Quote(s) du Jour (Pope Francis Department): "Communication is ultimately a human rather than technological achievement."

As you might imagine, this week's periodontal surgery fog rendered me...foggy, but that didn't stop me from seeing all the tweets and articles about Pope Francis calling the Internet, "a gift from God."

This statement, crafted for the 48th World Communications Day titled, "Communication at the Service of an Authentic Culture of Encounter," was issued from the Vatican on January 24, 2014 (Memorial of St. Francis de Sales).

Trust me, the "gift from God" pull quote is the least of the many extraordinary observations you'll find in this document. 

Here are a couple that made me sigh deeply with relief, hoping that having the pope comes down on the side of church communications that embrace rather then vilifies digital technology will hasten its acceptance. Acceptance has been slow-going so far; painfully so for those of us in the ministry of church communications. 

And now, without further whinging about the wild world of church, more quotes worth pondering:

The world of communications can help us either to expand our knowledge or to lose our bearings. The desire for digital connectivity can have the effect of isolating us from our neighbours, from those closest to us. We should not overlook the fact that those who for whatever reason lack access to social media run the risk of being left behind. 

While these drawbacks are real, they do not justify rejecting social media; rather, they remind us that communication is ultimately a human rather than technological achievement.

Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world. The Church needs to be concerned for, and present in, the world of communication, in order to dialogue with people today and to help them encounter Christ. She needs to be a Church at the side of others, capable of accompanying everyone along the way. The revolution taking place in communications media and in information technologies represents a great and thrilling challenge; may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of God.

─  Pope Francis

Quote du Jour (Faith Department): "Mature faith will forever be a balancing..."

Responses to America magazine's now-famous/infamous interview with Pope Francis continue to roll in. I imagine this will be happening for quite a while. National Catholic Reporter has, in fact, started a new blog called "The Francis Chronicles" and is featuring commentaries every day this week.

Yesterday's opinion piece by Richard Rohr is optimistically titled, "It will be hard to go backward after Francis' papacy." It's a great set of observations about infallibility, one of those IMrarelyHO wacky doctrines that gets confused and misused. Embedded in that conversation is this:

Mature faith will forever be a balancing of knowing with not knowing, saying with an inability to say at all, deep certitude combined with an equally deep humility, tolerance and patience. 
─  Richard Rohr

I let myself soak up this wisdom for a bit and then made the big, I-should-know-better-by-now mistake of reading the comments. Lord, have mercy.

Quote du Jour (Pope Francis Department): "We must walk united in our differences."

I was away from my computer most of the day, so only late this afternoon did I notice my news feeds jamming with references to and quotes from "the exclusive interview with Pope Francis" featured in America magazine.

The interview, titled "A Big Heart Open to God," weighs in at 12,000 words. Most observers have focused on what Pope Francis says about (too many) Roman Catholics' obsession with "a disjointed multitude of doctrines imposed insistently" and grievous lack of compassion for those most deserving of it.

Great stuff, and what have I zoomed in on? First, this:

If a person says that he met God with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then this is not good....If one has the answers to all the questions—that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. ─  Pope Francis



And given my commitment to faith beyond denominations, this:

“We must walk united with our differences: there is no other way to become one. This is the way of Jesus.”  ─  Pope Francis

Popes: Images that Signify

A sigh of despair generated by one image, 

delighted laughter by the other. 

Guess which.

#CatholicSpring

About that First Encyclical Letter from Pope Francis . . .

Do you see what I see?

How about now?

Quote du Jour (Pope Francis Department): "We lose people because they don't understand what we're saying."

Should have seen this one coming but still surprised to find myself creating a special Quote du Jour Department for Pope Francis. After decades of irritation if not downright disgust with popes, I find myself eagerly awaiting opportunities to read what this one has to say.

There's a bittersweet poignancy and/or evidence of the Holy Spirit to this. I haven't been able to stomach a Roman Catholic Mass since the "new" horribly retro Roman Missal was foisted upon us. (I'm one of Those People who still signs petitions to get rid of that linguistic atrocity.) No surprise, then, that this passage from his recent address to bishops of Brazil would capture my attention:

At times we lose people because they don’t understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people. Without the grammar of simplicity, the Church loses the very conditions which make it possible “to fish” for God in the deep waters of his Mystery.

─  Pope Francis

Quote du Jour (Religion Department): The Roman Catholic Church and Change

The church and change? Which word doesn't go with the other?

I'm always guaranteed a hearty rueful laughs whenever I say, "We're the Catholic Church, we'll get back to you in 400 years."

