Pope Francis (Pastor of Mercy)

by Michael J. Ruszala

  The Catechism continues in paragraph 2358 regarding homosexual persons, “This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them at trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.” What Pope Francis is saying is not new; it is a pastoral application of the teachings of the Catechism with an emphasis on mercy and the person.

  Journalists approached Pope Francis on his flight back from World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro about rumors of gay priests within the Vatican. As usual, his response was a disarming one that looked to the person and made the headlines, since his response was so unusual for a pope. “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” It was the first time a pope had used the word ‘gay’ to refer to a person with same-sex attraction, and he probably did so because that is how they refer to themselves. We all have desires that are disordered and that is why we sin.

  The Pope is conveying a strong message: who are we, the people, to judge if a person is tempted in a different way than we are? Priests are called to celibacy, and a priest with same-sex attraction is called to celibacy just as a priest who is attracted to the opposite sex. Currently, candidates for the priesthood may only have attraction for the opposite sex if they are to be ordained. If Pope Francis makes a change has yet to be seen, but what is clear is that Pope Francis sees homosexuality as a temptation to the person. Someone who is Catholic and gay and truly ‘searches for the Lord’ will find that he or she must not act on those temptations, just as a heterosexual Catholic not in a Church marriage must not act on temptations regarding the opposite sex.

  Pope Francis always tries to look first to the person. In his interview with Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica, an atheist, the journalist joked that his friends told him that the Pope only accepted the interview to convert him. Pope Francis responded, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.” During the interview, the Holy Father did not hold back on sharing about the message of Jesus and even asked the journalist penetrating questions to lead him to recognize the truth. That is evangelization. While it was later noted that the elderly Scalfari did not take notes or record the interview and thus may not have recalled the wording correctly, the difference that Pope Francis highlighted between proselytism and evangelization is that proselytism is a preaching that does not consider the person, while true evangelization is a personalistic sharing of the Gospel message done with love.

  Pope Francis applies the principle of mercy to atheists as he did when he was a cardinal. His approach to atheists is one of respect and of open arms. One of the Holy Father’s spontaneous morning homilies at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, intended for the Vatican staff and their families, made headlines, “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class. We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all. And we all have a duty to do good.”

  It is Catholic teaching that the mercy of God extends to all people and not just Catholics. According to Vatican II, “[The Church of Christ] constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church... although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity” (from Lumen Gentium). A distinction might be made between redemption, which is offered to all, and salvation, which may not be received by all because of a lack of response to Christ’s redemption. Those outside the bounds of the Catholic Church can be saved, but as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) clarified in a document called ‘Dominus Jesus,’ it is presumably more difficult because the full elements towards salvation are in the Catholic Church.

  Still, we are all children of the same God, whether we believe in him or not. We have much to share. All people of good will share in God’s common gifts of goodness, truth, and beauty. Pope Francis continues, “And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: We need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: We will meet one another there.”

  At his first meeting with the journalists on March 16, he modeled a respect for those of other faiths: “I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give the blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you!”

  Church Reform

  While Pope Francis has always been a strong advocate and sincere practitioner of social justice, he has stated on numerous occasions that the Church of Christ is not to be equated with an NGO (a nongovernmental organization), such as the Red Cross, UNICEF, or the United Way. While many NGO’s perform good deeds, if the Church acted as another NGO, it would be a pitiful one because that is not its call and the reason for its existence. The Church is called to be the Bride of Christ. As a result, the Church pleases Christ by serving him in the poor. Pope Francis likewise keeps his distance from clericalism, where the clergy assume privilege at the expense of the laity and lack a spirit of service.

