Francis and Pius
Pope Francis has been Bishop
of Rome for the better part of two years.
Since his election in March 2013 he has taken the Catholic world by
storm – by changing absolutely nothing, but doing just about everything differently. His famous “Who am I to judge?” quote on the
plane from Rio to Rome is probably the best way to see this extraordinary man
who is returning the papacy to something more in line with the vision of
Vatican II and more attuned to the needs of the modern world.
Francis instinctively “gets
it”. He is not a theologian or
philosopher by trade although he is well versed and fluent in both
disciplines. He is not consumed by the
“culture wars” that dominated much of western and first world Catholic
discussion, debate and diatribe over the last twenty years although he is very
familiar with the context and content of these movements. He is not remotely interested in the
liturgical angst generated among neo-conservatives and those determined to
“reform the reform” of the Council, although he is clearly concerned that the
liturgical life of the Church be executed with reverence, respect and, to use a
common phrase, “noble simplicity”.
This pope made his agenda
clear from his first appearance on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica when he
bowed in acknowledgement and reverence towards the thousands gathered in the
piazza. Francis takes very seriously the
pontifical title – servus servorum Dei
– servant of the servants of God. People
come first, everything else takes its turn after that. Does this mean he is not interested in
theology? Of course not; but this pope
has indicated in his words and actions that theology has to be linked to the
lived experience of people and not the other way around. His gestures, too many to even include a few
examples, show a shepherd who loves being in the midst of his sheep, and
everyone else’s too.
Papa Francesco the first
Jesuit pope is also a shrewd operator.
He has shown in his gradual series of appointments a keen awareness of
the need to reform the Roman curia and make it more transparent and
accountable. To those outside the
Catholic Church and unfamiliar with Catholic “church speak” Francis’ actions in
the area of reform may appear strange.
However, to those of us who grew up “on the inside” and “speak the
language”, this pope has been gently rattling gilded cages, stirring a few pots
and letting it be known that although he smiles and laughs more than any of his
predecessors, he is pope. The irony is
that one of Francis’ major reforms is de-centralisation of papal power and the
empowerment of local bishops’ conferences.
A good few neo-conservative
groups around the English-speaking world are unhappy. However they are in a bind. Having proclaimed from the roof tops since
the election of John Paul II in 1978 that devotion to the Holy Father,
acceptance, often unquestionably, of papal statements, regardless of their
provenance or intent, is one of the litmus tests of orthodoxy, they either have
to accept that Francis is THE pope and so do as they have done, or move
on. Some have gone so far to say the
church is heading towards schism. This
is the talk of fantasy and delusion.
One of the neo-conservative
gripes is Francis’ perceived attitude towards the cause of Pope Pius XII.
Pope Francis has said little
on Pius XII. I believe there are five
main reasons for this.
1. Francis is the first pope
in modern times to have no direct connection with Europe during the fascist and
Nazi eras or World War II. He was too
young (born 17.12.1936) to be anyway involved. Unlike his
immediate predecessors Francis has had no experience of totalitarian regimes
other than the military juntas in Argentina, which while unquestionably brutal,
were not murderous in the same way the Nazis and Communists were in the 1930s
through to the 1950s. Francis is an
“outsider” to the events that John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict
XVI lived through. I suggest that this
gives him an objectivity that is needed in any discussion about Pius. Francis is sympathetic to Pius, but he is not
driven by a need to defend him or the institution of the papacy.
2. Francis has his priorities
as bishop of Rome. The canonization of
Pius XII is not one of them. He has
canonized a number of women and men, but these cases were in the last stages of
the process by the time he was elected.
This pope does not appear to see a need for a great number of
canonisations – we have enough saints for the time being!
Indeed during his visit to Albania in September the pope’s embrace of Fr Ernst Simoni and Sr Marije Kaleta who had spent many years persecuted by the regime of Enver Hoxha
summed up Francis’ priorities – he is here to be a shepherd; nothing else will
stand in the way of his pastoral ministry.
3. Francis is content to
allow historians and archivists to do their jobs. There have been media reports suggesting that
Francis is keen to get the archives opened up and the documents made available
to historians. It would be very odd if
he had the opposite opinion.
Nonetheless, Francis respects conventions and protocols when they do not
impinge on more important area. The
Secret Archives of the Vatican for Pius XII will be opened - eventually. Pope Francis will not, I think, loose any
sleep over the timing.
4. Francis does not fear or
seem terribly worried about church history, good or bad. He has said on many occasions that the church
has to be open and honest about its past, seek forgiveness for past wrongs and
make amends. And while this is often
seen within the context of the ongoing scandals related to sex-abuse by members
of the clergy, I have no doubt that the pope believes it applies to all aspects
of the church’s history. That said,
there is another dimension that comes from this Latin American pope, namely his
non-European frames of reference. John
XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI were modern men within the
contexts of their times, but they were European men. Their world-views were shaped through
European lenses. This in no way detracts
from their significant contributions to the life of the church, especially that
of John XXIII, but Francis brings a world-view shaped by life outside of
Europe, where the majority of the world’s Catholics now live.
5. Francis values the adult
relationship between Catholics and Jews and will certainly do nothing to damage
it. I believe he considers questions
about Pius XII and the Holocaust are important and valid, but are not what the
dialogue and friendship in 2014 is built on.
Catholics and Jews are now at a point where the trust between both sides
on many levels is so strong that argument and disagreement is, and indeed,
should be a part of the relationship. I
believe Francis is saying, as his predecessors also said in their own ways,
“there is no going back, we will walk forward together side by side.”
These thoughts are things
that have been floating around in my head for some time. Internet traffic on Pius XII has virtually
ground to a halt since Francis’ election – and there is some good in that. Many of the neo-conservative sites have gone
very quiet as well – there is simply nothing new to say; and if loyalty to the
Holy Father is one of your group’s self-identifying traits, then you can’t say
what he hasn’t said! For those of us who
have been waiting for the archives to open will just have to be patient. What gives me a cheerful optimism is Francis’
cheerful optimism – all in good time!
I took this photo when I was in Rome last year.
I confess that I am an unabashed Francis fan!
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