Signs afoot of a gentler and kinder Catholic Church

This week's Independent News and Media regional newspapers' column.

By Michael Commane
Much has been written about the new pope. Certainly, in his style - or perhaps understatedness - Pope Francis seems impressive.

The omens are good: he dresses plainly, lives modestly, pays his hotel bill in person within 24-hours of being made pope. I have high hopes he will look askance at the obscure and exclusive liturgical practices that gained such traction in our church over recent years and bring the People of God, in from the cold.

A few days ago I was at Mass. There was a clear division of status - the priest ‘up there’, the rest of us, in our proper place and by proper order, ‘down here’.

Up there then in the rarefied atmosphere, the celebrant cleaned and re-cleaned the chalice, intensely, scrupulously, to the point of phobia. Down here though in the pews, we strained to hear, as the Mass sped by us, in a barely-audible monotone. Up there, was a priest wearing pre Vatican II vestments and a maniple. A ‘maniple’ you ask? An embroidered band of material which hangs from the left arm of the priest, a liturgical affectation that disappeared in the 1970s.

Pope Francis, himself, seems to be having none of it, opting for a more matter-of-fact liturgical dress.

It’s uplifting to see that he seems to care more about the radical message of the Gospel, the urgency of the Word of God for all, particularly the poor, than establishing canonical status or donning retro liturgical accessories. It seems as if, suddenly, authenticity and simplicity will have their day.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, when Archbishop of Buenos Aires, told his own priests who refused to baptise the children of unmarried mothers that they were hypocrites. What about the fathers?

US Vice President Joe Biden and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi have received Communion from Pope Francis. Lucky they.

But luckier still, the men, women and children who, under Pope Francis, will no longer have to put up with the unadulterated, offensive words peddled and preached by their priestly ‘betters’ about who can and cannot receive Communion. Not too long ago, a priest was out roaring and shouting about unmarried mothers receiving Communion at the First Holy Communion of their children.

The Church - the People of God - have suffered greatly because of a tendency to turn priests into some sort of moral police service, a holy KGB watching over sex and sexuality. I never ever heard of a priest being asked to refuse Communion to someone who does not pay their taxes, or whose choices broke banks, brought down a country and forced thousands of our best and brightest to emigrate, have you?

Michael Harding, who writes a weekly newspaper column and has just published ‘Staring at Lakes’, was interviewed on the Brendan O’Connor Show last Saturday week.

Michael was ordained a priest in 1981 but retired from his priesthood after a short period. He made an interesting comment on the show. He said that theological fascism was introduced into the church with the papacy of John Paul II and then continued under Pope Benedict XVI. And if you think about it, John Paul II grew up under two nasty systems, Nazism and Communism.

Benedict was born into a barbaric Nazi world and would have spent his early schooling being brainwashed by the system.

Of course, the two men despised the Nazis and the Communists but we are all children of our environment and very often the tools we use to oppose our enemy develop vestiges of the behaviour of the enemy itself.

Today then, we need a gentler and kinder Church, one that is sympathetic, empathetic, always willing to listen to those who might disagree with us.

Talking to the world’s media on March 16 Pope Francis said: “Many of you don’t belong to the Catholic Church, others are not believers. From my heart I impart this blessing, in silence, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each one but knowing that each of you is a child of God: May God bless you.” Impressive words.

Astounding humility. A telling insight.