I KNOW that a Pope commands great
love from many people
all over the world. Here in the Philippines, this cannot be doubted.
The mere mention of a Pope’s name can already stir deep emotions, and
can even trigger some transformative process in a person.
Yet, we cannot deny that Pope Francis appears to have a
different impact. For most of us who have known Pope, now Saint, John
Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the present Pope seems to be different.
Yes, Pope Francis is vastly popular and loved, but there
is also a sector that seems to feel uncomfortable with him. Some
people consider him a bit too liberal, a bit too loose with his
comments, and they find this thing different from the over-all
correctness the two previous Pope were known for.
I must confess that I am not too bothered by this
development. Somehow I know where people are coming from. I once met
an Arab married to a Filipina and he told me how much he admired the
Pope for his earnest comments that echo the feelings and views of many
people like him. I agreed with him but refrained from getting into
comparing Popes.
I also have many friends, many of them priests also, who
express some dismay at how the Pope would view certain issues. I also
understand them very well, since I somehow know where they are coming
from. But I refuse to compare Popes.
For me, the Pope, whoever he may be, whether Germanic or
Latino, is always the Vicar of Christ, or as St. Catherine of Siena
would put it, the sweet Christ on earth. He deserves to be loved and
followed, his teaching listened to and obeyed.
And that’s mainly because he is vested with the same power
that was first given to St. Peter to be the main Shepherd of the
Church of God here on earth. Christ has entrusted St. Peter and his
successors with the government of his Church to continue Christ’s
mission on earth.
Through him we can hear the voice of Christ. In him, in
some mysterious way, we have Christ himself, the head of the Church.
He is given divine protection.
He obviously, like any human being, also has his own share
of weaknesses and everything else that can arise from these
weaknesses. We should not be surprised by this, much less, make a big
issue out of it.
We just have to look at St. Peter who was quite impulsive
and who denied Christ three times. But then he repented, and by divine
order was made the rock on which the Church of Christ is built, with
the assurance that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Mt 16,18)
And the history of the papacy has not been spared from the
personal weaknesses of some Popes that created problems big and small
in the world and in the Church. But the Church continues to stand.
Of course, the Pope always deserves a lot of our prayers
and support. That’s what we should always do unstintingly. The burden
he carries is the heaviest that one can have in this world. We should
try our best to pray for him and help him in any way we can.
And one of the best ways we can help him is to make his
teaching known by as many people as possible. With Pope Francis, what
we are seeing is some expansion of that pastoral charity that should
burn in the heart of everyone, priest or layperson.
His thrust on mercy, on reaching out to those who are far
from the Church, on opening wide the doors of understanding and
compassion with everyone, are now the challenge we all have to face.
In doing this, he is not at all changing some Church
doctrine of Church. He is simply breathing new life into them,
obviously inspired by the Holy Spirit. He is asking us to be faithful
to Church teaching but open to the new things that the Spirit may
prompt us.
We should not forget that we are living in a world full of
mysteries. While we have to hold on firmly to what we already know, we
should not be afraid to break new grounds in terms of understanding
the truths of our faith and in the ways of charity and mercy.
Definitely, a lot of prayer, study and sacrifice is needed
here. And the Pope has to expound things more clearly. With the new
technologies that we have, this task should be not as difficult as it
was ages ago.
all over the world. Here in the Philippines, this cannot be doubted.
The mere mention of a Pope’s name can already stir deep emotions, and
can even trigger some transformative process in a person.
Yet, we cannot deny that Pope Francis appears to have a
different impact. For most of us who have known Pope, now Saint, John
Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the present Pope seems to be different.
Yes, Pope Francis is vastly popular and loved, but there
is also a sector that seems to feel uncomfortable with him. Some
people consider him a bit too liberal, a bit too loose with his
comments, and they find this thing different from the over-all
correctness the two previous Pope were known for.
I must confess that I am not too bothered by this
development. Somehow I know where people are coming from. I once met
an Arab married to a Filipina and he told me how much he admired the
Pope for his earnest comments that echo the feelings and views of many
people like him. I agreed with him but refrained from getting into
comparing Popes.
I also have many friends, many of them priests also, who
express some dismay at how the Pope would view certain issues. I also
understand them very well, since I somehow know where they are coming
from. But I refuse to compare Popes.
For me, the Pope, whoever he may be, whether Germanic or
Latino, is always the Vicar of Christ, or as St. Catherine of Siena
would put it, the sweet Christ on earth. He deserves to be loved and
followed, his teaching listened to and obeyed.
And that’s mainly because he is vested with the same power
that was first given to St. Peter to be the main Shepherd of the
Church of God here on earth. Christ has entrusted St. Peter and his
successors with the government of his Church to continue Christ’s
mission on earth.
Through him we can hear the voice of Christ. In him, in
some mysterious way, we have Christ himself, the head of the Church.
He is given divine protection.
He obviously, like any human being, also has his own share
of weaknesses and everything else that can arise from these
weaknesses. We should not be surprised by this, much less, make a big
issue out of it.
We just have to look at St. Peter who was quite impulsive
and who denied Christ three times. But then he repented, and by divine
order was made the rock on which the Church of Christ is built, with
the assurance that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Mt 16,18)
And the history of the papacy has not been spared from the
personal weaknesses of some Popes that created problems big and small
in the world and in the Church. But the Church continues to stand.
Of course, the Pope always deserves a lot of our prayers
and support. That’s what we should always do unstintingly. The burden
he carries is the heaviest that one can have in this world. We should
try our best to pray for him and help him in any way we can.
And one of the best ways we can help him is to make his
teaching known by as many people as possible. With Pope Francis, what
we are seeing is some expansion of that pastoral charity that should
burn in the heart of everyone, priest or layperson.
His thrust on mercy, on reaching out to those who are far
from the Church, on opening wide the doors of understanding and
compassion with everyone, are now the challenge we all have to face.
In doing this, he is not at all changing some Church
doctrine of Church. He is simply breathing new life into them,
obviously inspired by the Holy Spirit. He is asking us to be faithful
to Church teaching but open to the new things that the Spirit may
prompt us.
We should not forget that we are living in a world full of
mysteries. While we have to hold on firmly to what we already know, we
should not be afraid to break new grounds in terms of understanding
the truths of our faith and in the ways of charity and mercy.
Definitely, a lot of prayer, study and sacrifice is needed
here. And the Pope has to expound things more clearly. With the new
technologies that we have, this task should be not as difficult as it
was ages ago.
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