Philly to Soon Be Popeful

Pope Francis is beloved by most Catholics, so there are a lot of people around our area looking forward to this weekend. They are, if you will (even if you won't -- it's my blog, after all), quite "popeful," in every way, about his soon-to-be presence in Philadelphia.

That said, I have heard a ton of moaning over road closures, security perimeters and general disruptions. From the general buzz, you would think people are being asked to give up their left arms.

We do like to be in our little zones, don't we? We like our routines to remain undisrupted. Maybe it is a forest-for-the-trees thing. Probably the most important pope of all time (too early to say, I know, but I have a feeling; oh, and not-counting Peter) is coming to our area and people are bugged that they have to stay home or deal with traffic inconvenience.

I also heard a report on the radio with members of the Philadelphia public school system complaining that the kids are missing too many days of school. Please. (The academics vice principal in me wants to suggest assignments the teachers can have the kids do at home: comparison contrast to popes in history; a speculative math project dealing with the number of people in town; a science project about waste, environmental impact and resources in the city for the weekend; a paper on media coverage and "spin"; a social studies project asking why this pope is liked by atheists, agnostics and the faithful; a recorded on-the-spot "news report" by students who are going... Shall I go on?)

Whatever the case, it is one weekend.

I don't know. It just seems to underscore today's rampant egocentrism. Shouldn't everyone -- Catholics and non-Catholics, alike -- be happy that the leader of the biggest Christian church in the world is coming to their town to spread a message of love, inclusion, tolerance and environmental concern and economic equality?

Nah. Ain't worth it. As one Catholic put it in a radio interview, yeah, he's glad the Pope is coming, but all this security stuff just kills it. Just isn't worth the frustration.

I mean, it is not like we didn't have notice enough to make alternate plans or to fly to Tahiti; or, to just do what we poor Catholic school teachers do: stay home and watch Francis on TV.

I, for one, am glad the Big Guy is stopping by. He's what our world needed and Philly could use a dose of Pope-hope.

Why I Like the Pope

Pope Francis is a big hit. Non-Catholics love him; most Catholics love him; many hardcore traditionalist Catholics don't like him. I have heard from some really, really active Catholics (ones who don't just go to church but who study every aspect of the workings of the Church) criticize his ideas. I'm not in a position to argue with them, because they are more knowledgeable than I. 

What I do see, though, is (at least through my lens) a pope who does not create but who emphasizes the ideals that Catholicism has always represented, to me, as a Catholic: humility, compassion, charity and a welcoming of all who honestly seek to understand God. It is not that other popes have not believed this, I am sure; it is just that they seem to have been more focused on discussing what was wrong to do as opposed to what is right to do  -- at least, they seem to have seemed that way to non-Catholics and to alienated Catholics. 

I'll admit I am probably too intrinsically and actively philosophical to be an easy-sell when it comes to religion; I was the kid in catechism class who asked all of the annoying questions. Catholicism, to me, though, has proven itself, at the very least, as a philosophical and theological system (if not always in terms of the sometimes heinous actions of its individual members) so different from how the average anti-religion person views Christians: judgmental, angry, exclusionary, uneducated. 

So, on one hand, I am glad that Pope Francis is exemplifying what Catholicism has always felt like to me. I do, however, wish people on the outside would stop expecting him to start openly accepting every modern idea under the sun; or, at least, that they would understand that he is not some rogue, rock star priest, but that he represents the ancient Church he has dedicated his life to. 

I saw a news commentator once say that while he is glad the Pope spoke of not condemning homosexuals who are "earnestly seeking God" he is "disappointed" that the Pope still won't accept gay marriage. He is still the Pope of the Catholic Church, and gay marriage is not in the bylaws, as it were. No one should be surprised by this, even if they disagree. 

All I know is that I watched him step out onto the balcony on the day of his selection and I called my wife and said, "This guy is going to be very different." He has proven himself so, especially in his quest to live by example. He carries himself in a very Christlike way and his emphasis on kindness, humility and the closing of the rifts between the faiths is something the world needs now. I like the him very much. 

(I recommend -- very highly -- the article on the Pope in the latest issue of National Geographic. Very interesting.)