..."He took the
bus, lived in a simple apartment and cooked for himself – all good things.
But wait - he is moving into the 10 room
Papal apartment, getting a cook and staff, and will take a helicopter for the
whopping 15 mile journey from Rome to Castel Gandolfo. (By the way, having made the trek to Rome
from a hotel by the pope’s Castel Gandolfo residence, I’m puzzled by the
helicopter ride and also confused how it supports his “love the environment”
message from today’s homily, but sometimes I’m easily confused.) Some say he
sided with the military junta and economic elite that abused and oppressed the
poor during Argentina’s “Dirty War.” But
wait – others say he actually helped the marginalized and poor during the same
war.Many say he
is genuinely humble because he checked out of his own hotel room and asks people
to pray for him. But wait – others say
he is merely a highly skilled politician and his humility is just a well-staged
act. He is
conservative and doesn’t like homosexuals.
But wait - he washed the feet of AIDS patients. He is an
educated Jesuit, trained in chemistry.
But wait - he seems to uphold doctrinal orthodoxy over scientifically
proven facts. Somehow, I
read all these conflicting accounts and hear the quibbling nuns from the Sound
of Music. They could be describing Maria
or Pope Francis, “(S)he is gentle! (S)he
is wild! (S)he's a riddle! (S)he's a child! (S)he's a headache! (S)he's an angel! (S)he's a girl!” Oh, scratch that last one. Ix-nay on the irl-gay thing.Is this
really a case of selecting a guy with a limited public record or a case of
selecting a guy who carefully controls his public image, repeatedly feeding the
press the same limited assortment of sound-bites? I don’t know. But I do know from undergoing press training
that repeated sound-bites are trademarks of a carefully groomed public
image.I also know
that before Benedict resigned until Francis’ election, the press was occupied
reporting the deluge of stories related to corruption in the Curia, bishop
accountability, clergy sexual abuse, Vatileaks, and the Vatican Bank
scandal. Suddenly the press has been
enrapt with an image of the pope much like humble and loveable shoe-shine boy
(Google the Underdog cartoon for reference).
Without any
reforms addressing the church’s core issues around governance, inclusion or
equality, all those stories about the church’s problems magically began
evaporating from the press. But the
problems themselves have not disappeared.
One sexual
abuse survivor sent me a series of notes expressing frustration that the world
sat on the edge of its seat watching the color of smoke and seemed to forget the
hundreds of thousands of men and women raped by priests as children and the
dozens if not hundreds of bishops who enabled this to happen. This still remains unresolved. Having a pope who wears a smaller, less
ornate miter does not heal their wounds, or restore their dignity. ..
...."In the
meantime, I wonder, what is it we’re waiting for from the pope? We know Jesus calls us to care for the poor
and marginalized. We know that about 5
million children die from poverty each year.
Did we really need to wait for a pope who dressed in simple cassocks
rather than elaborate, expensive lace, capes and furs before we followed this
instruction?
The U.N.
estimates that 70% of the world’s poor are females. Are we going to wait for Francis to address
the causes of systemic poverty especially amongst women, or are we going to do
that regardless of what Francis does? (Amen Sister, that is exactly what many of our women priests believe.)
"We know we
need to protect children and hold clergy accountable for abuses. Even if Francis doesn’t, are we going to let
the issue drop and abandon the abused?
We know
there is no theological justification for mandatory clergy celibacy and that
this could be changed by the simple stroke of a pen. Even if Francis doesn’t address this, are we
going to stop advocating for married clergy?
We know
there is Scriptural and historical evidence of female apostles leading
worship. Even if Francis doesn’t
acknowledge or address this, are we going to stop advocating for women whom the
Spirit has called to ordination?
We know
that Pope John XXIII’s papal commission recommended that the church adjust its
birth control stance because science and theology indicate it’s not justified
and prima facie evidence from married couples indicates it damages numerous
marriages. Even if Francis doesn’t
address this, are we going to stop advocating for women’s health and healthy
sexual relations between married people?
We know
many of the church’s issues stem from an outdated, ineffective governance
model. Even if Francis doesn’t address
church governance which permits clericalism and clerical abuses of sexuality,
power, and substances, are we going to tacitly permit these injustices to
continue or use our prophetic voices to demand reform?
We know
most of the bishops’ funds to help the poor come from government sources and
that most of the faithful's money donated to the church actually pays for church
salaries instead of helping the poor.
Regardless of what Francis does, are we going to continue to fund such a
financial model?
I read many
promising things about Francis and other things that give me pause. But while the passage of time allows events
to sketch his character, what is stopping us from doing what we know is
right? ....
Bridget Mary's Response:
I agree. We must work in solidarity with one another, including our new pope, for justice in our church and in our world. No matter what our disagreements in God's family, we must lead in prophetic obedience to the Spirit. And for RCWP, that includes the full equality of women
in the Roman Catholic Church.
Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP
www.arcwp.org
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