Let the sneezing begin

by Editor · April 10, 2013

Within the space of just a few weeks, Pope Francis has changed the way the papacy presents itself to the world, perhaps irrevocably so.�The signs were there from the moment Jorge Mario Bergoglio was presented to the world as Pope Francis, having declined to wear the traditional red velvet mozzetta (though the widely reported �the carnival is over� quote has been debunked as apocryphal).

Pope Francis has brought the papacy closer to the people. He has done so by going among them, greeting them, hugging them, celebrating Mass with them, washing and kissing their feet.

One photo, captured by Catholic News Service�s photographer Paul Haring during a general audience in St Peter�s Square, showed a young pilgrim kissing Pope Francis� hand as one might kiss the hand of a loved relative � and not his papal ring.

Where popes used to be virtually untouchable, almost supernatural, Pope Francis is of the people and with them.

Like Jesus, he invites even the unworthy to touch the hem of his garment.

More than that still, the pope himself wants to touch the garment of the people, all of them, even the unworthy! And in doing so, he is profoundly touching their hearts.

Not even the extrovert, gregarious John Paul II went among the people quite as Pope Francis does.

Can the papacy ever retreat to the refuge of distance after that?

Some Catholics have already questioned the wisdom of Pope Francis� apparently deliberate demystification of the papacy.

The pope has even been accused of being ostentatious in his humility � absurdly so, since we know that as Cardinal Bergoglio he lived as humbly as he does as the pope.

His humility is not an affectation, nor does it serve as a repudiation of his predecessors, as some critics might fear.

Pope Benedict insisted that the only valid reading of the Second Vatican Council was the hermeneutic (or interpretation) of continuity, one that sees the council as being in harmony, not rupture, with the Church�s past. Those who question the style of Pope Francis may well have concerns that it could represent some form of rupture.

Perhaps Pope Francis� pontificate will be marked by a hermeneutic of radical continuity, one that acknowledges the Church as it was before the Council of Trent and before the monarch popes � a return to the basics.

A woman kisses Pope Francis’ hand as he greets guests during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican March 27. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope Francis has already translated into concrete action the papacy�s preferential option for the poor and the Church�s call for the emulation of Christ. Here is a pope who can humble himself to wash and kiss the feet of prisoners and Muslim women, gestures that are more Christ-like than any exercise of ecclesial or temporal power.

This does not mean, however, that Pope Francis will seek to return the Church altogether to its early days, before mandatory clerical celibacy was codified in the Latin rite, when women seemed to occupy some forms of diaconal positions, and when local bishops had much greater autonomy than they have now (though early indications are that the pope favours greater episcopal collegiality).

While progressive Catholics may rejoice at the style of Pope Francis� papacy and look forward to the overdue reform of the Roman curia, there is not much to suggest that he will be an agent of radical change on matters of doctrine or discipline.

Conservative Catholics may be reassured that, at root, Pope Francis is a doctrinal conservative himself.

Time will reveal how pragmatic and open to dialogue Pope Francis will be on divisive matters. We can confidently predict that this pope will surprise�and sometimes perhaps disappoint�many.

Half a century ago Pope John XXIII opened the Church�s window to the world, letting in a breeze of fresh air. Pope Francis is now shaking up the dust. Some people are already having an allergic reaction.

Let the sneezing begin.