The rebel pope who dragged the Church into the 21st century

medium120487200The voice of conscience for millions across the world has now gone silent after 12 years! Jorge Mario Bergoglio — an Argentinian of Italian immigrant descent — took the name Francis on his election in 2013 as the Head of the 1.3bn-strong Catholic Church and the Sovereign of the Vatican City State.Pope Francis was the first Pope from the Catholic religious order — the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) — and also the first Pope from the Americas. His election was seen as an intervention of God’s Spirit, coming as it did after the unexpected resignation of the previous Pope, Benedict XVI.Pope Francis saw his task as taking the Catholic Church forward in the line of reform indicated by the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), which ended in 1965 — the last major gathering of Church leaders to rule on doctrine, administration, and discipline in the face of major theological, intellectual, social, political, and cultural changes in the world. A Jesuit scripture scholar, Cardinal Carlo Martini, had declared with sorrow in 2012 that the Church seemed to be 200 years behind its times.At the end of the first six years of Pope Francis’s papacy, a Christian pastor, tongue in cheek, remarked, “Pope Francis is dragging the Church, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century!” With the passage of another six years, perhaps the Catholic Church has now fully entered the 21st century with the two sessions of the Synod on Synodality — a worldwide gathering of Church leaders (for the first time inclusive of lay people and especially women, instead of being limited only to Catholic bishops, who are all male). These sessions concluded a long process of preparation involving every Catholic who was willing to participate in what are called ‘spiritual conversations’.Key to what Pope Francis achieved was his mastery of the process of ‘discernment’ taught by Saint Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits) — a rigorous intellectual process of weighing the pros and cons of a decision, but ultimately relying on the intuition of the divine: being sensitive to the feelings that God’s Spirit evokes during this process.Relying on community discernment, Pope Francis initiated major changes in the Catholic Church regarding its understanding of the role of women (we now have women, for the first time, in charge of important offices at the Vatican), of marriage and family, of cultures, of relations with people of other faiths, of the role of youth, and of the need to reach out to the marginalised.Pope Francis has become famous for his “Todos, todos, todos!” — signifying that the Church should include everyone, including those of different sexual orientations, the poor, and others left out by society. Some of these changes have been controversial, encountering opposition within the Church — even from some senior Cardinals — but Pope Francis has taught by example and emphasised the mercy of God as a guiding principle. mediumhttp://youtu.be/56MKce4uAZ8?si=xe-tP9fYIZdEvwB0Proof of Pope Francis being in tune with the signs of the times lies in many of his writings — meant principally for Catholics but relevant to all humanity — especially Laudato si’ (2015), on saving our common home, and Fratelli Tutti (2020), on building human fraternity across cultures and religions.In his attempt to foster fraternity with all peoples, Pope Francis visited several Muslim-majority countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Indonesia, and Turkey. His outreach in West Asia culminated in the historic signing of the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” in 2019, alongside the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb.His fervent advocacy for migrants and refugees has drawn global attention. Notably, his February letter to the bishops of the US, urging them to oppose the drastic anti-migrant measures announced by the Trump administration, bordered on political intervention — but also demonstrated his boldness in defending human dignity. Truly, he emerged as a world leader with courage.He has made submissions at international fora welcoming the potential benefits of artificial intelligence for humanity, while simultaneously warning of its possible misuse and stressing the urgent need for regulation. His condemnation of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza has been unequivocal and consistent, with repeated pleas for reconciliation and peace.In fact, his final address — Urbi et Orbi (meaning “to the city and the world”) — delivered just a day before his passing, was a heartfelt plea that peace is possible. No major issue facing humanity was ignored by this religious leader.Pope Francis expressed, early in his tenure, his closeness to the millions of devout people of the Hindu faith and his desire to visit India. However, a formal diplomatic invitation was not forthcoming from the Government of India, making it impossible for the Head of the Vatican State to undertake the visit.Indians of different faiths have nevertheless witnessed the presence and influence of Pope Francis as a religious leader on the world stage. Their affection and respect were perhaps expressed — however inadequately — by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself during his two encounters with Pope Francis in Rome. I hope human fraternity grows, to make for a prosperous world for all — something closest to the heart of Pope Francis, because it is close to the heart of a loving God.The writer is former principal, St Xavier’s College, Mumbai