How to Interpret Pope Francis: a Catholic Hermeneutic

Fr. Groeschel said that a saint is often strong in one of the transcendentals: truth, beauty and goodness. That probably applies to the rest of us and to our popes. St. John Paul was extraordinarily strong in truth and goodness and had a vigorous, wholesome sense of beauty...especially of nature and the splendor of marital love. Pope Benedict equaled his predecessor in the charism of truth: both were brilliant, wise and probably will be considered doctors of the faith. He has a very high sense of the beauty of the liturgy and tradition. He is good in a wholesome and ordinary way. Surely he is a saint in the normal sense of deeply immersed in the Communion of Saints; maybe he will be canonized and maybe not. Pope Francis is quite a change of pace. He is in John Paul's league in his zeal to bring the love of Christ to the poor and neglected. His sense of beauty is sub-par as he has an aversion to the Latin mass and much of Church ritual. With regard to the Truth he is confused and confusing. He is not a heretic: he has no desire to change Church teaching. But he is vague and puzzling in his eagerness to downplay aspects of our faith that may offend people. How are we to interpret so many of his statements? I like to apply three Catholic principles. First of all, he must be understood in relation to the entire tradition, much like we interpret a verse of scripture in terms of the entirety of Revelation. Secondly, we are exhorted (by St. Ignatius of Loyola among others) to put the very best interpretation on the statement of a believer, and especially of a leader. Thirdly, we know from our Tradition that we are all weak and fallible and our postmodern awareness heightens our sense of the tentativeness, finetude and partiality of all human statements. This applies even to the papacy in its infallibility which is rarely engaged to the full extent. And so, it seems to me, that we can receive with serenity the many confusing statements from our Holy Father: appreciating his goodness, compassion and zeal; aware of his own limitations; seeing him in light of the Tradition and especially the splendid legacy of his two predecessors; and most of all confident that the Holy Spirit is working even in the midst of such annoyance!