CRUX ARTICLE CONFIRMS WHAT CARDINAL SARAH DECRIES, THE POLITICIZIATION OF CATHOLICISM ALONG PARTY LINES—IN OTHER WORDS, A DIVISIVENESS CREATED BY THE POPE THAT COULD WELL LEAD TO A SCHISM

 

This is what John Allen writes about the papacy but within the context of American politics and Trump’s antics and Biden’s hiddenness:

One factor complicating achievement of this agenda (the pope’s) is that negative polarization is a powerful force in Catholicism too. For better or worse, Pope Francis, like virtually all public figures of this era, is divisive. Among some Catholics, he inspires ardent support; among others, perhaps a relatively small but determined minority, he elicits reflexive skepticism and opposition.

I disagree in part with Allen’s assessment. Yes, I agree that it is a small clique that “elicits reflexive skepticism and opposition, but the vast, vast majority are ambivalent, not on fire for what has taken place these past eight years. There is a small clique that think what has happened is the cat’s meow. It’s the silent majority who remain, silent, ambivalent. 

Here’s Allen’s politicized view of the papacy compared to the current politics of America:

At his eight-year mark, will Francis try turning down the temperature?