Back in March of this year, I — as a South American — was proud, humbled and excited when the Vatican surprised the world by electing the first Pope from Latin America, the first Pope from the New World and the first Pope from outside Europe in more than a thousand years.
At the time, reactions to Francisco I were mixed — and perhaps they still are.
As a non-practicing Roman Catholic, I am more interested in issues that affect people — especially the poor, the disadvantaged, the marginalized and those who are discriminated against, demonized, even persecuted — than in doctrinal, theological or any other dogmatic matters (No offense intended to those who are).
Even though at the time of the Pope’s election, the New York Times offered the following cautionary words, I remained hopeful that Francis would be able to turn things around for the Catholic Church, especially in the realm of tolerance, social justice and women’s rights:
Francis also is a doctrinal conservative who has opposed liberation theology, abortion, gay marriage and the ordination of women, standing with his predecessor in holding largely traditional views…
For very personal reasons — call them selfish — I am in particular interested in how the new Pope will handle the Catholic Church’s intolerance when it comes to those “other” God’s children: gays and lesbians.
In an extraordinary — some call it “stunning” — lengthy (12,000 words) and wide-ranging interview with La Civiltà Cattolica, an Italian Jesuit journal, Pope Francis covered virtually all bases when it comes to sexuality, gay marriage. the role of women, etc. However, I found his remarks critical of the Roman Catholic Church for being “obsessed” with anti-gay, anti-abortion and anti-contraception doctrine perhaps the most refreshing and hope-inspiring.
For example, recalling that on a recent flight he had said, “If a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge,” the Pope expanded:
A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: “Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?” We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing.
The Pope added:
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.
By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.
On a question as to what wishes the Pope has for the church in the coming years, “What kind of church do you dream of?” the Pope says:
I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds…. And you have to start from the ground up.
When the interviewer mentions that “there are Christians who live in situations that are irregular for the church or in complex situations that represent open wounds…the divorced and remarried, same-sex couples and other difficult situations,” and asks, “What kind of pastoral work can we do in these cases? What kinds of tools can we use?” Francis answers:
We need to proclaim the Gospel on every street corner, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing, even with our preaching, every kind of disease and wound. In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are “socially wounded” because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this.
It is here where Francis mentions his July flight remarks of “I am no one to judge.”
Some of the many other topics addressed by the Pope in his interview:
“Who Is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?” To which Pope Francis answers, “I do not know what might be the most fitting description…. I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.”
“Why Did You Become a Jesuit?”
Experience in Church Government
The Roman Curia
Women in the Life of the Church
Certitude and Mistakes and of course Prayer.
Finally, the Pope talks about his favorite authors, books, artists: Dostoevsky and Hölderlin; The Betrothed, by Alessandro Manzoni (the Pope read it three times and is about to read it again). He also likes Gerard Manley Hopkins and admires painters Caravaggio and Chagall; musicians Mozart, Beethoven and Bach,but also likes Wagner “at a different level…”
As to the cinema:
We should also talk about the cinema. ‘La Strada,’ by Fellini, is the movie that perhaps I loved the most. I identify with this movie, in which there is an implicit reference to St. Francis. I also believe that I watched all of the Italian movies with Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi when I was between 10 and 12 years old. Another film that I loved is ‘Rome, Open City.’ I owe my film culture especially to my parents who used to take us to the movies quite often.
This is some of what the New York Times has to say on the Pope’s interview:
The pope’s interview did not change church doctrine or policies, but it instantly changed its tone. His words evoked gratitude and hope from many liberal Catholics who had felt left out in the cold during the papacies of Benedict and his predecessor, John Paul II, which together lasted 35 years. Some lapsed Catholics suggested on social media a return to the church, and leaders of gay rights and gay Catholic groups called on bishops to abandon their fight against gay marriage.
But it left conservative and traditionalist Catholics, and those who have devoted themselves to the struggles against abortion, gay marriage and artificial contraception, on the defensive, though some cast it as nothing new.
Please read the entire interview, conducted by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor in chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal,here
Image: www.shutterstock.com
