The Church of the Poor and the Humble, People’s Pope

Last updated on: March 29, 2013 at 1:15 am by Kyle Roberts

The Church of the Poor and the Humble, People’s Pope 2013-03-29T01:15:30-04:00 Kyle Roberts

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When Pope Francis I declared, in his introductory sermon, that the Catholic Church would be a church, not just for the poor, but of the poor, I wondered how this could be possible. I’ve read enough of Jon Sobrino, the remarkable El Savadoran liberation theologian, to know of the powerful reformational, justice-oriented strain within the Catholic theological tradition which proclaims the necessity of the church to be a church of the poor. A church in solidarity with the marginalized, the oppressed, the outsider–whom Jesus called the “meek.” But I had heard that the new Pope was not necessarily friendly to liberation theology. And I wondered how the head of a massive institutional structure like the Roman Catholic Church could push a movement toward solidarity with the lowest of society?

It’s still far too early to tell the answer to these questions, of course, but there are some indicators that Pope Francis is serious about wanting to be a church of the poor. The Maundy Thursday ritual, in which he disregarded canon law by washing the feet of two young women at a juvenile detention center, is a profound–albeit symbolic–example of that seriousness. While symbolic acts can be mere tokenism, or simply a way to perpetuate power structures by giving the (false) impression of change, the willingness to break the “law” in the name of love, justice and solidarity with the outsider is a profound example to us all–one which transcends denominational affiliation and institutional loyalty. John Caputo, channeling Derrida, speaks of the ‘good ghost of justice’ which haunts the law and which destabilizes its power. Love does the same thing. Love, at its most white-hot, spurns the regulations and expectations which prevent mercy and justice, by enacting gentle–but profound–deconstructions and subversions. No one was better at haunting the law than Jesus.

What is perhaps most surprising about the subversive action of Pope Francis is that they surprise us. This element of surprise is not limited to Catholicism or any tradition of Christianity. They surprise us when any powerful Christian leader seems to follow in the way of Jesus rather than the way of the powerful. And we surprise ourselves when we let go of our grip on the outsider/insider mentality and when we choose love, justice and mercy over law, over self-presevation, and over the affirmation of the powerful and the power structures we set in place.

Where, in our own lives, are we willing to dispense with the “law” and disregard conventional expectation–the ‘watching eyes’ of the powerful–in order to stand with those whom Jesus loves?

Kyle Roberts

Previous Post

March 27, 2013

Easy Easter Lamb

Next Post

April 1, 2013 To Doctorates Outside the Academy: I Need Your Help

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Alex Blondeau Authors Daniel Harrell Daniel Siedell Dawn Duncan Harrell Kyle Roberts Uncategorized Wyndy Corbin

Select a Month November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a small member of the body, yet I boast great things. I am a fire, a world of iniquity. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The eye The hand The heart The tongue