If you were to ask me, a Protestant, how best to describe
the Pope, and I answered, “He is a sinner,” you might take offense. But, when the
interviewer asked him who he is, Pope Francis humbly responded, “I am a sinner.” Then, in Latin, he whispered, “I am a
sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.”
Pope Francis is a humble man.
This glimpse into the Pope’s heart sheds light on some of
his recent comments during an interview conducted in person by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor in chief of La CiviltÃ
Cattolica. He has drawn some high praise and some strong criticism, but one
thing that is plain from reading the interview: he desired neither. He spoke
from his heart.
And, except in his traditional Catholic views which differ
from my own, his words are hardly controversial. If anything he is seeking to reignite
a commitment to the foundational truths of the church found in Scripture.
Church must remain
open to all
As a church, whether Catholic or Protestant, he reminds us
that the church is not a social club for a select few: “This church with which
we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel that can hold only
a small group of selected people. We must not reduce the bosom of the universal
church to a nest protecting our mediocrity.”
Harsh but true. Churches can easily cling to their
mediocrity, to their legalistic, rigorist interpretation of Scripture or to
their lax, nonchalance toward sin.
Walk with our
neighbor
Pope Francis reminds us to walk alongside our neighbor,
whether he is homosexual, whether she has had an abortion, or whether he denies
God’s existence entirely. He claims that the pastor’s role, and arguably all
Christians share this responsibility, is not to judge or condemn them but to
walk beside them, offer them all kinds of “healing”, “warm the hearts of the
people,” and “walk through the dark night with them.”
Pursue the un-churched
He challenges the church to be audacious in their pursuit of
finding new roads into the lives of those who do not attend church, “who have
quit or are indifferent”.
Focus on the essentials
One of his most controversial statements came in this
context: He said, “I also consider the situation of a woman with a failed
marriage in her past and who also had an abortion. Then this woman remarries,
and she is now happy and has five children. That abortion in her past weighs
heavily on her conscience and she sincerely regrets it. She would like to move
forward in her Christian life.”
This leads to his oddly controversial statement, “We cannot
insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of
contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these
things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues,
we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that
matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk
about these issues all the time.”
He states his point clearly that not all of the teachings of
the church are of equal importance. And, it is not the job of pastors to teach
lists “of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be
imposed insistently.”
He goes on to say that we have to
proclaim the essentials, on the necessary things, the Gospel. If the church
tries to maintain a moral stronghold but ignores the Gospel, it is likely to
fall like a “house of cards.” Our morality must flow out of the “simple,
profound, radiant” Gospel.
Look to the past for
courage not methods
“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—they
have a static and inward-directed view of things.”
God is in every
person’s life
“God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life.
Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by
vices, drugs or anything else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must
try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land
full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can
grow. You have to trust God.”
How can we call these controversial statements? They simply remind us all who God is and what he desires for His church. We must focus on the Gospel. Jesus Christ died on the cross to the penalty of sin for all humankind. Faith in Him is our only hope.
