Politics is . . . an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. – Pope Francis, September 24, 2015.
Pope Francis has come to America and he has not
disappointed. His inspirational words and gestures of compassion, his genuine humility
and the elegant simplicity of his presence, have allowed him to give witness to
a broken and divided world. Although he is the leader of the world’s 1.2
billion Catholics, there is something about this Pope that appeals
instinctively to non-Catholics, to Protestants and Jews, to the unaffiliated,
even to non-believers. His voice is one of reasoned wisdom, a refreshing and
eloquent call to the real and pressing issues of our time. He speaks with a
moral clarity often lacking in religious and political leaders today; and he
leads by example, living simply and acting compassionately, as he reminds us that
love, forgiveness, grace and understanding, not judgment and condemnation, are at
the heart of the Gospel message. His words resonate with an authenticity and an
ethical consistency of significance to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
On Thursday, when Pope Francis addressed a joint session of
Congress, I set aside the hour to watch and listen. Revered as the Vicar of
Christ by a quarter of the world’s population, here was the Pope of the Holy
See addressing the Congress of the United States for the first time in history.
He spoke with the familiar tone of a gentle pastor and was, for a day, the
nation’s most influential teacher, a wise sage holding forth in the halls of
power. As he slowly articulated his words in English as Members of Congress,
the Cabinet, and the Supreme Court politely listened, Francis encouraged and
prodded, advocating civility, a unity of purpose, and a concern for all of
God’s children and the environment we inhabit. For an hour on Thursday morning,
I was filled with the hope that perhaps this one man could change the negative
dynamic that is Washington politics today.
Francis called upon our legislators to do what is their
basic responsibility – to care for those they serve. He spoke of a shared
responsibility to “defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in
the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief
aim of all politics.” He invoked the image of Moses adorning the walls of the
Congressional chamber as a symbol of “the transcendent dignity of the human
being” and “the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face.”
Francis reminded us of our common humanity and the need to
care for all members of the human race. He implored the Golden Rule: “Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you” – on refugees, immigration, the
poor, and the environment. This son of immigrants reminded Americans of our
immigrant roots, for we and our families were at one time strangers in a
sometimes unwelcoming land. Historically, said Francis, the rights of those who
made their way to America were not always respected, and many were treated
badly. But “when the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat
the sins and the errors of the past.” Today’s refugees and immigrants simply desire
“a better life for themselves and for their loved ones. . . . Is this not what
we want for our own children?” The numbers of people seeking refuge may be
daunting, Francis said, but each number represents the face of a living,
breathing human being; we must “view them as persons, seeing their faces and
listening to their stories.”
Francis noted that we live in a world full of “violent
conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and
of religion” – implicit references to the brutality of ISIS and to acts of
terror by radical Islamists. But he reminded us once again that “no religion is
immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism” and that “we
must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism.”
I have frequently asserted in my writings and in everyday
life that the world is not easily divided into black and white, that there is
good and bad in almost everyone and every nation. The world is a complex
mixture of many colors, of nuance and shades of grey. Thus, I was particularly
heartened by the Pope’s words that we must “guard against the simplistic
reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and
sinners. The contemporary world . . . demands that we confront every form of
polarization which would divide it into these two camps.” For this humble
servant of God, our response as a nation must be “one of hope and healing, of
peace and justice.”
In this light, Francis’s words endorsed the President’s recent
efforts to re-establish relations with Cuba and engage in dialogue with Iran, both
of which have helped “overcome historic differences linked to painful episodes
of the past.” Dialogue and diplomacy is always better than militarism and
conquest, he said, for diplomacy requires “courage and daring” and “a spirit of
openness and pragmatism. A good political leader always opts to initiate
processes rather than possessing spaces.”
