And out came this man -- looking scared really, overwhelmed; a co-worker said, "He looks like he wants to go back inside and think this decision over." But then a gentle, welcoming speech -- and the much talked about incantation for the crowd to pray. Traveling back to the hotel with his fellow cardinals on the bus. Standing outside the gate near St Peter's before his Sunday address. Speaking off the cuff about God's enormous, unfathomable capacity to love and forgive. Francis, invoking the one who heard God's call: "Go and rebuild my Church, which you can see has fallen into ruin."
A Latin American Jesuit Pope. This could get interesting.
In the days since the election of Pope Francis, we have started to hear a little about the man -- some great things, and some worrying things. And yet, no matter what I hear, I feel the same buzz I did at the mention of white smoke just a few days ago and the way my Facebook page exploded -- with jubilation and absolute hope from my many Jesuit-educated family and friends, and many others (I mean, a conservative Jesuit is still a Jesuit, no?). It is a strange and unexpected thing -- like many other cradle Catholics of my generation, I feel disaffected with and generally disconnected from the institutional Church, not to mention embarrassed by and furious with it -- I have on more than one occasion described it as something that just gets in the way of the enactment of real faith. And herein is the interesting part -- if asked, the things I and many I know would say are actually good about faith are these -- the teachings of God's tremendous love for ALL, how we have to mimic that in how we treat our neighbors, how God is aching to be in communion with us, and wanting us to live as the best versions of ourselves, how much we should be living a life for others. And here, in the Vatican where the height of hypocrisy and criminality in the Roman Catholic faith has had the seat of power for so many years, is a man who when good things are said about him, seems to live those very tenets in a way I personally can't actually imagine doing. Of course, I see the reality and have worries -- my husband remarked that until you have a more equanimous faith, where women, gay people and married people are loved, supported, welcomed and incorporated into the structure of the Church, you won't kick out the evil. He's absolutely right, it's important and it matters. But this matters, too -- that that which is potentially the best about Catholicism is front and center.
There are going to be many tests ahead for this Francis. What he does about sexual abuse in the Church is going to be huge -- a very interesting indication was reportedly (though the account is disputed) not allowing Bernard Cardinal Law into a Church he was visiting. And of course, there are all the questions about what he did and did not do in Argentina during the reign of the military junta. And the disturbing remarks about about homosexual couples adopting children. These issues really matter, and in some of them at least, he is not on the side that many of the 'faithful' including myself would describe as right. But there's also this -- we don't know the whole story; from the group that could have been elected, we weren't going to get the radical many of us could hope for in progressing Church social teaching. But also this -- and today's Gospel goes right to the heart of it for me -- “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” I am not that one. We expect perfection from our leaders in so many walks of life, religious and otherwise, that we wouldn't dream of imposing on ourselves. Does it matter -- of course, and completely in areas of abuse (and it is my fervent prayer that Francis will prove to be a hardliner in that domain, even if I have problems with him being one on social teaching).
So on this fifth Sunday of Lent, I find myself enormously hopeful -- hopeful that this man may not only challenge the corrupt structure of the institutional Church, but my own lazy foundations -- I'm great at giving lip service toward doing good, toward loving all, toward giving of self -- I'm frankly pretty lousy at executing it. And this surprising man, who is already eschewing the normal trappings of the papacy, maybe, just maybe, the Holy Spirit was there guiding and breathing new life not only into a messed up Church but maybe out into the world into some messed up people like me -- do as I do, live as I live.
Yes, I think this Francis could be very interesting. And I hope. And I pray.
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