Peter Espeut | Brave and visionary

The Catholic Church has been in change mode for more than 60 years, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing. It was Pope John XXIII – the compromise candidate – who surprised everyone in 1962 by convening the Second Vatican Council to begin to bring the Catholic Church into the modern world. Since then, Catholics worship in their own language (instead of in Latin), rock in praise to their own rhythms, and consider work for social justice to be an essential part of the proclamation of the gospel.

John’s successor – Paul VI – further reformed Catholic worship, and more fulsomely defined human and social development. He began a trend where popes make pastoral visits to their flock across the world bringing messages of hope and peace.

In recognition of the radical transformation taking place, his successor took the double-barrelled name “John Paul I”, but died after only 33 days in office. The Polish John Paul II – the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century – became the most travelled pope in history, even making it to Jamaica in 1993. Although he supported the reforms of the second Vatican Council, he was generally seen as conservative in its interpretation. The Catholic Church condemns both capitalism and communism on moral grounds, but having experienced communist Poland, John Paul II was far more scathing with respect to the latter, and some feel that he deserves much of the credit for the breakup of the Soviet Empire.

At the next conclave, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires came second in all four ballots to Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, the intellectual behind much of John Paul II’s doctrinal work. Even though Ratzinger as Benedict XVI continued in the same traditionalist vein as JP II, clearly there were many in the conclave who wanted to break out of that mould.

So when Benedict resigned in 2013 it should have come as no surprise that Bergoglio of Argentina was elected on the fifth ballot with at least 90 votes out of the 115.

WELL KNOWN

Jorge Bergoglio was well known. At the Fifth Episcopal Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAM) in Aparecida, Brazil (2007), Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by his brother bishops to chair the important committee charged with drafting the final document.

The Aparecida Document emphasizes the Church’s commitment to social justice and the preferential option for the poor.

Every morning the CELAM conference began with a Eucharistic celebration attended by throngs of pilgrims to the Shrine of the Virgin Mary at Aparecida. When Cardinal Bergoglio finished his homily on May 16, 2007 the entire congregation broke out into applause – unprecedented and never repeated. Clearly the cardinal had something important to say which the people of God had grasped. This is what he said:

“We do not, in fact, want to be a self-absorbed Church, but a missionary Church. We do not want to be a gnostic Church, but a Church that worships and prays. We, the people and the pastors who make up this faithful people of God, who enjoy an infallibility of faith together with the pope; we, the people and the pastors, speak on the basis of what the Spirit inspires in us, and we pray together and build the Church together; or better yet, we are instruments of the Spirit who builds her up”.

The insightful can see in this homily a bridge (pontus) connecting Aparecida to Vatican II’s conception of the Church as the faithful people of God, with Bergoglio-turned-Francis on the balcony after being elected pope: he bowed his head and asked the assembled faithful to bless him. Lifting his head, he then said: “And now, let us begin this journey: bishop and people.”

Journey … synodality ( syn-hodos in Greek – on the way together). There were voting lay delegates – men and women – at the recent synod in Rome.

WALKING TOGETHER

In his first Mass as pope, he spoke of walking together and building the Church, going out to the peripheries having dialogue with everyone. He believed in inclusion. Everyone in the Church is a sinner. We can take a few more.

Upon his elevation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio declined to live in the Archbishop’s palatial residence, but chose to live in a small apartment in the city. He also declined to use the Archbishop’s chauffeured limousine, taking the bus and subway to work, rubbing shoulders daily with his sheep.

As pope he declined to live in the well-appointed Apostolic Palace, but chose to live in the Vatican guest house (Casa Santa Marta). Friends who have stayed there have told me that Francis came down for breakfast, just like the other residents. Unheard of!

On the night of his election, he took a bus back to his hotel with the cardinals rather than being driven in the papal limo. He carried his luggage himself. On his first morning as Pope, he went to the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome to pray, declining to use the usual Papal transportation. He has chosen to be interred there.

Archbishop Bergoglio regularly celebrated the Holy Thursday foot-washing liturgy in jails, hospitals, retirement homes, and the slums of Buenos Aires. As pope, regularly on Holy Thursday he washed the feet of prisoners in the jails of Rome – men and women, some not even Catholic.

The Cardinals knew very well who they were electing. And Francis knew the kind of Church he wanted to lead. He chose the name of Francis (of Assisi), the great Church reformer. He had a vision, and he was brave enough to work for it, despite the predictable opposition.

Francis repeated the Church’s condemnation of capitalism, and deepened the Church’s support for social justice, including environmental justice. He has supported the plight of both political and economic refugees. He took on both Trump and Putin.

In promoting synodality – a new way of being Church – he took on those clergy who cling to their privileges and prerogatives. He condemned what he called clericalism, and many clerics have been lukewarm to his initiatives – and some have even opposed him.

Let us see if his successor is cut from the same cloth.

Peter Espeut is a development scientist and a Roman Catholic deacon. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com