I congratulate and commend you on your rise to the papal
see. I rejoice with much of the world that the Roman Church is now led by a man
from Latin America. With others I am encouraged to hear of your humility and
rejection of the trappings of riches in your ministry as cardinal in Argentina.
I pray that Francis of Assisi truly will be your pattern for ministry, with his
passion for the Gospel and care for the poor.
Many of us heard very disturbing news reports concerning the
papal curia and the power struggles present there. It seems that not only are
there local conspiracies to retain power, money and immunity from gross sexual
sin, but the Vatican itself has been home to such wickedness. I know that
Benedict seems free from accusation of sin in this, but that he was unable to
overthrow the power of the curia and cleanse the Roman Church from the top
down. On a local level, the world has seen that diocese after diocese has
protected sexual predators from criminal justice and these men have often gone
on to assault more children. This is a very great evil that will not escape
judgement from our King, Jesus Christ. I pray that you will be committed to
confronting evil and casting it from your midst, not simply minimizing the
damage to reputation and coffers.
As well, I strongly urge you to cleanse the Roman Church of
the cult of Mary. As a pastor from Latin America, you have seen yourself how
Mary has become far more than an object of reverence, but an object of worship.
No amount of subtle theologizing can justify this. While all Christians should
revere Mary as the mother of our Savior, she is not our “co-redemptrix,” object
of worship or receiver of our prayers. Latin America and parts of Europe have
become bastions of goddess-worship. God is not pleased with this. While it is
attractive to the uneducated and superstitious, it incurs God’s wrath and destroys
the opportunity for unity in the universal Church.
If you actually care for the poor, you will also reform the
Roman Church’s system of merit and indulgences. How sad that five hundred years
after Martin Luther exposed the evil of this system (which at the time was also
propping up a corrupt curia), you continue to sell indulgences with the promise
that “excess merit” from Mary and the saints can be delivered to suffering
souls in your imaginary purgatory. There is nothing biblical about this, and it
plunders the poor and superstitious. Salvation is a gracious gift, which saves
a person completely and does not consign her to purgatory, because Christ “has
perfected for all time those of us who are being sanctified.” Your theologians
have already admitted that Trent misunderstood or misrepresented Dr. Luther. He
never said that salvation can be apart from good works, but that good works are
not the basis for our salvation. Can we not agree that Christ’s work is the
basis for our salvation? Can we not agree that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient
to fully pardon our sins, even the sins committed after baptism which we all
commit? Can we not turn people from fear of hell to a joy in good works?
If you do these things, your church will be transformed.
Bring sin into the light, the true light of the true Gospel. Live as Francis
with a concern only for the poor and the Gospel.
Peace,
The Rev. Travis D. Hutchinson
Teaching Elder, Presbyterian Church in America
