our favor, but not always. It's in the "not always" way that I want to address today.

We live in a society where instant gratification is everywhere. It's not too hard to find a way to pleasure any of our 5 senses within about 10 minutes, tops. So why wait? Why bother allowing ourselves to be patiently patient when we can find immediate satisfaction so easily in so many arenas?

"Why bother allowing ourselves to be patiently patient when we can find immediate satisfaction so easily...?"

Unfortunately, I believe these offerings give the idea that wisdom can be sought (and found) at the drop of a hat. Why think? Just do! ...It's not always so easy though, especially if you're leading a worldwide religion that has been around for ages, and will continue to be for ages to come.

Not too long ago we faced a crisis in the Catholic Church where Pope Francis was accused of knowingly promoting a man who had been displaced by a previous pope due to inappropriate sexual behavior. Pope Francis would not offer a public statement on the issue instantaneously, of which I understood and actually even commended. I believe no matter what he could have said at the time, the media would have done their best to skew his statement and make it sound like he was an evil, evil man.

"I believe no matter what he could have said at the time, the media would have done their best to skew his statement..."

But what did the majority of people do? They got mad; irate, even. They said, "If you're innocent, why don't you claim it?" "Get rid of anyone that we hear rumors of!" "What kind of Pope are you?" Unfortunately, the secular media controls the narrative of what we hear, and they gave just enough information for people to think and act like they knew exactly what had transpired; as if they were in the Vatican the entire time themselves. (Covington Catholic school kids, anyone?)

The Catholic Church is not one who operates on knee-jerk reactions. If it was, it would not have survived as an establishment for the past 2 millennia. Pope Francis exercised his patience as the media bashed his decision(s) and attempted to write him off as a Pope who was not seeking the Holy Spirit.

"The Catholic Church is not one who operates on knee-jerk reactions."

So did your anger make a difference? Did it serve as a betterment for the Church? I'm not saying that some of the anger experienced was, in fact, righteous anger, but how much was self-righteous? How much was out of a version you had written in your head with such a limited view of what had transpired?

We do know how the story ended, of course. Pope Francis recently defrocked McCarrick after 8 months of discernment. I call it discernment because, as I stated earlier and will reiterate, the Catholic Church is not one who operates on knee-jerk reactions. Just as it takes 5 years to even begin the process of allowing someone to become a saint, the Church operates on an entirely different timeline than our calendar year.

Sometimes when we really want something to happen, we can allow our emotions to cloud our judgement. Yes, McCarrick ended up being guilty, but what if he hadn't been? Just as the Covington Catholic school boys weren't. Wisdom is found within trusting the Holy Spirit to work in the way that it has for the entirety of human existence. Submit to the reality that we don't have all of the facts. Allow those who have been put in power to handle the hard situations to handle the situations and trust their judgement.

And, hey, if the Holy Spirit is calling you to be Pope one day - go for it. Until then, we pray with humility for our church:

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."