Our Eccentric Pope

Pope Francis is an eccentric. I like eccentrics and always have.But I don't like an eccentric as Pope. They are interesting; they are off-center but often insightful and passionate in an unusual way; they are prophetic, artistic, surprising; they offer a clear window into some mystery of life even as they do not get the whole picture. Many of my dearest friends have been eccentrics. From my youth I was drawn to extremist, fascinating characters (e.g.Ivan Illich) who immensely enriched my world and broadened my intellectual vision. But an eccentric really can't be pope because the pope has to be "catholic" as inclusive of the big picture, spiritual father to all of us, and privileged teacher of the Faith and the Truth in its entirety. Traditionally a pope buries his individuality to represent the Church. John Paul II, blessed with an extraodinarilly deep and rich personality happily broke that mode and infused his pontificate with all the personal gifts he had received from the Holy Spirit. He was not even slightly eccentric but perfectly centered in the love and truth of Christ and infused EVERYTHING he touched with the gentle but powerful Wisdom from on high. Francis is not so blessed. Yet he is immodest and unrestrained in bringing his own imbalances into the exercise of his office: he loves the poor but hates the rich; he sees all the problems with capitalism but none of the strengths; he is a man of prayer but disparaging of traditions of solemn worship (the Latin mass); he extols Mercy but is viciously condemnatory of those he sees as powerful, indifferent, arrogant, moralistic (but who these are is not clear; they seem to be a figment of his rich imagination.) His homilies are creative, provocative, challenging and entertaining; but he lacks clarity, precision, depth and nuance. He is viciously contemptuous and judgmental of what he views as clerical privilege. He is passionate in his anti-moralism but becomes emotional and personal in his own form of moralism. He is strangely inarticulate about the gospel of chastity and marital fidelity which is the genuine key to happiness and holiness for all of us, rich and poor. He is father to those on the margins, but he has left many of us abandoned, fatherless, orphaned...sheep without a shepherd. Those of us who love John Paul's Theology of the Body or the Latin mass or the fruitfulness of free markets or the honors and pomp of the Church...many of us who most love the Church feel there is no one at the rudder of the Church. What are to do? That's easy! Renew are awareness that we are all of us, from the Pope on down, sinners...desperately in need of the Mercy of Christ. And Francis is solidly on board with that! We have to forgive him his failings, love him as a person, and renew our loyalty to him as our Vicar of Christ. We need to dig more and more deeply into the precious theological legacy of the dual-pontificate of John Paul and Benedict. We need to let ourselves be fed by those bishops and priests who get the big picture. And we need to let ourselves be inspired by Francis in his eccentricity, in his strength, in his passion to bring Christ's Mercy to those at the margins. And in this Year of Mercy, we need to be merciful to our weak, fallible (except you know when), endearing, disappointing and inspiring Papa!