True Servant Leadership

Pope Francis is not perfect, of course. No one is.  Changes come slowly in the Roman Catholic Church, but things are changing. The Pope has taken the Roman Catholic Church back to the words of Jesus. Francis began his life in humble circumstances and as a priest preached a message of love and acceptance. Here is what I see the Pope doing.

Pope Francis has made his office humble again. Sometimes it’s the little gestures that mean a lot. One of the first was choosing not to live in the papal apartments generally used by the Pope. Instead Francis chose a much more humble abode.  A Pope is not a king or an emperor or someone who should have a 20-room house. He, also, takes his meals with those who work at the Vatican. He has ditched the Mercedes-Benz-bulletproof-popemobile in favor of an open-air version from Hyundai. It’s not quite riding on a donkey, but it’s a good 21st century equivalent.

Pope Francis is concerned about climate change. His recent encyclical on the environment was an amazing statement by a Pope who believes in both God and science. Here are some quotes:  “Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years.” “We are not God. The Earth was here before us and was given to us.” “The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.” “We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family.”

Pope Francis is making progress on gay rights. He has said: “If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” Not a game-changer but it opens the door in the Catholic Church. There are reports that Pope Francis will push for a blessing for gay couples to be conducted by priests in the Church. It’s not an endorsement of gay marriage, but it’s a start.

Pope Francis is no fan of capitalism. The Bible spends a lot of time talking about the poor and Pope Francis gets it.  Here are two quotes from him:  “Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation. For Christians, the responsibility is even greater: it is a commandment.”  “The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption.”

The Pope is reaching out to non-believers. He speaks more about how people act than what they believe. There’s a place in Pope’s world for those who aren’t Christian, and that world can be just as godly as that of a Christian believer. Francis has been doing more than not casting the first stone, I think he’s been gathering them up and hiding them in those now unused papal apartments.