The Pope’s Place in the World

As Popes go, I liked this one. His ideas were rooted in the 19th Century, which is about a millennium ahead of his recent predecessors. But what passes for progressive in the Catholic Church, well, isn’t anyplace else. He had good things to say about women and gay people, but they’re still second class citizens in the Church. My read on Francis: nice guy, better pr, but at the end of the day, pretty much the same old, same old.

But don’t discount being a nice guy. That’s been in short supply among world leaders recently.

Now we move on to someone else. On the one hand, as happily fallen away, I don’t have a dog in this fight. But on the other hand, there are 1.4 billion Catholics and some of them listen to the Church. Most Catholics — and the most devout — are in poor countries. I guess that says something. There must be something here that gives these people hope or some sense of meaning beyond a pretty tough existence. This shouldn’t be discounted.

What the Church tells people who actually bother to listen to it is important. So, what it has to say about birth control, the status of women, gay people and others, your relationship to your government and your employer — all that stuff, matters.

So, I do care who succeeds Francis. It has no impact on me directly, but it does matter in the world. In a world where strong men and fascists are ascendant, I’d like to see somebody who would balance that — as Francis did. What this world does not need is yet another hard liner.

One thing a leader does is exemplify a leadership style. Not just what they do, but how they do it, has at least a subtle impact on how people act in their daily lives. It can change the boundaries of what’s acceptable. If the President can say that…

So, the fact that there are so many jerks in positions of high authority right now — Trump, Putin, Orban — or barking at the door of high office isn’t just bad for the obvious reasons of their policies. They’re modeling awful behavior. Francis was an antidote to that. In contrast to the strongmen, Francis was seen as an advocate for a little more tolerance.

The odd thing is that the Catholic Church is the last place where you’d expect to find a person like that. The Church is most definitely not a democracy. Fundamentally it is anti-modern. Its strength is found in the places in the world which appreciate its stability and the idea that it is timeless. For people threatened by rapid change — or by change that isn’t rapid enough — the Church offers both stability and the promise of something better ahead.

In addition to his charitable style, Francis did have a pretty good message about the need to address fundamental injustices in society. And as Pope he was no friend to dictators — his earlier accommodations with those in Argentina and his last meeting with J.D. Vance notwithstanding.

Yet, no slouch of a power pol when he needed to be, Francis appointed cardinals who are likely to pick somebody like him to replace him. And if they do, the Catholic Church may provide the world with another voice for liberal democracy — out of an institution that is the furthest thing from one.

And, if I prayed, that would be the answer to them.

Have a good weekend. Looks like a nice one. I’m going for a bike ride.

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