Pope Francis the Traditionalist

The Child Jesus among the Doctors of the Law: the Fifth Joyful Mystery, from Aylesford.

Truly, all Catholics are Traditionalists: to be Catholic is to respect tradition, to want to see tradition strengthened rather than cast aside. A proper Catholic attitude to the traditions of the Faith, whether it be Tradition as a channel of Revelation, or Apostolic and Ecclesial traditions, inevitably spills over into a respect for human traditions, even if these need to be evaluated more carefully. Pope Francis eloquently expresses his own concern for tradition in this passage of Amoris laetitia, starting from a discussion of the elderly.

192. ...Their words, their affection or simply their presence help children to realize that history did not begin with them, that they are now part of an ageold pilgrimage and that they need to respect all that came before them. Those who would break all ties with the past will surely find it difficult to build stable relationships and to realize that reality is bigger than they are. “Attention to the elderly makes the difference in a society. Does a society show concern for the elderly? Does it make room for the elderly? Such a society will move forward if it respects the wisdom of the elderly”.

193. The lack of historical memory is a serious shortcoming in our society. A mentality that can only say, “Then was then, now is now”, is ultimately immature. Knowing and judging past events is the only way to build a meaningful future. Memory is necessary for growth: “Recall the former days” (Heb 10:32). Listening to the elderly tell their stories is good for children and young people; it makes them feel connected to the living history of their families, their neighborhoods and their country. A family that fails to respect and cherish its grandparents, who are its living memory, is already in decline, whereas a family that remembers has a future. “A society that has no room for the elderly or discards them because they create problems, has a deadly virus”; “it is torn from its roots”. Our contemporary experience of being orphans as a result of cultural discontinuity, uprootedness and the collapse of the certainties that shape our lives, challenges us to make our families places where children can sink roots in the rich soil of a collective history.


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