Pope Francis (Pastor of Mercy)

by Michael J. Ruszala

  The Domus Sanctae Marthae (St. Martha’s House) was built in 1996 by Pope John Paul II to house the cardinals gathering for a conclave to elect the pope. When there is no conclave, the simple modern high-rise complex is used as a guesthouse for those coming on church business to the Vatican. Father Spadaro describes Pope Francis’ room that he was invited to for the interview, “The setting is simple, austere. The workspace occupied by the desk is small. I am impressed not only by the simplicity of the furniture, but also by the objects in the room. There are only a few. These include an icon of St. Francis, a statue of Our Lady of Luján, patron saint of Argentina, a crucifix and a statue of St. Joseph sleeping, very similar to the one which I had seen in his office at the Colegio Máximo de San Miguel, where he was rector and also provincial superior.”

  It is in this room that Pope Francis rises each day at 4:45 a.m. According to Andrea Tornielli, in the Vatican Insider, “The first few hours of Francis' day are dedicated to prayer and meditation on the Readings which the Pope comments on, in the brief homilies he gives in his morning masses in the chapel of the place he likes to call the ‘boarding school’, commonly known as St. Martha’s House: a simple and modern building decorated with light-coloured marble and stained glass. The Bishop of Rome sits in the pews at the back of the chapel to pray. These spontaneous but not completely improvised morning preachings are one of the most important changes of the new pontificate.... The Pope is assisted by cardinals, bishops or visiting priests and the masses are attended mostly by Vatican staff – from IOR staff to rubbish collectors – and their families. Francis greets all of them one by one and then has breakfast in the St. Martha’s House ‘common room.’”

  Prayer is essential for Pope Francis. He said in Ch. 4 of Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio, “In my view, prayer should be an experience of giving way, of surrendering, where our entire being enters the presence of God. It is where a dialogue happens, the listening, the transformation. Look to God, but above all feel looked at by God.” The Rosary and Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament remain some of Pope Francis’ favorite forms of prayer, besides, of course, celebrating the Mass.

  Cardinal Bergoglio was accustomed to wearing old and worn shoes, but just before he went to Rome, friends gave him a pair of new black shoes to make sure he would be suitably dressed for the conclave. Cardinal Bergoglio, after all, was the type that even after being made a cardinal, refused to order new robes, choosing instead to have alterations done on the ones worn by his predecessor. So when he was raised to the papacy, Matthew Bunson tells us in Ch. 8 of Pope Francis, that Pope Francis refused the papal red shoes, preferring the black ones his friends from Argentina had given him. He also refused to wear the jeweled gold cross typically worn by the pope, choosing to keep the metal pectoral cross he had worn as bishop and was designed after the image of Jesus from his favorite painting; White Crucifixion by Marc Chagall. In keeping with his simplicity, he even told his driver on the morning of March 14, to stop by the hotel where he had stayed prior to the conclave so he could personally pay his hotel bill. He also personally made a phone call to Argentina to cancel his Buenos Aires newspaper subscription; he would no longer need it.

  Pope Francis’ first homily as pope was at the widely anticipated Missa Pro Ecclesia (Mass for the Church) in the Sistene Chapel. While this homily is typically a ponderous one, Pope Francis, keeping in mind that the cardinals were not the only ones present and that the flock of the Church throughout the world were also listening, kept his tone and style very simple and pastoral as he would do with all his papal homilies. He focused on a simple theme from the readings, in this case ‘movement’, which relates to life. It was his practice to number a short list of aspects on that theme, reviewing the points again at the end.

  He also refrained from using theological terminology that may not be understood by the people. Instead, he has become known for using his own sayings and freshly coined metaphors. Andrea Tornielli remarks, in “Vatican Insider”, on the Pope’s morning homilies, “Every morning Francis comes up with new and effective illustrations to his messages, such as the ‘babysitter’ church, the concept of ‘God spray’, confession not being like a ‘dry cleaner’s’, ‘sitting room Christians’, ‘museum-piece Christians’ and ‘starch-pressed Christians’. Then there are his references to ‘prayers of courtesy’, the ‘balm of memory’, ‘adolescent progressivism’ and ‘pastoral customs’ which instead of fostering people’s faith, complicate it. But the most striking thing about Francis is the simplicity of his words. Particularly those about tenderness and forgiveness: ‘The message of Jesus is mercy. For me, I say this humbly, it is the Lord’s most powerful message.’ This message has encouraged people across the world to return to the Church and to confession after years of estrangement.”

  With Holy Week soon approaching, the new Holy Father made special arrangements for Holy Thursday Mass. While typically the papal Holy Thursday Mass and its rite of foot-washing are held at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome, Pope Francis chose to emphasize the Church’s preferential option for the poor by celebrating it instead at the Casal del Marmo youth prison just outside Rome, like he had done previously as a cardinal in Buenos Aires. At his Last Supper, Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples, saying to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:12-14).

