The Pope Is Christian! by S. M. Hutchens

The Pope Is Christian!

S. M. Hutchens on Disappointing Catholic Revisionists

I have now lived through five papal elections, those of John XXIII (which I remember as a young boy) through Benedict XVI. In each of them we heard from a “progressive” element in the Catholic Church that was very interested in a pope who would bring it up to date. From early days I found this confusing.

Just what was it about the Catholic Church that could be “brought up to date,” at least that would have enough significance to justify the fuss certain Catholics were making about its old-fashionedness? (My Catholic playmates would have suggested the retirement of Sister Ursula and her yardstick as a useful update, but nobody asked them.)

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S. M. Hutchens is a senior editor and longtime writer for Touchstone.

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