Pope Francisco\u2026the new Bishop of Rome has named himself the Saint of the Poor.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0hear that in great\u00a0hope that the poor in Spirit might, in fact, inherit the kingdom of God. What good news that would be.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m watching. You probably are too. While thousands of faithful Catholics have been waiting in Vatican square for days, the white smoke invites curiosity and anticipation from all over the globe.<\/p>\n
Why is that? The Pope is not the boss of me. If you are a Protestant, and atheist, an agnostic, a humanist, a Buddist\/Muslim\/Jew, then the Pope is not the boss of you, either. So why do we wait for this news?<\/p>\n
In the course of this process, a Catholic official said that the new Pope would not just determine the future of the Catholic Church, but the future of Christianity on the whole. Many protestants I know got kind of het up about that. But whether we like it or not, it\u2019s kind of true.<\/p>\n
Those of us who practice other brands of faith often find it troubling that one man can hold so much power. And that, yes, he must always be a man. But the conversation taking place within that inner circle does not just affect practicing Catholics. Were we flies on the Vatican wall,\u00a0I think we\u2019d find that the exchange unfolding within mirrors the dialogue that is happening in wider circles, all over the world.<\/p>\n
What is the role of the church in this dramatically changing time? How does our practice of faith shape the coming age? Do we still have a radical message of hope and transformation that is worth offering to the world? And, perhaps most importantly, how we do have to change the packaging, if we want that message to remain relevant and accessible?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just guessing this is what those guys have been talking about. That, or, \u2018do we really want to stick with red for the shoes? Tim Gunn says that is SO last millennium\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n
We are not just waiting to see who gets to wear the pointy hat. We wait to see which way the wind blows. Will that white smoke waft the conversation into the future? Or, as Fitzgerald might say, \u201cceaselessly into the past?\u201d While the Church\u2013Catholic or otherwise\u2013does not shape the direction of progress all on its own, the next Pope will certainly fan the flames \u2026one way or the other. The unfolding changes will reach us, near and far and wide, as we continue to shape the language of faith for this generation.<\/p>\n
What powerful sort of transformation might take place if the compassion, devotion and bent for justice that we witness among Catholics were to move into the future under leadership of, I don\u2019t know, a nun? (Nuns are so badass). Or at the very least, someone who would ordain those faithful women, already?\u00a0 What other doors (or balcony windows) might be opened for those who come next? \u00a0That wind of change would be a sight to see.<\/p>\n
And the power of that wind would reach us all\u2014people of faith, people of doubt, people of hope\u2014wherever we might be.<\/p>\n
Since I started typing, a new Pope has emerged. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio \u2026<\/strong>of Argentina. That\u2019s the sort of name we\u2019ve never heard on that balcony, from a continent that has never worn the big hat. My prayer today is for this man of God to fill those red shoes with the dignity, the vision, the strength and the sort of grace that I witness in the ordinary Catholics I know. I hope, for all of us, that he lives into this tremendous power with a world-shaking authenticity and a booming prophetic voice, the likes of which cannot be contained in any institution, creed or title.<\/p>\n Pope Francisco\u2026the new Bishop of Rome has named himself the Saint of the Poor.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0hear that in great\u00a0hope that the poor in Spirit might, in fact, inherit the kingdom of God. What good news that would be.<\/p>\n
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