The Clever Pope and the Gullible Media

The American media has been circling like vultures for months in anticipation of Pope Francis' pronouncement on climate change.  Never before have journalists waited with such feverish anticipation for a simple letter from a 78-year old, white-clad pontiff.

When the news finally broke, the media erupted into a chorus of full-throated "hosannas."  Finally, someone in religious authority stepped into the breach of the debate over the environment and declared that climate change was real and likely caused by humans.

Forget scientific rigor.  This is the pope, the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide. Despite his lack of scientific credentials, he is the moral authority that liberals have needed to shore up their effort to legitimize climate models as gospel truth.  Now there can no longer be debate.

As a result of his encyclical (a fancy word for a papal letter), Pope Francis is being celebrated in the media as a theological giant.  A man untethered to the past, a modern eminence whose beliefs are in sync with a secular world's point of view.  All hail Pope Francis.

But this Argentine pope has a way of tantalizing the media with solemn assurances of theological evolution, only to follow with a course correction that obliterates the original message.   Those praising the pope today are cautioned to wait a few months before leaping on the papal bandwagon.

For example, in 2013 the pope caused quite a stir over the church's position on gay marriage.  Asked about homosexuality, the pontiff replied, "Who am I to judge?"  The media greeted the quote with headlines breathlessly proclaiming the Catholic Church had changed its stance on same sex marriage.

After news coverage faded, Pope Francis made it clear the church rejected the idea of gay marriage, calling it "anthropological regression."  He went further, declaring gay adoption to be off limits, too. His words wilted on the theological vine without so much as a nod from the media.

On another occasion, this same pope told reporters that Catholics should not feel compelled to breed "like rabbits."  This was greeted as earth-shattering evidence of a new church attitude on contraceptives. Later, Pope Francis quietly reaffirmed the decades-old ban on artificial birth control.

This has become a familiar pattern for Pope Francis.  He signals shifts in the church's policy with clever quotes that a gullible media heralds as new dogma.  But this is just part of the pope's genuine outreach to convince people the church wants to be more inclusive.

To make his point, Pope Francis has adopted a conciliatory tone on controversial subjects.  He doesn't condemn a gay person.  At the same time, he has not changed his viewpoint on traditional marriage. The media hasn't caught on yet.  Journalists are convinced he is the liberal pope they have wanted.

That's why Catholics and non-Catholics alike are advised to not overreact to the pope's position on climate change.  His words have a way of sounding like fundamental tenets when the pope is only acknowledging the other side of a moral issue.  This is clear to those who have read his papal letter.

Pope Francis wants to be viewed as a transformative figurehead.  He got rid of the ghastly pope-mobile. He shunned the luxurious papal apartments for a more modest residence.  He washed the feet of a Muslim woman. He has a Twitter account, for God's sake.

But these are only symbols of change.  The real test will be what Pope Francis not only says but what doctrinal changes he authors in the coming months and years.  If the church's teachings remain intact, the media's praise for Pope Francis' manifestos will quickly turn into withering criticism.

Today's papal saint could become tomorrow's holy theological terror.