Pope Francis’ searing critique of the Curia, the Italian-dominated civil service in the Vatican, as reported by the British daily The Guardian, was met with tepid applause and a few smiling faces when he delivered it last month.
That it was delivered days before the Christmas celebration was not only a wet blanket on the Vatican’s hierarchy but also a telling reminder for officials in the Church and government leaders.
Among the ailments that Pope Francis warned of in the Church hierarchy were the “disease” of feeling immortal and essential, “of feeling themselves to be lords of the manor, superior to everyone and everything.”
Other ailments Pope Francis brought up in his pre-Christmas message last year include “being spiritually and mentally hardened”, costing the cardinals and church officials their humanity”, “courting favor from one’s superiors”, “arrogance and rivalry”, “indifference”, “materialism” and even the “terrorism of gossip.”
If it had come from any other public official, the message would have been met with sneers and raised eyebrows.
One recalls President Benigno Aquino III’s periodic harangues against government officials and agencies who failed to meet their targets or are hotbeds of corruption and abuse. His castigation often fell flat. The problem remained.
But the criticism came from Pope Francis, who had taken pains not only to discard whatever appearance of worldly power is associated with his office but to bring the Vatican closer to its 1.2 billion followers and it bears watching not only among Church officials and the Catholic faithful but also followers of other faiths around the world.
For his visit to Palo, Leyte province this Saturday, Pope Francis had instructed the archdiocese to ask every establishment and church not to post streamers or posters showing his face because he doesn’t want to serve as a distraction to the mostly Catholic Filipino public.
Instead of focusing on him, the Pope said every Filipino should focus on Jesus Christ.
That appeal warms the heart of Cebu City residents, most of whom won’t have the privilege of seeing him in person but are commemorating the Feast of the Sto. Niño.
The image of Jesus as a beloved boy has its own enduring message of humility and knowing one’s place in the divine scheme of things.
“Authentic leadership is service,” Francis declared a few days after his election to the papacy.
That’s a valuable reminder to public officials who, just because they’ve been elected by their constituents, seek to extend their stay in office by plastering every project with their names and faces.
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