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| Pope Francis (Photo: www.telegraph.co.uk) |
Pope Francis beholds a liberal worldview that includes everyone and excludes none.
A prolific change-maker, Pope Francis is determined to turn the Church "a guiding light and moral conscience" in an ultramodern and increasingly secular world.
On 13 March 2013, as he emerged as pope, he renounced traditional red papal mozetta, and worn a simple white cloak and a wooden cross. Thus, he sent out strong signals that he was there for change.
By now, he has radically changed the tone and demeanour of the Church and also sidelined conservative forces and practices within the Church without making major changes to Church's policy and doctrines.
Six months after his election, John Gehring, program director of US-based advocacy group, Faith in Public Life, summed up Pope Francis' effects in a Washington Post article.
"Something unexpected and extraordinary is happening in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis is rescuing the faith from those who hunker down in gilded cathedrals and wield doctrine like a sword. The edifice of fortress Catholicism -- in which progressive Catholics, gay Catholics, Catholic women and others who love the Church, but often feel marginalized by the hierarchy - is starting to crumble," Gehring wrote.
It would be cynical to claim Pope Francis doesn't care about Church doctrine, but he is more refocused on utilizing the Church's energy according to teaching of Jesus Christ in the Gospels.
Pope Francis has criticized a "self-referential" Church that grows "sick" when clergy fail to engage the world. He wants the Church to get down to the streets even if it meets with a few "accidents."
Pope Francis also said he doesn't want bishops who want to act like "princes" but doesn't want to lead people as "pastors" without being "authoritarian." He ridicules Church officials who act like "religious border patrol" and make it harder for single mothers or misled Catholics from being reunited with the Church and denying them Church sacraments.
According to an Italian newspaper, the most frequent word used in his homilies and formal addresses is "joy." It is a refreshing change from strict religious leaders who often take a defensive posture infusing fear among the faithful.
Francis' vision for the Church is to turn it a 'field hospital' that serves anyone who seeks healing in a world full of conflicts.
Even atheists can go to heaven:
On May 2013, Pope Francis surprised many when he said that even those who do not believe in God could ascend to heaven if they lead good and honourable lives. That year, he gave an exclusive interview to an atheist Italian journalist where he called efforts to convert people to Christianity "solemn nonsense." In a homily in May 2013 he said, "The Lord has redeemed all of us, with the Blood of Christ, all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone!" When he was asked, "Father, the atheists?" He replied, "Even the atheists. Everyone!"
Who am I to judge?
In July 2013, in a press conference on a flight back from his visit to Brazil, Francis famously said, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" Later in a statement, Francis said, "It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastors wherever it occurs."
Globalization of indifference:
In November 2013, in his first Apostolic Exhortation (a papal white paper) Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis hit out at extreme globalization driven by capitalism. He slammed consumer culture, corporate greed and the notion of top-down economic system. He noted, "Today we also have to say 'thou shall not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?"
Careerism is leprosy:
In June 2013, Pope Francis warned traditionalist and conservative Church leaders to refrain from ecclesiastical rat race to climb the slippery ladder of hierarchy. Pope Francis decried a "plague of careerism" among priests and urged them to renounce their personal ambitions for service to the church.
"Careerism is a leprosy, a leprosy," the pope said in a speech at Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the school for Vatican diplomats on June 6, 2013.
Pope Francis quoted Pope John XXIII (1958-1963), a Vatican diplomat for much of his career, who said that Church diplomacy "should always be permeated by a pastoral spirit; otherwise, it counts for nothing, and makes a holy mission ridiculous."
Transgender people are welcome:
In January 2015, Pope Francis quietly welcomed and met 48-year-old Spanish citizen, Diego Neria Lejarraga, at the Vatican. Born as a woman, Lejarraga later had undergone a medical surgery to become a transgender man. A native Spanish priest once called Lejarraga "the devil's daughter" and Pope Francis seemingly sought to offer solace to Lejarraga by meeting him. Lejarraga asked the pope if he had a place in the Church and Francis reportedly responded by embracing him.
Encyclical on environment:
In June 2015, Pope Francis published Laudato Si (Praise be to you), a papal encyclical on climate change. He called pollution a "sin" and appealed to denounce a 'throwaway culture,' 'consumerism,' irresponsible developments and environmental degradation. He cited that it is a moral obligation to sign on a binding international agreement to combat global warming through 'swift and unified global action.'
Forgiveness for abortion:
In September 2015, Francis opened a special, temporary "mercy window" to make it easier for women who had undergone abortions to confess and to get back to the Church. Like many of his moves, it was a symbolic gesture as abortion is considered a "mortal sin" in the Church. Francis didn't change the Church's stance on abortion but the move marked a new tone.
Welcoming the divorced and remarried:
In October 2015, Pope Francis convened a Synod of Bishops to discuss Marriage and Family Life. Following the meeting, Francis simplified a lengthy and rigorous marriage annulment procedure of the Church. He allowed bishops rather than a Church court to nullify a marriage, a power that they could also give to priests. He also asked the clergy to keep "open doors" to Catholics who divorce and remarry.
Soft on Islam:
On various occasions, Pope Francis has taken soft, pacifist position on Islam. He refused to associate Islam with violence and denounced increasing Islamophobia of the West.
"It is true that the Muslim world is not totally mistaken when it reproaches the West of Christian tradition of moral decadence and the manipulation of human life. Islam has also had moments of great splendour and decadence," Francis said.
Thus, Pope Francis can well be called a revolutionary in terms of his words and actions in the past five years of his papacy. His liberalism and reforms have already enlightened the face of the Church in the world.
This article was originally published in Daily Observer, a Bangladeshi English daily on Dec. 2, 2017. Click here for access
Author: Rock Ronald Rozario is a Dhaka-based journalist, writer and Bangladesh Bureau Chief for Union of Catholic Asian News
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