In two weeks Pope Francis will arrive in Rio de Janeiro for World Youth
Day, the Catholic Church's international celebration for young people. It is the pontiff's first official foreign trip, during which he will show the world a Brazil of faith, solidarity, peace and joy.
Just four months have gone by since his inauguration, but he has led by example, setting the following precedents:
1) He paid the bill at the guesthouse in Rome in which he stayed during the papal conclave. (It may not sound like much, but the notion of paying one's own way is one which appears to escape politicians such as Henrique Alves, Garibaldi Alves and Renan Calheiros, who used Brazilian Air Force jets for personal travel and tried to let the taxpayer pick up the bill).
2) He renounced the ten-room papal apartments, choosing instead to remain in the Casa Santa Marta, a Vatican residence which accommodates visiting clergy. (Imagine seeing such frugality from, for example, Eduardo Paes, the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, who in 2010 tried to buy the city government the Palacete dos Guinle, an opulent mansion worth R$10 million [US$ 4.4 million]).
3) He has displayed more modest sartorial taste than his predecessors, eschewing both the medieval liturgical robes of his predecessor Benedict XVI, as well as the traditional red leather papal shoes.
4) He named a commission of cardinals to oversee reform of the Roman Curia, as well as launching an investigation into the Vatican Bank.
5) He has admitted that he is a sinner (such honesty would be refreshing from, say, our very own ex-President Lula).
| It is the pontiff's first official foreign trip, during which he will show the world a Brazil of faith, solidarity, peace and joy. |
The Pope comes to Brazil at a moment in which the Church is free of serious division. It is not a visit designed to antagonize left-wing prelates, and if in the Brazilian Church hierarchy there are some murmurs of unease (perhaps related to the investigation of the Vatican's finances), they will not be expressed.
If the politicians are worried about what his visit might signify, they might care to remember the futility of the Polish commissars' concerns over John Paul II's visit to Warsaw in June 1979.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are coming to celebrate their faith, and they will be received as guests in the houses of strangers. This will be a vital lesson in a country in which those at the bottom of society are willing to share what they have, whilst those at the top refuse to pay for their plane tickets.
Last month Brazil saw some of the largest popular protests in recent history. Initially, many thought that this spelt trouble, though it became quickly clear that this was just an old fantasy. And with the arrival of Pope Francis, we will again see the spirit of national brotherhood on the streets, away from the boardrooms and VIP boxes of the elite.
In recent days the authorities have said that there is no money available to fill a hole of R$90 million (nearly US$ 40 million) required for the World Youth Day. These are the same authorities who have frittered away billions on the construction of stadiums for next year's World Cup, including R$1.2 billion (US$ 533 million) spent on reforming the Maracanã.
President Dilma Rousseff's trip to Rome for Pope Francis' inauguration cost nearly half a million reais (US$ 222,000). And let's assume that the federal government spends nearly R$1 million (US$ 444,000) a month on the same Air Force jets used illegitimately by the two Alves and Calheiros.
It is ironic, then, that Brasilia has expressed concerns that Pope Francis might be subject to hostile demonstrations by evangelical groups. This seems unlikely. The evangelicals do not exhibit the same sectarianism as the politicians.
And there is no cause for concern. When John Paul II visited Rio de Janeiro in 1997, just a word from the then Archbishop Eugênio Sales to the President Fernando Henrique Cardoso was enough to remove the armed soldiers from the streets along his route.
While the current Archbishop, Orani João Tempesta, has a less confrontational manner than his predecessor, he might consider taking a leaf from Sales' book, and sending the following message to Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro Sérgio Cabral and the Mayor Eduardo Paes: 'I will employ the help of the people on the intersection of the Avenida Rio Branco with the Rua do Ouvidor.'
The Pope's visit to Brazil will be a time of relaxation, beauty and brotherhood, without commerce or sponsorship. Most importantly, it will be free. The only requirement is faith, for those of us who have it.