“Ten tips for a happier life” sounds like a Facebook post that's going to have pictures of frolicking children and puppies. Or worse yet, an advertising come-on for a weight loss clinic or erectile dysfunction pill. So finding it is a simple list containing tips like “proceed calmly”, “have a healthy sense of leisure”, “respect and take care of nature” and “be giving of yourself” is rather refreshing. Finding on the list “don't proselytize, respect other beliefs” makes the list even more memorable and practical in today's world. It becomes astonishing when we find the author is the head of the Catholic Church. But indeed, the list referenced does indeed come from the current pope, and also contains words of wisdom about creating meaningful work for youth and working for peace.
A good leader inspires with powerful words. A great leader inspires by example. Pope Francis does both, which is why we were excited to have him visiting our shores last week. It's why I, a casual Christian and decidedly non-Catholic, admire him as much as any world leader. This Pope is different than his predecessors. This pope would even appeal to Gandhi, who famously noted that he liked Christianity but not Christians because “you Christians are so unlike your Christ. The materialism of affluent Christian countries appears to contradict the claims of Jesus...”
The Catholic church has much to answer for and be ashamed of, from the ancient crusades through the Nazi sympathies during the war to more recent and widespread examples of sexual abuse of children perpetrated by priests and swept under the rug by scores of church leaders. It's a church that's long on ceremony and pomp but all too often short on meaningful dialog or leadership. A church which harps on the “sin of homosexuality” and about abortion but overlooks the other biblical sins like envy and pride; a church whose more recent leaders seem to have forgotten their God's commands to “sell your possessions and give to the poor” and warnings about the difficulties the rich would have in getting to heaven. Instead we've been treated to popes riding around in expensive bullet-proof cars in fear of death, wearing designer clothes and expensive jewelry. Thank God then for this new Pope, one who until recently drove his own old used Fiat around the poor neighborhoods and sits on a simple wooden seat in the Vatican. Certainly a breath of fresh air the church needed to clear the air of its smoky, dim recesses. So too, I think, a breath of fresh air for all to inhale and benefit from.
Here we have a Pope who knows common people, so much so he even was a nightclub bouncer in his youth! A pope with enough of a sense of humor to tell a concerned mother who's 34 year-old son didn't want to move out of her house or marry to simply stop doing his laundry! A pope who drove around the mean streets of New York and Philadelphia in an open-air Jeep, allowing children to be carried to him. A pope who took time to show care for the suffering, be they prisoners in a Pennsylvania jail he showed up at or rich TV stars suffering from cancer, as with foodie Sandra Lee. When you listen to this man speak, it soon becomes clear how he had the patience, courage and diligence needed to forge new peaceful diplomatic relations between fifty-year enemies like Cuba and the USA. Furthermore it makes you wonder how much more he might accomplish in turning former foes into peaceful cohabitants if not allies. “Hatred is not capable of doing away with difficulties,” he reminded the Philly crowds, “only love.”
In a time when we have smug billionaires running for office on platforms of keeping the poor away from our shores and equally smug multi-millionaires running with ideas to save money for profitable multi-national corporations, how refreshing is it to have somebody on the world stage reminding us “money has to serve, not to rule,” and that “the Pope has the duty to remind the rich to help the poor.” In an era when our media seems to somehow reduce all issues down to disagreements about abortion and gay rights, how cool is it to have a religious leader say “it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.” In a time when the peace in Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants is still fragile and when in the Middle East Muslims of one branch happily slaughter Muslims of another denomination because of the slight differences in interpretation, how good is it to hear one of the most influential theologians in the world say “I believe in God - not in a Catholic God- there is no Catholic God. There is (only) God...”
If you wonder why I, non-Catholic that I am care about what the Pope says or thinks, the answer is simple. Because he has influence. Because a whole lot of people take what he says as the literal gospel truth. Presently, the BBC estimates there are about 1 billion, 200 million Catholics around the globe. Almost half a billion Catholics reside in Latin America alone; while in its native Italy and Europe its numbers are shrinking, . in Africa it's the fastest-growing faith. It's very encouraging to me to think that when he commands us to “respect and take care of nature” (another of his own ten tips for a happier life) and complains “right now we don't have a very good relation with creation” people will take note. Perhaps some of those 150 million Catholic Brazilians will start to question the destruction their country is wreaking on the Amazon rain forests; maybe some wealthy North American Christians will stop thinking of nature as something to plunder and destroy on a whim and look at it as a gift to care for and pass along. That when a pope says its not up to him to judge gays who “have good will” maybe some of the African followers who want to execute them will rethink their positions.
