Fr. Russell Pollitt, SJ, draws on his knowledge of things Jesuit to give us important insights into Pope Francis’ way of operating. Francis is open to extended communal discernment, with all the messiness that entails.
Read Fr. Pollitt’s perceptive essay here: “The Catholic church: Is it a ship without a rudder?”
Pope Francis is clearly a humble man (one who knows who he is–a sinner) who is seeking to be a more faithful disciple of Jesus. He’s not much interested in the customary falderal that has been associated with the papacy since Vatican I. He recognizes that Jesus is The Truth, but like his master he has little interest in being an enforcer of truths. He’s much more interested in serving than ruling and this, in particular, is found greatly disturbing by those who wish to zealously preserve the lofty prerogatives of the institutional church. He has dared to challenge those who seek seats of honor and want wider philacteries. Like Jesus, many take scandal from him though none is given. Jesus is The Rock of our faith, and Francis handed him the tiller when he was chosen to be His vicar. Jesus said many confusing, mystifying, and critical things including the strict requirements of discipleship. Unless one hates father or mother, sister or brother………he CANNOT be my disciple. Loving the TLM and cappa magnas?
A ship without a rudder? Let’s take stock in just liturgy. We had a deeply ill pope and a cadre of sycophants, assistants, and bureaucrats running the side shows in various Vatican departments for years. Then we English-speakers had a Missal translation that couldn’t even follow its own rules, that had high-school-boy-Latin as its guiding star, that had hundreds of edits outside of the given chain of planning, and then early roll-outs in South Africa where they claimed not to have gotten the memo. Now the German-speaking bishops yanking an OCF translation after just weeks.
Cardinals convened in conclave with a clear intention to find or discern someone to clean up the mess in banking, communication, governance, what-have-you.
I find I get the biggest laughs these days from my conservative sisters and brothers who feel rudderless. What about Jesus Christ? Where is he for you? Are you reading and reflecting on the Scriptures? Or the catechism for heaven’s sake. Are some people so immature they need some talking head in red or white telling them what to do even when they have the script right in front of them?
It might suggest that their so-called orthodoxy isn’t so deep after all, and that for too many Catholics, this is just an exercise in blind obedience–not unlike a six-year-old.
A rudderless ship? I’d like to suggest–in charity–some people need to grow up. And take a deep breath of fresh air blowing over the deeps of the open ocean. Maybe we’re not in the kiddie pool anymore.
And here’s Forbes on Pope Francis as “CEO and Epic Innovator:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/offwhitepapers/2014/11/12/pope-francis-secret-sauce-stop-pontificating/
@Anthony Ruff, OSB – comment #3:
Thank you very much for this article Father. Jonathan Day once commented that Pope Francis’ style of governance is akin to a CEO. I suspect that the final vestige of referring to papal administrations as “reigns” will fall by the wayside quickly. I suspect Pope Francis would not appreciate a reference to his servant ministry as a reign.
As for rudderless ships: steer with the oars. It’s one of the first things one learns when rowing.
@Jordan Zarembo – comment #7:
Yes, but boats were designed with rudders for the sole purpose of making the ship easier to steer. Having a ship with a broken rudder would seem like an obvious thing to fix.
A ship with a rudder can still move from side to side and end to end a great deal. Some of the crew is confusing a rudder with halcyon weather conditions.
Anyway, the same members of the crew are doing the captain’s work for him in term of undermining the institutional paralysis long caused by the cult of maintaining the bella figura in public and keeping the brutta figura stuff behind the curtain. Were Cdl Burke elected pope tomorrow, he’d be leading a church where it’s quite OK for folks from cardinals on down to publicly criticize the leadership skills and words of the reigning pope. In other words, a return to the historical norm in this church.
It seems to me the rudder of this ship gave ol Burke a good whack.
Thank you, Farther Ruff, for pointing out these two great articles. I love the last sentence of the Forbes article.
Could the problem be not a fault with the rudder but with that the hand on the tiller? In a dinghy the captain has to give clear instruction to the crew about when to loosen the jib, when to pull it in and when to change sides of the boat.
Some of the crew were clearly unwilling to follow the instructions of Pope Benedict. Some of the crew are confused about the intentions of Pope Francis. He is learning about his role and how to master the boat. If you are used to a dinghy a hobie cat is much harder to sail.
I have no problem with the hand on the tiller. Perhaps I was unwilling to implement MR3 under Pope Benedict, but I did so out of my duty as a Catholic and a parish employee, putting the best possible face on a gravely mismanaged operation.
