Not just tragically, but in some respects dangerously, the
major media outlets such as CNN, BBC, CBC, respectively in the US, Great
Britain, Canada, lift from serious, thoughtful, interviews such as the one
given by Pope Francis, those snippets designed not to inform in depth, but
rather to garner viewers who perhaps will buy more of the toothpaste or other
products being shilled between the brief ‘news’ segments.
Everyone, in particular both practicing and non-practicing
Catholics, should read, reflectively, the entire interview.
If that is done then what is revealed is the progressive
deepening of Gospel life which has been unfolding since the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council began the document on the Church in the modern world
with these Christocentric, and therefore person focused words: “The joy and
hope, the grief and anguish….are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the
followers of Christ as well….”, indeed the entire document bears a meditative
re-reading.
Pope Paul VI took us deeper anew into the Gospel in his
encyclicals and homilies as did Bl. John Paul, look for example towards the end
of his encyclical The Gospel of Life, where in paragraph 99.3 the Holy Father
speaks directly, compassionately, encouragingly, with the gift of hope to women
who have had an abortion. Pope Emeritus Benedict continued this long progress
deeper into Gospel life through his teachings and now Pope Francis, who nowhere
in the interview deviates from Catholic teaching, is taking us deeper still
into having for each other, for every human being, the mind and heart of
Christ.
All this the media have missed!
For example, when asked to define himself Pope Francis
declares: “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition.”
It is the answer, indeed the prime answer, every person
should speak as truth.
Even JD Salinger famous for Catcher in the Rye, in Fanny and
Zooey references the Jesus Prayer, a prayer recited by many monastics and laity
in particular in the Orthodox tradition, but among Roman Catholics as well,
containing the truth-speaking cry: have mercy on me a sinner.
When asked about what the Church needs today Pope Francis
stresses “…the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful….”
Stressing: “…I see the Church as a field hospital after battle…”
Spiritual warfare, unlike the battlefield horrors of Syria
where the devastating wounds are raw and visible, at first glance may not
appear to inflict such visible damage.
Seen with the eyes of Christ the broken lives are all around
us, people devastated by anxiety, loss of hope, rejection, abandonment,
loneliness, sometimes with the external signs of divorce, homelessness,
sickness, loss of home and job.
No wonder Pope Francis cries out in the interview both as a
plea and a command: “….Heal the wounds, heal the wounds.”
This is the teaching of Jesus straight from the parable of
the Good Samaritan.
In a world which, to borrow a phrase from Pope Pius IX, has “lost
a sense of sin”, we see in the teachings
of Pope Pius XII, particularly in the aftermath of WWII, the effort to
re-educate humanity about the sacredness of the human person, about fundamental
morality and there follows, from Bl.
John XXII to Benedict XVI, in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and
the Catechism of the Catholic Church, articulate, clear re-stressing, rooted in
Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the teachings over the millennia the depository of
dogma and moral doctrine which is clear, secure, accessible.
Pope Francis is not changing in this interview as the
pundits suggest, indeed cannot, change any of that.
No pope can.
What Pope Francis is trying to do, and this I am sure makes
some, perhaps many Catholics and others uncomfortable, is the very thing Jesus
did when He challenged the religious leaders to move from over emphasis on “the
Law”, which people knew and heard about every time they went to Temple, and to
place the emphasis on love and mercy.
I grew up when perhaps the most pernicious of all heresies
and distortions of authentic Catholic faith, rooted in the 17th
century, still held sway in much of the Church, certainly at the parochial
school and parish level.
Briefly put it sustained an atmosphere of clericalism,
disdain not only for the human body but even a suspicion about personhood and
conveyed the message that God was harsh, mean, so much so many Catholics were
fearful of God.
This is the journey out of bondage St. Pius X started us on,
that made St. Therese, the Little Flower so popular because she reminded us God
IS love, and now Pope Francis is seeking to take us all deeper NOT by changing
the truth about abortion, for example, but, as Bl. John Paul did, calling us to
Christ-like love and compassion for one another.
When in the interview, naturally the media skipped this
part, Pope Francis states: “The most important thing is the first proclamation:
Jesus Christ has saved you……the proclamation of the saving love of God comes
before moral and religious imperatives….” he is echoing the Council’s document
on the Church, which begins with the words: “Christ is the light of humanity.”,
and the words of Bl. John Paul in his first encyclical the Redeemer of Man: “The
Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is the center of the universe and of history.”
The interview is long, deep, should be read meditatively for
Pope Francis is revealing his passion for Jesus, his love for Jesus, his
passion for every human being, his love for every human being and his clear understanding
and trust in the deposit of faith from which flows the moral teaching, but Pope
Francis is reminding us of the Heart of Jesus, the essence of the Gospel which
is merciful love, the love which is such that the Father sent His only-begotten
Son into the world not to condemn us but to save us.
Finally when asked about prayer and Pope Francis states how
for him prayer is “…always a prayer of memory…” well is not [my words here not
the Pope’s] the critical ‘remembering’
to do in prayer that I am, that is I exist because I am beloved, yes a sinner
but a beloved sinner?
So beloved that Jesus died for me, for everyone.
The challenge is to remember after I pray to do what Jesus
asks of me: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
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