AS a reporter covering the Vatican, you sometimes find yourself late
at night dreaming of a time when you’ll have a no-holds-barred exchange
with the Pope himself.On Jul 28, however, those of us travelling aboard Alitalia flight 4001 from Rio de Janeiro to Rome literally lived the dream, as Pope Francis came back to the press compartment shortly after takeoff for an unscripted and unfiltered exchange with the media that lasted a full hour and 20 minutes.
The line from that session that made the rounds of the world came at the very end. Asked about an alleged “gay lobby” in the Vatican, Francis began by saying he’d never really encountered one, but if it exists, his problem is with the lobby and not so much with gays.
His now-famous remark was: “If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge them?”
Looking back, the airborne press conference is a classic example of the “Francis effect” in action, because while the pontiff didn’t really break much new ground at the level of substance, the change in tone was extraordinary.
In truth, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has always said that homosexual persons are to be treated with “respect, compassion and sensitivity”. If one were to survey most gays and lesbians, however, they would probably say that what they’re accustomed to hearing from the Church is what they perceive, at least, as judgment, and so at that level, the pope’s rhetoric is undeniably novel.
Initially, some saw Francis’ words as a break with a 2005 Vatican policy saying that gay men should not be priests. Yet the Pope presumably was speaking at the level of basic human dignity, and in any event he did not announce a rollback of the policy. In a recent encyclical, Francis also affirmed the traditional stance that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
When Francis said that for him the “tendency” to homosexuality is not a problem, some spotted a tension with a 1986 Vatican document declaring the inclination an “objective disorder”.
Even that document, however, also said it was not a sin, essentially the same point Francis made.
In truth, it’s tough to deduce policy shifts from much of anything he said.
On women, Francis called for greater roles in the Church and deeper theological reflection, but also affirmed the ban on women priests. On abortion, he refused to be drawn into a diatribe, but when pressed for his personal view said it’s “that of the church … I am a son of the church!”
For the most part, what Francis is delivering is not changed doctrine, but changed perceptions. He seems determined to project a more compassionate face of the church, without upsetting its traditions.
One could make a good case that the most important word in his press conference is “mercy”. He argued that the present moment is a kairos for mercy, a deeply evocative Christian word meaning an appointed time in God’s plan.
In terms of public opinion and attitudes toward the Church, Francis’ more merciful tone so far has had a breathtaking impact.
Just five months ago, the child sexual abuse scandals were perhaps the dominant global storyline about Catholicism. Yet during his visit to Brazil last month, Francis was in the global spotlight for five days without anyone raising the abuse crisis until he did so himself, obliquely, during a Via Crucis procession in which he lamented a “lack of consistency” by Christians and their ministers.
It remains to be seen how long this “Francis effect” will last, especially as he shifts from setting a new tone to actually governing the Church. Some of the decisions he will be forced to make will be unpopular, and he may also find that expectations of change created by his popular style will run ahead of what he’s able, or willing, to deliver.
In the meantime, Catholics worldwide can breathe the fresh air generated by last March’s surprise election of a “Pope of Mercy”. More than most other public figures, perhaps, with popes, there’s a point at which tone actually becomes substance.
* John L Allen Jr is senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter in the US and senior Vatican analyst for CNN.