There’s a joke (or perhaps a coping mechanism) among more traditional Catholic circles that embracing ignorance about the goings on in the Holy See and regarding the pope is good for the soul and reminiscent of the “medieval piety” cultivated by illiterate peasants who faithfully attended Mass centuries ago but knew nothing of church governance or its leadership. 

For more traditional- or conservative-minded Catholics, the papacy of the late Pope Francis provided many opportunities to embrace a tunnel vision focused more on the local church and individual devotion. After all, the alternative was to pay attention to Francis’s penchant for a more liberal and modern approach to church governance, much of which was at minimum a strong test of faith for more conservative or traditionally minded Catholics who pined for the more conservative leadership of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

But whether it was the freewheeling press conferences or the Vatican documents that used vague language on moral and social issues and thus were ripe for misinterpretation, there were plenty of headaches for those accustomed to steadier and more conservative leadership from Rome. 

POPE LEO SAYS HE’S SPEAKING WITH TRUMP AND NETANYAHU ABOUT MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN

For conservative clergy, “medieval piety” was not an option. A priest I spoke to said the Francis pontificate brought with it a daily sense of dread that the Vatican would find a way to create a new headache for the clergy, whether it be through an off-hand comment from the pope during an in-flight press conference, or an official document on blessings for same-sex couples that was seen as a significant break from historical practice but was subsequently further clarified on multiple occasions to say that nothing regarding the........

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