The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Tradition is rootedness, not rigid inflexibility

As is his custom, Pope Francis met with reporters on his return flight from Romania to Rome on June 3.

In response to questions, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with families who are forced to leave their homelands in search of a better life. He appealed to the leaders of nations within the European Union as well as leaders of the Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic confessions to “walk together” in unity.

“When I was in Buenos Aires,” the Holy Father said, “I was invited by the Scottish Church to give several homilies and I went there, and did the homilies. … It can be done! We can walk together. Unity, brotherhood, extended hand, looking at one another with kindness, not speaking badly of others. … We all have defects, all of us. However, if we walk together, we leave the defects aside: those who criticize them are as ‘old bachelors.’ ”

By “old bachelors,” Pope Francis means to suggest people who hold on rigidly to beliefs and practices of the past.

“There are customs, diplomatic rules, which it’s good to keep so that things aren’t ruined; however, the people pray together. We too, when we are alone, pray together. This is a witness,” he said. “I have the experience of prayer with so many, so many Lutheran, Evangelical and also Orthodox pastors. The patriarchs are open. Yes, we Catholics also have closed people, who don’t want to, and say: ‘No, the Orthodox are schismatics.’ These are old things. The Orthodox are Christians.  However, there are Catholic groups that are somewhat fundamentalist: we must tolerate them, pray for them so that the Lord and the Holy Spirit soften their hearts somewhat.”

Pope Francis is not abandoning tradition here, and he is certainly not discounting the importance of full Christian unity. At the same time, he clearly opposes the “old things” that get in the way of the search for unity.

“Walking together” in true Christian charity does not mean watering down firmly-held beliefs and practices. But it also does not mean clinging to old ways of understanding and practicing our religion to the total exclusion of respectful dialogue or collaboration in the works of mercy.

An Italian journalist asked Pope Francis what he thought of the use of religious symbols (crosses, rosaries, etc.) in recent political campaigns. He also asked if rumors were true that the pope did not want to meet with the country’s newly elected vice-premier who campaigned on themes contrary to the pope’s teaching.

The Holy Father distanced himself from Italy’s internal politics, but he made it clear that he cares deeply about Italy and its future. “I pray for all so that Italy will go forward,” the pope said, “so that Italians are united and loyal in their commitment. I’m also Italian because I’m the son of Italian emigrants. I’m Italian by blood, and my brothers all have Italian citizenship.”

Unity in diversity is important to Pope Francis in the same way that being rooted but always remaining open (authentic tradition) is a central idea in his teaching.

When a journalist asked Pope Francis about his relationship with his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, (“Do you continue to see him as a grandfather?”), the Holy Father was adamant: “More so! Every time I go to visit him, I feel him so. And I take his hand and make him speak. He speaks little, slowly, but with the same profundity as ever. Because Benedict’s problem is his knees, not his head: he has great lucidity and, hearing him speak, I become strong, I feel the ‘juice’ of the roots that comes to me and helps me go on.

“I feel this Tradition of the Church, which isn’t a museum piece, no. The Tradition is like the roots, which give you the juice to grow,” he continued. “And you won’t become like the roots, no. You will flower, the tree will grow, it will bear fruits and the seeds will be roots for others. The Tradition of the Church is always in movement.”

Abraham Lincoln once said, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present.” Pope Francis would add, approvingly, that the solution is not to abandon firmly-held beliefs, but to examine them thoroughly in order to understand their meaning and ultimately reclaim them in light of contemporary challenges.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †