May 17, 2013
Mark Silk at RNS beat me to the punch of answering a column by Phil Lawler in which Lawler disparaged Papa Francesco's intellect compared to that of his two predecessors. I do think it is fair to say that the Roman Church has not had a pontiff with Benedict's theological intellect in a very long time, perhaps ever. But, Papa Francesco is certainly a match for John Paul II and both men deserve to be considered intellectuals. I do not know what Lawler's beef is really and, as Silk points out, there is a long tradition of spiritual criticism of intellectual pride in our Church.
