During his Thursday morning Mass, Pope Francis talked about the dangers of having a rigid Church. He explained that so-called rigid Catholics fail to appreciate the different charismas of the Holy Spirit.
POPE FRANCIS
'Uniformity, rigidity â?? these are hard. They don't represent the freedom that the Holy Spirit gives. They confuse the Gospel that Jesus preached, with their doctrine of equality. Christ never wanted His Church to be so rigid â?? never â?? because of this- because of their attitude they don't enter the Church. They call themselves Christians and Catholics, but their rigid attitude actually drives them away from the Church.â?
Pope Francis also warned about people who go to Church like so called businessmen, solely out of profit. The Pope told them that the Church is not a house one can rent, but instead a home one lives in.
EXCEPRT OF THE POPE'S HOMILY
Source: Vatican Radio
'Uniformity, rigidity â?? these are hard. They do not have the freedom that the Holy Spirit gives. They confuse the Gospel that Jesus preached, with their doctrine of equality. Christ never wanted His Church to be so rigid â?? never â?? and such as these, because of their attitude, do not enter the Church. They call themselves Christians, Catholics, but their attitude drives them away from the Church.â?
'[They] enter the Church, but with this idea, with that ideology, and so their membership in the Church is partial. They have one foot out of the Church. The Church is not their home, not their own, either. They rent the Church at some point. Such as these have been with us from the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel: think of the Gnostics, whom the Apostle John beats so roundly, right? â??We are ... yes, yes ... we are Catholics, but with these ideas - alternatives.â?? They do not share that feeling of belonging to the Church.â?
'The businessmen. We know them well! They, too, have been there from the beginning: think of Simon Magus, or Ananias and Sapphira. They took advantage of the Church for their own profit. We see them in the parish or diocesan community, too, in religious congregations, among some benefactors of the Church â?? many, eh? They strut their stuff as benefactors of the Church, and at the end, behind the table, they do their business. These, too, do not feel the Church as a mother, as their own.'
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