Hope for a change in spirit

[resqgeek]

I don’t think it would surprise anyone who knows me well that there are a number of teachings and practices in my Church that I wouldn’t might seeing changed.  But I know that the newly elected Pope Francis is not likely to make any of the changes in these areas that I wish for.  And yet, as I noted yesterday, I find myself filled with hope because of this election.  So what, exactly, is it that I’m hopeful for?

There are a number of areas where this new Pope might make changes in the Church that I think are overdue and sorely needed.  He could bring greater transparency to the governance of the Church, openly confronting the scandals of the past and present and providing an example of how the Church should take responsibility for its mistakes.  He could reverse the trend towards more centralized authority, restoring the collegiality of the bishops and devolving authority back to the local diocese.  These would be important changes, ones that would restore a great deal of credibility  and moral authority to the institutional Church.  I hope that he tries to do these things, though I’m not sure how much traction these ideas will find inside the bureaucracy.

But mostly, I am hopeful because I think that I glimpse a new spirit in Pope Francis, one that I haven’t seen in many of the leadership of the Church.  A priest that I know often complains that the whole world knows what the Church is against, but very few know what the Church is for.  This is his way of pointing out that the Church has been emphasizing the negative for too long, and it is time for us to start focusing on the positive.  This would be a return to the unambiguous message in the Gospels that we are called to live a life of radical love.  Jesus did not preach a conditional love, one that required others to meet some predefined standard or live a certain lifestyle.  Instead, he commanded that we love everyone, even our enemies.  We are not called to condemn others, but to be compassionate and forgiving.  This is the message I believe that the Church needs to be proclaiming, and I am profoundly hopeful that Pope Francis might just help change the focus of the Church from the battles over what we shouldn’t be doing to an emphasis on living lives of love and compassion for all of creation.

Comments

[o-jenny.livejournal.com]

I'm not Catholic, but I too have been cheered by Francis's obvious concern for the poor and what seems to be a true kind and loving heart.