  The Holy Father says that in meeting a clericalist, “I suddenly become anti-clerical.” He is a strong believer in Vatican II’s emphasis on the Church as all the people of God, served by their leaders in the clerical hierarchy. Hence Pope Francis told his priests on Holy Thursday that they must be “shepherds living with the smell of their sheep.” And at his meeting with journalists on March 16 he said, “How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”

  Vatican II teaches that the Church is holy because Christ, her head, is holy. What people see of the institutional Church is often short of Christ’s holiness because the Church and its leaders are made up of sinners. Pope Francis, too, identifies himself to the world as a sinner. Even the Pope is a sinner, and the Church’s teaching on papal infallibility, limited to particular instances of teaching officially on faith and morals, has never denied that. Much like Jesus himself, Pope Francis is not afraid to make controversial statements to shake people, both believers and non-believers, from their comfort zone and change their paradigm of thought. For Pope Francis, the problem with the Church today is not its teachings or moral doctrines, but rather the members of the Church, and even many of the leaders, do not sufficiently practice what they preach. If the world saw Catholics truly living like they believed what they said they believed, then the world would have more respect for the Church when it teaches on abortion, homosexuality, or other such topics.

  Pope Francis is not afraid to call out the Church on hypocrisy. He even brought up the topic of the sex abuse scandals on his own at World Youth Day, and has confronted the issue head-on during his time as a cardinal. Speaking not of the institution of the Curia itself, but of Vatican-centric cronies and bureaucrats, he told Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica, “Leaders of the Church have often been Narcissus, flattered and sickeningly excited by their courtiers. The court is the leprosy of the papacy.” He continued in describing this attitude that must change, “It sees and looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, for the most part, temporal interests. This Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us. I do not share t
his view and I’ll do everything I can to change it.”

  The Curia itself, as Pope Francis told Father Spadaro, is a necessary institution intended to assist the Pope. There are various congregations, such as on the Clergy, on the Faith, on Evangelization, on Bishops, on Justice and Peace, on Worship, and more. The Pope, as a single man, could never accomplish all the work on his own regarding situations throughout the world. The Curia has sometimes been reactionary and has had the tendency for centralization and institutionalization. Pope Francis has noted, for example, that many of the cases that come to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that concern matters of heterodox teachings could be much more suitably handled at the diocesan level.

  Pope Francis has admitted that he does not fully know on his own what to do about all the problems of the Vatican, yet he is committed to learning more about the issues and seeking the proper reforms. His most effective leadership for reform is his example of humility, openness, and authenticity, for as he has said, the reform of the Church must first begin with the conversion of hearts. On April 13, Pope Francis, appointed eight cardinals to form a panel to look into how the Curia might be reformed to more effectively serve the Pope and the Church. Initially, Pope Francis kept the incumbents in the Curia, but after the summer he made a number of key changes. On August 31, he appointed Archbishop Pietro Parolin, a veteran Vatican diplomat, as Secretary of State in place of Cardinal Bertone.

  Then, on September 21, he named new prefects of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Evangelization. He also appointed a new Apostolic Penitentiary to oversee investigations regarding the sacrament of Reconciliation. He also appointed a new Secretary General for the Synod of Bishops to give the discussion among the bishops of the world a more prominent place within the Vatican. Pope Francis also has a special interest in reforming the Vatican Bank. He requires greater transparency in the institution and appointed an audit commission to monitor the corruption-prone bank. The Vatican Bank issued its first ever earnings report on October 1, 2013.

  Pope Francis has emphasized that the focus of the Church must always be on Christ and that proclaiming the love of Christ is primary. Other doctrines of the Church follow the more fundamental ones. The General Directory for Catechesis, issued in 1997 by the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, states that the Catholic faith “has a comprehensive hierarchical character, which constitutes a coherent and vital synthesis of the faith. This is organized around the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, in a christocentric [or Christ-centered] perspective, because this is the source of all other mysteries of the faith, the light that enlightens them.”

  Recalling this hierarchy of truths, one in which more fundamental truths enlighten the others, Pope Francis told Father Spadaro, “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent.

  “The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things: this is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus.” Pope Francis is not critiquing the Church’s teachings on abortion or homosexuality. Instead, he is speaking about a clear presentation of the core Gospel message, without which, these teachings will fall on deaf ears. In fact, on May 12, Pope Francis had surprised over 40,000 people gathered for the Italian March for Life by personally joining them.

  The topic of the role of women in the Church has been kept at the fore, especially in the media. Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis that “in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance... I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” The Church, bound by Scripture and Tradition, finds no support in the message for women to be ordained as priests, and the fact that Christ himself chose only males for his Apostles reinforces this belief.