I don't imagine I will ever become Catholic. But I say this- if this Pope continues practicing what he preaches and his “flock” pay heed , some day in the future I might utter the term “Catholic” as a compliment. And that, dear readers would be a miracle in itself!
A good leader inspires with powerful words. A great leader inspires by example. Pope Francis does both, which is why we were excited to have him visiting our shores last week. It's why I, a casual Christian and decidedly non-Catholic, admire him as much as any world leader. This Pope is different than his predecessors. This pope would even appeal to Gandhi, who famously noted that he liked Christianity but not Christians because “you Christians are so unlike your Christ. The materialism of affluent Christian countries appears to contradict the claims of Jesus...”
The Catholic church has much to answer for and be ashamed of, from the ancient crusades through the Nazi sympathies during the war to more recent and widespread examples of sexual abuse of children perpetrated by priests and swept under the rug by scores of church leaders. It's a church that's long on ceremony and pomp but all too often short on meaningful dialog or leadership. A church which harps on the “sin of homosexuality” and about abortion but overlooks the other biblical sins like envy and pride; a church whose more recent leaders seem to have forgotten their God's commands to “sell your possessions and give to the poor” and warnings about the difficulties the rich would have in getting to heaven. Instead we've been treated to popes riding around in expensive bullet-proof cars in fear of death, wearing designer clothes and expensive jewelry. Thank God then for this new Pope, one who until recently drove his own old used Fiat around the poor neighborhoods and sits on a simple wooden seat in the Vatican. Certainly a breath of fresh air the church needed to clear the air of its smoky, dim recesses. So too, I think, a breath of fresh air for all to inhale and benefit from.
Here we have a Pope who knows common people, so much so he even was a nightclub bouncer in his youth! A pope with enough of a sense of humor to tell a concerned mother who's 34 year-old son didn't want to move out of her house or marry to simply stop doing his laundry! A pope who drove around the mean streets of New York and Philadelphia in an open-air Jeep, allowing children to be carried to him. A pope who took time to show care for the suffering, be they prisoners in a Pennsylvania jail he showed up at or rich TV stars suffering from cancer, as with foodie Sandra Lee. When you listen to this man speak, it soon becomes clear how he had the patience, courage and diligence needed to forge new peaceful diplomatic relations between fifty-year enemies like Cuba and the USA. Furthermore it makes you wonder how much more he might accomplish in turning former foes into peaceful cohabitants if not allies. “Hatred is not capable of doing away with difficulties,” he reminded the Philly crowds, “only love.”
In a time when we have smug billionaires running for office on platforms of keeping the poor away from our shores and equally smug multi-millionaires running with ideas to save money for profitable multi-national corporations, how refreshing is it to have somebody on the world stage reminding us “money has to serve, not to rule,” and that “the Pope has the duty to remind the rich to help the poor.” In an era when our media seems to somehow reduce all issues down to disagreements about abortion and gay rights, how cool is it to have a religious leader say “it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.” In a time when the peace in Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants is still fragile and when in the Middle East Muslims of one branch happily slaughter Muslims of another denomination because of the slight differences in interpretation, how good is it to hear one of the most influential theologians in the world say “I believe in God - not in a Catholic God- there is no Catholic God. There is (only) God...”
If you wonder why I, non-Catholic that I am care about what the Pope says or thinks, the answer is simple. Because he has influence. Because a whole lot of people take what he says as the literal gospel truth. Presently, the BBC estimates there are about 1 billion, 200 million Catholics around the globe. Almost half a billion Catholics reside in Latin America alone; while in its native Italy and Europe its numbers are shrinking, . in Africa it's the fastest-growing faith. It's very encouraging to me to think that when he commands us to “respect and take care of nature” (another of his own ten tips for a happier life) and complains “right now we don't have a very good relation with creation” people will take note. Perhaps some of those 150 million Catholic Brazilians will start to question the destruction their country is wreaking on the Amazon rain forests; maybe some wealthy North American Christians will stop thinking of nature as something to plunder and destroy on a whim and look at it as a gift to care for and pass along. That when a pope says its not up to him to judge gays who “have good will” maybe some of the African followers who want to execute them will rethink their positions.
I don't imagine I will ever become Catholic. But I say this- if this Pope continues practicing what he preaches and his “flock” pay heed , some day in the future I might utter the term “Catholic” as a compliment. And that, dear readers would be a miracle in itself!