If he keeps it up, it appears to me that Pope Francis is leaning hard on the rudder of the barque which is the Church, steering it in the direction that was so eloquently started by John Paul I, taken up and championed by John Paul II. He appears to launching an all-out evangelistic assault on the world.
There are so many people in the Church today, with whom I speak, who seem to have moved to a defensive posture relative to the world. They seem to be of the opinion that the Church is being assaulted and we must defend and close ranks, that we must purge and purify, that we must retrench and rebuild definitional boundaries that separate the just from the unjust, those inside and those outside.
Francis, in contrast, seems to be of a different point of view given what I have been reading and observing so far. He appears to be moving the Church toward a position of embrace and engagement, of rather boldly and confidently proclaiming the Faith with an evangelistic fervor I have not recalled since John Paul I’s 33 days. He appears to be righting the Church which was listing starboard from the weight of the scandals that she bore. He appears to want to take in both the righteous and the sinner, knowing that in bringing in a harvest you get not only the grain but also some weed seed also which will be winnowed out by God himself.
He appears to be on an evangelistic roll that I hope continues.
He appears to understand that when you embrace the poor, you will get your hands dirty. He appears to know that poverty and sin co-exist unfortunately, and that it our job to embrace the poor and have God forgive the sin. He appears to recognize that there is a great danger in riches and privilege, and that pure religion consists in ministering to the widow and the orphan.
You have to admire and be struck by him, wherever your religious sensibilities may lie. Simply amazing!
God bless him!
