Editorial | A consequential papacy

If it were merely the number of congregants, the death of Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, might have been of little moment to Jamaica.

For, based on the last published census data, for 2011, approximately 58,000 Jamaicans, 2.2 per cent of the island’s then population, identified as Roman Catholics. Roman Catholicism ranked 14th among Christian denominations.

But while the church’s impact in Jamaica may not be immediately obvious, it far outstrips the size of its membership. The Roman Catholic Church’s involvement in education, for example, runs deep.

The two leading high schools, measured by examination outcomes, were founded, and are still largely run, with financial support from the State, by the local church. Some of its other secondary and primary schools are among the top performers. And the church is behind major initiatives to fix the crisis of reading among primary school students.

Further, Roman Catholic charities founded in Jamaica support poor, disabled and homeless people not only in the island, but elsewhere in the Caribbean, as well as in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.

Further, with over 1.4 billion adherents, or 17 per cent of the global population, the Roman Catholic Church is the world’s largest, and growing, religious body. The pope is a globally important and influential person. Whoever sits in the Vatican, as successor to St Peter, matters.

OFTEN SELF-EFFACING

In that regard, Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday at age 88, was profoundly consequential, even though, in the dozen years of his papacy, he did not go as far as we had hoped.

In 2013 when the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, a Jesuit priest, was elected to the papacy and assumed the name Francis, this newspaper believed the name was apt – whether it was in honour of St Francis Xavier, a co-founder of the Jesuit order; or whether, as it was more commonly thought, it was for St Francis of Assisi, the 12th-century preacher who, having found God, walked away from family wealth to proclaim the gospel and founded the Franciscan Order.

Among The Gleaner’s observations at the time: “ The Assisi theory would be a signal, perhaps, that Pope Francis’ reign will focus on poverty, without the Church losing its spiritual mission and merely evolving into an NGO.”

As it would have, too, if it were in homage to his Jesuit roots.

The fact that Francis was the first non-European in nearly 1,300 years – since Gregory III in 731 – probably gave him a different perspective on the papacy, and the use to which he could put his office.

Indeed, Francis was often self-effacing and generally eschewed the pomp that came with the job.

Notably, though, he spoke often against poverty and global economic disparities. He championed many of the concerns of the Global South, including the existential threat of global warming and climate change, especially to small, developing countries and island states.

Indeed, at the start of Francis’ reign nearly 53 per cent of the voting cardinals (those under 80 years old ) were Europeans. At its end it was 41.5 per cent.

By contrast, he promoted church leaders from Africa, Latin America and Asia, the growth region of Catholicism.

Over 13 per cent of the cardinals who will elect the next pope are from Latin America, 17 per cent from Asia, and 12.6 per cent from Africa. When Francis was elected the ratios were, respectively, 11.4 per cent, 8.8 per cent and 8.8 per cent.

LEAVES POSITIVE LEGACY

He spoke with compassion for the marginalised and empathised with migrants, whether they were headed to Europe or North America. He pointedly critiqued the cruelty of the Trump administration in dealing with the inflow of immigrants to the USA.

On the doctrinal issues inside the church, Pope Francis showed elements of progressiveness that promised much, which, from our perspective, did not deliver enough.

Significantly, he allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, but made clear the difference between these blessings and the sacrament of marriage, which, the Roman Catholic Church continues to hold, is between a man and woman.

Francis also relaxed rules to allow women to do some altar duties during the Holy Eucharist. Now, women can read scriptures during Mass. They can be acolytes, helping priests in church services, including administering Holy Communion. However, women cannot be priests.

Francis also declined a 2019 proposal by Latin American bishops to ordain married men to the priesthood so as to deal with a severe shortage of priests in the Amazon region. The pope, instead, pressed the need for more missionary effort to address the issue, rather than reverse the idea of celibate priests.

On balance, Pope Francis leaves a positive legacy. Our hope is that the next occupant of the throne of St Peter will bring a similar wisdom, but can accelerate and advance the mission.