Over the past 10 years, Pope Francis has done what he preached (Column)

The following was written by Sister Patricia M. Wormann O.P., Delegate for Religious, Archdiocese of Newark.

I remember vividly the announcement: “We have a Pope!” Jorge Mario Bergolio SJ. was elected pope and took the name of Francis after St. Francis of Assisi. On a rainy Wednesday night, March 13, 2013, the area around St. Peter’s Square was filled with thousands of people waiting in expectation to hear the news and see the new pope. In a simple white cassock, out steps an Argentinian Jesuit who before he blesses the crowds, bows his head in silence, and asks the people to bless him. Then giving them his blessing, he says good night and sends them home. The next day he goes on the bus with the other cardinals back to his hotel to gather his belongings and pay his bill.

Both Francis and I are children of transition. In the shadow of Vatican II, Francis was ordained a priest in 1969 and I was professed a sister in 1967. We read, studied, and lived the “open windows” of this Council that asked all of us to open our eyes to a new way of being Church, a new way of celebrating sacraments, and a new way of being in relationship with not only our own brothers and sisters but also to enter into the reality of the world we lived in. We were not to shun the world but be light and leaven in the midst of it.

In the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, LUMEN GENTIUM, we read: “Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church. Since the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission. This it intends to do following faithfully the teaching of previous councils. The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical, and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ.”

And then again in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, GAUDIUM ET SPES, we are called to enflesh further the message: “The joys and the hopes, the griefs, and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of men. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation, which is meant for every man. That is why this community realizes that it is truly linked with mankind and its history by the deepest of bonds.”

I believe that Francis took those words to heart. As a Jesuit whose spirituality was to see “God in all things,” he took to heart the hopes and directives of the Council to live life to the fullest. How do I think he has done this as Pope Francis?

• By his humanity and his own relationship and commitment to Jesus Christ. He is passionate about who this God is who is merciful and compassionate. The Jesus who welcomes saints and sinners. No one is excluded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This relationship calls him especially in his calling as a Religious to humility and simplicity. It shapes all he does and all he encounters. The poor and marginalized take priority.

• He invites us to do the same. In the Joy of the Gospel, he writes:

“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms”. 

• Saint Francis heard God tell him to “rebuild my Church”. I think that the need of the 13^th century is also the need of the 21^st century. Francis has and is making decisions that also hope to restore the Church to her mission to bring about the mercy and compassion of God. He is trying to remove those rituals, traditions, and other long-held customs that have kept her from being authentic to the gospel. Change is always difficult, and changing our hearts is even more of a challenge. He continually reminds us that it is in our relationship to Jesus and one another that we can become the hope and light and peace.

• He has traveled all over the world, even to places that were dangerous and/or inconvenient to preach “the joy of the Gospel.” His call to “missionary discipleship” demanded that we not only encounter God but that we, by our own encounters with each other as well as our actions, mirror the immense love that God has for each and every one of us.

• No area of life is omitted to Pope Francis. Our common care of the earth, our relationships with all peoples, marriage and family life, the poor, homeless, and any who have been marginalized are all part of our Christian responsibility. He reminds us in his writings, his speaking and mostly in his actions of our common call. Nothing can be left out. Even our failures and sins are held by God in compassion and mercy. In Laudato Si he writes: “Our insistence that each human being is an image of God should not make us overlook the fact that each creature has its own purpose. None is superfluous. The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: Everything is, as it were, a caress of God.”

• He is a thorn in some sides because he insists that all of us walk the gospel way. No one is better. We are all sisters and brothers. In the past, Mass with the pope was an invitation to the privileged. Francis invites in the streetcleaners and workers, the homeless and those that society looks down on to join him at the table of life.

• He holds Mary as our Mother and the one who intercedes for us. In that respect, he also honors the role of women. Although there is criticism that Francis could do much more, he has appointed women to key roles in the Vatican and continues to be open to the particular gifts that they bring to society and the Church. The process of new life and healing is a slow process that is difficult for many of us to understand especially to we, who live in contemporary, affluent countries.

• With the upcoming Synod 2023-24, Francis calls all of us to speak our truths and concerns for the Church. Rather than a “program.” he invites us to walk together, to truly listen and respect each other, and to be willing to let go of those things that divide us on the journey.

• He is the voice of the powerless – the migrant, those torn by war, poverty, and discrimination.

• He is practical and in the finest way, simple, in how he communicates to all. He tells it like it is and doesn’t mince words or use sophisticated ways of speaking truth.

• He understands the ordinary person. He’s taken the bus to work, lived in his own apartment, and cooked his own meals. He prefers Santa Marta a place where others also stay, and he eats in the cafeteria rather than live in the papal apartments and eat special meals.

• His relationship with Jesus is central in all he is and does. He acknowledges he is a fellow sinner. He makes mistakes. Most of all he knows without God he is nothing.

Over these past 10 years, I believe Pope Francis has done what he preached to the Cardinals in the conclave that elected him. Pope Francis has been faithful to his words, even more so he has been a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. He has brought joy to a Church and a world that hungers for the God of mercy and compassion. May God continue to give him courage and strength as he leads the Church!