Uncle Frank, the Pope

I want to call Pope Francis “Uncle Frank.”

I never had an uncle Frank. There were John, Leonard, Ed, Bill, George, Vinnie (the Italian from Brooklyn), Howard, but no Frank.

Some Argentinians, it seems, are calling him Papa Pancho, Pancho being a nickname for Francisco.

I don’t think there’s anything irreverent about calling him Papa Pancho or Uncle Frank. He seems very much down to earth, like a loving uncle.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he was willing to ride subways, cook his own meals, and wash the feet of pregnant women and ex-drug addicts.

He appeared in a simple white cassock, on St. Peter’s balcony, and wore his own pectoral cross, instead of a jeweled Cross. The image on the cross is the good shepherd.

He already has already eschewed a limousine several times – taking the bus with the bishops to and from the Vatican.

He tried to not disturb the visit of pilgrims to the Saint Mary Major Basilica when he visited – but was over-ruled. They locked everyone else out.

This leads me to see him as a follower of Christ who seeks to live simply, in the style of the Lord.

I do have some questions.

Like most church leaders in Argentina during the state terrorism of the 1970s and 1980s, he did not speak out forcefully. Whether he could have done more is another question.

He seems to have been critical of liberation theology. Though he does has a great heart for the poor, does his love go beyond acts of charity and strong statements against the austerity that affect the poor? Will he stand up forcibly to world powers that oppress the poor?

But he’s only been pope a few days and seems to be shaking up things – at this stylistically. But maybe this is the most important way to initiate change.

I think he will face major challenges, perhaps most of all from those who seek to maintain a church of power, allied with political and economic elites. Pope Francis seems more attuned to a Church of the Poor.

To my surprise, the radical liberation theology Leonardo Boff (a former Franciscan priest) has written quite favorably about him. (Rebel Girl has translated his article here.)

Francis isn't a name; it's a plan for a Church that is poor, simple, gospel-centered, and devoid of all power. It's a Church that walks the way together with the least and last… It's an ecological Church that calls all beings those sweet words "brothers and sisters". Francis was obedient to the Church and the popes and at the same time he followed his own path with the gospel of poverty in hand. So theologian Joseph Ratzinger wrote: "Francis' 'no' to this imperial type of Church couldn't be more radical; it's what we could call a prophetic protest."… Francis doesn't talk; he simply inaugurates something new.

I think Pope Francis has in mind a church outside the palaces and symbols of power…. Three highly symbolic points stand out in his inaugural address.

First: He said that he wants to "preside with charity”… The Pope should not preside as an absolute monarch, clothed in sacred power… According to Jesus, he should preside in love and strengthen the faith of the brothers and sisters.

Second: He gave a central place to the People of God…

Finally, he avoided all spectacle in the figure of Pope. He didn't extend both arms to greet the people. He remained still, serious and sober, even frightened, I would say. One only saw a white figure who greeted the people affectionately. But he radiated peace and confidence. He showed his mood by speaking without official-sounding rhetoric, like a pastor speaks to the faithful.

And so we have a new Pope, a new father, but one in the image of Francis of Assisi.

But he still really feels like an Uncle Frank to me.

Raise a ruckus

 

­Today Pope Francis returns to Rome after an incredible journey to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

His visit to a favela was a continuing sign of his commitment to the poor as was his visit to a drug rehabilitation center at a hospital.

He also showed a concern for justice. He raised questions about the police "purification" a few months ago of the poor neighborhood he visited. He spoke strongly for the rights of the indigenous in the Amazon.

He spoke, as he has since his first days as Bishop of Rome, against consumerism, individualism,  and materialism.

He must have driven his security details crazy by his continuing desire to be in contact with people.

He is a personable pope, more like a lovable parish priest than an ecclesiastic. As I wrote previously, he feels like an “Uncle Frank.”

But in Rio, as in other places, he has spoken in ways that should shake up the church. In off the cuff remarks in Spanish to the Argentinian youth in Rio he said:

Quisiera decir una cosa. ¿Qué es lo que espero como consecuencia de la Jornada de la Juventud? Espero lío. Que acá dentro va a haber lío va a haber, que acá en Río va a haber lío va a haber, pero quiero lío en las diócesis, quiero que se salga afuera, quiero que la Iglesia salga a la calle, quiero que nos defendamos de todo lo que sea mundanidad, de lo que sea instalación, de lo que sea comodidad, de lo que sea clericalismo, de lo que sea estar encerrados en nosotros mismos, las parroquias, los colegios, las instituciones son para salir, sino salen se convierten en una ONG ¡y la Iglesia no puede ser una ONG!

Que me perdonen los obispos y los curas, si alguno después le arma lío a ustedes, pero es el consejo. Gracias por lo que puedan hacer.

I shared this on Facebook under the title: “raise a ruckus in the dioceses,” even though the AP translated “lío” as “mess.” One friend suggested “fuss” which is better than “mess.” I might, however, accept “mess” if it were talking about “messing up.” But "ruckus" is, I think, better.

But then I looked today at the Vatican website translation where I found "lio" translated as “noise.” What a way to tame a strong statement. What bishop is going to be upset if the youth make some noise. They’d just be like crying babies in church.

Here’s what the Vatican site translation is:

Let me tell you what I hope will be the outcome of World Youth Day: I hope there will be noise.  Here there will be noise, I’m quite sure.  Here in Rio there will be plenty of noise, no doubt about that.  But I want you to make yourselves heard in your dioceses, I want the noise to go out, I want the Church to go out onto the streets, I want us to resist everything worldly, everything static, everything comfortable, everything to do with clericalism, everything that might make us closed in on ourselves.  The parishes, the schools, the institutions are made for going out ... if they don’t, they become an NGO, and the Church cannot be an NGO. 

May the bishops and priests forgive me if some of you create a bit of confusion afterwards.  That’s my advice.  Thanks for whatever you can do.

The translation is weak, to put it mildly.

I think the pope is really saying that he wants the youth to raise a ruckus so that the church goes out of itself, that it is truly missionary. But he wants this to be done without clinging to worldliness (which he seems to relate to desire for power and control), without being stuck where the Church is and has been. He warns of getting too comfortable.

Most strikingly, he warns of “clericalism.” Hearing this, I felt so grateful that someone in the hierarchy is warning about “clericalism,” a scourge in the church which I find not limited to one faction in the church. I have seen and experienced the clericalism of some priests who would consider themselves “radicals.” When I priest I work with spoke of his concern about clericalism a few weeks ago I almost fell out of the chair where I was sitting. What a breath of fresh air.

But one sentence of the Vatican translation really takes the cake for trying to gloss over the radical nature of what Pope Francis sai:

Que me perdonen los obispos y los curas, si alguno después le arma lío a ustedes, pero es el consejo.

The Vatican site translation is: 

 May the bishops and priests forgive me if some of you create a bit of confusion afterwards.

A more literal (and, I think, accurate) translation might be:

May you bishops and priests forgive me if some one later raises a ruckus for you. 

That’s a lot more serious than “creating a bit of confusion.” One idiomatic translation of “armar lío” I ran across is “stir up a hornet’s nest.”

This is not the first time I’ve seen the Pope’s words translated in a way that softens their impact – and it probably won’t be the last. So we need to be attentive to attempts to soften his prophetic words.

But the call is clear: “Raise a ruckus,” get out of the closed-in, insular Church and be the Gospel of Love to the world.

I am grateful for a pope who offers a vision of a church in the streets, with the poor, not fearful of going out and making changes. This can help us nurture hope.

This is what he said to young people at the end of his talk in the favela of Varginha, in Rio:

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Here, as in the whole of Brazil, there are many young people. Dear young friends, you have a particular sensitivity towards injustice, but you are often disappointed by facts that speak of corruption on the part of people who put their own interests before the common good. To you and to all, I repeat: never yield to discouragement, do not lose trust, do not allow your hope to be extinguished. Situations can change, people can change. Be the first to seek to bring good, do not grow accustomed to evil, but defeat it. The Church is with you, bringing you the precious good of faith, bringing Jesus Christ, who “came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).

I hope that he and all of us can truly live up to this challenge – raise a ruckus and don’t be afraid of stirring up a hornet’s nest. That way we may bring to people Jesus, the God of Life.