of media-orchestrated swooning over the Pope without the accompanying
substance of truly loving him not only affectively but also
effectively.
The Pope himself has warned us of what is called the ‘Pope Francis
effect’ that tries to portray him as some kind of rock star or
superhero to whom are attributed qualities and accomplishments that he
himself said are not quite true.
One of them claims that he secretly slips out of his Vatican quarters
at night to be with the vagrants and homeless of Rome. He said that
while such act is very commendable, it actually has not crossed his
mind to do so. Other similar claims are being made, but he disowns
them.
He considers them as some kind of theatrical ‘special effects’ that
some people, supposedly with good intentions, shower on him or on his
name. They can be sparkling at the present moment, but they actually
leave no lasting effect, much less some deep impression if not
transformation in people. They are precisely just for effects, but
without the real substance.
In fact, they detract from the true character and purpose of the papal
office. They are there mainly to pander to people’s curiosity and lust
for the extraordinary, and leave behind the elements of purity of
intention and gratuitous magnanimity that would seek to do good things
without expecting any earthly reward.
They tend to undermine and distort the spiritual and supernatural
dimensions of whatever good deed is made, since they gloss over the
requirements of humility and the spirit of sacrifice with which the
good deed ought to be done. In the end, they tend to spoil people.
If we truly love the Pope, we have to see him as the ‘sweet Christ on
earth,’ as St. Catherine of Siena once described any Pope.
Irrespective of the Pope’s personal qualities, we have to see him as
the successor of Peter to govern the Church, and to serve as the
principle of unity of all Christian believers.
As the catechism would put it, the Pope is the “perpetual, visible
source and foundation of the unity of the Church. He is the Vicar of
Christ, the head of the College of bishops and pastor of the universal
Church over which he has by divine institution full, supreme,
immediate and universal power.”
If we truly love the Pope, we would pray for him, whoever he may be,
and help him in any way we can to carry out his most delicate and
demanding ministry. We would go beyond sentimentalism in our attitude
toward him, though we should always be affectionate to him.
We should listen to him carefully, and make his concerns ours too,
pursuing them according to our possibilities. In short, we should
remember that our way to Christ always passes through the Pope. We
have need to refer everything in our spiritual and ecclesial life to
him.
St. Josemaria Escriva, who had a great love for the Pope, irrespective
of who he was, popularized a slogan that deserves to be a guiding
principle to all of us. “Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam!” (All
with Peter to Jesus through Mary!) This is the proper attitude to
develop.
Do we regularly follow the pronouncements and statements of the Holy
Father? Do we spread them around? Do we consider the Pope when we make
plans and projects, no matter how technical or temporal and mundane
they may simply be? These are questions we have to ask ourselves
always.
Our usual problem is that we often ignore the Pope and the ecclesial
dimension of our earthly businesses and activities. We often think
that the Pope has nothing to do with them, or that our mundane affairs
have nothing to do with our ecclesial life.
Worse, we can go to the extent of thinking that by referring things to
the Pope and the ecclesial dimension, we would be undermining our
freedom, our autonomy and our creativity.
This is a misconception, since referring things to the Pope and to the
ecclesial dimension of our life can only bring these things to their
ultimate spiritual and supernatural goals which they should all
pursue. Otherwise, they would just be useless, dangerous and even
harmful insofar as our ultimate goal in life is concerned.
There’s definitely a need to widen our perspective to include the Pope
and our ecclesial life in all our affairs and concerns. This would
truly be loving the Pope that goes beyond some sentimental “special
effects.”
substance of truly loving him not only affectively but also
effectively.
The Pope himself has warned us of what is called the ‘Pope Francis
effect’ that tries to portray him as some kind of rock star or
superhero to whom are attributed qualities and accomplishments that he
himself said are not quite true.
One of them claims that he secretly slips out of his Vatican quarters
at night to be with the vagrants and homeless of Rome. He said that
while such act is very commendable, it actually has not crossed his
mind to do so. Other similar claims are being made, but he disowns
them.
He considers them as some kind of theatrical ‘special effects’ that
some people, supposedly with good intentions, shower on him or on his
name. They can be sparkling at the present moment, but they actually
leave no lasting effect, much less some deep impression if not
transformation in people. They are precisely just for effects, but
without the real substance.
In fact, they detract from the true character and purpose of the papal
office. They are there mainly to pander to people’s curiosity and lust
for the extraordinary, and leave behind the elements of purity of
intention and gratuitous magnanimity that would seek to do good things
without expecting any earthly reward.
They tend to undermine and distort the spiritual and supernatural
dimensions of whatever good deed is made, since they gloss over the
requirements of humility and the spirit of sacrifice with which the
good deed ought to be done. In the end, they tend to spoil people.
If we truly love the Pope, we have to see him as the ‘sweet Christ on
earth,’ as St. Catherine of Siena once described any Pope.
Irrespective of the Pope’s personal qualities, we have to see him as
the successor of Peter to govern the Church, and to serve as the
principle of unity of all Christian believers.
As the catechism would put it, the Pope is the “perpetual, visible
source and foundation of the unity of the Church. He is the Vicar of
Christ, the head of the College of bishops and pastor of the universal
Church over which he has by divine institution full, supreme,
immediate and universal power.”
If we truly love the Pope, we would pray for him, whoever he may be,
and help him in any way we can to carry out his most delicate and
demanding ministry. We would go beyond sentimentalism in our attitude
toward him, though we should always be affectionate to him.
We should listen to him carefully, and make his concerns ours too,
pursuing them according to our possibilities. In short, we should
remember that our way to Christ always passes through the Pope. We
have need to refer everything in our spiritual and ecclesial life to
him.
St. Josemaria Escriva, who had a great love for the Pope, irrespective
of who he was, popularized a slogan that deserves to be a guiding
principle to all of us. “Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam!” (All
with Peter to Jesus through Mary!) This is the proper attitude to
develop.
Do we regularly follow the pronouncements and statements of the Holy
Father? Do we spread them around? Do we consider the Pope when we make
plans and projects, no matter how technical or temporal and mundane
they may simply be? These are questions we have to ask ourselves
always.
Our usual problem is that we often ignore the Pope and the ecclesial
dimension of our earthly businesses and activities. We often think
that the Pope has nothing to do with them, or that our mundane affairs
have nothing to do with our ecclesial life.
Worse, we can go to the extent of thinking that by referring things to
the Pope and the ecclesial dimension, we would be undermining our
freedom, our autonomy and our creativity.
This is a misconception, since referring things to the Pope and to the
ecclesial dimension of our life can only bring these things to their
ultimate spiritual and supernatural goals which they should all
pursue. Otherwise, they would just be useless, dangerous and even
harmful insofar as our ultimate goal in life is concerned.
There’s definitely a need to widen our perspective to include the Pope
and our ecclesial life in all our affairs and concerns. This would
truly be loving the Pope that goes beyond some sentimental “special
effects.”
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