Point of view – A pope straddling politics and doctrine

An early follower of the rules of Saint Ignatius, the pope then moved over to Saint Francis and now uses religion to bridge different cultures.

The Roman Catholic Church has always displayed a dual nature. It is the tangible representation of a religion that remains the most widespread in the world. For this very reason, and owing to the influence it has over more than a billion faithful, the Catholic Church also plays an undoubtedly political role in the world. This particular aspect of the life of the church is one that Italians can appreciate better than anyone else because for the last 2000 years, they’ve had to come to terms with life alongside the Holy Roman Church.

The strictly hierarchical structure of the organisation means that, in the end, these two inclinations find their ultimate and most powerful expression in the figure of the pope. It is therefore understandable that whenever the pontiff speaks out, travels, calls meetings or embarks on any kind of undertaking, his actions take on both religious and political connotations. There are even those who attempt to weigh these two aspects against each other in order to establish whether the current pope’s mission has a more doctrinal or political purpose. In time, this exercise has led the media to pin labels on recent popes. Thus Wojtyla was seen as more of a political figure, while Ratzinger is viewed as more a man of the cloth. 

As things stand, attempts to apply the same labelling procedure to Pope Francis are proving to be much more difficult. At least in these first stages of his pontificate, the current pope seems to have managed to balance the political and religious aspects of his office very deftly.

On the one hand, Francis stands out as a pope whose primary task it is to preserve the work of God in all its manifestations. This has led him to make strenuous appeals for the environment (against climate change) by portraying the health of the planet as inseparable from creation. But he has also extolled the virtues of man, the exploiter of the renewable energies that the Lord above has placed at his disposal.

Man, in fact all human beings, as the Argentine pope sees it, should have equal access to the world’s riches. He believes that the pie should not be carved up into little pieces, but rather should be shared equally. For Bergoglio there can be no obstacles to this joint sharing, and he underlines this approach both openly and forcefully wherever and whenever he gets the opportunity.

In a way, Pope Francis’ behaviour appears to be a throwback to his Franciscan days: originally a Jesuit, he rose through the ranks of the Franciscan order to eventually accept an appointment as cardinal and then pope, positions that are precluded from Jesuits according to the rules laid down by Saint Ignatius.

Belonging to the Franciscan order imprinted Francis with both the “Canticle of the Creatures” as well as a constant and endless aspiration towards greater justice in the allocation of resources among all members of the human race.

He also believes that real results can only be achieved through a dialogue that involves and connects peoples and nations, with no one left out based on religious preference, political leaning, obstinate defence of privilege or any other reason.

Such dialogue can only be manifested in a world that lives in peace and harmony, that is not overwhelmed by a “piecemeal World War III” or the presence of criminal organisations that wield sufficient power to actually control entire states.

It is here that the Pope’s political role comes to the fore, flanking his more doctrinal approach and at times seeming to overtake it. Along with being a Franciscan, Bergoglio draws on his experience as a Jesuit in order to reach out to different cultures, using religion as a bridge between them.

For example, one cannot overlook the open stance towards moderate Muslims that Francis has initiated by connecting this year’s Extraordinary Jubilee to the concept of Mercy, a virtue promoted by moderate Islam, but which jihadi extremists regularly tread underfoot.

The concept of everyone working together towards a shared future, albeit by following different approaches and methods, has also been on display in Francis’ meetings with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, a separate, sister church. Before these meetings, dialogue between the Catholics and Russian Orthodox had all but ceased, and top-level encounters had been relegated to the distant past. Significantly, the meeting between Francis and Kirill took place in Cuba, a further indication that the international community is now preparing to welcome the ‘lost Cuban sheep’ back into the fold. Bergoglio had already formally announced that message to the United States when he visited Havana on the eve of the New York celebrations marking the founding of the United Nations.

For the two leaders, meeting in Cuba also meant resuming relations outside of the world of the ‘haves’, to which Rome, Moscow and Washington belong. The conference took place among the ‘have nots’, those who are still awaiting a fairer al location of global economic resources. Pope Francis has been addressing such people in his visits, first to South America, then to the most devastated and unstable corners of sub-Saharan Africa, and finally to Mexico, where the level of deprivation might turn the country into a criminal empire.

The pontiff has also been reaching out to China. In an interview with Francesco Sisci, Francis clearly expressed his admiration for a culture that might appear completely alien to ours if it weren’t for the fact that over the centuries there have been plenty of people who have proven how useful it can be to build bridges between different worlds. He jokingly referenced how Marco Polo and noodles resulted in a now obviously shared Italian and Chinese heritage, once again pointing to his Jesuit origins and the memory of Fathers Ricci and Castiglioni, who were key to Europe’s initial contact with and understanding of Mandarin culture. The interview ends with the pontiff’s good tidings to the Chinese people for the upcoming Year of the Monkey, and an implicit indication that he would appreciate an invitation from Beijing, something Bergoglio had already formally voiced the first time he flew over the great country.

But even when they raise hopes, these quick yet forceful openings, which at times appear to swoop down from above like the sword that severed the Gordian knot, can also trigger negative reactions. One example is the recent exchange between the pope and US presidential hopeful, Donald J. Trump, a man who embodies the fears of the ‘haves’ in the face of changes that are proving to be more overwhelming than expected.

Hopefully, in time, this pontiff’s equally doctrinal and political approach can introduce movement into a gridlocked system, convincing even the most reluctant among us that marching united, with fairness as our banner and respecting the habitat that God has entrusted to us, is our only hope for a future of peace.