RBWords - Volume 26 - Number 9: September 2013
Something to Think About
Pope Francis has been back in the news – although he rarely seems out of the news at times. His interview with an influential Jesuit publication , CIVILTA CATOLICA, has made quite a splash. When someone asks me what I think about that interview, my response is first to ask, “Have you read it yet?” The media grabbed onto one or two lines and tried to make those lines into the whole interview. Not one iota of Catholic teaching or faith is changed, but there is a WORLD of difference in the pastoral attitude and vision of the church that he sets forth! He sees the church as a hospital in a battlefield! He sees the church not as a fortress of orthodoxy but a welcoming home and healer of wounds for all people. He is replacing guard dogs with welcome mats! That is what is happening in his vision. In some ways, what has been happening on the local level for years and years is now trickling upward and has found personification in Pope Francis!
We still have a lot to do on the national and local levels, however. The appointment of leadership in the future bishops will be closely watched for signs of imitation of Pope Francis’ pastoral style! Perhaps local pastors and leaders will find a way to demonstrate that simpler lifestyle that Pope Francis espouses. Perhaps folks in the pews will discover there are good people standing next to them and will reach out beyond a formal “Peace be with you!” at Mass. Perhaps preachers will discover the same energy and urgency that Pope Francis is bringing to the pulpit. I am voicing a lot of hopes, but they are inspired by a man I would call “the Pope of Hope!” IT’S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT.
It Has Been Said
“Let each one of us ask: do I feel this unity? Do I live this unity? Or am I not interested, am I one of those who would 'privatise' the Church for their own group, their own nation, their own friends? It is sad to encounter a privatised Church, as this form of selfishness indicates a lack of faith. Do we pray for each other? I wonder how many of you you pray for persecuted Christians, for those brothers or those sisters who suffer as a consequence of their faith? It is important to look over one's own fence, to feel part of the Church, of the single family of God”.
Pope Francis – General Audience, Wednesday, September 25, 2013