{"id":108546,"date":"2013-07-25T20:16:46","date_gmt":"2013-07-26T00:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=108546"},"modified":"2013-07-25T20:16:46","modified_gmt":"2013-07-26T00:16:46","slug":"hearing-francis-through-the-ears-of-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2013\/07\/hearing-francis-through-the-ears-of-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing Francis through the ears of politics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\n
\n<\/iframe> \n<\/p>\nWe believe only what we want to believe, George Orwell observed in 1945. \u201cSo far as I can see,\u201d he wrote in the Partisan Review<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>[A]ll political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. \u2026 I believe that it is possible to be more objective than most of us are, but that it involves a moral effort. One cannot get away from one\u2019s own subjective feelings, but at least one can know what they are and make allowance for them.<\/p>\nGeorge Orwell, \u201cLondon Letter\u201d,\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Partisan_Review\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Partisan Review<\/em><\/a> (Winter, 1945)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nOrwell\u2019s theory of subjectivity is being tested by reporters covering Francis\u2019 trip to Brazil. While the pope has been spared predictions his trip will be a disaster \u2014 a press theme peddled in the run up to Benedict\u2019s trips to Germany, the UK and Mexico subsequently proven wrong each time \u2014 the reporting I have seen so far from Brazil has tended to confirm Orwell\u2019s dictum.<\/p>\nTake The Guardian<\/em>\u2018s account of the pope\u2019s activities on July 23, for example. The article entitled \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/world\/2013\/jul\/24\/pope-francis-brazil-mass\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Pope in Brazil <\/a>warns against legalising drugs\u201d summarizes comments made by Francis at a Rio drug rehabilitation clinic and his sermon earlier that day before 200,000 pilgrims at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida. The Guardian<\/em> does not focus on what Francis said, but on the political ramifications of what it heard him say. Hearing only politics The Guardian<\/em> was deaf to the true story.<\/p>\nThe article opens with:<\/p>\n<blockquote>Pope Francis entered political waters on Wednesday with a sharply worded condemnation of moves to legalise drug use. His comments, which were made during a visit to a rehabilitation centre in Brazil, run counter to a growing movement in Latin America to liberalise sales of marijuana and other narcotics following decades of a murderous and largely ineffectual war against drugs in the region.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe article quotes Francis views on the evils of drug abuse and offers background on the politics of narcotics law reform in South America and then transitions to the sermon at the Basilica.<\/p>\n<blockquote>Earlier on Wednesday Francis urged Catholics to resist the \u201cephemeral idols\u201d of money, power, success and pleasure during his first mass in Brazil. He made no direct mention of the inequality and corruption that have sparked nationwide protests. In a sermon to a congregation of thousands at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, the pontiff appealed to the faithful to focus on non-material values of spiritualism, generosity, solidarity and perseverance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nA quote is offered from the sermon followed by analysis and background.<\/p>\n<blockquote>Vatican officials say the pontiff asked for the mass at the basilica, which is 160 miles (260km) from his base in Rio, to be added to his schedule. Built in 1955 with a capacity of 40,000, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida \u2013 the principal patroness of Brazil and a unifying figure for many in the nation\u2019s Catholic Church. It is the site of pilgrimage for millions every year who flock to see an apparently dark-skinned statue of the Virgin Mary which, myth has it, was found in two parts by fishermen in 1717.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBefore moving back to the sermon with these colour quotes:<\/p>\n<blockquote>Francis appeared moved to tears as he said a prayer before the statue. He had visited the site five years earlier at a conference of bishops which helped to raise his standing in the church. Underscoring the emphasis on humility, hope and simplicity that have become central themes of his papacy, Francis warned that almost everyone was attracted to wealth and pleasure.<\/p>\n\u201cOften a growing sense of loneliness and emptiness in the hearts of many people leads them to seek satisfaction in these ephemeral idols,\u201d he said, speaking in Portuguese from a modern marble pulpit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe close starts with the voice of an expert, who contrasts Francis\u2019 humility against Benedict\u2019s and John Paul\u2019s prelacy and intellectualism (unfair to my mind) and ends with politics.