While describing America as a land of dreams and a nation of
promises, Francis comes from a broader, more global perspective. He understands
and admires the American promise and singled out four historically
significant Americans who sought through words and deeds to make us better. Two of them needed little explanation: Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther
King, who Francis cited as representing America’s progression to a liberty grounded in
pluralism and equality for all. He also highlighted two lesser known Americans, Catholic pacifists who devoted their lives to the betterment
of humankind: Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker Movement and radical
activist for better working conditions and the rights of the poor; and Thomas
Merton, a Trappist monk and student of comparative religion who authored more
than 70 books of poetry, spirituality, social justice and peace.
“A nation can be considered great,” Francis said, “when it
defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people
to ‘dream’ of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther
King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed,
as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes
dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.” In highlighting
“[t]hree sons and a daughter of this land” as an embodiment of service and
compassion, Francis appealed to America’s history of social reform and
political activism, for each devoted his or her life to making America a
better, more perfect union.
As I wrote about this Pope in January 2014 (“Bringing it All Back Home: Pope Francis and a Return to Compassion”), there is really nothing
new in Francis’s emphasis on love, justice, and compassion for all. It is the
essence of a faith that has been overshadowed by the more judgmental and, in my
view, deeply misguided expressions of conservative and fundamentalist versions
of Christianity that have dominated American public life for the past
thirty-five years. I am grateful for this Pope’s efforts to reemphasize the
message and shift priorities in a more compassionate, forgiving, and less
judgmental direction.
In the words of the late Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “the task
of the human being is to represent the Divine, to be a reminder of the presence
of God.” Francis’s words express the same sentiment, and their political implications
are unambiguous: the face of every human being is the face of God; to injure
another human being, to lack care and compassion for another, to do harm to the
planet for the sake of profit and greed – these are transgressions against the
Creator. “Whatever I do to man, I do to God,” Heschel explained. “When I hurt a
human being, I injure God.”
For Francis, this enduring concept is inspirational and
obligatory; to see the face of God in every human being and to treat the Earth
and nature as God’s precious creations should inform our everyday lives as
citizens and serve as a mission statement for those in power. To serve the
common good thus demands that we care for and protect our “common home” and engage
in the proper “use of natural resources.” This requires “a courageous and
responsible effort . . . to avert the most serious effects of the environmental
deterioration caused by human activity” for which the nation's policymakers
have an important role to play. Although Francis shied away from specific
policy prescriptions, attached to his words are clear public policy
implications:
Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a culture of care and an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature. We have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology, to devise intelligent ways of developing and limiting our power, and to put technology at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral.
As a nation we have much work
left to do. It can start with members of Congress working together in meaningful ways to address our most pressing needs and concerns. To
talk of shutting down the government once again, as are certain members of
Congress; to deny the human effects of climate change as an excuse for inaction
on our over reliance on fossil fuels, as several right-wing Republicans
continually do; to talk of erecting huge walls to keep people out and to call
for mass deportations, as Donald Trump and others have loudly and cynically
proclaimed, are not the words of responsible, caring, and compassionate
leaders. We need political leaders who believe that for the promise of America to succeed, we must do the hard work of diplomacy and
peace, take care of our most vulnerable citizens, repair our public infrastructure, educate our children, and
allocate our resources in meaningful and responsible ways. We need leaders who
will, as Pope Francis does, bring out the best in us as people, as a nation,
and as a beacon of light to the world.
Pope Francis came to America this week and offered us a
lesson in compassion, witness and responsibility. Immediately after Francis
addressed Congress, he went to a local shelter and fed the homeless. The Pope
spoke truth to power and then broke bread with the powerless. In his address to
Congress, he challenged the most powerful and richest nation on earth to break
its cycle of political dysfunction and paralysis. He heightened the national
conversation, urging Congress to work cooperatively to restore a planet torn by
hatred, greed, poverty, and environmental degradation. Let us hope that our
leaders have listened with an open mind and a willing heart. Can this humble
man of simplicity and justice turn the tide of our divisiveness and despair? Or
will Congress and our political system revert to obstructionism and division by
refusing to advance the common good?
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