I was surprised a few days ago when the most popular news programs on television broke the news that a YouTube discussion composed of priests began with the “good intention” of praying for Pope Francis to go to heaven soon. From the jocular tone, it did not seem that the Holy Father was on his deathbed. It was understood that they were bothered by his teaching.
Apparently, there have been apologies, due to the expression shared by the commentators that the pope’s earthly life is ending. They said it was a joke. Perhaps the bad effect it has caused is because we are not prepared for someone to tell us that he will pray for us so that we go to heaven soon.
The bad thing about current media is that what we transmit can be seen and, therefore, evaluated by millions of people, who become judges of what they hear and see. Especially the image, it is even more forceful, since the clothing, for example, together with the facial expression and the tone of voice, are a message that accompanies the content. Thus, for example, more than a joke, the message they conveyed was not that they were praying for the Holy Father to achieve beatitude, but rather for his teaching to cease due to death.
The impact it has had, according to them, in the face of the criticism they have received, has been supportive. Thousands of viewers of their channel encourage them. Certainly, it is not a matter of counting how many are in favor and how many are against – the thousands of times that the fragment has been replicated, rather it provokes negative criticism – this is not the issue.
Prayer has been left in a bad place, as something that is put at the service of our desires. Since it was a joke, Our Lord surely did not take them into account. But what is surprising is the frivolization of eternal life. If we can affirm that in our society it is already difficult to reveal the end of the Creed, enduring life. The only thing left was for it to be trivialized with something that is core to the Christian faith. “Heaven” should never be the equivalent of the “rat room” with which we were threatened as children.
They have been unfortunate expressions, both because of the reference to Pope Francis and because of the trivialization of prayer and eternal life.
Apparently they have suspended the gathering, although the majority continue individually giving their message through modern media where you never know who sees you. Many viewers will not be doctors in theology like the tertulio priests, but they have an ethic that allows them to take a stand against what they consider to be double language, no matter how jokey it may be. It seems that the veracity of the church is called into question when, through the expression of a good wish – that he go to heaven – we are actually wishing that he put an end to his pontificate.
We recognize that it was simply clumsy and that the bishop of Rome will have enough courage to withstand such jokes.
To learn more about this group, it occurred to me to watch and listen to the latest video they made to communicate the closing of the gathering.
The tone of the video is one of true regret, not for what they have done, but for the victimization they make of themselves. At the same time, they list the authenticity of the apostolic zeal they have, which they now repress for fear of being retaliated against. His generosity and self-affirmation of his priesthood stand out. The word “enemies” is often repeated. According to what they say, we are in troubled times. The tone is warlike, both at the beginning and at the end, with military marches and images of executions. Expressions such as “trenches of Christ the King”, battle, war, persecution, evil, slander… The “enemies”, a word that is often repeated, are not only despicable, but of low category. After vilifying the enemies, they claim to pray for them. We don’t know if it’s also because they are going to heaven soon.
The video leaves a bad taste in the mouth, marking the two sides: friends and enemies. I do not judge either the theology that emanates from his proclamations, nor the rigid personality traits where the exclusive radically leaves no respite for dialogue and reflection. I agree that we must control expressions when they are being edited in digital formats. One thing is the gathering between friends where you can drift with unfortunate and humorous comments and another is giving the opportunity for millions of people to see, hear and judge what we say.
They say that it was the television stations that insulted them. That is, they are victims, martyrs, in this case of YouTube.
