Understanding our Faith

The Pope

Given the events of the last two weeks, it seems appropriate to look at the place of the Pope in the life of Catholics in this series on understanding our Catholic faith.

There are certain doctrines about the papacy which are part of the Catholic understanding of Christianity; roles about his universal pastoral role as leader and teacher.  These were formally stated at the First Vatican Council which came to an abrupt conclusion in 1870 with the entry of the Italian forces into the city of Rome; these forces  were seeking to unite Italy and make Rome its capital.  This meant that some of the work still to be done by that Council was cut short.

But there is also a critical role for the Pope as a symbol of the unity and universality of the Catholic Church.  It does not matter in which part of the world we live, every Catholic recognises that they have a relationship to the Pope as the one with whom they identify at the universal level.  And in virtually every Catholic Church, there will be an image of the Pope of the time.  Many Catholics throughout the world would not know much about doctrinal statements about the Pope, but they would have a sense of some relationship with him.  This is the crucial role which the Pope plays above other roles.  The Pope is also the figure which people want to be able to look up to and in whom to find encouragement.  He is a symbol of Catholicism.

This was so evident in the funeral of Pope Francis last Saturday.  Here was a man with whom people identified, in whom they found hope and encouragement, in whom people found a human shadow of the Lord Jesus himself.  A shadow founded in the Pope’s own clear and present relationship with the Lord Jesus, a man in whom the gospel of Jesus had taken root.

There was a sense of easy affection between people and this Pope.  It was interesting that on so many banners being held up during the funeral and the procession to Santa Maria Maggiore, he was simply called ‘Francesco’ without any attached title. 

We all have a debt of gratitude to this great and simple Pope, and a debt of gratitude to God for raising him up.  He has set us free in so many areas of life.  He has made us think again about many issues pastorally and theologically.  He has made us take stock of our faith and check that it is centred on the Lord Jesus.

Over the centuries, several great Popes have reset our agenda and Pope Francis has done that again.  As he kept asking people he met to pray for him, so we now ask him to pray for us. 

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin