I'd bet that Pope Francis really does know what he's talking about...

On some self proclaimed Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts blog, yet another self proclaimed Traditional Roman Catholic has deemed himself competent to judge the Holy Father. This time, taking the Successor of Saint Peter to task for telling us not to proselytize.

We’ve heard that Proselytism is “solemn non-sense”. We have also heard that we are to go out and promote the New Evangelization. We are told that we are to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to evangelize our brothers and sisters, both within the Catholic faith and without, but, when we do preach the faith, strongly and firmly, we are told that we might offend others and we should choose our words wiser. We can’t be “touting our faith as better”. So, what is going on here? First, I want to explain the difference between Proselytism and Evangelization.

Let’s define the terms.

Proselytize: to try to persuade people to join a religion, cause, or group.

Evangelize: to try to convert (a group or area) to a different religion (especially Christianity).

What is the difference? Absolutely nothing. Both have the same definition, really. Proselytizing is the same as Evangelizing. I don’t care if proselytizing has “taken on a negative connotation” these days. Maybe, instead of trying to sound hip and cool with the rest of the world, we teach the rest of the world what a word actually means, you know, kind of like we are attempting to do with marriage. Marriage has taken on a negative connotation these days, maybe we should forego this word? Both these words attempt to persuade/convert to a different religion, and in this case, that religion is Catholicism, you know, the religion that Jesus Christ started (but don’t tell anyone, it might offend them).

This is something that you can trace back from a secular (historical) view. Protestantism started with Martin Luther, formally breaking with the Catholic Church, and starting his own church. From there, others broke with Martin Luther and founded their own church. Kind of get the picture? Proselytism and evangelization are in essence, the same. exact. thing. Both attempt the same, that is to bring the person to your faith, with the intent that they convert.

Really, there is no point to evangelize if the intent is the person stay where they are. Faith requires conversion, even if you are already a part of that faith. We need to continually convert because we are not perfect.

I say, go forth and proselytize while you evangelize. And if the New Evangelization leaves out that of proselytizing, the actual intent of bringing said person into the Catholic faith, then count me out. I’ll stick with the Old Evangelization.

My sainted grandfather used to say that Luther got rid of one pope and made millions of them. It seems now that Traditional Catholicism is making a lot of popes, folks who claim that they have some insight into what Catholicism really is that the Keeper of the Keys isn't getting. This is a sort of gnostic intuition -- the idea that we can have any sure knowledge of the Faith apart from the Apostolic See is at best ignorant, and at worst pure hubris.  It was to the apostles that Jesus said, "He who hears you hears me" (Lk 10:16), which Popes as recent as Pius XII teach is relevant to the Church's magisterium: 

Nor must it be thought that what is expounded in Encyclical Letters does not of itself demand consent, since in writing such Letters the Popes do not exercise the supreme power of their Teaching Authority. For these matters are taught with the ordinary teaching authority, of which it is true to say: "He who heareth you, heareth me";[3] and generally what is expounded and inculcated in Encyclical Letters already for other reasons appertains to Catholic doctrine.

We as Catholics (even the Traditional Roman Catholics) have an obligation to listen attentively to the Successor of Peter, and to search for what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church. To be dismissive of the Holy Father is not reconcilable with the Catholic faith. As St Ambrose wrote:

"It is to Peter that he says: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church'. Where Peter is, there is the Church. And where the Church is, no death is there, but life eternal" (Commentary on Twelve Psalms, 40.30)

Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia.  

So what is Francis telling us? First let us clear up the confusion that Our Traditional Roman Catholic has caused.

He give us two definitions, proselytize and evangelize, and then claims:

What is the difference? Absolutely nothing. Both have the same definition, really. Proselytizing is the same as Evangelizing.

Now I think it worthwhile to point out that the interview between Scalfari and Francis was done in Italian. In Italian, the strong sense of proselitismo is the work of making followers, and a proselito is any new follower of a doctrine or a religion or a political party.  Furthermore, the modern Italian sense has strong political implications.

The strong sense of evangelizzare in modern Italian is still primarily about the proclamation of the Gospel: convertire alla fede cristiana con la predicazione del Vangelo; ammaestrare alle verità del Vangelo  (to convert to the Christian faith through preaching the Gospel; to teach the truths of the Gospel).  This is something quite different in both intent and scope from merely making followers, from convincing others to follow you.

