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A look at Francis’ priorities as pope
By David Gibson
Pope Francis is widely viewed as the “pope of change.” But just how is he changing the Catholic Church — and the world? What matters most to him? Here’s a look at 7 main elements of his pontificate. 1. Walking the walk Every pope is first and foremost a teacher of the faith. A firm faith is the foundation for all that the Catholic Church does and preaches. But for Francis, more than most pontiffs, faith is expressed in deeds more than in sermons. He likes to cite the adage attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, whose name he took when elected pope: “Always preach the gospel — use words if you have to.” For Francis, this is the essence of Christianity, and it is how the church must live in order to be true to the gospel — and to have any credibility going forward. He has modeled that mission by shunning the trappings of the office, living simply and trying to get the Vatican to do the same: He has installed showers for the homeless near St. Peter’s Square and sends a personal aide into the streets of Rome to dispense charity to the needy. Francis says the Catholic Church must focus outward if it is to find its true self, and that’s a revolution in the way the institutional church has worked. 2. Revamping the Vatican For the church to embark on the great mission Francis envisions, it must start with an overhaul of the Roman Curia, the Vatican bureaucracy, which for centuries has been beset by inertia, incompetence and scandal. One of the main reasons the cardinals elected Francis was their belief that he could finally tame the Curia, and that is one of the first things he set out to do. But it will be a challenging and long-running job — one that entails changing an entrenched mindset while also decentralizing a church that in recent decades has become focused on the Vatican and the papacy. A major part of that cleanup is revamping the Institute for Religious Works, aka the Vatican bank — itself a frequent source of scandal. It’s also a slog, but Francis has already taken major steps, making the Vatican bank more accountable and transparent. It’s a thankless job, but someone had to do it. 3. Overhauling the hierarchy In an institution that defines itself as hierarchical, change has to start at the top. Almost from the moment he was elected, Francis not only has sought to model a humbler sort of pastor, but also has repeatedly blasted “careerism” as “a form of cancer” and derided bishops who strut about in church finery as “peacocks.” He has called on bishops to be pastors who are close to the flock — who have “the smell of the sheep” — and not “airport bishops” who buzz around the world padding their résumés and developing the “psychology of princes.” Francis preaches that the heart of God is mercy and so it should be with the church. But he is merciless toward his bishops, telling them not to be “rigid” rule-followers like the Pharisees. 4. Challenging unjust economic systems “A poor church, for the poor!” That was Francis’ wish, conveyed to journalists just days after his election. Since then, he has made advocating for the poor and unemployed, and against economic inequality, a hallmark of his papacy. “An unfettered pursuit of money rules. This is the ‘dung of the devil,’ ” as he put it in a powerful address in Bolivia in July that ripped what he sees as an unjust global economic system. “Such an economy kills,” he said elsewhere. These denunciations have led many to hail Francis as a prophet, while others say he is wrongheaded and talking about topics a spiritual leader should avoid. But Francis seems determined to make the church’s teachings on economic equality as important as its teachings on sexual morality and abortion. 5. Advocating for immigrants “Go out to the peripheries!” That has been Francis’ clarion call throughout his papacy, and it has been evident in his great concern for immigrants and refugees around the world. In his first official trip outside of Rome, Francis celebrated Mass on the remote island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily, where thousands of migrants fleeing Africa often land — if they don’t drown on the perilous trip across the Mediterranean. Francis sees Lampedusas all over the world, including in the USA, where his bishops have lamented the gridlock over immigration reform. In the faces of today’s refugees, as in those of the poor, Francis sees the embodiment of the gospel. 6. Protecting the environment Francis’ predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, was dubbed “the green pope” because he spoke out on the Christian duty to care for creation. But Francis has taken that to a new level, and with unprecedented urgency. He wrote an entire encyclical — one of the most authoritative documents a pope can issue — on the need to combat man-made climate change quickly and on the morality of protecting the environment and changing the way we live. And once again, he’s not just blowing hot air — he is lobbying world leaders and making global warming a focus of the Vatican’s diplomatic efforts. 7. Resolving world conflicts Francis is putting the Vatican’s diplomatic machinery — and his considerable personal influence — into resolving international conflicts, making the papacy a player in geopolitics. Francis has hosted Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the Vatican, held public vigils for peace in Syria and called for action to resolve conflicts in South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Ukraine. He also played a key role in brokering a breakthrough between the U.S. and Cuba. And he shows no sign of slowing down, with plans to travel to hot spots around the globe. “Francis is not resigned to a passive vision of world affairs,” says Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic organization active in conflict resolution and peace brokering. “We must prepare for a new age of political audacity for the Holy See.” It’s a huge gamble for Francis to put his prestige on the line this way. But as with so many of his projects, he is not afraid to take risks, and even to fail, seeing that process as integral to the church’s pilgrim path. “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty,” he has said, “because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”
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