The Lion’s Roar
“He began to drive out the sellers.” (Lk 19:45)
Pope Francis has, in many ways, worked for the good of the Church and humanity. I am confident that the new Pope will inherit this legacy and further enrich it. Yet, like every Pontiff—even the most saintly—Francis also had his human limitations, which, while they could not taint the magisterium, wherein every Pope is a teacher of truth, did nevertheless affect his moral conduct and pastoral governance.
The election of the new Pope, Leo XIV, seems, if one considers only the name he has chosen and the historical resonances it evokes, to signal an intention to steer the Barque of Peter along a different course. This course, though substantially continuous with that of his predecessor—as indeed it must be—appears to prioritize values or respond to needs that, during Francis’s pontificate, were not sufficiently affirmed, or were instead silenced, set aside, or underestimated. I am thinking, in particular, of the care for sound doctrine, the critique of modern errors, and the recovery of ascetic and apologetic traditions.
In light of this, I would like to offer some reflections on the very question of ecclesial governance—on those points, specifically, where it seems to me desirable, if not urgent, that the present Pope take action to restore or correct certain aspects.
Some Principles of Sound Pastoral Governance in the Church
As a matter of principle, it is right to excommunicate those who harm the Church from within. Excommunication is not merely a punitive measure; it is, above all, medicinal in nature, intended to prompt the excommunicated person to repent and return to full communion with the Church. At the same time, it serves to give the faithful a clear example of someone who, by the ideas he professes and the conduct he follows, demonstrates that he is no longer in communion with the Church—and is, in fact, an enemy of her, regardless of his interior intentions, which are known to God alone.
Using excommunication, the Church acknowledges and publicly halts, to some extent, the anti-Catholic activity that the excommunicated individual may have been conducting within her very structures, particularly if he held ecclesiastical offices or ministries. It is therefore understandable that ecclesiastical authority may, at times, refrain from imposing excommunication, even in cases of manifest hostility, disobedience to the Church, or doctrinal deviation. This often occurs because, in certain educational or academic institutions, removing such individuals would leave teaching positions unfilled, for lack of suitable replacements.
Thus, whereas the Church, even in the time of St. Pius X, could afford to excommunicate more broadly—having at her disposal many reliable and doctrinally sound clergy and scholars—today, given the spread of a modernism even more insidious than that of Pius X’s era, ecclesiastical authority tends instead to highlight the positive aspects of modernist figures, while simultaneously tolerating or even encouraging anti-modernist critique.
For this reason, when the faction composed of those liable to excommunication becomes too powerful, and when it also possesses undeniable qualities or competences in other respects, it may be imprudent for the Pope to initiate a sweeping excommunication. Such a move could provoke a backlash within the Church of such magnitude that the resulting disorder might prove more ungovernable than the initial problem. A historical example may be seen in the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I of England by Saint Pius V: the reaction of the Anglicans was so virulent that it triggered a veritable persecution of Catholics, culminating in the suppression of the Catholic hierarchy, one that would not be reconstituted until the early nineteenth century.
About admission into the Church, it is well known that both baptism and catechetical formation are requisite. Just as in any properly ordered human society—since the Church too possesses a human dimension—one may recall the Gospel parable of the wedding banquet: all are invited, but to partake, the guest must wear the proper wedding garment. A minimum set of conditions is necessary for one to be admitted into the Church.
Those who do not accept such conditions, or who presume to enjoy the benefits of ecclesial communion without embracing its obligations, are better off remaining outside. This does not imply that they are thereby excluded from salvation. The sacraments, to be sure, are remedies—but even a remedy presupposes in the patient a certain disposition of goodwill. When there are faithful who appear to desire the sacraments primarily as a means of affirming their existential state, one must ask whether this desire is not, in truth, an attempt to legitimize a condition that is, in fact, objectively disordered. And here a further question arises: in granting them access, are we truly acting for the good of their souls?
