Scottish Catholic Observer

A weekly discussion chaired by young Catholics

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DISCUSSION: It’s a year since Pope Francis’ election. What’s your impression of his Papacy so far?

Gerald Bonner: He has made a remarkable impact with the world, and his blunt approach should shake us and remind us of the difference the Gospel should make to our lives. While we should be happy that he has the world’s attention and, to an extent, favour, we should not let the euphoria in the media go to our heads—there is a danger that the media is falling in love with a false image of him, and thus his message is being undermined. In this way it is possible that the media will, whether intentionally or not, betray him with a kiss. In this respect, Pope Francis needs our help—he is emphasising to all people that whatever their problems, wounds and sins, everything can be healed in Christ, and hopefully this will draw many back to the Church. However, for this to come to fruition, when people return to the Church they need to find the faith lived out to the full, in all its challenges, its hard sayings, its richness and its beauty. We cannot merely ride on the coat tails of Pope Francis’ popularity—the difficulties people have with the Faith will still be there and we have to show them how these can be answered.

Andrew McManus: Loving his Papacy so far. I find the continuity between him and Pope Benedict really encouraging. Can’t wait to see how things unfold in the next few years beginning with this Extraordinary Synod on marriage, I think that might help John Paul’s theology of the body become more prominent. Less importantly, the media seem to not know what to do with him, despite the fact that he most definitely isn’t changing any teaching anytime soon. In that regard, he is probably the ideal figurehead for the new evangelisation. Viva Franciscus!

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Pope Francis does not have to be superman

By Aidan Michael Cook

It seems to me that there have been two main reactions among Catholics to Pope Francis’ Papacy so far, with some crossover. On the one hand, we have those expressing delight at the way in which the media has been won over and the wider world encouraged to take a second look at the Catholic Faith. On the other hand, we have those expressing concern at the way the media have been able to use some of the Holy Father’s statements to push an agenda at odds with the Catholic Faith, and encourage the wider world to think that Pope Francis is fundamentally changing Church teaching.

It is clear that the first year of Pope Francis’ Papacy has, for better or worse, involved a considerable sense of upheaval. Even within the pages of this paper, some have used the Holy Father’s words to argue that we should no longer talk about such topics as pro-life issues.

Media coverage has certainly got a lot of non-Catholics talking about Pope Francis in a positive light, but those I have spoken to have all had excessive (and indeed impossible) expectations of change. My experience is only anecdotal, but I have yet to speak to a non-Catholic who has been brought any closer to entering the Church because of Pope Francis. A winning personality is not sufficient (or even necessary) to spark conversion.

This is no criticism of the Holy Father: he himself recently condemned a ‘mythology of Pope Francis,’ saying that ‘To depict the Pope as a sort of superman (above), a sort of star, seems offensive to me. The pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps peacefully and has friends like everyone else, a normal person.’

Certainly, recent data from the Pew Research Centre suggest that, in the US at least, the ‘Pope Francis Effect’ has not translated into increased Mass attendance or self-identification as Catholic. Although he is popular, it has not made much of a difference on numbers. What he has aided, however, is a certain re-energisation of the faithful. His papacy is challenging us to look more deeply into both our faith and our works. Unfortunately, some have latched onto such statements as ‘who am I to judge?’ in order to avoid his challenge.

We could all do well to remember that Pope Francis’ quote more fully was, ‘if he accepts the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge him?’ And what does it mean to have a good will? For St Augustine, it is ‘a will by which we seek to live a good and upright life and to attain perfect wisdom.’ What we must therefore all ask ourselves (and, indeed, each other) is, do I accept the Lord, and am I seeking to live a good and upright life and to attain perfect wisdom?

The first year of Pope Francis’ Papacy has been a lot to take in. Above all, we have been reminded once again that one Pope alone (no matter how saintly) cannot restore the faith of the world. What is required, as our Holy Father reminds us, is that each and every one of us commit ourselves to a radical conversion of our lives, refocusing on the greatest commandment: to love the Lord our God; and the second, which is like it: to love our neighbour as ourselves.