  Conveying the message that Jesus and his Church have come to serve all people and especially the poor, Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of twelve young people who were incarcerated. He did so without distinction of who they were, and chose to also include two young women and two Muslims in the rite of foot-washing. News headlines around the world broadcast the Pope’s actions since women and non-Christians had never been included before in a Holy Thursday rite of foot-washing by a pope. Father Lombardi had to explain that the Holy Father is not strictly bound by the liturgical norm that includes only men in the rite. The media had only good things to say about this new pope, forgetting, at least for a bit, their litany of criticisms of the Catholic Church.

  Pope Francis and Saint Francis

  On March 16, the new Holy Father met with 5,000 journalists in the modern Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. He greeted them warmly, praised their profession, and called on them to communicate goodness, truth, and beauty. It was an important meeting, and he won them over with his charm, humor, and authenticity. He also shared why he choose his name,

  “Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called Francis. Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. During the election, I was seated next to the Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes [OFM]: a good friend, a good friend! When things were looking dangerous [indicating that it would be likely Bergoglio would be elected pope], he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two thirds, there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me a hug and a kiss, and said: ‘Don’t forget the poor!’ And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi.

  “Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man.…How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”

  While at first glance it might seem odd for a Jesuit to choose St. Francis as his patron, in considering the life of both Pope Francis and St. Francis, the connection becomes quite clear. St. Francis was born ca. 1181 in Assisi, in the Umbria
region in central Italy, to the family of a wealthy silk merchant. As a young man, he enjoyed parties and desired fame and glory. He went off to war but became seriously ill and received a vision in which Christ spoke to him from the crucifix telling him to rebuild his Church. This created a great change in Francis who took the words literally and began rebuilding the chapel in which he prayed that had fallen into ruin. During this time, he also grew closer to the Lord. His father became angry with Francis because Francis had abandoned his route of worldly success and gave away clothes from his father’s business to the poor. In turn, Francis gave back all he had to his father, even the clothes off his back.

  A sermon on the Gospel further deepened the saint’s understanding of his calling and direction. In the Gospel passage, Jesus instructed his disciples who were sent forth to spread the Good News, “Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick” (Matthew 10:9-10). Francis also read this passage literally, which led him to full dependence on God as he went about preaching, choosing ‘Lady Poverty’ for himself, giving alms to the poor, and begging each day for all his necessities. Francis’ authenticity attracted followers to his way of life. Francis petitioned the Pope to grant his blessing to the new religious order, the Friars Minor (lesser brothers), and Pope Innocent III was moved by a dream he had of Francis and agreed.

  Once, St. Francis came upon a leper who was begging. At first repulsed by the leper, Francis overcame his fear, embraced the leper, and gave him alms, realizing that love and acceptance is what he needed the most. Some of the stories of the saint and his many miracles reflect his closeness and concern for animals and other creatures as reflections of God and as brothers and sisters, creatures of the same God. Francis also was determined to take action regarding the bloody Crusades. He met with the Sultan to convert him and win peace, or otherwise face a likely martyrdom. Yet Francis’ authenticity won the respect of the Sultan, though he neither became a Christian nor ended the war.

  In his later days, Francis, who had conformed his life so closely to that of Christ and whose miracles even echoed those of his Master, was given the grace of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion on his hands and feet. In 1226, St. Francis died, lying naked on the ground since he desired to leave the world in the same manner in which he had come, in utter poverty and dependence on God.

  On October 4, 2013, Pope Francis visited the picturesque town of Assisi to celebrate the memorial of St. Francis with a Mass in the courtyard of the beautiful Basilica of St. Francis. There he explained Franciscan peace: “Franciscan peace is not something saccharine. Hardly! That is not the real Saint Francis!” While Franciscan peace is an antidote to violence and unjust war, its domain is within the heart and exudes outward. It is the peace that Francis had in risking his life to embrace the leper and to speak with the Sultan. Pope Francis continued, “Nor is it a kind of pantheistic harmony with forces of the cosmos… That is not Franciscan either; it is a notion some people have invented!” We are not one with the world, but we are all creatures of the same God. The Pope continued to identify true Franciscan peace: “The peace of Saint Francis is the peace of Christ, and it is found by those who ‘take up’ their ‘yoke’, namely, Christ’s commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” The love of Christ is a hard command - to love even when it hurts, even in the face of evil. The Holy Father then explained the link of Franciscan peace to humility: “This yoke cannot be borne with arrogance, presumption or pride, but only with meekness and humbleness of heart.”

  On August 21, 2013, the Syrian regime killed hundreds of civilians in a chemical weapons attack during its ongoing civil war. The photos of the dead soon flooded the Internet and shocked the world. The brutal regime had been at war for some time with rebels that were equally contemptuous of civil rights. By September, the U.S. and its allies were making preparations for an attack on Syria to assist the rebels. Pope Francis spoke out strongly for peace. The Holy Father tweeted on September 2, “War never again! Never again war!”

