More Older Son Nonsense About Pope Francis

William Oddie, at the Catholic Herald, gives more evidence of older son syndrome, acting like the aggrieved older son in the parable of the prodigal. Oddie places himself in the tradition of another UK Catholic, William Ward, who famously wanted a papal bull each morning for breakfast with his copy of the Times, a misplaced ultramontanism that is redolent with the sin of sloth, as if we RCs should expect the pope to do all of our thinking for us. Oddie tells us he has been trying to "put the best face" on what the pope says, as if this very blunt spoken pope needed someone like Oddie to parse his words. I simply do not understand how anyone who has read, and prayed over, the parable of the prodigal can fail to grasp the essence of what Pope Francis says. Understand it or not, I am getting tired of seeing it in print.