Papabile

I was at a forgettable chicken dinner, packed 10 to a roundtop in a generic banquet hall when a table mate told us a new pope was just elected. I leaned across to ask what name did he pick? “Francis,” she said. My neighbor, a person not keen on organized religion, put down his water glass and said, “Who cares? He’s still just a pope.” “It depends on which St. Francis he had in mind,” I answered, “Could be interesting.”

My childhood was religiously feral, unbaptized and unchurched. Never even went to a a Christmas or Easter service. I only learned about Catholicism because I took Art History for a semester in Florence. Cannot understand the art and pass exams without understanding something of the church.

Over the years. I kept curious. Looked up things like the difference between a cathedral and basilica or a bishop and an arch-bishop. Learned Confession is called Reconciliation these days. Even read a blog called Whispers in the Loggia, about clerical politics. All this with no actual interest in being Catholic. I became a Quaker, eventually.

Hard to compare two religious traditions more different than the Religious Society of Friends and the Catholic Church. My small 300 year old Quaker community has no ministers. Sets no doctrines. The closest to a diocese is literally a Yearly Meeting of meetinghouses in a given area. Catholics have volumes of church law, a few thousand years of history, and a billion souls across the world in over 2,000 dioceses. While not my tradition, it is a remarkable institution.

The Catholic Church has a tremendous throw weight in the world that must be respected. While it has enabled oppression and war, as many religions have, the church also posses traditions and Saints with insights into justice that call on Catholics to support those in need. For centuries, the church was seen as resistant to capitalism, calling for it serve people rather than exploit them. Liberation theology and the Catholic Worker Movement rose from these beliefs. Catholic doctrine does fail women and excludes many for lifestyles which harm no one. The Catholic Church is imperfect by any progressive standard. I assert, however, it is less imperfect than most progressives might think—depending on the person elected Pope.

This is why a Progressive Quaker cares who sits on St. Peter’s Chair. I hope to see a Francis over a Benedict. Benedict XVI just hunkered down behind Vatican walls and blamed the church’s ills on modernity and relativism. Francis sought to strengthen the church by engaging the world, learning more from the laity, and including more souls by refusing to turn any away. I do believe when he stopped to look at his day’s work, his concern was who had a better life today than yesterday.

So, while not Catholic, I miss Pope Francis and how he sought to shepherd a billion soul flock. And I now will read about the papabile, watch the Vatican pundits. and hope the Conclave finds another pastor like him.