It’s just over six months since Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Bishop of Rome. In six months he has won over the hearts not only of Catholics, but of leaders of nations and religions. During this period he has brought about a change in the Church, starting of course with the Roman Curia.
Much more is expected now that he has chosen a top diplomat, Venetian Archbishop Pietro Parolin, as the new Secretary of State.
Parolin, like Pope Francis, is very much akin to the spirit of openness, dialogue and reaching out towards countries such as China, North Korea and the outsiders.
Fr Federico Lombardi, a Jesuit like the Pope, said of the past six months: “What has changed is the passing from a negative judgmental Church into a positive open Church. Even if the problems of the past have not been solved once for all, the new direction is towards the fundamental guidelines of its mission.”
These are evangelisation, peace, charity and an option for the poor. In the past it seemed that the top agenda for the Church was concentrating on sex and the world, so much so that whenever the Church spoke on the existing problems it was often a voice in the desert.
Pope Francis, in a very positive, simple, humble and charming manner gets right into people’s homes. He represents not the elite theology, but the theology of the people. The once condemned theology of liberation, which came from Latin America, is now accepted by the Pope without any more threats of excommunication.
Parolin said in a recent interview: “From a besieged Church, with thousands of problems, we have passed towards a Church opened to the world.”
After a revolution of scandals, money laundering, Vatileaks, butler revelations and an opulent Curia, we have now come to a more Christ-like Church.
When 50 years ago the courageous Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro of Bologna, during Vatican Council II, came out with the idea of the “Chiesa dei Poveri”, now favoured by the Pope, this was dubbed as the “influence of Red Bologna”.
It took over 50 years to find a Pope who not only is the voice of the poor, but who has immense credibility because he practises what he preaches. His lifestyle, his visit to Lampedusa and to the poor and now his appeal not to turn empty convents into hotels for money – but to give them to refugees – are all evidence of this.
This latter invitation was not so well received by some religious, though I know of others who have already opened their doors and who served thousands of meals to the needy with the same zeal as when during the war Pope Pius XII asked the convents in Rome to hide the Jews from the Nazis.
Are we going to see a more Christ-like face for the Church?
However, what has struck me most in these past six months is the openness of Francis’s heart, which is open like the heart of Christ. He does not sit in judgment, illustrated by his “who am I to judge?” comment referring to gay people.
His heart aches when he sees divorcees denied the Eucharist: “The Body of Christ is not ours,” he said. The Pope has delegated Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, to prepare a dossier on the issue.
His right-hand man, Parolin, also openly stated that “the celibacy of the clergy is not a dogma and we can talk about it”. For John Paul II this was a closed, dogmatic issue and taboo. It’s incredible how times they are a changin.
Many, including the French diplomat Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, believe Pope Francis was inspired to call a day of fasting and a prayer for peace, as well as writing a letter to the G20 leaders.
His long letter to the secular daily newspaper La Repubblica, in reply to its agnostic founder Eugenio Scalfari, made headlines on the world media. Never has it been known for a Pope to write to a newspaper. Nor do I ever recall any of his predecessors picking up the phone to say “Pronto, sono il Papa.”
Like a magnate he draws people to him. In the past six months two million people crowded into St Peter s Square for his audiences. The Demopolis Institute says that 96 percent of the Italians have faith in Bishop Francis, a figure never reached even in Pope John Paul II’s heyday.
The question now concerns the future. The expectations are ever increasing. Are we going to see a more Christ-like face for the Church? Francis cannot do it alone. Are the prelates of the Roman Curia, the bishops and the clergy going to walk Francis’s path of humility?
Some are sceptical, though it is encouraging to note that six out of 10 Italians are already convinced that pastor Francis is going to bring about a deep renewal in the Church.