If anything, the shock waves created by the interview
Pope Francis gave to the Jesuit magazine are growing in intensity as the
days pass.
Despite the protestations of the extreme right here
in Ireland and across the world, it is now clear that Pope Francis is
determined to have a different style and a more compassionate Church
than what went before.
In the interview he insisted that those who drag the Church back in time have got it utterly wrong and must be resisted.
Secondly, he wants a church that lives the values of the Gospel of Christ.
Thirdly,
he contends that the conservative Cardinals who gathered at the
Conclave earlier this year gave him a mandate to purge the Church of
careerist clerics, corrupt institutions and the cynical politics that
worked furiously against the Holy Spirit in undoing the principles of
the Second Vatican Council.
Most importantly of all he wishes to proclaim the primacy of the
Gospel with its core message that Jesus Christ died to save everyone and
not just a select few. I am almost afraid to allow myself believe there has been such a sea change within a few months.
As a matter of interest, I rechecked the letter of censure which my Superior General received from the CDF in 2010. Five
issues which they condemned me for and warned that if I did not change
my opinion I would be silenced and eventually excommunicated, are now
being proposed by Pope Francis himself. I have not felt so much at peace
in over a decade.
Pope Francis began by admitting that he himself is a sinner in need
of redemption, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon,” he said.
On the other hand I have found it difficult to understand why it is
that the Pope, in proclaiming the centrality of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, should make world headlines for doing so. It
proves that what has been wrong within the institutions of the Church
has overshadowed the Gospel to such an extent that it is now a surprise
when the Pope proclaims his belief in the message of the Gospel.
“My style of government as a Jesuit at the beginning had many faults,” he admits. “I made my decisions abruptly and by myself.
My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have
serious problems and to be accused of being ultra-conservative.”
But Pope Francis learned from his failures, as all of us should.
Learning from past mistakes is a necessary part of any spiritual
journey. So is believing oneself to be a sinner embraced by God’s love.
As Pope, discernment will be central to his governance. He believes
what Blessed John XXIII said: “See everything; turn a blind eye to
much; correct a little.”
For the Pope discernment cannot be rushed. “Many think that changes
and reforms can take place in a short time. I believe that we always
need time to lay the foundation for real effective change and this is
the time for discernment. Discernment is always done in the presence of
the Lord, looking at the signs, listening to the things that happen, and
to the feelings of the people, especially the poor.”
There will be no rash judgements, no quick changes. It's a wise policy and shows the Pope is sincere. Doubt
is also part of the spiritual life. “If a person says that he met God
with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then
that is not good … If one has answers to all the questions — that is
the proof that God is not with him — it means that he is a false prophet
using religion for himself.”
Pope Francis is not impressed by those Catholic writers, lay and
clerical, who ruthlessly condemned those with a different point of view
to them over the years and who now instantly changed their minds,
pretending that they always held the views which Pope Francis now
preaches.
The Pope's image of the Church “Is that of a holy, faithful people of God. The Church is the people of God on the journey through history with joys and sorrows.”
He goes on to re-emphasise what was a particular theme of the
Vatican Council, namely: “All the faithful, considered as a whole, are
infallible in matters of belief … this infallibility in believing,
through a supernatural sense of the faith of all the people walking
together … is genuine and is assisted by the Holy Spirit … we should not
even think therefore that ‘thinking with the Church’ means only
thinking with the hierarchy of the church.”
Again. that in effect will put an end to the evil of clericalism. The Pope foresees an accusation that the ultra-right always make, namely that these views are populism at its worst.
“If the Christian is a restorationist, a legalist, if he wants
everything clear and safe, then he will find nothing. Tradition and
memory of the past must help us to have the courage to open up new areas
to God.
“Those who today always look for disciplinarian solutions, those
who long for an exaggerated doctrinal 'security', those who stubbornly
try to recover a past that no longer exists — have a static and
inward-directed view of things.”
Pope Francis believes that if the church doesn't change it will
collapse like a house of cards. Perhaps he held back from stating the
obvious — that it has already collapsed in the sense that it has failed
the very people whose faith kept it going.
The Pope is obviously a man who believes that we can all be ‘surprised by the Spirit’. Personally one of the most helpful insights the Pope communicated was the difference between optimism and hope.
Optimism can be useful but can also help us to live in denial. Hope
admits the reality of darkness but trusts God to see us through.
Pope Francis has certainly begun a journey of hope for people of
goodwill. The middle Catholics who despise the trickery of ultra
conservatives and don't trust the ultra-liberals, have at last found a
voice.