'Totem Pope'—Should we ignore what goes on in Rome?
Is 'ignoring the pope' or hoping that he speaks less a solution—or a further symptom of the 'Totem Pope' illusion?
Is 'ignoring the pope' or hoping that he speaks less a solution—or a further symptom of the 'Totem Pope' illusion?
(WM+) – Since Leo XIV was elected, several commentators have expressed a hope both that the newly elected ‘Synodal Pope’ will speak less, and that Catholics will be able to pay less attention to him.
One example among many is Phil Lawler of Catholic Culture, who has expressed his wish for an “ordinary” pontificate after that of Francis. Another is Dr
, who published an article on Tradition & Sanity about what he called “the crying need for dehyperpapalization.” He writes:“I’m not saying we should not call out evils when we must. But must we do that 24/7? Can we not exercise some self-restraint, and pray a Rosary instead of firing off the next barrage? Might we even consider... ignoring the pope for long stretches of time, so that we don’t fall into a subtle papolatry that makes him the be-all and end-all of Catholicism?”
He cites other commentators, from George Weigel to Larry Chapp, who echoed the same hope.1 It has been a common theme since the Conclave.
There is something in the fears expressed about an excessive focus on Rome. Catholics must not be obsessed with scandal, and the ordinary means of learning the faith is from our own parents, pastors and local prelates.
Further, knowing about current affairs does not take the place of what Kwasniewski describes as “the daily round of dutiful love, in the daily round of worship and repentance, in the depths of the interior life (‘hidden with Christ in God’).
Indeed, this is a chief reason that we operate Father Coleridge Reader: to provide our readers with positive, Christ-focused spiritual reading and inspiration on a regular basis.
However, both the hopes and fears reveal a certain amount of confusion. The general idea—that we should pay less attention to the Pope—echoes a broader trend already addressed in a recent article on the “Totem Pope.”
In that article, I addressed the idea that the mere existence of a man as Pope somehow fulfils Christ’s promises, regardless of what he says or does. To be clear, that article was not written with the commenters mentioned above in view, several of whom advocate a “reduced” papacy rather than a properly totemic one. That said, until a pope acceptable to them arrives and implements the longed-for “reduced papacy,” the practical effects of both positions are similar.
In order to clarify the general issue, there are three points to be considered:
That an increased focus on the teaching of the Pope in modern times is not necessarily a bad thing
That the particular argument being made now about paying less attention to Rome is based on assumptions that beg the question about the current situation in the Church
That there is a specific reason for an increased focus on what is happening in Rome at present.
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