Pope Francis is proving
himself to be a genuinely holy man, a brilliant politician, and a leader
who knows that reform requires a keen understanding of how creating a
better future demands sophisticated invocations of the past.
Nothing demonstrated all three traits better than Francis' announcement that he would make both
Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII saints .
The obvious political analysis here is correct: On the whole,
conservative Catholics will cheer swift sainthood for John Paul while
progressive Catholics will welcome the news that an overly long process
of elevating John to the same status had reached its culmination. One
for one side, one for the other -- it's a good formula for harmony,
something Catholicism needs right now.
But much more is going on here. Rapid sainthood for John Paul was
inevitable, partly because of widespread devotion to him around the
church and not simply in its conservative wing. A campaign to sanctify
him took off from the moment of his death. Whatever criticisms might be
directed his way -- on his sluggishness in facing up to the clerical
abuse scandal, for example -- there should be no denying his standing as
a world-historical figure.
His vital role in the collapse of Soviet communism will always be
recognized as the product of faith married to shrewd statesmanship. And,
speaking personally, getting to cover John Paul's 1986 visit
to a synagogue in Rome
where he robustly and decisively condemned anti-Semitism will always
endure as one of the most moving experiences of my journalistic life.
But that story is a perfect example of why it was essential to
sanctify Popes John and John Paul at the same time. Without Pope John,
there would not have been the John Paul we came to admire.
I should acknowledge my interest here since
I argued two years ago
for just this result. Elevating both popes was the only way to make
clear that the sweeping reforms of the Second Vatican Council, called by
Pope John, opened the way for John Paul's greatest achievements. These
were, in large part, liberal triumphs involving a commitment to human
rights, religious liberty and democracy as well as a stern opposition to
religious prejudice and an emphasis on social justice and workers'
rights.
Yet except among the ranks of scholars and older progressive
Catholics, Vatican II is so often a dim memory. Moreover, there are
conservative voices in the church that have sought to play down just how
important the council was in opening Catholicism to the modern world.
Pope John embraced modernity and the lessons it had to teach Catholics
even as he was critical of modernity's failings.
By lifting up John, Pope Francis is telling Catholics to embrace this
legacy again -- beginning by paying attention to it. In so doing, he
will reinforce comparisons already being made between himself and Pope
John.
My Georgetown University colleague
John Borelli noted recently in The Tablet ,
the British Catholic magazine, that Francis, like Pope John, has placed
a heavy emphasis on social justice, has a deep and long-standing
commitment to dialogue with other faiths, and has a similar
unpretentious personal style. The
National Catholic Reporter has repeatedly
linked the two popes
and noted a few months ago that Francis expressed his affinity with the
pope of Vatican II by saying: "I see him with the eyes of my heart."
What might have looked like wishful thinking on the part of
progressive Catholics for a re-engagement with Pope John's approach now
seems much more like a clear-eyed view of reality.
There will be questions in both cases about Pope Francis' flexibility
with the church's requirement that two miracles be attributed to
saints. But as retired Newsweek writer Ken Woodward noted in his
definitive 1990 book
Making Saints ,
the church's process of honoring holy people has always been, shall we
say, complex, and not without considerations that might be seen as
political. Saints are made, after all, for the enlightenment of the
living, and for those who come later.
Woodward followed the sociologist Robert Bellah in noting that
telling the stories of saints creates "communities of memory that tie us
to the past" and "also turn us toward the future as communities of
hope."
By reminding Catholics of which aspects of the past he wants to
celebrate, Francis has pointed the way for a more open, less divided
church that examines the present and looks to the future with hope, not
fear.
(c) 2013, Washington Post Writers Group
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