  He called on all people of good will to join on September 7 for a day of prayer and fasting for peace and hosted a televised prayer vigil at the Vatican. In a series of continuous messages on peace, he tweeted on October 7, “The only war we all must fight is the war against evil.” Pope Francis strongly denounced the use of chemical weapons, and also denounced unnecessary intervention by outside parties that could make matters worse. He encouraged all parties to dialogue and to look beyond their own interests. Dialogue in Syria was indeed given a chance. As of October 7, both the U.S., the leading voice against the Syrian regime, and Russia, a strategic ally of Syria, expressed cautious optimism over the process of destroying the stockpile of chemical weapons and the regime had agreed. The civil war, however, rages on, and the international situation remains tenuous.

  Mercy: A Key to Understanding Pope Francis

  Upon selecting a papal coat of arms, Pope Francis retained the shield of his coat of arms from his days as bishop, placing it in front of the traditional symbols of the papacy. Pope Benedict had replaced the triple-layered tiara atop the papal coat of arms with the simpler miter of the Bishop of Rome. The three golden horizontal stripes represented the authority given to Peter stretching to heaven, earth, and under the earth. Two keys of St. Peter are crossed behind it, joined by a red cord. Pope Francis retained these traditional symbols. For the shield of his coat of arms, Pope Francis retained his own former blue shield. Symbols of the Society of Jesus are placed at the center; a golden sun with 32 rays with the monogram IHS in the center capped with a cross and having three nails crisscrossed below it.

  IHS stands for Iesus Hominem Salvator (Jesus, Savior of Men). Below and on each side, Pope Francis placed his own chosen symbols. To the bottom left is an eight-point golden star, representing the Blessed Mother. In fact, Pope Francis had his pontificate dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13 before dedicating the whole world to her on October 13. To the right is a golden clump of spikenard flowers, a symbol popular in Latin America for St. Joseph.

  During Vatican II, Pope John XXIII had added St. Joseph, chaste husband of the Virgin Mary and patron of the universal Church, to the Roman Canon of the Mass. On May 1, 2013, Pope Francis added St. Joseph to all the other options for the Eucharistic Prayer to ensure that the model of fatherhood, chastity, humility, and service would be included in the prayers of every Mass throughout the world. Pope Francis chose March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, as the date for his inaugural Mass.

  Beneath the coat of arms is a scroll that carries his motto, miserando atque eligendo (seeing through the eyes of mercy, he chose him). If there is one word to encapsulate Francis' pontificate, it is ‘mercy’. At his first Angelus at St. Peter’s Square on March 17, Pope Francis told the crowd, “Never forget this: The Lord never gets tired of forgiving us. It is we, who get tired of asking for forgiveness.” Offering God’s mercy is Pope Francis' answer to the problems and evils of the world and the people who are entangled in them. Pope John XXIII at his opening speech on October 11, 1962, at the Second Vatican Council - the gathering of the bishops of the world which met from 1962 to 1965, pastorally touching nearly every aspect of the Church’s life - exhorted the bishops, “Nowadays... the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity. She considers that she meets the needs of the present day by demonstrating the validity of her teaching rather than by condemnations.”

  To the same extent that Franciscan peace is often misunderstood for a shallower counterfeit, mercy is too often subjected to a similar misunderstanding. Mercy is not naiveté of evil that assumes that “I’m okay, you’re okay.” Mercy should not be confused with moral relativism. Instead, mercy is the voice that tells us to “hate the sin but love the sinner.” It understands that sin is something that eats away at the person, but still encourages the person sinning to be treated as a person and with love. It was with mercy that Jesus told the
women he saved from those who wished to stone for her adultery, “Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more” (John 8:11).

  Pope Francis constantly reminds us in his homilies to have mercy on others by refraining from gossip. In a homily on September 13 at Sanctae Marthae to the Vatican staff, he preached, “The Lord does not waste many words on this concept. Further on [in the Gospel] he says that he who has hatred in his heart for his brother is a murderer.” There is no room for gossip in the life of a Christian, and it arises from judging others. Gossip and judgment destroy solidarity and break down the culture of cooperation. Instead of gossiping, Pope Francis urges the people, “Go and pray for him! Go and do penance for her! And then, if it is necessary, speak to that person who may be able to seek remedy for the problem. But don’t tell everyone!” Gossip was also a theme of special interest in Bergoglio’s homilies as cardinal.

  The topic of mercy came up in Pope Francis' interview with Father Spadaro. The Holy Father said, “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy.” Here his answer focuses not on the question of homosexuality, but on mercy. Pope Francis has always said that he follows the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in all things. The Catechism states in paragraph 2357 that “tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”