What Color Are the Pope's Shoes? And Other Pressing Ecclesial Questions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From\u00a0much of\u00a0the news and punditry that has followed the election of Pope Francis, both Catholic and secular, one can easily gather the impression that\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2013\/04\/06\/what-color-are-the-popes-shoes-and-other-pressing-ecclesial-questions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Color Are the Pope's Shoes? 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{"id":24863,"date":"2013-04-06T18:51:39","date_gmt":"2013-04-06T23:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/?p=24863"},"modified":"2017-04-26T12:04:37","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T17:04:37","slug":"what-color-are-the-popes-shoes-and-other-pressing-ecclesial-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2013\/04\/06\/what-color-are-the-popes-shoes-and-other-pressing-ecclesial-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"What Color Are the Pope’s Shoes? And Other Pressing Ecclesial Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Among the reactions to Pope Francis thus far, I have observed two\u00a0general conflicting assumptions, each with its own internal split: first, that he is leading us into a sweeping ecclesial revolution (proclaimed with either horror or vindictive glee); second and contrarily, that he is essentially no different from previous popes (proclaimed with\u00a0either determined cynicism or dogmatic triumphalism).\u00a0 Neither\u00a0assumption does him justice, because they both make him into a polarizing figure.\u00a0 The truth is more likely somewhere in between.\u00a0 No pope\u00a0is identical to his predecessor in the experiences and approaches he brings to the office, but for this very reason, the differences can be seen as complementary.<\/p>\n

I suspect that those who are inclined to read grandiose ecclesiological statements into how the pope chooses to accessorize, whether their preferences lean toward the elaborate or the austere, may be missing a broader and more personal trait that has less famously characterized Jorge Bergoglio since well before we began getting to know him as Pope Francis.\u00a0 The way he chooses to live <\/em>is defined by an inclination toward downward mobility, simple living, or what Mennonites would call \u201cliving more with\u00a0less\u201d<\/a> \u2013 from his\u00a0now-famous choices of transportation and residence<\/a> right down to, yes,\u00a0his shoes.<\/p>\n

It does not appear\u00a0that he intends for this inclination to be read as a repudiation of Pope Emeritus Benedict or any other papal predecessors.\u00a0 Rather, I see it as simply\u00a0a reflection of who he is, perhaps partly attributable to his Jesuit formation<\/a> or to a Franciscan charism.\u00a0 Indeed, Francis\u2019\u00a0recent visit to Benedict in which he embraced him as a brother<\/a> shows his respect for his predecessor as well as his personal humility.\u00a0 His decision to celebrate Maundy Thursday Mass at a juvenile detention center has been widely discussed, both positively and negatively, as a break from tradition, and it was indeed unprecedented as a papal action, but it was also in continuity with his personal custom<\/a> as Archbishop of Buenos Aires \u2013 a part of his long-standing witness of ministry to the marginalized, now more visibly amplified in his role as leader of a global Church.<\/p>\n

For those who enjoy obsessing over the external details (and I admit that I myself have not always been entirely above the fray), I don\u2019t mean to spoil the fun.\u00a0 Just remember to keep it in perspective.\u00a0 Ultimately, the future of the Church will\u00a0depend much less on\u00a0the presence or absence of a mozzetta or the placement of altar candles\u00a0than on the extent to which we are inspired by the Holy Father\u2019s example of humility and service toward a closer imitation of our Lord.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"