Biden Willing to ‘Adapt’ Beliefs, Francis Affirming, says Georgetown’s Carr

Josiah Reedy on January 27, 2022

John Carr, founding director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Teaching and Public Life at Georgetown University, stated, “A lot of people say they don’t understand Pope Francis or have trouble seeing what he’s really about. I don’t think it’s very confusing at all. He looks at the world from the bottom up. He looks at the church from the outside in.”

Carr’s reflections on Francis’s leadership came in the context of a webcast series entitled “Poverty, God, Politics,” hosted by Rev. Dr. David Beckmann, President Emeritus of Bread for the World and Coordinator and Co-Chair of the Religious Left coalition Circle of Protection that seeks to preserve and expand social welfare programs.

Carr began his comments by clarifying that his was but “a” Catholic perspective amidst a broad range of opinions represented in the Catholic church. He also introduced what he believed to be the key question facing religious communities today: “Does your faith shape your politics, or is it the other way around?” According to Carr, it has all too often become politics which shapes faith.

Regarding President Biden, Carr said he was “more a pragmatist than a prophet” and characterized him as a product of mainstream Catholic culture in the 1950s-70s. Carr admitted Biden’s willingness to “adapt” in his beliefs, and mentioned the issue of abortion as an example of where “Biden has yielded to the orthodoxy of the party.”

Carr also spoke positively about the relationship between Biden and Francis, calling them “two older guys in the last job they’ll ever have trying to find some common ground to make the world a little better despite some fundamental differences.” However, he did note that although meetings with the Pope are “supposed to be quiet,” Biden couldn’t resist sharing that the Pope had spoken affirmingly to him.

After praising Pope Francis as “a great asset,” Carr went on to discuss the issues and divisions facing Catholic leadership moving forward. He asserted the need for more diversity, particularly among bishops, saying “As an older white guy I can say that’s a problem. They don’t reflect the diversity of our churches or communities.”

Carr also identified a split as to whether “abortion is the ultimate priority” or “a consistent commitment to human life and dignity ought to guide the church’s priorities.”

Furthermore, Carr discussed divisions over Pope Francis, divisions which Carr described as “stunning.” He said that while in the past Catholic leaders have generally agreed with and loved the Pope, they seem to have turned from asking “Do I agree with the Pope?” to asking “Does the Pope agree with me?”

Carr summarized the difference in leadership strategy in the Catholic church, stating “It seems to me there are two different kinds of leadership. One is, if you believe the culture has overtaken us… that we’re proclaiming the gospel in a secular society that has lost its respect for religion, then you hunker down. You try and preserve and protect what you have. That leads to a strategy where you proclaim and you judge and you punish… Another kind of leadership is to engage and persuade. If you think you have the message that the world needs, that our country needs, then you try and listen and learn and engage and persuade.”

Carr added, “You can tell the health of an organization by whether they’re looking for heretics or converts.”

Carr ended on an optimistic note, discussing his own history of advocacy where Catholic principles have made a difference. The challenge before Catholic leaders, he said, is to be “political but not partisan, principled but not ideological, civil but not silent, to not compromise on our fundamental values of life, dignity, and care for creation, but to work with anybody who will help advance those goals.”

As this blog has chronicled before, on multiple occasions, it is not “stunning” that some Catholics would find themselves apprehensive about the direction of Pope Francis’s leadership, which has moved away from historic Catholic orthodoxy on some issues. Contrary to what Carr suggests, “Does the Pope agree with my convictions?” is a not only valid but also necessary question to pose. 

And while Carr’s perspective is admirable in some respects, he shows little charity toward the leaders who have opposed Pope Francis or who have called for strong reprimands of Biden and other public officials. Whether or not they agree on how to respond, surely Catholics have the opportunity to perceive as well-intended the concerns of their brethren about a Catholic president who has opposed the Hyde Amendment and the Mexico City Policy, granted Planned Parenthood access to Title X funds, and committed to appointing a multitude of pro-choice judges. 

Expressing disagreement on theological grounds with such an administration is not mere “proclaiming and judging and punishing.” Anything less would fail to constitute the “consistent commitment to human life and dignity” which Carr advocates. To pretend to value human life and dignity while disregarding the significance and urgency of the abortion malady would be, as Carr puts it, to have your politics shape your faith. Around the globe, 73 million babies are killed by abortion every year. If the status quo is so horrific, what need is there to decry those who would place pro-life values at the center of the church’s social witness?

  1. Comment by David on January 28, 2022 at 7:09 am

    Holding a belief is different from forcing it on others. Prior to the Vatican Councils, Catholics were required to make their church the official religion of the area where they lived. This was one of the arguments used against Kennedy when he ran for president.

    Whether or not a fetus is a “baby” is a religious opinion. Some would not equate crushing an acorn with chopping down an oak tree. We know today that a large percentage, if not the majority of human conceptions fail in utero. This is often within the first 6 weeks when the pregnancy is unrecognized. There seems to be no divine concern about this. The few lost to intended abortions are insignificant compared to these. The Great Abortionist in the Sky has some questions to answer.

  2. Comment by Jeff on January 28, 2022 at 10:42 am

    David,

    >> Holding a belief is different from forcing it on others.

    Are laws against murder, which hold sway in every society on the planet, “forcing a belief on others”?

    >> Whether or not a fetus is a “baby” is a religious opinion.

    When does a fetus become a baby in your satanic religion, David? Does it ever?

    >> The Great Abortionist in the Sky has some questions to answer.

    The Creator will one day require answers from YOU, David. For your soul’s sake I pray you repent and call on the name of the LORD before it is too late!

  3. Comment by David on January 28, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    A fetus becomes a baby at birth. This was the position of the Methodist and Southern Baptist churches prior to Roe v. Wade. Judaism adheres to this definition of personhood as well.

  4. Comment by td on January 28, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    I take issue with the assertion in this article that the Holy Father has moved away from orthodoxy. That is objectively false- he has not changed any teaching or doctrine.

    I must assume you mean to say that he has taken a different tone and tact about certain issues. For example, making the statement of “who am i to judge?” is not the same as proclaiming, “the church no longer considers homosexual acts to be sinful. In fact we now believe those acts are procreative, life-giving, life-affirming, and designed by God to further his kingdom. God created the desires for homosexual union to embody the full giving of ourselves to another person, which reflects the union of Jesus with his church.”

  5. Comment by Search4Truth on January 31, 2022 at 8:49 am

    I couldn’t disagree more strongly with the preceding “In fact, we now know…” If you want to define your own god, why do you claim to follow Jesus, who clearly said, “If you love me, you’ll follow my commands. All human beings are fallen and tempted by sin – following their own desires instead of the word of God. Paul’s writings in the bible make it clear that we are to live in the world but not be a part of it. That gives Christianity a message of salvation. We can be saved from ourselves, by accepting Jesus, if we reject the message, and temptations, of the world and follow the Word of God. I am a practicing Catholic, but I have begun to ask myself if Francis still is. As Paul tells Titus TI 1:16 “They profess to know God, but deny Him by their works.”

  6. Comment by td on January 31, 2022 at 12:49 pm

    Search4truth- i agree with what you wrote. I was trying to highlight the magnitude of change that would to occur for the Catholic to have a different teaching about homosexual acts and many other now culturally accepted non christian acts.

    I think many times non-Catholics do not appreciate the amount of doctrinal and theological change in the Catholic Church that would have to occur for homosexual acts, women’s ordination, etc to be deemed legitimate.

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