By David Martin
Solicitous concern over
the purity of doctrine reflects the truest love of God and neighbor, since
doctrine, as with any of the Ten Commandments, is not an ideal that may be
watered down or dismissed to suit ones fancy, but an eternal command set in
stone for man's sanctification. In the same way a healthcare expert does not
tolerate poison in the diet, so a true priest will never tolerate poison in the
spiritual diet. It has to be pure, which means it has to be clear, without which
it is poison.
But Pope Francis has now come out and slammed conservative Catholics who earnestly maintain that purity
of doctrine be preserved. Concerning such people, the pope said in his Friday
morning homily: "They are fanatics about things that are not clear, such as
these fanatics who go about there, sowing discord in order to divide the
Christian community."
