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| Pope Francis at Independence Hall |
Like thousands of other people in Philadelphia I have been
caught up in the frenzy of Pope Francis during his visit to our city. While I
have not attended any of the live events, – his speech at Independence Mall,
the Festival of Families, his parade through the throngs, and the Mass on the
Parkway – I did have occasion to go into the city for a pre-Pope rally around
justice issues on Friday evening and a Pope bike ride through the car-less
streets of downtown on Saturday morning. Moreover, I have been watching with
great interest the events surrounding him and his words to the faithful. (For those
not in or from Philadelphia, the Pope has come to Philadelphia in large part to speak to the
Roman Catholic Meeting of Families, a triennial event lifting up the importance
of family, which has brought thousands of people from around the world to the
week leading up to the Pope’s visit.)
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| Pope bike ride |
While I am a very “low church” Mennonite, I have been
fascinated by this man at the helm of the most hierarchical church in the world
who faithful Roman Catholics believe to be the spokesman for God. While I do
not hold him in the reverently high regard that most faithful Roman Catholics do,
I have found his outspokenness on immigration, concern for the poor, the
importance of the family, and the dangers of globalized capitalism to be
refreshing and inspiring. However, I think like most people, what has touched
me most is his personal interest in the children, the broken, the forgotten,
and the ignored. When in Washington, DC,
he turned down a lunch invitation with Congresspeople to meet with homeless
folks. He spent his Sunday morning in a prison with the incarcerated. He made sure
that the undocumented and immigrant got the choice seats at his speech on
Independence Mall, and he listened intently and responded personally to the
stories of families at the Festival. While mildly disappointed (but not
surprised) that he did not take up the cause of women religious and the role of
LGBT folks in the Church, like most, I found that I was impressed with his
forthrightness, and willingness to “speak truth to power.”
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| PICO/POWER March |
At the pre-Pope rally sponsored by the PICO Network and
POWER, I participated in a modified stations of the cross march, stopping to
pause, reflect and pray at the Philadelphia Police headquarters, a Federal jail
and detention center, a low wage service industry store, and the site where
slaves of George Washington lived. At each site we lifted up issues and causes
Pope Francis has discussed: police brutality, mass incarceration, exclusion of
migrants from society, low wages, racism and oppression. Protestant, Catholic,
and Jewish speakers called us to continue our work of resistance to injustice and
work for justice. We prayed, we sang, we listened, we marched.
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| Security checkpoint |
One of many strange things about this weekend has been the
high police and military presence. In order to secure the Pope’s safety, there
is a virtual military state in downtown Philadelphia. Police, national guard
and bomb squad personnel are everywhere. Individuals must go through security
checkpoints to gain access to the downtown streets. Wherever the Pope goes he
is surrounded by a phalanx of Secret Service, Swiss Guard, black vans and police
on bicycles as he smiles and waves from his Pope-mobile.
So I find myself with a bit of a Pope paradox. I do not
appreciate the elevation of the male clergy of the Roman Catholic Church at the
expense of others, but I am drawn by the powerful call to justice to the social
teachings of the church and liberation theology orientation of Pope Francis. The city has an air of peace, unity and
serenity while it is dominated by military and security personnel. Mostly
though, it is Pope Francis, himself, stopping his vehicle to kiss and bless
babies, waving and smiling intently at all whom he passes, and taking time to
listen to those fortunate few who have a chance to talk with him personally. Even
while his robes, his throne-like chair, the royal Catholic spirituality and the overwhelming presence of
security surrounding him seems to defy the very spirit of Christ he is said to
represent, at the same time his word, countenance, and interaction with people
seems to embody that same spirit of Christ.
Sometimes the most important things in life are contained in
paradox – an apparent contradiction pointing and embodying a deeper truth. If
Pope Francis, the so- called “people’s Pope” can somehow communicate the
radical truth of Jesus love and concern for justice, while challenging the
power-brokers of governments and corporations, then he is a paradox I will embrace
and continue to ponder.
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| Pope kissing Michael Keating, boy with cerebral palsy |
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