The Church, which is worldwide, is composed of so many different peoples, cultures, histories and political positions. It is not homogeneous in its theological ad pastoral approaches to the history that we actually live.
When Pope Francis was elected pope in March, 2013, he captured the world’s imagination. It did not take long for the friendliness and simplicity of this man captured the hearts of the faithful. From time to time, we even had atheists affirming, “This is my pope!”
But not all is smooth. There are many pockets of resistance to the direction that Pope Francis is taking the Church. The opposition to the direction Pope Francis is steering the ship may be muted but it is very real.
Pope Francis is pushing the Church to be a Church of the poor. There is no doubt that he is calling attention to the poor and forgotten of this world. He wants us to become a ‘church of the poor for the poor.’
The role of leadership within the Church will always be in tension. On the one side the bishops are to preserve and protect the doctrine, the teaching and the sacraments of the Church. This is their preservative role and the one that receives the most attention on the part of the faithful and the world media.
The other side of the tension is to challenge and move the Church to stronger faithfulness and fervent living out of our Gospel faith. They are meant to be a force of renewal and new growth within the Church.
Too often in the past there were very charistmatic people who began new apostolic movements that sparked new life within the national and international Church. This creative tension has always been a part of the Church. There were many instances when the renewal movements provoked strong tensions and resistance within certain parts of the church. But this is where real growth happened.
To become a Church of the poor will always upset a certain segment of the Church. In every national Church there are definite comfort zones. Please do not upset our apple cart!
Pope Francis is speaking to the affluent West where there are big pockets of poverty in every country. The affluent and the people who benefit from the wealth of their particular country do not pay attention to the large segment of poor people living among them.
But in the Third World countries the Church is growing but also gaining power and respect in those countries. The challenge is equal to those churches not to neglect the poor who fail to benef from education, technology and food security that many of their fellow citizens already possess. He also challenges the growing power of churches in the Third World.
The challenge that Pope Francis is making will not take full effect until many, many decades into our future. Use your imagination to what the Church might look like if it seriously embraces the concern for the poor and dispossesed in the world. Does this make you uncomfortable? Or challenged?
Is Pope Francis a blessing or a point of resistance to your life of faith?
No comments:
Post a Comment