“A Radical Pope”: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

In their new book Ho incontrato Francesco (“I have met Francisˮ), Vatican reporters Alessandra Buzzetti and Cristiana Caricato interviewed varies people who spoke of the pope. Vatican Insider published yesterday excerpts from their conversation with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew.

Bartholomew said of his close connection to Pope Francis,

“It has always been clear to me that we share preoccupations and priorities with our brother, Pope Francis. We both pursue the path towards unity among Christ’s disciples in response to Christ’s own prayer that his disciples “may be one ” (Jn 17:21); we are both concerned about the consequences of social injustice, increasingly widespread because the social commandment of the Gospel is increasingly ignored; together we insist on the severity of the sin of polluting and destroying the environment, a sacred and precious gift of God to humanity.”

Bartholomew was asked if he thinks Pope Francis is revolutionary. He said:

“The secular world likes to talk about ‘revolution,’ but I prefer to use the word ‘radical,’ because its etymological meaning refers to the return to the roots or to the essence of the Gospel. There is nothing more radical than a God who creates the world for love; there is nothing more radical than a God who has become flesh; there is nothing more radical than a God who identifies with the most vulnerable; there is nothing more radical than a God who judges the human being by giving water to the thirsty and food to the hungry. Every Christian, and therefore every ordained minister, is called to remember and put into practice these radical truths. Pope Francis reminds us of this. In this sense we can certainly call it ‘radical.’

In November of 2015, during his visit to Istanbul, Pope Francis bowed before Bartholomew for a blessing. Bartholomew said this of his reaction:

“I don’t hide the fact that I was surprised when Pope Francis bowed his head in front of me during Vespers at the vigil of our patron Saint Andrew on November 29, 2014, at the Fanar. The power of humility is always surprising. My response of giving a blessing was a spontaneous act of goodwill and benevolence, the only proper response to genuine love. It is important to remember that “blessing” (in Greek: eulogy) implies “speaking well of others. For centuries, our two sisters churches have been marked by hostility and bad mutual feelings. Blessing is the exact opposite of curse. My response to the Pope’s benevolent gesture was therefore a spontaneous blessing.”