Francois Ntone
Pope Francis: A new Pope, a New Hope
On March 19, 2013, the papal inauguration of Pope Francis was held at St Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Ever since, the new pope has brought hope and inspiration to many with his humility, his concern for the poor and his focus on God’s mercy. He chose his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi because of his concern for the well-being of the poor. One of his initiatives was the proclamation of a Holy Year of Mercy that began on December 8, 2015 and is to end on November 20, 2016.
In September 2015, Pope Francis made a highly publicized visit to the United States where he reinvigorated many Catholics, giving them a renewed sense of mission. But it is fair to say that non-Catholics have also found his views and his focus refreshing. Unfortunately, his reputation was recently tarnished by a publicized debate involving presidential candidate Donald Trump. It seems that American conservatives, even those who identify themselves as “evangelical Christians”, have taken sides in that debate and have positioned themselves on Trump’s side. Apparently they identify with Trump because he “tells it like it is”, which means he is their true representative as he says in public what they privately think.
This website is about the kingdom of God, and anybody who has an interest in the kingdom of God knows that Trump’s public remarks disqualify him from even being mentioned in that context. On the other hand, Pope Francis recently published his new book The Name of God is Mercy, which is worth examining. In this article, I will summarize the pope’s message as presented in his book.
The Name of God is Mercy
A big part of the book is written in the form of an interview where the pope answers questions related to topics he has previously addressed in his public statements. The appendix is the official papal document which provides the justification and the goals of the Holy Year of Mercy. In a sense, this Jubilee of Mercy is inspired by Jesus’ self-introduction in Luke 4:18-19, where he reads the words of the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2):
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
To Pope Francis, these words represent Jesus’ own definition of his mission, a mission of love and mercy. Therefore the church cannot be the church if it fails to pursue Jesus’ clear agenda as stated in Luke 4:18-19.
Most Christians are familiar with the commandments that are considered by Jesus as the greatest: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). Clearly love is a central idea in the kingdom of God. In fact, the apostle John states the following: “Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love” (1 John 4:8). Pope Francis certainly agrees that God is love. To that, he adds that God is mercy, and he provides abundant support for his statement by quoting numerous biblical verses that illustrate God’s mercy. Of course, the ideas of God’s love and God’s mercy are closely related. As Pope Francis sees it, “In mercy we find proof of how God loves us”. In the book, the two words are often found in combinations such as God’s “merciful love” or “merciful and compassionate love”.
Echoing Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis proclaims that “Mercy is in reality the core of the Gospel message; it is the name of God himself, the face with which he revealed himself in the Old Testament and fully in Jesus Christ, incarnation of Creative and Redemptive Love.” This statement is a summary of a theological progression that exists in the Bible, a progression many Christians unfortunately fail to acknowledge: as the story of the Israelites unfolds, prophetic insights progressively lead to an increased perception of God as a merciful God who would rather forgive than punish. That understanding culminates in God’s self-revelation through the one we call his Son Jesus Christ, as God the Creator is proclaimed to be God the Redeemer through the sacrifice of his Son.
While mercy and justice are often seen as two conflicting concepts, the pope sees no conflict between them. In fact according to him, “When there is mercy, justice is more just, and it fulfills its true essence.” In other words, a justice system that only focuses on retribution against those who break the rules is bound to fail. On the other hand, showing mercy by focusing on reforming criminals and facilitating their return as contributing members of society lays the foundation for a better future.
Receiving Mercy
The pope believes that “God forgives everyone, he offers new possibilities to everyone, he showers his mercy on everyone who asks for it. We are the ones who do not know how to forgive.” While God’s mercy is limitless, one must ask for it. This requires an attitude of humility. Indeed, “In order to be filled with his gift of infinite mercy, we need to recognize our need, our emptiness, our wretchedness. We cannot be arrogant.” Clearly this statement indicates that arrogance is a major obstacle to receiving God’s mercy. In fact, Pope Francis makes a point of contrasting sin from what he calls “corruption”. Sinners can always be forgiven, but those who are corrupt set a barrier between themselves and God. To the pope, “Corruption is the sin which, rather than being recognized as such and making us humble, is elevated to a system, it becomes a mental habit, a way of living. We no longer feel the need for forgiveness and mercy, but we justify ourselves and our behaviors.” I think what the pope calls “corruption” is what Jesus calls “blasphemy against the Spirit” (Matthew 12:31).
God’s propensity to forgive is so great that he will take advantage of the smallest opening provided by a sinner to show his mercy. But by the same token, those who benefit from his mercy must be merciful to others. Christians are expected to be humble, non-judgmental and eager to relieve the pain around them. Such an attitude defines the work of the church during the Jubilee of Mercy. The church must “touch the flesh of Christ in he who is outcast, hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, ill, unemployed, persecuted, in search of refuge.” Indeed, as Jesus himself said, being kind to those little ones is being kind to him personally (Matthew 25:40, 45).
Pope Francis and Evangelical “Christians”
The pope’s teaching, as understood from his book, is quite straightforward and transparent. One does not have to be a biblical scholar to see that it is consistent with the teaching of Christ and his apostles. As I read the book, I found myself either agreeing or being fascinated by the special insights offered by a man who has dedicated his life to relieving suffering among those who are in physical or spiritual pain. Therefore I find the criticism he receives from conservative evangelical “Christians” rather disturbing. As far as I can tell, much of that criticism is a result of their assumption that the idea of “social justice” is unacceptable. But since social justice is unequivocally advocated by both the Old Testament and the New Testament, a serious question must be raised about their reading of the Bible. Of course they are also unhappy that the pope is talking to people of other faiths. How dare he do such a thing, given how happy everybody is with today’s constant state of religious hatred, violence and warfare?
On the internet, there is a huge number of websites dealing with the idea that Pope Francis is the antichrist. Apparently St Malachi, Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, had a vision in 1139. According to his vision, the 112th pope from the time of the vision is to be the last one, and his reign is to coincide with God’s judgment of his people and the destruction of the city of Rome. Since Francis is the 112th pope, those who hate him speculate that he is the antichrist. Considering that Jesus said “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say , ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Matthew 17:20-21), it is amazing how much time people spend on unproductive speculation instead of contributing to the building of the kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. Jesus urged his followers to be prepared and to seek the kingdom of God by doing the will of the Father. I can clearly see that Pope Francis is advocating basic ideas that can be easily traced back to Christ. As for his detractors, I don’t know where they get their ideas from. As a matter of fact, I am not sure the god they worship is the one Jesus calls the Father.
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