By Tom Klocek

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted the reaction by “Maria Seybert, 19, of Littletown, Colo., [who] was attending her first World Youth Day and seemed inspired by Francis’ exhortations to spread the faith. ‘Yeah, I know that our church is very broken; we have a lot of sinners and broken people,’ Ms. Seybert said. ‘I desire to hear something that encourages us to recognize our poverty and woundedness, and then run with it.’”

National Catholic Reporter on WYD 2023: “‘There is room for everyone in the church and, whenever there is not, then, please, we must make room, including for those who make mistakes, who fall or struggle,’ the pope told a crowd of nearly 500,000 young people … on Aug. 3 for the official welcome ceremony of World Youth Day. … The pope’s emphasis on openness is simple and has come to define much of his 10-year papacy as he has continually tried to preach a message of welcome to historically marginalized groups in the church, including women, the divorced and remarried, and LGBTQ Catholics.”

While watching EWTN’s coverage of World Youth Day 2023, I caught part of Pope Francis’s opening remarks. In it, he notes that Jesus never turned anyone away and that all are welcome in the Church. Of course, this has always been the case. Jesus called everyone. His mission, while first to the Jews, was to the entire world. John the Evangelist notes this early in his gospel, “For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:17)

Typically, the National Catholic Reporter claimed the significance of this message was to the “historically marginalized groups in the church.”

Now, I recognize that the Pope was trying to present a positive message to energize the young people of the world, those in Portugal and those watching around the world, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, but what struck me in the reporting is that the call to everyone is just the beginning of Jesus’s message. The rest of the message, and some of the most important aspects of Christ’s teaching, is that of conversion. Yes, come as you are, but once you are here, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:15) Repentance puts one on the path to the “narrow gate.” (Mt 7:13-14) Of course, this is the message that the NC Reporter neglects to mention. If anything, the groups it lists as marginalized are such not because of their condition but because of their refusal to change.

The Reporter harps on what it claims is another sore point — the marginalization of women in the church. Its idea of marginalization is that women cannot be priests. But that is hardly the Church that is responsible; it was Jesus’s doing. Perhaps it should read a little of Dr. Peter Kreeft’s work: “The Church just delivers the mail she received from Christ. She didn’t write the mail and she stubbornly refuses to be so arrogant as to edit and correct God’s mail.” (Because God is Real) What all people who try to claim these things can be changed overlook, whether they are Fr. Martin, the bishops in Germany, or even the Pope, is that it is not our church, but it is Christ’s Church. Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18, emphasis added) St. Paul repeatedly refers to the Church as the Church of God, the Church of God in Christ, and God’s Church. We do not have authorship and therefore cannot change what God has wrought.

The Church venerates women, as did Jesus. Mary, the mother of Jesus, holds a higher place of honor than anyone other than Jesus and the Trinity. The Church, more than the LGBTQ+ or feminist organizations, acknowledges and respects womanhood and the unique role that women play in society and the world, rather than celebrate the false womanhood of lesbianism and transgenderism. The first Eucharistic prayer gives honor to many women saints of the early Church. This is why so many of those churches that embraced the many aspects of gender ideology are falling apart (e.g., the Episcopal/Anglican church, the United Methodist Church, the Baptists, and so on). I wonder if Fr. Martin recites the “Sparkle” creed regularly.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes the Pope urged the people attending to fight for economic justice and climate. It is apparent that our priorities are mixed up. When Jesus commissioned the Apostles, he didn’t say anything about climate or economic justice (although the care of orphans and widows was part of his general message, along with loving ALL our neighbors). We have a Church hierarchy that is spouting the messages of the secular world rather than the messages of Jesus. God is in charge, and it is He who will take care of the believers and the world. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Mt 6:33)

Pope Francis said, “We as the Church are the community of those who are called; we are not the community of the best, no, we are all sinners, but we are called as we are.” However, he does not mention Jesus’s message of conversion. Jesus’s message of conversion is not a negative one and should be cause for great joy. In Jesus we can obtain forgiveness for our sins. We all know we are not perfect (no matter what faith we profess), so this message should be very comforting. But leaving repentance, our sinfulness, and conversion out of the equation would be a deception, and those who preach the welcome message without it are leading others astray. Many of them, rather than teach repentance and conversion, instead try to redefine the sin. Compassion for sinners does not mean we condone their sin.

Jesus’s message of conversion is for the whole world. But, like he told the woman caught in adultery (as well as others), “go, and do not sin again.” (Jn 8:11) “This does not mean that only Christians can be saved. But it means that when anyone is saved, it is Christ who saves him. … Christians don’t claim to be the only ones who are saved. But they do claim that Jesus is the only Savior.” (Dr. Peter Kreeft, Because God is Real)