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News & Current Events

Pope Francis’ New Document on Sacred Heart Devotion Receives Mixed Reception

Ian Joseph Riñon

Pope Francis released a new encyclical titled “Dilexit nos” on Thursday (Oct. 24). The encyclical focuses on Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. 

The “incipit,” or the first words of the encyclical, was derived from the Christian apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans asking whether death, tribulation, or persecution, among many others, would “separate” mankind from the charity of Christ — of which the writer responds: “…[I]n all these things we overcome, because of him that hath loved us.” (8:37)

However, critics of the papacy expressed indifference regarding the publication, saying that the document was supposed to soften the blow of what they claimed were the rather radical and heterodox proposals being pushed by the current synod at the Vatican, which would close in the coming days. 

An encyclical is usually addressed to the Catholic Church, especially as a pastoral letter from the Pope to bishops worldwide. Certain Catholics perceive the two epistles attributed to the apostle Peter in the Christian Bible as papal encyclicals. 

Context on the Sacred Heart Devotion

British Catholic journalist Luke Coppen wrote a digestible version of the 141-page encyclical on the news site The Pillar while providing some context. He indicated that Francis intended to publish a document about the Sacred Heart devotion at a June 5 general audience at the Vatican. 

“I believe it will do us great good to meditate on various aspects of the Lord’s love, which can illuminate the path of ecclesial renewal, and say something meaningful to a world that seems to have lost its heart,” the Pope said at the time. 

The document was initially supposed to be published in September, but Francis’s travel schedule that month, including a four-nation Asia-Pacific tour, was speculated to be the reason for the delay. 

It could be further speculated that the document was delayed to allow the controversy about Francis’s controversial musings in Singapore to die down, but this could not be independently verified.

The devotion to Christ’s sacred heart had precedents across European monasteries and convents in the Middle Ages. However, it was officially codified by the church (including the publication of what was claimed as Christ’s 12 promises about the devotion and the establishment of a feast to such on the third Friday after Pentecost) after an alleged apparition of the deity to the French Visitandine nun Margaret Mary Alacoque between 1673 and 1675. Over the centuries, the devotion to the Sacred Heart seamlessly merged into the devotion to the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe the bread and wine offered and consecrated at services called the Mass are transubstantiated into Christ’s body and blood.

Alacoque was canonized as a Catholic saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. 

The Catholic Church issued a previous encyclical tackling the Sacred Heart devotion, “Haurietis aquas,” during Pius XII’s papacy in 1956. Popes Pius XI (in 1928 and 1932) and Leo XIII (in 1899) also issued encyclicals on the matter. 

Detail of 18th century painter Pompeo Batoni’s portrait of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as displayed in Rome’s Church of the Gesù. (Lloydbaltazar/Wikimedia) Commons)

Francis’ Focus on the Heart

“Dilexit nos” is Francis’s fourth encyclical after “Fratelli tutti” (2020), “Laudato si'” (2015), and “Lumen Fidei,” which was co-written with his predecessor, the late Pope Benedict XVI, in 2013.

The pontiff quoted the Christian Bible, the writings of several Catholic saints (including Alacoque), and other philosophical, religious, and secular sources, such as Plato’s dialogue “The Timaeus,” in the document. 

Foremost in his list of footnotes was the late Argentine Jesuit and contemporary Fr. Diego Fares, SJ, whose unpublished writings were incorporated in the encyclical’s first chapter about the “importance of the heart” and the human organ’s philosophical, religious, and spiritual connotation to both human and divine love.

“Some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful today,” Francis wrote. “Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality … all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.”

He also briefly mentioned the importance of the Sacred Heart devotion and the concept of poetry and love in human experiences in the age of artificial intelligence, stressing that algorithms and machine learning could never accurately replicate human expressions and memories. 

“All these little things, ordinary in themselves yet extraordinary for us, can never be captured by algorithms,” he added.

Francis also reflected on the importance of Christ’s “concrete actions“ to match the words he uttered during his time as a revelation of the deity’s love for mankind. 

He further stressed that the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the contemplation and adoration of “the whole Jesus Christ,“ especially in the devotion to the Eucharist.

“More than any other part of his body, the heart of Jesus is ‘the natural sign and symbol of his boundless love.‘” the pontiff explained, citing Pius XII’s encyclical “Haurietis aquas.”

It is understood that the Sacred Heart devotion quickly tied with that of the Eucharist as a counter to the heresy of Jansenism, a Franco-Dutch ideology similar to Calvinism, teaching that divine mercy is hard to attain despite human efforts in terms of piety. Francis correlates the 17th-century ideology to the apathy, indifference, and spiritual tepidity of secularism usually observed in the 21st.

“In our societies, we are also seeing a proliferation of varied forms of religiosity that have nothing to do with a personal relationship with the God of love, but are new manifestations of a disembodied spirituality,“ he added.

Supporters of Jansenism eventually became involved in the effort to suppress the Society of Jesus (more commonly known as the Jesuits) and supported the French Revolution in the 1790s. The movement was formally dismissed as a heresy during the First Vatican Council in the late 19th century.

