Asking priest-friends what they think of the new pope, I
hear most of them reply, "I have hope."
Pope Benedict's farewell used the image "disfigured
face" to describe the Church of the twenty-first century.
He must have been thinking of the hierarchy's failure to
manage the priest-pedophilia problem as well as the scandal emanating from the Vatican bank.
The choice of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as successor to Pope
Benedict signaled the electors' intention to pursue a new regimen for repairing
the Church and attending to its disfigured face.
Reports from the Vatican suggest that Pope Francis
has taken on the challenge like a leader who knows that change is needed and
who intends to make those changes.
There is not the least hint that Pope Francis will change
dogma, but there is clearly reason to believe that he will alter the way the
Church has been doing business.
His decision to appoint Vatican officials back to their old
posts on a temporary basis sends a message.
Unlike his predecessors Pope Francis has been having lunch
with Vatican employees. A bank employee who
attended one such luncheon said, "He is genuinely interested in you and
gives you his full attention...I can honestly say, I spent more time talking
with this pope than the last two combined."
The menu, the bank employee further noted, "was nothing
fancy...just a small salad, some pasta and a chocolate cookie for dessert. To
drink, a choice of coffee or tea --No vino! --which you could tell disappointed
some of the old guard."
Pope Francis is clearly a pastoral priest. His presence
among and in the crowds is not a publicity stunt. He is simply being the open
and loving person he has been for decades. The stories told of his behaviors as
cardinal (riding the bus, living in simple quarters) give witness to a
well-practiced modus operandi.
The hope inspired by the new pope is refreshing. His
emphasis is not on externals; he shies away from pomp and circumstance. He is motivated by his spirituality. He knows Jesus.
His washing the feet of women on Holy Thursday upset some
pope-watchers. They said, "He broke the law!" (The Holy Thursday
rubric in the Roman Missal says, "The men
who have been chosen..."). We can only speculate whether there were women among
the disciples whose feet Jesus washed at the Last Supper. For Pope Francis, "disciples" obviously includes women.
That Vatican bank employee
who cherished his time and luncheon with Pope Francis concluded, "I think
he is going to be a very good Pope! And no one is going to tell him what to do.
He is his own man. Let's hope he will be with us for a long time!"
The hope inspired by our new pope is like the dawn after a
long night. It is a feeling of expectation that things will get better, that
the Church will more faithfully reflect the Gospel and more engagingly fulfill
its mission and ministry.
When the bishops at the Second Vatican Council analyzed
their role in the Church, they said that "bishops should be with their
people as those who serve...(that) they should arrange their own lives to meet
the needs of the times...(that) they
should ensure that the faithful are duly involved in church affairs.."
(Christus Dominus, #16).
Pope Francis seems to have taken a page from the council
document and from the Gospels.
A Franciscan-Jesuit ---he breathes new hope in an old Church,
and the disfigured face is beginning to smile!
No comments:
Post a Comment