<\/p>\n<blockquote>This visit comes during a nationwide wave of social protests. \u2026 Several more protests are planned this week including three related directly to the pope\u2019s visit, according to Anonymous social networks that have been calling people to the streets.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nGiven the facts set forth in the story, which are roughly similar to reports from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/2013\/07\/24\/us-pope-brazil-idUSBRE96M18G20130724\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Reuters<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/2013\/07\/24\/pope-francis-travels-to-first-public-mass-in-brazil\/?test=latestnews\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">AFP<\/a>, The Guardian<\/em>\u2018s evaluation of the pope\u2019s statements would not appear unreasonable. However, a look at what Francis said in his homily challenges this view.<\/p>\nThe theme of his homily at the shrine, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicherald.co.uk\/news\/2013\/07\/24\/wyd-2013-full-text-of-pope-franciss-homily-at-aparecida-mass\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Francis said<\/a>, was:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\u2026 three simple attitudes: hopefulness, openness to being surprised by God, and living in joy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSpeaking of hopefulness, Francis said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>How many difficulties are present in the life of every individual, among our people, in our communities; yet as great as these may seem, God never allows us to be overwhelmed by them. In the face of those moments of discouragement we experience in life, in our efforts to evangelize or to embody our faith as parents within the family, I would like to say forcefully: Always know in your heart that God is by your side; he never abandons you! Let us never lose hope! Let us never allow it to die in our hearts!<\/p><\/blockquote>\nBut The Guardian<\/em> interpreted this to mean:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\u201cLet us never lose hope! Let us never allow it to die in our hearts!\u201d the pope said in a message that appeared to be aimed at the widespread consumerism that the Vatican has blamed for a decline in spirituality, rather than the specific individuals and institutions targeted by demonstrators in recent weeks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNo, that is not what he was saying. The pull quotes about consumerism found in most press reports are subordinate clauses. The point Francis was making was the reality and necessity of a personal relationship with God. And the Catholic Church was the entry to this relationship.<\/p>\n\u201cWhat of it\u201d, you might ask? Soft and spongy god-talk does not make for strong news stories or entertain The Guardian<\/em> readers of Islington. Yet, if you focus on the god-talk, the Marian imagery, and the \u201cLet us trust God!\u201d stanzas that asks the believer to \u201cstay with him, what seems to be cold water, difficulty, sin, is changed into the new wine of friendship with him,\u201d you see the pope\u2019s point is not politics, but the invigoration, the transformation of the believer.<\/p>\n\u201cWell, that\u2019s what pope\u2019s say,\u201d you may well think. The Guardian<\/em> has merely cut back the foliage to reveal the underlying social justice message and linked it to the protests reported at the top and close of the story.<\/p>\nPerhaps, but what I hear when I read the homily is a pope who is responding to the loss of Catholics to <a href='https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/library\/pentecostal' target='_blank'>Pentecostal<\/a> and Evangelical churches who promise an intimate relationship with God. The Catholic faith can and will provide this transforming relationship, the pope is saying. The issue is faith.<\/p>\nBy leading with the drugs comments over the homily, and focusing on the political implications of a few clauses, The Guardian<\/em> has missed the real story. It need not accept the claims put forward by the pope, but it should nonetheless seek to understand him \u2014 being mindful of Orwell\u2019s words: \u201cOne cannot get away from one\u2019s own subjective feelings, but at least one can know what they are and make allowance for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We believe only what we want to believe, George Orwell observed in 1945. \u201cSo far as I can see,\u201d he wrote in the Partisan Review: [A]ll political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,67,3,4],"tags":[2014,2032,1167,2031],"class_list":["post-108546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholicism","category-pentecostalism","category-politics","category-social-issues","tag-brazil","tag-our-lady-aparecida","tag-pope-francis","tag-the-guardian"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Hearing Francis through the ears of politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We believe only what we want to believe, George Orwell observed in 1945. 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