Cathal BarryAlthough he doesn’t mean to, it’s the Pope’s willingness to offend that makes him so authentic, writes Cathal Barry
Pope Francis has made a big impact on the Catholic Church since he was elected in 2013 and been widely praised for his no-nonsense approach and human touch.
The Pontiff has won acclaim in particular for speaking freely, but going off-script has its pitfalls and Francis has come in for some sharp criticism as a result.
The Vatican recently had to write a soothing letter to Mexico’s ambassador after Pope Francis lamented the possible ‘Mexicanisation’ of his native Argentina from drug trafficking. But this wasn’t the Pope’s first verbal gaffe.
After January’s Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, Francis suggested anyone who insulted his mother could expect a punch. His spokesman later had to explain that the Pope wasn’t justifying violence.
Francis also recently quipped that Catholics don’t need to breed “like rabbits”.
Leading moral theologians defended the Pope’s remarks that Catholics must practice “responsible parenthood”, insisting his comments were in keeping with Church teaching. But his choice words still didn’t go down well.
What exercised people the most, however, was the Pope’s suggestion that it is acceptable for parents to smacktheir children to punish bad behaviour.
What actually happened was Francis was outlining the traits of a good father: one who forgives but is able to “correct with firmness” while not discouraging the child.
“One time, I heard a father in a meeting with married couples say ‘I sometimes have to smack my children a bit, but never in the face so as to not humiliate them’,” Francis said.
“How beautiful.” he added. “He knows the sense of dignity! He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on.”
The Pope’s spokesman later clarified that Pope Francis was obviously not speaking about committing violence or cruelty against a child but rather about “helping someone to grow and mature”.
Previously, Pope Francis has been called ageist when describing Europe as “a grandmother, no longer fertile and vibrant”.
Not to mention angering feminists when he called female theologians “strawberries on the cake”. It turns out that particular phrase was rather loosely translated from the Argentinian expression for ‘the icing on the cake’, which Pope Francis employed to describe the addition of several women theologians to the International Theological Commission.
So while Francis’ free-wheeling style has caused both excitement and controversy, it seems when contextualised there is a simple explanation for each clumsily worded outburst.
Francis is every press officer’s nightmare, but every journalist’s dream.
Austen Ivereigh writes in his biography The Great Reformer that Vatican journalists “are busy now”.
“Gone are the days when they could prepare a story using carefully crafted phrases from embargoed homilies and statements: every event is made tense by what Francis might do or say,” he says.
However, despite many of his remarks being misunderstood or even misrepresented, it’s the fact that Francis’ comments come from the heart that make them memorable.
Although he doesn’t mean to, it’s Pope Francis willingness to offend that makes him so authentic. And, I for one don’t want him to stop.
A pastoral Pope
Six months into his papacy, Francis set out his vision for the Church and his priorities as Pope in a lengthy and remarkably blunt interview with La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal. It was published simultaneously in September by Jesuit journals in 16 countries, including America magazine.
The Irish Catholic published the interview, which was conducted by Fr Antonio Spadaro SJ, in full, in the September 26, 2013 issue.
The following is a selection of quotations from the now infamous interview.
Pope Francis
“I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”
Pastoral outreach
“I see clearly that the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the Church as a field hospital after battle.”
Reform
“The structural and organisational reforms are secondary – that is, they come afterward. The first reform must be the attitude.”
“Synodality should be lived at various levels. Maybe it is time to change the methods of the Synod of Bishops, because it seems to me that the current method is not dynamic.”
Evangelisation
“Instead of being just a Church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a Church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent.
“We need to proclaim the Gospel on every street corner.
“The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better.”
Church teaching
“The Church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules.
“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible…
“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 Church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed
multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently…
“We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the Church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”
Hierarchy
“The bishops, particularly, must be able to support the movements of God among their people with patience, so that no one is left behind.”
Role of women
“The Church cannot be herself without the woman and her role. The woman is essential for the Church. Mary, a woman, is more important than the bishops. I say this because we must not confuse the function with the dignity. We must investigate further the role of women in the Church. We have to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman. Only by making this step will it be possible to better reflect on their function within the Church.”
Pleasing the press aboard the papal plane
On the way to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in July, 2013, Pope Francis told reporters he didn’t give interviews. But at the end of his seven-day tour de force in Brazil, not only did the Pope give an interview, he gave a whopper of one.
He took questions from reporters traveling aboard the papal plane for a full hour and 21 minutes with no filters or limits and nothing off the record. Francis stood for the entire time, answering without notes and never refusing to take a question.