And so you can easily imagine my delight when I found this gem set toward the end of John Allen's recent post, "Francis at 100 days: 'the world's parish priest'" The (longish) article is worth reading for Allen's typically smart style and wise analysis of what is -- or isn't -- going on at the Vatican since Pope Francis became the Bishop of Rome.

Key question: If a new culture for church leadership is being shaped, is it catching on? On the way to conjecture, this delightful sentence appears:


The Catholic church is legendary for thinking in centuries, and the Vatican in particular tends to respond to pressure for rapid change the way teetotalers react to an offer of Scotch and soda -- with a mixture of terror and disgust.
─ John L. Allen, Jr.

Quote du Jour (Religion Department) | Pope Francis: "Do not be a closed church..."

Did you ever think you'd see the day when I'd post more than one pull quote from a text? How about more than one pull quote from anything the Pope had to say? Well, that day has come! I'm posting an entire video, albeit a couple of weeks after it originally hit the Internet.

Truth to tell, I just got around to listening to this glorious wisdom. And I'm sitting here laughing at myself for writing, "I just got around..." because today was the perfect day to listen to this video. Holy Spirit? That's what I'm thinking.

I've listened to this video more than once. I plan to listen to it again. Maybe you will feel compelled to do so as well.

I Love Sociology: "Urban Legends" Take Hold for a Reason

Lots of wailing, whining, and gnashing of teeth in response to "urban legends" swiftly emerging regarding Pope Francis. John L. Allen, Jr. debunks a few in a National Catholic Reporter piece, "Debunking three 'urban legends' about Pope Francis."

Some have been characterized as "crude" and "cruel," especially by fans of the previous papacy. I confess to have recounted one in a recent post. In my own defense, please note I cite "reports" and provide a link, thus allowing my readers to track down the provenance of the quote.

I semi-digress.

The point I really want to make is one about why urban legends take hold and spread like wildfire. From the comment I left at NCR:

"Urban legends take hold for valid sociological reasons: they're signifiers. The fact that each of these gained swift traction reveals just how disgruntled and dismayed people have been with the previous papacy. I wish those who are so so outraged would think more meta-macro about what the popularity of these urban legends might say about what people are thinking and feeling."

Not the first time, nor the last I'll be wishing silently or out loud that people would think more sociologically, especially about current events.

Life as a Clergy Wife: "We Have a Pope" Movie Night!

So, how did we relax at the end of a week that included the election of Pope Francis? We went to the movies in the cozy confines of my husband's Rumpus Room.

This is what I call the first floor Sanctus Sanctorum in which the big but not-too-big flat screen television is located as well as sermonating resources that include but are not limited to gazillion volumes of Feasting On The Word.* 

And what, pray tell, did we watch? By unanimous vote, my former Roman Catholic and current Episcopal priest husband and I watched: "We Have a Pope," a 2011 Italian drama-comedy (yes, hold those two concepts in your head simultaneously) about a cardinal who is dismayed to have been elected pope.

Against the background of this week's events, "We Have a Pope" seemed more prophetic and poignant than director Nanni Moretti probably intended.

Here, I'm thinking especially about reports about Pope Francis opting out of the ermine cape and purportedly saying, "You put it on instead. Carnival time is over!" and his comments about the papal apartments being a bit much. In this movie, the expressive face of the reluctant pontiff speaks volumes; no dialogue necessary. We, of course, had lots to say about the movie which staved off my husband's sermon prep for another hour.

Don't we get enough of this stuff? Apparently not.

 

* Great dowry or what?!?

Popes: Images that Signify

Driven to despair by one,

invited to hope by the other. 

Guess which.

#CatholicSpring

Pope Francis: Images that Inspire

I keep seeing these images 

even after I stop looking at them.

Habemus Papam: Pope Francis

For the first time in years I find myself feeling authentically hopeful about the possibility of a Roman Catholic Church that acts justly, loves tenderly, and walks humbly with and for God. Still taking in this news, so don't know that I can write much more at this juncture.

Basically I'm wandering around in optimistic wonder, especially after reading, "The Horror! A Buenos Aires journalist describe Bergoglio." In it, Marcelo Gonzalez excoriates Pope Francis for lending "his Cathedral to Protestants, Muslims, Jews, and even to partisan groups" as well as being a "sworn enemy of the Traditional Mass."

And what's this? Our new pope has allowed himself to be blessed by Protestant ministers? Oh the delightful, welcomed, and much needed One Body in Christ-ness of it all!