Pope Francis’ visit to New York reminded him of the biblical story of Jesus entering Jerusalem. He had in the course of his career as an illustrator of books made several versions of this biblical scene: Jesus is astride a donkey. The citizens welcome his triumphant entry, waving palm branches at Him, cheering and hanging on to his every word.
He had been told the donkey is an important symbol here. It is representative of all who work faithfully and in silence for their God, somewhat away from the limelight of people’s collective attention. The donkey carries the burden of the faith. Once it might have been the symbol too of Jorge Mario Bergoglio; but surely not anymore. He has now become the rockstar of the Catholic faith, the Holy Father Pope Francis. And he is exactly what the Catholic faith needs at this point in time, possibly what the world really needs now in these trying times.
He has neither the smallest capacity nor the slightest tendency to condemn anyone or anything even in a time when the most fundamental tenets of Catholicism are being put to the test. He has a way of saying things and expressing his position on the most controversial matters without offending those who would disagree with him. It is something everyone, including heads of state, leaders, writers and artists, should learn from. He mentions art a few times in his homilies.
The world has come to a historical point when issues and positions over issues are quickly put into the table of people’s attention. Media and the social networks have become so quick and efficient that world events quickly come into our television sets, our computer screens, and our conversations with each other. Quite expectedly, it has increased dramatically our potential for disagreements, our collective tendency for discord and differences.
Many years from now, academics of communication style will still be studying how Francis navigates himself and us, his church, through the dangerous currents of discord, disagreements, and differences, some of which have led us to wars. Given the nature of the times, we would think that what a world leader ought do is to be unequivocal with his or her position over issues and then strengthen this position by appearing strong and unwavering. Pope Francis does not come to us this way. He has a way of crafting his thoughts and words so we do not think of him as Pope but as Francis, a holy man, never condemning, always looking for common ground between us, though we may not agree with him or each other completely. He seems engaged in a conversation with us over these, our disagreements. He never stops the conversation by saying you are wrong.
He reminds us instead how Jesus is the Prince of Peace. At the end of every conversation with believers, he always asks that they pray for him. And from those at the General Assembly of the United Nations who are not Catholics, he asked that they wish him well.
His messages are always clear and simple. We see immediately the politeness of his words. He is not playing politics.
He is merely treating us with respect. As when he talked about refugees and immigrants by saying he was himself an immigrant. And he might as well have intimated how we, if not our ancestors, were all immigrants in some way or at some time or another. He did not speak of the issue as if it were a simple issue easily solved by building a wall with a nice beautiful gate or by some other means. He simply pointed to an age-old Golden Rule, something Jesus Christ said when He was last here: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”
And then, Francis follows up this message by saying at the Mass at Madison Square Garden: Jesus Christ walks among us. It seems an old message, and yet Pope Francis, by intoning these words himself, renders it with a renewed vigor, reminding us of its original sublime mystery. Where, after all, is Christ? Who is he?
Could he be Francis himself? And then Francis tells us how Jesus is everywhere, Emmanuel. He is with us. He is us. He is the people we come across in lonely streets and roads the world over; not the least lonely being New York, written about in various texts, in song, in poetry, in literature. The same one point in the world where once, many Septembers ago, the history of world seemed to pivot away from its former axis. This September it seemed exactly like Jerusalem welcoming a visit from this strange new Pope.
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