Duties of the Good Shepherd
The good shepherd must:
Labor to heal internal divisions within the Church;
exercise impartiality in his judgments concerning the conduct of various currents, groups, parties, movements, or ecclesial associations. While he is not forbidden to harbor personal preferences or sensibilities, when he is called to pronounce judgment and make decisions in his capacity as Pope, he must strive to be just and objective, rendering to each his due—what is rightly deserved and what is owed in justice;
show benevolence and encouragement toward authentic Catholics, while calling those who profess the name of Catholic without coherence to fidelity and integrity of life;
discern and expose false Christs and false prophets, warning the faithful against their errors;
unmask wolves in sheep’s clothing, while also defending the innocence of those who may appear suspect but are wrongly judged;
accept with calm and patience the reality of opposing forces within the Church, intervening to restrain them or draw good from them only where prudence dictates;
exhort all to the pursuit of holiness, yet refrain from demanding the heroic from those who are not in a position to attain it;
guard against the infiltration of false devotees who, in truth, seek to undermine the Church from within;
defend the Church both from declared enemies and from false friends, who may prove all the more dangerous because their harm is not easily perceived;
when addressing matters of faith and morals, employ a language that is clear, appropriate, precise, and unequivocal, avoiding all expressions that may be improper, ambiguous, or—worse still—redolent of duplicity or cunning. He must provide suitable explanations, refute erroneous interpretations, clarify misunderstandings, and avoid contradictions, absurdities, and harmful simplifications.
The Drawbacks of Poor Church Governance
I believe that Pope Francis has shown excessive indulgence toward the modernist camp, even though it must be acknowledged that among its members there are individuals of considerable talent, genuinely attentive to the renewal desired by the Council, though they unfortunately exploit this renewal by misinterpreting and appropriating it in a modernist sense.
This has prompted a reaction from the Lefebvrians, the sedevacantists, and the backwardists. As a result, certain traditionalist Catholics, insufficiently formed or enlightened, were scandalized and abandoned the Church, precisely because the modernists continue to dominate. But to go where?
Even among these brethren, who have left us convinced that they are more authentically Catholic and more faithful to Christ than we are, there are figures of no small importance. And it is a source of deep sorrow for those of us who remain faithful to the Pope to witness the plight of these brothers who continue to call themselves Catholic but no longer have a Pope to obey. Their spiritual attitude bears an unsettling resemblance to that of the Protestants and the Orthodox: how can one claim to be a Christian while rejecting the Vicar of Christ?
The Church's vocation is to be a principle of unity, harmony, reconciliation, and peace for all humanity, as it calls the world to the knowledge of God, the provident Creator of the human race. But if the Church, failing in this mission, no longer presents to the world a unified, coherent, and credible face, how can it expect honest men and women of goodwill to enter into her fold?
Without becoming self-referential, closed in on herself, or vainly self-assured, the Church, under the guidance of a good shepherd, must nonetheless cultivate a just awareness, esteem, and care for her own identity, and acknowledge the superior dignity that belongs to her in the world. She must make fruitful use of the charisms of the Holy Spirit, while always maintaining an evangelizing posture and a readiness to serve humanity according to the will of God.
The Lion after the Lamb
Pope Francis has indeed at times expressed indignation in response to personal or communal moral failings in particular situations. Yet, taken as a whole, neither his conduct nor his pastoral governance can be described as that of an irritable, militant, or combative Pope, such as have appeared in various moments of the Church's history.
The vast spread of apostasy, heresy, and modernism did not seem to trouble him greatly. What most aroused his anger and denunciation were traditionalism, sectarianism, clericalism, the mafia, war, the selfishness of the wealthy, the arrogance of the powerful, the exploitation of labourers, and violence against children, immigrants, and women.
With Francis, we have experienced the meekness of the Lamb. Now we shall hear the voice of the Lion of Judah. Meekness alone becomes weakness. The Church must not be timid before the world. She must be tender and lovable towards the little and the lowly—but terrible and fearsome before the proud and the mighty of the earth. For force alone becomes violence; it is now time that the Lion’s roar should strike fear into the enemies of the Church, whether they be within or without.
Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli, O.P.
Fontanellato, 9 May 2025
Source: https://padrecavalcoli.blogspot.com/2025/05/il-ruggito-del-leone.html