To get the heart of these words, presuming that Holy Father Francis really uses the words deliberately and with clarity, we should first look at what they have meant in Christian theology, as both are derived directly from Scripture and with very different meanings.

In the OT, as well as the NT, a proselyte (προσήλυτος/προσήλυτοι) is a convert to Judaism. From Lev 16:11, 17:12, 18;26, Deut 29:10, and Num 9:14 the προσήλυτος was the stranger who dwelt among the Jews and accepted their manner of living. The same sense is found in Acts 2:11, where the distinction is made between Jews and proselytes, among all the other nationalities. From the historical Christian perspective, a proselyte is not one who has accepted Christianity, but Judaism.

But in both the OT and the NT, evangelize is very specific to preaching the Gospel. Christ went "preaching and spreading the good news of God’s kingdom" (prædicans et evangelizans regnum Dei) (Lk 8:1). Through the NT, the work of the evangelist is specifically to proclaim the Gospel.

I would suggest that we give the Holy Father the benefit of the doubt that he really does know what he is talking about when he distinguished between evangelizing and proselytizing. His admonition that, "We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us...", is yet another way of stressing the importance of relationship, which seems to be an overarching theme in his papacy.

We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. - See more at: http://catholiclane.com/proselytism-conversion-and-other-solemn-nonsense/#sthash.yw5SeJO8.dpuf

We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. - See more at: http://catholiclane.com/proselytism-conversion-and-other-solemn-nonsense/#sthash.yw5SeJO8.dpuf

We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. - See more at: http://catholiclane.com/proselytism-conversion-and-other-solemn-nonsense/#sthash.yw5SeJO8.dpuf

We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us. - See more at: http://catholiclane.com/proselytism-conversion-and-other-solemn-nonsense/#sthash.yw5SeJO8.dpuf

Our Traditional Roman Catholic is all a'bothered as if the Holy Father is telling us to not evangelize to bring people to Christ. He inexplicably demands:

I say, go forth and proselytize while you evangelize. And if the New Evangelization leaves out that of proselytizing, the actual intent of bringing said person into the Catholic faith, then count me out. I’ll stick with the Old Evangelization.

I have no idea what he means by the Old Evangelization --- the "New Evanglization" is to bring the Gospel back to those supposedly Christianized countries that are now quite post Christian and even anti-Christian.  As Holy Father Francis himself proclaims:

the expression “new evangelization” sheds light on the ever clearer awareness that countries with an ancient Christian tradition also need a renewed proclamation of the Gospel to lead them back to an encounter with Christ which truly transforms life and is not superficial, marked by routine.   (Address, 13 Jun 2013)

And it is clear that Francis is not intent on bringing all into the Church. There is no need for concern here, but rather we should all pay close attention to what Francis really is saying: the point is not to make proselytes out of people, merely converting them to our side, but sharing with them the faith of Jesus Christ.

How the New Evangelization Works

Candidly, I wonder if Our Traditional Roman Catholic's "Old Evangelization" can even produce fruit. The Church has lost her moral stature with the bad handling of priests who committed crimes against children, as well as a whole litany of other sins committed by churchmen and Catholics, both real and imagined, that cast the Church is disrepute in the eyes of the world.  Love and relationship are more than just strategies for evangelization -- if reduced to strategies, then they are nothing more than opportunistic proselytism. Rather, evangelization flows from the encounter with Christ, and is a sharing with others in that relationship by entering into real relationship (that whole "We need to get to know each other, listen to each other" thing).

Pope Francis understands this. As he said in his June address:

Techniques of evangelization are important, of course, but even the most perfect ones could not replace the gentle action of the One who is the principal agent of evangelization: the Holy Spirit. We must let ourselves be guided by him, even if he leads us on new roads; we must allow him to transform us, so that in our proclamation, our words are always accompanied by a simple life, a spirit of prayer, charity to all, especially the lowly and the poor, humility and detachment from ourselves, and holiness of life. Only in this way will they be truly fertile.

But what Francis wrote is not really persuasive.  What is persuasive, what opens hearts to hear the Gospel, what creates immense opportunities for evangelical discussions, is what he does.  The internet is suddenly ablaze with comment from atheists who are seeing something in Francis:

That's the New Evangelization. That's what's going to open hearts to Christ. Listen to Francis, but as importantly, watch and imitate him.