  Pope Francis confirmed that the ordination of women to the priesthood should not be considered. He told journalists on the plane to Rio that “with reference to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says, ‘No.’ John Paul II said it, but with a definitive formulation. That is closed, that door... But he has called on numerous occasions for a deeper theology of women in the Church.” While women do hold many positions of authority within the Church and its institutions today, Pope Francis says the first question is not whether a woman may hold this position or that one.

  He told the journalists, “No! It must be more, but profoundly more, also mystically more, with this that I said about the theology of the woman.” Such a deepened theology of women in the Church must consider that while the Apostles were given the authority of the Church, Mary, the Mother of God, is still greater than they are for the life of the Church.

  Pope Francis and the Youth

  Pope Francis has struck a special chord with the youth. He has always been close with young people. He served many years as a secondary school teacher and later as a confessor and spiritual director popular among the youth when he was an auxiliary bishop. He understands them. The youth, and particularly the current generation, respect authenticity in a person’s character. They are very sensitive to hypocrisy, respecting a genuine person even if they may disagree with them. Pope Francis offers young people authenticity, simplicity, action, and truth.

  World Youth Day 2013 was scheduled through July 23-28, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prior to his resignation, it was not clear that Pope Benedict would be able to make the trip for the 28th World Youth Day because of his health. His doctors, in fact, had told him he could not take an international flight. By July 2013, as providence would have it, it would be Pope Francis' turn to celebrate the perennial celebration of the world’s Catholic youth founded by Pope John Paul II. This time the celebration took place in Rio, which is in Pope Francis' native Latin America.

  Having carried his own luggage onto Shepherd 1, the Alitalia plane used by the Pope and those traveling with him, Pope Francis greeted the thousands of young people who came to the airport to welcome him on July 22, “I ask permission to come in and spend this week with you” (as reported in coverage by National Catholic Reporter). If Pope Francis needed an answer, he would soon find it. The popemobile, as it made its way to the presidential palace, had to take a detour as it slowly inched forward because of the crowds and congestion. Enthusiastic crowds took the opportunity to jump right in and lovingly surround the Holy Father’s vehicle, hoping to touch him. While the papal security was alarmed, Pope Francis felt very much at home, shaking hands through the window and greeting well-wishers. To make for more security headaches, but to the delight of the crowds, Pope Francis had eschewed the popemobile, closed in by bulletproof glass, for an open-air white Jeep, just as he has opted for in Rome.

  An hour late, Pope Francis finally reached the presidential palace. He expressed his joy to be back in Latin America, attributing it to God’s “loving providence” that Pope Benedict had selected Rio for the event. Echoing St. Peter, he told the crowds, “I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to me: Jesus Christ!” Having visited the rich, Pope Francis did not forget the poor. He headed later that day to the favelas, the slums that surround Rio’s modern skyline, to spend time with the poorest in the city as he was accustomed to doing in Buenos Aires. He told them, “The Brazilian people, particularly the humblest among you, can offer the world a valuable lesson
in solidarity, a word that is too often forgotten or silenced because it is uncomfortable.”

  On July 24, Pope Francis spoke to journalists about the problems faced by young people today. Recalling the lessons he learned on the value of work from his own youth, the Holy Father shared, “The young, at this time, are in a situation of crisis. We are somewhat accustomed to this culture of rejection: too often we discard the elderly. But now, also with the young unemployed, the culture of rejection reaches them too. We have to eliminate this habit of rejection!”

  As a cardinal, Pope Francis, would often hear confessions at major events. He continued this practice; he joined his brother priests in hearing the confessions of young people at Quinta da Boa Vista Park in Rio, on July 26. After participating in a full schedule of events with the youth of the world gathered in Rio, Pope Francis was joined by over three million young people for Sunday Mass on the expansive beaches of Copacabana, a site more familiar with partying than papal services. He told the young people, recapping his homily, “Go, do not be afraid, and serve. If you follow these three ideas, you will experience that the one who evangelizes is evangelized, the one who transmits the joy of faith receives more joy.” The Holy Father believes very much that the young people are the ones that will reach the most young people for Christ. The youth at Rio placed their trust in Pope Francis. When departing for Rome on July 29, Pope Francis told the youth, “I will always place my hopes in young people.”