Francis’ simplicity is his own manifestation of humility, which is every bit as legitimate as those of his immediate predecessors. We are each entitled to prefer a particular style, but to take the style of one to attack the others’ style, personality, or pontificate is not a humble act. Humility is a way of serving God and other people; it should not be distorted to advance particular agendas. In the broad view, there is not much “revolutionary freshness” in Francis’ pontificate: for all the turbulence of these two years, he has more in common with his predecessors, especially in terms of the Christian virtues, than he has departed from them. And anyone who thinks John Paul and Benedict were “autocrats with all the answers” either was not paying attention for thirty-four years, or has arrived at preferred conclusion without looking at the evidence.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 00:56:34 +0000
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