I read something today that resonated heavily with the first reading from Mass yesterday. Apparently, in the recent decision on whom to invite to the discussion in Rome about "Amoris Laetitiae", it was not Leo who chose to invite only those who agree with Pope Francis. Not every decision in the Vatican is necessarily made by the Pope himself.
There is nothing automatically wrong with this. Although I refuse to allow my parish to become a democracy (because the Church forbids it--in spite of the fact that it does occur in some places!), I do allow a number of people to make certain decisions for the parish. There is nothing wrong with that; in fact it allows me to take care of ministry and liturgy more attentively.
This struck me because of the reference in the first reading for Mass yesterday where we are told that St. Peter had to be rebuked by St. Paul when he was "clearly condemned" by his behavior. St. Peter had made a bad choice because (as Scripture says) he was "fearing the circumcision party". Wow. Let that sink in for a minute. Do we ever do things because we fear someone's pressure on us?
Many, if not most, people suffer from being pressured at times. Even the Pope can experience this; after all, the first Pope did, and we are given this story for the sake of helping us to realize it can happen again. St. Peter's bad decision was not just his own decision; he was pressured into it. If he could suffer from that (when he should have spoken against those who were pressuring him), then certainly other Popes could experience the same kind of pressure, and even have others around them making decisions that make them look bad. What "party" might Pope Leo be "fearing"?
Should this happen? No, of course not; but it does. It likely has happened down through the centuries, and we would be extremely naive if we were to imagine that it would not happen to a Pope in our day and age. With the loopy things that are happening in Rome of late, it should be acknowledged that at least some of those things are occurring without the Pope's approval. Yet, there is hope. If St. Peter made it through, then today's Popes can do so as well. Remember, the papacy is not a human institution; it is God's chosen instrument to lead His Church, and He will use it however He chooses.