Pope Francis just keeps on going… well beyond what most consider normal for a man of his age and physical conditions.
Reports of his demise or even just retirement, are quite premature.
But there is a deeper sense of “Pope Francis just won’t stop!”
For almost 10 years he has been single-mindedly waking us up to Jesus’ vision of a global community rooted in love..
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations Matthew 28:19-20
In this Vincentian Mindwalk, I share with you what one commentator refers to as 96 hours that reveal changes in the Christian world we grew up in. I refer to the hours during August 27-30, 2022. It shows what Francis continues to work hadest at.
A church becoming visibly global
The weekend made visible the shift to a more evidently global church.
On August 27 he consecrated 20 new cardinals. The number is not the point. The significance is that so many are from countries who never had a cardinal. In fact, many around the world would not be able locate where those countries are.
In the not-too-distant past, the majority of cardinals came from Italy, then from Europe. It made news when a Pope named cardinals from North America, South America and Africa.
We now have the most globally diverse group of Cardinals. The face of the Church reflects “the whole word” Jesus spoke of... not just the Roman world.
Then on Monday, August 29 and Tuesday 30, Pope Francis invited the entire group, old and new, to learn together to listen to the Holy Spirit in their midst.
If they are to serve the whole church, then even Cardinals must learn to see beyond the concerns of individual corners of their world.
Broadening their personal horizons.
For two days they engaged in the ancient process of synodality, journeying together. Together they tried to learn how the new legal structures foster a truly global Church. The new constitution, Praedicate Evangelium, seeks to foster greater awareness and vision of a global church Jesus asked us to become. What structures will foster such a global ecclesial community today?
They face many challenges.
Their diverse experiences and geographical locations make it difficult for them to attend meetings in Rome on a regular basis. They must learn how they are at the service of local episcopal conferences rather the other way around.
One commentator pointed out some myths that must be recognized.
It’s not about liberals v. conservatives
Prelates from the developing world often can be quite traditional on doctrine, for instance, but extremely progressive on matters of social justice.
We need to stop analyzing in solely “first-world”‘ terms and polarities
Getting to get to know one another and their new responsibilities.
They have rarely been in Rome together. They face learning together the richer procedures and structures laid out in the seminal document Praedicate Evangelium.
They need to learn about and from each other. In effect, they journeyed together in synodality. This, Pope Francis reminds us, is a practice from the very beginning of the church. Each was challenged to experience learning to listen to the Spirit as did the very first council.
Many who have not previously worked at the Vatican also got some introduction to the various administrative pieces that should work together. For others, it meant learning anew what is involved in serving a more global church.
Of course, all this can’t help but have an impact on electing a pope, whenever that moment may come.
In other words, they too must learn to walk together. .. and need our prayers.
Click be;w for an ely audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk
Pope Francis in his own words…
“They call us ‘eminence.’ There is some truth in this, but there is also much deception, whereby the father of lies seeks to make Christ’s followers first worldly, then innocuous.”
“This calling is under the temptation of worldliness and, step-by-step, it takes away your strength, it takes away your hope, it takes you away from seeing the gaze of Jesus, who calls us by name and sends us. This is the cancer, the woodworm of spiritual worldliness,” the pope added, departing from his prepared remarks.
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2022/08/30/pope-francis-college-cardinals-243650
Yes, definitely our brothers Cardinals need our prayers.
I hadn’t read your comment, yet, Fr. John, when I had decided to write what follows.
We have to pray for them so that they might be able to have the Holy Spirit to distinguish “gold” from “rubbish shining as if it were gold”.
I say this since I am the witness of how the opinion of a cardinal practically changed the course of my life at the age of 19-20.
In our beloved Church there are some groups which shine as if they were the true “gold” of Jesus Christ’s followers, but they are just the opposite. However, they purposely look for cardinals, bishops, “important” personalities (as if for God there could be some creatures more important than others!) in key positions in our Church, to make themselves known, to “conquer” these very brothers of ours, the cardinals, to their movements/groups.
If our brothers cardinals are not always aware of this, they may fall in the net of these movements/groups, they may end up by embracing these movements/groups as if they were the ONLY ONES that can save the Church, etc. Practically, they “fall in love” with certain groups especially the ones which are able to show to them, cardinals, bishops, etc. all their warmth and devotion, which make them feel “great”.
I read from your comment Pope Francis’ words: “… the father of lies…”. Precisely!
So, when I was 19-20, my father went to ask a cardinal in Rome what his opinion was about a certain movement which I wanted to join. Since I was not of age, I needed my parents’ consent to join it. Furthermore, my father was concerned about my choice to follow God in that specific movement. So, he went to talk to said cardinal who happened to have a great opinion of such a movement and told him to absolutely let me go.
I joined that movement only to have to leave it 20 years later since I had ended up by losing my faith in God, in Jesus, and by asking Mary to forgive me but I did not want to think of her, pray to her, any longer.
A big lesson for me and maybe for others. too!
God, however, did NOT abandon me. I asked God to give me back my faith. God, in God’s great goodness and mercy, gave it back to me. Thank you, God!
Clearly a different stance…
German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, a once influential conservative prelate known to be at odds with several aspects of the Francis papacy, has asked that the right to vote in a conclave be limited to those residing in Rome.
Brandmüller said that there are too many cardinals who come from faraway places, so they lack experience with the Roman Curia and do not know one another, making them vulnerable to lobbies attempting to push a specific candidate forward.
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/08/conservative-cardinal-calls-for-conclaves-to-be-limited-to-rome-based-cardinals
Yesterday, you wrote:
“Today, he also tells us all that our God is often too small. We should reach out to the marginalized … in his day the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Implicitly he reminds us that each of us, in our own way, is crippled or blind.
“Remember, this story is just one of the many stories in which Luke that shed light on God’s love for every person he created.”
Today, you speak of broadening horizons, of cardinals needing to “learn to see beyond the concerns of individual corners of their world.”
Thank you, John, for the challenge, first, to be in awe and respectful of the God who is much bigger than anyone can ever imagine and, second, to make my own Jesus’ vision of global (universal/catholic) community rooted in love.
I can now see better, too, that Pope Francis is not far from being an obnoxius guest/prophet after Jesus’ heart. And speaking of prophets, let me just refer to an article I came across a few days ago. It gives me an good idea of what global/universal/catholic may mean: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/my-favorite-christian-author-has-died/ar-AA10PSSP?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=44088757bd644fa1884eab662eafda7a
After reading this article, I’d like to add that the cardinal whom my father had contacted with regard to my joining the movement in question was a well known Roman Cardinal who had been in the Vatican already for many years if not all his adult life.
Certain movements/groups know very well HOW “to conquer” the most influential cardinals, bishops, clergy, in the Vatican and around the world. That’s why our prayers to God to assist ALL of us are ESSENTIAL.
Am I speaking as a true Roman that I am?
I guess it’s fair to ask, “Who, then, are more vulnerable to lobbies that try to push forward a specific candidate or program, the cardinals residing in Rome or those who reside elsewhere?”