AS Catholics we have grown up to think of being Catholic as being too uniform and univocal. This was somewhat tempered by the recent Synod on the Family.
There was even disquiet among bishops and cardinals that Pope Francis was insufficiently attentive to a singular view that they equated with unity.
While one should give these people credit for the courage of their convictions and their preparedness to speak out, their concerns are not necessarily so grave.
As the Vatican II-minded theologian Enzo Bianchi noted this week in the Rome daily, La Repubblica, they have waged a fierce battle.
Bianchi, who is founder and Prior of the Ecumenical monastery of Bose in Northern Italy, said: “What is at play here is not Catholic doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage. No, it’s the pastoral dimension, his attitude towards those who make mistakes and towards contemporary society.”
Then he thundered: “Let’s be clear – what scandalises them is mercy!”
Who knows whether Pope Francis read that article last Wednesday after saying his morning prayers and before heading to his two-pronged general audience in the Paul VI Hall and Saint Peter’s Square.
But it did not seem to be a coincidence that, as he began to read his prepared remarks to the tens of thousands of people in the square, he put down his pages and said: “Before beginning this catechesis I would like, in the name of the Church, to ask your forgiveness for the scandals that have occurred recently both in Rome and in the Vatican. I ask your forgiveness.”
Pope Francis does not seem to be overly nervous about those bishops who are not entirely “on message” – that is, those who disagree with him on many issues to do with his ministry. And nor should he.
He is the first to say – indeed, to promote the idea – that we can accommodate a great deal of difference and diversity within the Catholic church without being worried that it will diminish the unity of the church. This is very true but it can be a new idea for some Catholics.