On background, officials said the decision to hold the news conference aboard the 12-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Rome was a personal decision by Francis and that aides at one point had counseled him against it.
Not since John Paul II, prior to the debilitating effects of his illness, had a Pope engaged in such a free-wheeling and spontaneous exchange with the press. Francis spoke in Italian and Spanish, the languages in which his comfort level is the greatest.
The following are some highlights:
Cardinals and austerity
“Everyone has to live in their own way. The cardinals in the Curia, at least the ones I know, don’t live like wealthy people. They have fairly modest apartments. But in a general sense, austerity is necessarily for all those who work in the service of the Church.”
••••••••
“There are saints in the Roman Curia, among the cardinals, priests, religious, sisters and laity. They work hard and also do things that are often hidden. I know some who concern themselves with feeding the poor or who give up their free time to work in a parish. As always, the ones who aren’t saints make the most noise… a single tree falling makes a sound, but a whole forest growing doesn’t.”
Women in the Church
“A Church without women would be like the apostolic college without Mary.
“The Madonna is more important than the apostles, and the Church herself is feminine, the spouse of Christ and a mother.”
••••••••
“The role of women doesn’t end just with being a mother and with housework… we don’t yet have a truly deep theology of women in the Church. We talk about whether they can do this or that, can they be altar servers, can they be lectors, about a woman as president of Caritas, but we don’t have a deep theology of women in the Church.”
••••••••
“On the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and said no. John Paul II, in a definitive formulation, said that door is closed.”
Benedict XVI
“I love Benedict XVI. He’s a humble man of God and a man of prayer. When he resigned, it was a great example … some say to me, how is it possible to have two Popes in the Vatican? I heard a beautiful phrase that it’s like having your grandpa at home, someone who’s wise, venerated, loved and listened to. If I have a problem, something I don’t understand, I can ask. On the Vatican leaks scandal, for example, he explained everything with simplicity and a spirit of service.”
Divorce
“This theme always comes up… I believe this is a time of mercy, a change of epoch. It’s a kairos moment for mercy…
“In terms of Communion for those who have divorced and remarried, it has to be seen within the larger pastoral context of marriage.”
The Jesuits
“The Jesuits have a vow to obey the Pope, but if the Pope is a Jesuit, maybe he should have a vow to obey the superior general…
“I feel like I’m still a Jesuit in terms of my spirituality, what I have in my heart. Also, I think like a Jesuit.”
Being true to himself
In an interview with the Argentine daily La Nacion published December, 2014, Pope Francis spoke on a variety of topics, giving specific attention to the ongoing reform of the Roman Curia, and some of the resistance he’s facing.
“I am not worried. It all seems normal to me; if there were no difference of opinions, that wouldn’t be normal,” the Pope said during the course of the interview.
“Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
Pope Francis also addressed comments suggesting that the “honeymoon is over” due to divisions that surfaced during the Synod on the Family held last October, saying that the issue was not so much the Pope as it was differing pastoral positions.
This is evident and can be clearly seen by looking at the widespread enthusiasm with which his final speech was accepted, he said.
The Pontiff also spoke of the continuing reform of the Roman Curia, saying that it’s a slow process and “We’re tackling it little by little”.
Pope Francis referred to the restructuring of the Institute for Religious Works, also called the Vatican Bank. He said that it is “operating beautifully” and that they did “quite a good job there”.
He revealed that when he was elected Pope he had been planning to retire, and that once he moved to the Vatican he had to start his plans again from scratch, and that everything was new for him.
“From the start I said to myself: ‘Jorge, don’t change, just keep on being yourself, because to change at your age would be to make a fool of yourself.’
“That´s why I’ve always kept on doing what I used to do in Buenos Aires. Perhaps even making my old mistakes. But I prefer it like this, to be myself.”
‘Who am I to judge?’
When Pope Francis told reporters, “Who am I to judge” a gay person, he was emphasising a part of Catholic teaching often overlooked by the media and misunderstood by many people.
In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Church teaches that gay people “must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity” and that “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided”.
Pope Francis made his comments about homosexuality during a news conference with reporters flying with him from Brazil to Rome.
The Pope was asked about what has been described as a “gay lobby” in the Vatican, allegedly a group of priests and bishops who work at the Vatican and protect each other.
Pope Francis said it was important to “distinguish between a person who is gay and someone who makes a gay lobby”.
“A gay person who is seeking God, who is of good will – well, who am I to judge him?” the Pope said. “The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says one must not marginalise these persons, they must be integrated into society.”