Taking cues from the incipit of Pius XII’s Sacred Heart encyclical, which in English is translated as “Ye shall draw waters“ (cf.Isaiah 12:3), Francis highlights the historical roots of the devotion to Christ’s heart, spanning from the Hebrew Bible to the Christian New Testament to the Church Fathers to as late as the Middle Ages, culminating in the Alacoque apparitions and the reflections by another French female Catholic saint, the Carmelite nun Thérèse Martin of Lisieux. 

As a Jesuit himself, Francis also emphasized the importance of his own order’s contribution to propagating the Sacred Heart devotion. 

The fifth and final chapter is dedicated to the notion of loving divine love, including the importance of reconciliation, reparation, and genuine service. 

“Love for our brothers and sisters is not simply the fruit of our own efforts; it demands the transformation of our selfish hearts,“ Francis said. “This realization gave rise to the oft-repeated prayer: [‘Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine.‘]”

Mixed Reception From Catholics

The reception of the new papal document was mixed on both sides of the opinion of Francis’s pontificate. 

Mike Lewis, an editor for the pro-Francis outlet Where Peter Is, said that there seemed to be a “theological ‘wholeness‘” in the encyclical if included in the comprehensive view of Francis’s magisterial thought and that there was more to unpack in the coming days and weeks.

 

“My underdeveloped overarching thesis is that this document is a self-portrait of Pope Francis’s heart as a disciple, pastor, and member of the Body of Christ,” he added.

Crisis Publications executive director Eric Sammons admitted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, his appreciation of the fact that Francis referred to Catholic saints and their testimonies about the Sacred Heart devotion. 

“I know a lot of Catholics, myself included, understandably get nervous when we hear ‘Pope Francis has issued a new encyclical,’ but his latest encyclical, on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is really quite good,” he tweeted.

On the other hand, Nick Donnelly, a pro-Trump and anti-Francis American Catholic, was pleasantly surprised with how the encyclical turned out. 

“This document reads like no other document issued over the past 12 years,” he added.

While the tone of “Dilexit nos” is more in line with “Lumen fidei” due to its more theological approach, many of Francis’s critics criticized the document as an act of self-contradiction given the controversial Singapore address and the nearly-completed Vatican synod. Some of them even nitpicked on the fact that this was a break from his usual style and tone, while others dismissed it as another way for the pontiff to purportedly gaslight more traditional-minded Catholics. 

American Catholic musician and scholar Dr. Peter Kwasniewski was among the first to point out that the document was ironic when compared to the pope’s usual stance, especially on catholic liturgy. 

“Do these people have no sense of irony whatsoever?” he retorted on a Facebook post, addressing the pope’s alleged ghostwriters.

Other observers concurred. 

“The Pope’s comment, with ironic accuracy, describes the usual experience of ‘the synodal process,’” one user commented on Kwasniewski’s post. “In fairness, the Pontiff’s vision of ‘the synodal process’ was something much more spiritual. Alas, it was also a fatally unclear vision.”

“They say things like this to make people think that their agenda outside the Gospel is part of the Gospel,” another said. 

“I’ll continue my traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart and disregard this nonsense,” a third added, referring to the Alacoque apparitions.

Similar sentiments were also observed on X. 

Traditional Catholic author and speaker Louie Verrecchio called his experience reading the encyclical “an exercise in spiritual waterboarding.”

“This [is] a 31,000+ word ramble,” he complained.

The traditional Catholic outlet Novus Ordo Watch dismissed “Dilexit nos” as a diversion to keep Catholics away from focusing on the Vatican synod, which some pundits feared would tackle controversial topics such as homosexual marriages, divorce, and the ordination of women, among others. 

“Folks, don’t let someone who claims that the many different religions are God’s gift to mankind, instruct you about the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” it warned on X.

In response to Sammons’s tweet, Classical Christian Thought founder Erick Ybarra laconically quipped about the Pope and compared the encyclical with his Singapore address. 

“Pope Francis can, at times, do well in describing how Christianity, as one of the world religions, can help people to arrive at God,” he said.

“Expect the next shoe to drop in a week or two,” another user added. “I’m sorry. I wish it wasn’t this way. Call me a cynic or worse but I promise you it’s coming.”

Meanwhile, several users on Donnelly’s comment section were unconvinced, making statements ranging from outright disagreement to sarcasm against Francis.

“The ‘orthodoxy’ of this document is the best proof of the twisted political game … where Mr. Bergoglio (and his bosses behind him) exceed themselves,” one comment said, referring to Francis by his pre-papal name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. “After almost 12 years we know very well how they play.”

Another retorted that, if he was sincere in the document, Francis should consider rescinding some of his controversial documents, like “Amoris Laetitia,” “Traditionis Custodes,” and “Fiducia Supplicans”; dismissing the current Vatican chief theologian, Cardinal Victor Manuel “Tucho” Fernandez; rescinding the excommunication he imposed on former Papal Nuncio to the United States Carlo Maria Vigano; and excommunicating Slovenian ex-Jesuit priest and alleged sex offender Mario Rupnik and pro-LGBTQ+ Jesuit priest James Martin.

Catholic intellectual and former Anglican priest Dr. Taylor Marshall, one of Francis’s harshest critics, has not yet commented on the matter.

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