Philippine postal employees help install a huge tarpaulin heralding this week’s pastoral visit of Pope Francis at the post office building Monday, Jan. 12, 2015 in Manila, Philippines. AP
With Pope Francis’ visit to Manila and Tacloban only a few days away, viewers are being treated to many more TV productions about him, his life and his unique ethos than ever before. On the same day last week, for instance, we caught two documentaries about him, “The People’s Pope” and “The Pope From the End of the World.”
Our new play
Both productions were full of facts, visuals and insights about him, some of which we eagerly included in our new play on the Pontiff and his visit to Tacloban, “With Love, Pope Francis” which will be performed at Mabuhay Restop theater café in Rizal Park from Jan. 15 to 19, and later in Tacloban.
Our months-long exposure to shows and books on Pope Francis has deepened our appreciation for his unique combination of attributes, which is precisely what’s needed by the Roman Catholic Church at this point in its unfolding and complicating history.
That’s why we’ve come to believe it’s no accident that he was chosen by the College of Cardinals to head and lead the Church now.
He may strike some people as a bundle of contradictions, but those “contrary” attributes serve a unified purpose because the Church’s issues have become so complex that only a many-sided approach can sort them out.
On one hand, Pope Francis is admired for his humility, simplicity and love for everyone, especially the poor and marginalized, who are often forgotten as the world efficiently and speedily spins.
On the other hand, however, he has sometimes wielded a fiat of steel, especially when it comes to financial and other scandals in high places within the Church.
And he has been forthright and even blunt in reminding priests of their basic and essential duties and obligations, which some of them have blithely overlooked in favor of more materialistic and earthly pursuits.
The fact that the Pope is a Jesuit is seen to be a key linchpin to his character, and to his efficacy for the complex reformist task at hand.
His being the first pope from the Americas is similarly relevant to his present mission, because it’s steeped him in the missionary service to the poor that some other Italian or European pontiffs may have lost sight of.
To be sure, Pope Francis’ uniqueness and “otherness” carries within itself the possibility and even probability of internal dissension and strife within the Church’s inner circle or Curia. But, we daresay that he’s ready for it!
Stern reminders
In fact, he may have even opted to instigate it, by way of his recent “controversial” moves, like his stern reminders to Church officials to guard against the 15 “sins” that come with high Church office.
Clearly, this Pontiff may be well-loved, but he’s not interested in winning popularity contests, especially among other Church leaders who have lost their way.
Like the Good Shepherd in the Bible, he cannot, will not rest—until the last, distracted stray is brought back into the fold.