By Ruth Peacock
The election of Pope Francis 10 years ago was a huge surprise. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio had arrived from Argentina for the conclave in Rome with a return ticket, but ended up leading a global church of 1.3 billion members.
His humble, simple, style surprised the faithful. He chose to live at the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse, instead of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. He carried his own suitcase, took the bus, and used a small car.
His first pastoral visit was to the island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily, to pray for refugees and migrants lost at sea. Throughout his decade, he has spoken for the marginalised and his marks of office are servant leadership.
These reflections on his 10 years were offered by panellists in a Religion Media Centre briefing, marking the anniversary of his election.
Father Damian Howard, provincial superior of the Society of Jesus, told the briefing: “There is a great humility built into the way he thinks about leadership. The model is Jesus Christ and the model is one of humility, simplicity, servant leadership.
“One of the astonishing things is that he emerges after 10 years, in a really polarised world, having had to deal with the most appallingly difficult and complex situations, still with a reputation for gentle boldness, ethical coherence and the ability to articulate a compelling moral vision which addresses the whole planet.”
The key was his simplicity, said Professor Anna Rowlands, St Hilda associate professor of Catholic social thought and practice in the department of theology and religion at Durham University.
A cardinal had offered her an explanation: “It’s as if the people basically want the church to be a little bit like the Jesus of the Gospels. That’s what they expect to encounter. And it’s in that simplicity that people, I think, are drawn to feeling that there is an integrity about Francis.”
She spoke of the Pope’s determination and great sense of urgency: “He’s unafraid of chaos and he’s unafraid of conflict. But there are two things that he is afraid of. The first is the danger of polarisation and the second is of indifference, the tendency to detach ourselves spiritually from the urgent questions of our age.”
Professor Rowlands said the Pope was anything other than detached. His method of theology was to take himself to sites of crisis and suffering and speak theologically into those situations, listening to the ideas that emerged from the strife.
Pope Francis’ idea of the church is that it embraces all, including the marginalised and this accounts for his statements offering the “help of sacraments” to divorced Catholics and saying of LGBTQ+ people
“who am I to judge them? They’re our brothers.”
His determination to animate the grass roots of the church in engagement and participation had resulted in the largest process of consultation in the history of the Catholic church — known as synodality — where members at all levels give their opinions on changes or new focus.
Professor Rowlands is involved in this process, drawing together submissions from church members in Europe. “It’s huge. It’s messy,” she said. “There have been all sorts of problems with it. But nonetheless, it’s the most alive and vital thing that’s happening right now within the global church.”
Asked whether synodality was unleashing forces previously held at bay in enforced silence, Professor Rowlands said: “Who knows where the process will lead?” People felt heard and that had included the voices from women demanding more quality including ordination.
The journalist Catherine Pepinster suggested to the panel that not enough change had been made regarding the place of women in the church. The Pope had appointed many, including nuns and laywomen, to high positions in the Vatican, but he still presided over “the largest patriarchy in the world”, and that was problematic.
Christopher Lamb, Rome correspondent for The Tablet, said the Pope had not touched doctrine, but had stressed that it can develop. For any major change, he was seeking consensus, opening processes that move the church incrementally towards an irreversible renewal.
Fr Damian emphasised that the synodical process was about more than a consensus, which may not be the “work of the spirit”. It was a spiritual, potentially transformative event about discerning the spirit of God.
“If it goes, well, it’s not that it will deliver certain reforms that you or I may think desirable,” he said. “It will lead to something that surprises us. It will lead to something that amazingly brings together people who thought that they were fundamentally opposed into a kind of agreement and a new vision that brings new life and, and freshness to the life of the church.”
The panel was asked whether the forces unleashed by global consultation were the cause of the venomous acrimony that existed against Pope Francis, especially in America.
Kerry Weber, executive editor of America Magazine, a monthly publication for Jesuits in the United States and Canada, said this was an unfortunate by-product. Open conversation had emboldened some people in ways that were less charitable and more venomous.
Fr Damian said a lot of vitriol came from fairly well co-ordinated and well-funded lobby groups alarmed by what was happening to some of their interests.
Christopher Lamb said the fierce opposition was “a phenomenon we’ve seen emerge during this last 10 years, which I think is unprecedented in many ways”. There was a difference between legitimate criticism, for example over handling of sex abuse cases, and destructive attacks on the Pope, rejecting him and his authority.
Aside from the drama within the church, the Pope is never out of the headlines on world affairs. He has visited more than 50 countries and repeatedly spoken of the evil of war in Ukraine. He has also taken up global issues such as climate change, with the publication in 2015 of Laudato si’, the plight of refugees and world poverty.
Kerry Weber had reported on many international visits and reminded the briefing of the recent occasion when the Pope kissed the feet of politicians from South Sudan as they came to him seeking advice on a process towards peace. He was known for promoting peace processes and for apologies, for example, over abuse at Catholic schools for indigenous children in Canada.
Fr Damian said the Pope had taken bold steps forward, with considerable risk, in relations with Muslims, forming close contacts with Muslim leaders. In March 2021, he met Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, one of the most senior leaders in Shia Islam, in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.
The Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, who is lead bishop on environment issues in England and Wales, said when things came up in the headlines, the Pope confronted the question, whether it was refugees or the environment, which he had made a universal question of urgency. In all questions, the Pope made it clear that everyone had a part to play and we were all interconnected.
The message received at the grass roots was that Christian faith led to action, making the world a better place, particularly in days of financial stress. The Pope had encouraged people to think about the issues they faced — such as in Bishop Arnold’s own diocese where 42 per cent of children in Greater Manchester were living in poverty — and then to take action.
He said for ordinary Catholics, living out their lives in Greater Manchester, the Pope was held in high affection: “In my lifetime, people have been very respectful about talking about the Pope. But in the case of Pope Francis, I’m constantly surprised and delighted, by the number of times people seem to refer to Pope Francis with a smile about what he’s doing … his name is mentioned a great deal with affection, but also with that sense of, we’ve got stuff to do, because Pope Francis has told us we’ve got to get on and do it.”
And it seems, that despite his well-documented mobility issues and the illnesses associated with an 86-year-old man, Pope Francis is here to stay. There had been suggestions floated last year that he was willing to retire, as his predecessor, Benedict, had done. He has signed a resignation letter in case he becomes too infirm to carry out the role. But he seems keen to end speculation he will step down soon.
Christopher Lamb told the briefing: “I think his has a sense of mission because he never expected to be in this position. He arrived at the conclave in 2013, with a return ticket to Argentina. And, because of that, I think he feels driven to continue for as long as he possibly can … we can expect him to do so.”
View the briefing on our YouTube channel here