Do I care if conservatives complain about this pope? Not so much. They have their own consciences to deal with. It seems we are getting clear messages about love, service, and following Jesus. Do believers imitate Christ by grumbling, looking like they are leaving a funeral, or do they model the Master by being kind, welcoming, and gracious?
Certainly, it is possible to dissent from the pope. This site has done it often, and for the most part respectfully, graciously, and with serious thought behind it. Can those complaining about the hand on the tiller say the same? Do they have something substantive to offer in turn, or is this just about tone? Luke 15 continues to be a parable for our day.
I don’t see how his intentions could be any clearer: He is shifting the focus away from the institutional church and toward the mission of Jesus in and through the entire people of God. He himself acts as a humble and good shepherd who comes to serve and not be served, and he asks that cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons do the same. He doesn’t believe that the most important job he has is to stick to reiterating the traditional beliefs and moral stances of the hierarchy, but to go out into the world seeking those who are lost and offering the hope of the Good News of Jesus Christ: God is love and full of mercy! Everyone knows that the church believes that there is a very important reality called sacramental or covenant marriage which is indissoluble. But Francis knows as does every shepherd who spends time among his flock, there are couples who were never joined by God, whose unions have, IN FACT, failed and are irretrievably lost. How does Christ serve those who come to his shepherds asking for bread? May God forgive those who would have us believe that we should simply say to them “get an annulment or just sit over there”.
@Fr. Jack Feehily – comment #11:
Father
In the article in Forbes to which we are pointed Cardinal George is quoted as saying that he as “at times left puzzling over what his intention is. What he says is clear enough, but what does he want us to do?” The author refers to the Pope’s “deliberate ambiguity”.
Now much of what we hear about him, like his predecessor, comes from non-Catholic media which is not always reliable.
I suspect that he is still learning how to use the system like someone in an unfamiliar boat. Not all of the consequences of his actions are necessarily exactly what he intends. So, like Cardinal George, I am puzzled.
I think the problem lies in the impracticality of the “communal discernment” model, which I am not at all convinced was really present in the mind of Ignatius or his early companions once the SJ had expanded. The late 20th-century Society already produced unwieldy and indigestible documents by the bucket-load (Proceedings of the General Congregations, and, above all, the pronouncements of Superior General Kolvenbach). In the context of the Synod, let alone of the episcopacy as a whole, such a model will be totally impotent. What is likely to happen is what always happens in such idealistic contexts: the outcome will be decided by the most wily and / or vociferous…
I think his hand is firmly on the rudder. Its just that some are unsettled by what seems to be the apparent direction, while others are miffed that they no longer have a share of the tiller.
@Alan Johnson – comment #14:
Then his hand would be very wet. A tiller is “a lever fitted to head of rudder for steering”.
There would normally be a bit of pressure on the rudder to compensate for the opposing forces of wind and water so the captain cannot let go of it. It takes a bit of learning.
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Peter Haydon : @Alan Johnson – comment #14: Then his hand would be very wet. A tiller is “a lever fitted to head of rudder for steering”. There would normally be a bit of pressure on the rudder to compensate for the opposing forces of wind and water so the captain cannot let go of it. It takes a bit of learning.
Oops.
My bad.
I wonder how long before someone tries to connect communal discernment to Hegelian dialetics and then to Karl Marx. Just thinking outload.
Ken
Ken Ray : I wonder how long before someone tries to connect communal discernment to Hegelian dialetics and then to Karl Marx. Just thinking outload. Ken
Or that the Spirit guides the whole Church and not just the pope.
I write this with the telecast of Archbishop Cupich’s installation on in the background. I thought the Forbes article wouldn’t have passed my 11th grade composition teacher’s extended metaphor exercise, and I really thought their take on Cardinal George and his comments about Pope Francis were unjust. George wasn’t “retired” by Francis. George had submitted his resignation a couple of years ago, before Benedict resigned and when George’s health already was not particularly good. He then contracted cancer for the third time. I suspect he really, really would have liked to step down long before today while he still has the health and faculties to write and relax.
Nor do I think George’s comments about Francis’ ambiguity should be taken as unduly critical. I think he just spoke extemporaneously and from the heart, and convey a puzzlement that all of us feel to one extent or the other about Francis. Ok, the church should be more mission-focused. But how? How does that translate to specific policies and initiatives within the Chicago archdiocese? It’s important for us in Chicago to discern how we respond – but it’s not a simple task and it’s kind of an unstructured problem (to resort to Forbes-style business-speak).
Hmm, I may also have flunked the 11th grade composition assignment. I see I got my persons and antecedents confused in my previous comment. Just to clarify: I didn’t think Cardinal George’s comments on Francis were unjust; I thought Forbes’ take on those comments was unjust.
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